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BOP-1: ten lessons

For a class or a family: each lesson is short, a few cards on the FM-1 (Lab door, key 2) and a try-it the firmware checks; finishing one puts a sticker in its sticker book. Below, for each one: what it teaches, its cards, the try-it, an activity without the FM-1, and the real words. Ages 9 and up; younger ones with help.

1

What is sound?

Sound is something moving: a wiggle in the air that reaches the ear.

On the FM-1

  1. Sound is a wiggle in the air.
  2. Your ear feels the wiggle, and you hear it.
  3. Try it: In the Lab, play a key and watch the scope: the wiggle, slowed down.

Without it

Stretch a rubber band over a box and pluck it; put a hand on a speaker playing music.

The real words: waveform, vibration

2

High and low

Fast wiggles sound high, slow ones low: the pitch is the frequency.

On the FM-1

  1. Fast wiggles sound high; slow wiggles sound low.
  2. How fast: the frequency, in hertz (Hz), wiggles a second.
  3. Try it: Play a high key, then a low one; watch the scope's wave squeeze and stretch. The Lab shows each note's hertz.

Without it

Pluck a long and a short rubber band; the shorter one wiggles faster and sounds higher.

The real words: pitch, frequency, hertz, octave

3

Shapes of sound

The same note with a different wave shape sounds different: that is its timbre.

On the FM-1

  1. Same note, other shape: it sounds different.
  2. Sine, triangle, saw, square, noise.
  3. Try it: Turn K1 (Wave) to Square: the friend becomes a box, the sound a robot.

Without it

Sing "oo" then "ee" on the same note: same pitch, different shape.

The real words: timbre, waveform, oscillator

4

The filter

A low-pass filter takes the bright, fizzy part out; resonance makes the edge squeak.

On the FM-1

  1. A filter takes the fizz out.
  2. Cutoff: how much bright gets through.
  3. Resonance: it squeaks at the edge.
  4. Try it: Turn K1 (Cutoff) all the way down, then K2 (Resonance) up. Watch the saw become round on the scope.

Without it

Say "aah" and slowly close your mouth to "mmm": your mouth is a filter.

The real words: filter, cutoff, resonance, low-pass

5

Envelopes

How a sound starts and stops: attack, decay, sustain, release.

On the FM-1

  1. How a sound starts, and how it stops.
  2. Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release.
  3. Try it: Turn K1 (Attack) up: a slow start, like a bowed violin. Down again: a plucked string.

Without it

Clap (a fast attack and decay) and hum (a slow attack, a long sustain); draw both as hills.

The real words: envelope, ADSR, attack, release

6

The LFO

A low-frequency oscillator is a hand that keeps turning a knob for you.

On the FM-1

  1. An LFO is a hand that keeps turning a knob.
  2. Pitch: vibrato. Filter: wah. Volume: tremolo.
  3. Try it: Turn K3 (Depth) up and play: the friend wobbles. K4 picks what it moves.

Without it

Sing a long note and wobble your hand on your throat; then on your mouth (wah); then near and far from a friend's ear.

The real words: LFO, vibrato, tremolo, modulation

7

Two oscillators

Two oscillators a little apart sound fat; a fifth apart, bright.

On the FM-1

  1. Two a little apart make it fat.
  2. A fifth apart makes it bright.
  3. Try it: Turn K2 (Detune) up on the second oscillator page and listen to the slow beating.

Without it

Two children hum the same note, then one slides a little higher: hear the wobble between them.

The real words: detune, interval, fifth

8

Beats and steps

A bar of music is sixteen steps; the kick on 1, the snare on 5 and 13 makes a beat.

On the FM-1

  1. A bar has 16 steps. The kick on 1...
  2. ...the snare on 5 and on 13.
  3. Try it: Press white keys 1, 5, 9 and 13; then in Make, put a kick and a snare on those steps.

Without it

Sixteen children in a row, each a step; the 1s and 5s clap while the class counts.

The real words: step sequencer, bar, beat

9

Scales

Some notes go together: a scale. The pentatonic has five and no wrong ones.

On the FM-1

  1. Some notes go together: a scale.
  2. Pentatonic: five notes, no wrong ones.
  3. Major sounds happy, minor sounds sad.
  4. Try it: Play five different notes: in Play every white key is in the scale, so nothing sounds wrong.

Without it

Play only the black keys of a piano: a pentatonic scale everyone can improvise on.

The real words: scale, pentatonic, major, minor

10

Chords and songs

Three notes at once make a chord; parts one after another make a song.

On the FM-1

  1. Three notes at once: a chord.
  2. Parts A and B, one after another: a song.
  3. Try it: Hold three keys at once. Then in Make, hold ARP and press A A B A: a song.

Without it

Three children sing three notes together; then the class sings a verse (A) and a chorus (B).

The real words: chord, triad, verse, chorus