SPOKE — Story Sounds

SPOKE.

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Tap a pin to play!

Tap a pin to play · Right-click to remove

🔌 Connect your SPOKE board

The SPOKE board has 27 touch pins in a circle. When you touch a pin — or connect something conductive to it — it tells the computer to play a sound.

What you need

🖥️ A computer

🔌 USB cable

🟢 SPOKE board

🌐 This webpage

How to connect

Plug the USB cable into your SPOKE board
Plug the other end into your computer
Your computer sees it as a MIDI device
Press "Connect MIDI" below
Pick your SPOKE board from the list

Test it by touching a pin — you'll see it light up on the spoke!

Computer → USB → SPOKE board

No board yet?

You can still use this page with your mouse or touchscreen — tap pins to play sounds.

🔍 Add sounds to your pins

Search for sounds or record your own voice. Each sound goes onto a pin. Sounds under 5 seconds work best for storytelling!

🔍 Search for sounds

⌕

Max length:

More filters

Licence

Sort

📖 Story sound ideas

⛈ Thunder🌧 Rain💨 Wind🌊 Waves🐦 Birds🐺 Wolf🐴 Horse🐱 Cat👣 Footsteps🚪 Door✨ Magic⚔️ Sword🔥 Fire🕐 Clock👏 Cheering👻 Spooky🔔 Bell😂 Laughter🎺 Fanfare💗 Heartbeat

🎙️ Record your voice

Microphone

Pick your mic, then tap to record!

Trim silence

Removes quiet bits from the start

Sensitivity0.010

After recording, tap any pin on the spoke to put your sound there!

📖

Search for sounds or pick a story idea!

📂 Upload sounds

📂

Drop files or spoke_pack.zip here
or tap to choose

✂️ Make your touch sensors

Now you know what sounds you have, you can design sensors to match! Each pin senses when something conductive touches it. Connect your craft sensors with crocodile clips.

Materials

🐊 Crocodile clips

🪙 Tin foil

✏️ Soft pencil (6B)

🍌 Fruit / veg

📎 Paper clips

🎨 Card & paper

🧲 Conductive tape

🌿 Leaves / flowers

Connecting a sensor

Clip one end of a crocodile clip onto a pin on the SPOKE board
Clip the other end onto your sensor (foil, fruit, pencil drawing…)
Press the reset button on the board to calibrate

When you press reset, the board shows a rainbow animation while it calibrates the sensor levels. Don't touch any sensors while the rainbow is going! Wait until it stops, then your sensors are ready.

Anything that conducts a little electricity will work — metal, fruit, wet things, graphite pencil marks, even your friends' hands!

Pin → croc clip → sensor material. Then press reset!

Sensor ideas for your story

Foil lightning bolt → thunder sound
Pencil footprints on card → footstep sounds
A real leaf → wind or forest sounds
Cup of water (dip wire in) → splash sounds
Tin foil sword → sword clash
A friend's hand! → hold hands to trigger a sound

⚡ The signals are tiny and completely safe — like static from a balloon!

📖 Tell your story!

Your sensors are connected, your sounds are loaded — perform!

How to perform

Tell your story out loud
When something happens, touch the right sensor to play its sound
Have a friend be the sound operator while you narrate!
Practice a few times — it gets better!

Write your story out and mark where each sound goes. Write the pin number next to each sound cue!

Your loaded sounds

🎵

No sounds yet — go back to step 2!

Save your sounds

Download as a ZIP to reload next time!

Performance tips

Timing — pause narration just before a sound cue
Let the audience see you touch the sensors — it's part of the magic!
Invite the audience to touch sensors too