Module

Sound

Draw what you hear

Lessons

Video

2h 40m

Your progress

Teacher

Teo Vance

( Overview )

You will learn

Web Audio · Oscilloscope · FFT · Envelopes

You will finish with

A live audio visualiser

Web Audio, the oscilloscope, Lissajous figures and FFT, mapped onto everything you built so far.

What this module covers

Sound is a list of numbers arriving 44,100 times a second. Once you can read them, every sketch from the course can listen.

We draw the waveform, bend it into Lissajous figures, split it into frequencies and finish with a visualiser you can perform with.

( Lessons )

Every lesson in this module.

The first two lessons of every module are free to watch. Each one opens in the Lab when you finish.

06.1

Sound is a number

Samples, sample rates and why 44,100.

Free preview

min

→

06.2

The oscilloscope

Draw the waveform as it arrives.

Rendered live from the module’s own sketch. Your version will look different, which is the point.

( Try it now )

Change a number from the course.

Three lessons from across the course, running live. Drag any yellow value.

01-6-flow-field.js

// 01.6 Flow fields: every line follows the noise
const scale  =0.0028  // how far you zoom into the noise
const turns  =1.60  // how hard the lines curl
const lines  =2200  // how many lines to draw
const steps  =70  // how long each line runs
const weight =0.8  // stroke width in px
for (let i = 0; i < lines; i++) {
  let [x, y] = randomPoint()
  for (let s = 0; s < steps; s++) {
    const a = noise(x * scale, y * scale) * TAU * turns
    lineTo(x += cos(a), y += sin(a))
  }
  stroke(chalk, weight)
}

canvas 1:1seed 007drawing 0%

↔ Drag any yellow number. The drawing starts over.

( Your teacher for this module )

Particles are just dots with a reason to move. Give them good reasons.

Teo Vance

Instructor, motion and sound

Teo builds live visuals for touring musicians and teaches the physics without the maths anxiety. He runs the Thursday live critiques.