Abstract A common geotechnical site investigation method in Sweden is soil-rock sounding. A steel rod is driven into the ground by a percussion drill and different drilling parameters are recorded. The penetration speed and pushing force are used to determine the soil layer profile, the presence of boulders, and the depth to bedrock. This article describes a novel concept where the ground vibrations generated by the drill bit are measured by a geophone at the ground surface to gain more information about the penetrated material. The results of vibration measurements are analyzed in terms of frequency spectra, spectrograms, and two new parameters called “spectral concentration” and “overtone ratio.” These results show that the method can identify the depth of the groundwater table, distinguish boulders from penetration into bedrock, and possibly identify silt, sand, and gravel layers. More data are needed in different soil types to verify the reliability of the concept.