How to play sounds with Arduino and a passive buzzer or speaker? Step-by-step guide

To carry out projects with Arduino No experience in electronics is necessary.You just have to get started to familiarize yourself with that world and, especially, with the Arduino IDE This is where you paste the code, that is, the instructions you want to be executed.

An excellent idea to complement certain types of projects in arduino, es incorporate sounds into them using a passive buzzer or a speakerThey are very easy to work with and you will be able to play all kinds of sounds or melodies.

With this in mind, throughout this post we will teach you How to play sounds with Arduino and a passive buzzer or speaker?through a step-by-step guide. In addition, you will learn three interesting ideas for easy projects that you can do yourself and put your knowledge into practice.

What is a buzzer and how does it work in Arduino?

Un Passive buzzer o speaker they are nothing more than devices whose function is to convert an electrical signal into a sound waveAn important fact to mention is that they do not have internal electronics, so an electrical signal must be provided to achieve the desired sound.

In simpler terms, a passive buzzer produces a sound when it is powered. It is ideal for integration with Arduino because it allows you to create an alert or notification sound when a certain event occurs. Then the user must program the microcontroller to send a signal to the buzzer when such an event occurs, so that it alerts with a sound.

A very practical example applies when you use a sensor of temperature and you want to be notified when it exceeds the 100 degrees centigradeWhen the sensor detects these temperature levels, the buzzer will sound an alert. Besides that, there are many other applications for which this component can be useful. arduino. In this way, you can to give space for imagination and develop all kinds of interesting projects.

Learn step by step how to play sounds with a buzzer or speaker using Arduino

Play sounds with a regular buzzer or with a passive module for Arduino It's simpler than it seems. You just have to Connect it and write a simple code in the Arduino IDE (although keep in mind that the base will depend on what you want to achieve). Arduino has two main functions These features help the user easily generate electrical signals to convert into sound, all through any of the available digital outputs. These functions are: tone() and notTone().

As their name indicates, they are responsible for generating or stopping the tone signal on a pin:

• tone(pin, frecuencia): active a tone of a certain frequency on a given pin
• noTone(pin): stop the tone on the pin

It is worth noting that, thanks to the tone() function, it is possible to specify the duration of the generated sound:

• tone(pin, frequencia, duracion): activates a tone of frequency and duration determined on a given pin

However, you should consider that, due to its simplicity, when using the functions for generating the tone, there are certain important limitations that we indicate below:

• Tone use the timer 2That is, while it is working PWM outputs cannot be used on pin 3 and 11 en Arduino Nano y Arduino Uno (pins 9 and 10 on Arduino Mega).
• The tone() function cannot be used on two pins simultaneously.In these cases, you need to turn off the ringtone using the function. noTone () before using it on another pin.
• The ranges that can be used in the tone function are of 31Hz to 65535Hz.

To make the explanation much clearer, we've included some simple code examples where the functions specified above are applied:

Example 1

With this code that we will show you, The buzzer will emit a sound for 1 second and then stop..

Then, it produces 1 second again, and so on:

/* Simple program to emit intermittent 1-second beeps */ const int buzzer = 9; // The buzzer is connected to pin 9 void setup(){ pinMode(buzzer, OUTPUT); // Pin 9 declared as output } void loop(){ tone(buzzer, 50); // Sends a 1kHz signal to the buzzer delay(1000); noTone(buzzer); // Stops the buzzer delay(1000); // Waits one second and repeats the loop }

Example 2

In this second caseThe buzzer or loudspeaker is used connected to Pin 9 with the aim of generating a 440Hz function during a period of one second, stop it for 500ms and finally, produce a 523Hz tone for 300ms.

Then repeat the program after a 500 ms pause:

const int pinBuzzer = 9; void setup() { } void loop() { //generate a 440Hz tone for 1000ms tone(pinBuzzer, 440); delay(1000); //stop the tone for 500ms noTone(pinBuzzer); delay(500); //generate a 523Hz tone for 500ms, and stop it for 500ms. tone(pinBuzzer, 523, 300); delay(500); }

Example 3

This last option uses an array with frequencies that are traversed sequentially to perform a sweep that approximates the different musical notes.

Let's see:

const int pinBuzzer = 9; const int tones[] = {261, 277, 294, 311, 330, 349, 370, 392, 415, 440, 466, 494}; const int countTones = 10; void setup() { } void loop() { for (int iTone = 0; iTone < countTones; iTone++) { tone(pinBuzzer, tones[iTone]); delay(1000); } noTone(pinBuzzer); }

List of the best Arduino projects with buzzers that you can do yourself for practice

The Arduino projects offer plenty of room for people's imagination.because they allow them incorporate different elements into the plate to carry out all kinds of creations. Such is the case with the incorporation of sensors, buzzer or other elements for specific purposes. In this regard, we will show you three main ideas you can develop practice yourself and become more familiar with this environment.

In all cases, you will need at least one Arduino board and a buzzer:

Basic alarm or alarm clocks

Did you know you can create your own alarm clock? It's not as difficult as it seems. With the help of a Arduino board, a buzzer, and some other componentsYou can create an alarm from home that tells you when to wake up, or to program sounds at certain times of the day.

Sensors with sound

Another very interesting use that can be given to a buzzer with arduino, es incorporate it into devices that have certain sensorsFor example, if you create a gas sensor And if you want to be notified when it exceeds the set limit, by using a speaker app you will make a sound when that happens.

Other than that, There is another practical example for which a sound sensor can be very useful.For example, if you want to detect the approach of objects or people and emit a sound when they are within the range you set.

Melody player

Finally, with a passive buzzer and an Arduino, you can create a device that produces certain melodies known as those of Star Wars o "Pirates of the Caribbean". To get it, You need to program it to be able to produce different sound intensities, frequencies, and durations..

In consecuense, You can create any melodies you wantIn these cases, it is necessary to declare pin9 as an output (without having to give it a name) and then use the function structure tone (pin, frequency, duration). Through this structure The three parameters are defined, separated by commas.This allows you to create all kinds of notes at any time and with any melody. Keep in mind that if you have musical knowledge, you will be able to create your own melodies.