We can hear sounds, but what are they?
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- 16 Sep 2025
From physics, sound is a vibration that creates a wave in a medium, usually air. A sound has three main properties: pitch, volume, and duration.
Pitch is a musical term for what physics calls frequency. Frequency is how many times the wave vibrates per second and is measured in Hz (Hertz). For example, 1 Hz means one vibration per second. Humans can typically hear sounds between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz.
Volume is how loud the sound is. It is often confused with pitch because we do not hear every frequency equally well, and higher-pitched sounds can seem louder - up to a point.
Duration is how long the sound lasts.
Courses and lessons with this Tutorial
This Tutorial is used in the following courses and lessons
Level C1 - Musical Instruments - Robotics with LEGO SPIKE Prime
This is the fifth level of the LEGO Robotics Curriculum, designed for students in second, third, or fourth grade.
Musical Instruments Level: Each lesson has a theme connected to music and instruments. Students explore Pitch, Volume, and Duration of sounds, as well as how to read and program musical notes on the SPIKE Prime hub. Many new blocks are introduced, building on the students’ existing knowledge.
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Lesson 1 - Musical introduction
Introduction
In this lesson, we will explore the basics of sounds and music - and discover how to create them with SPIKE Prime! Do you know how to play an instrument? Would you like to?
Musical instruments have existed for tens of thousands of years. Some of the earliest examples are flutes made from bird bones and mammoth ivory, dating back about 40,000 years. Ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and China created instruments like lyres, harps, drums, and horns, often connecting them to rituals, religion, and cultural identity. Over time, instruments evolved with new technologies, giving rise to the diverse families of strings, winds, brass, percussion, and keyboards we know today.
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