Project Outline: The objective of this project was to build three instruments, each from different musical groups. Our group was assigned on making a wind instrument, chime instrument, and string instrument. The instruments have to be in usable condition and be able to play an octave of notes.I was grouped with Toby Guenthner and Jason Franks.
String instruments:
People can alter the pitches on string instruments by playing with tension and string length. Higher string tension will create more frequency, which will give a higher pitch. The lower string tension will give the opposite which will give a lower frequency, and a lower pitch. String length is also another way to alter the pitches, and is often seen on instruments such as the guitar. The shorter strings, which are often made to be thinner as well, provide higher frequencies and pitches. On the guitar, this shorter string would be the high E. The longer strings, which are thicker, give lower frequencies and pitches. We used all of these properties for our guitar that we played later.
String instruments:
People can alter the pitches on string instruments by playing with tension and string length. Higher string tension will create more frequency, which will give a higher pitch. The lower string tension will give the opposite which will give a lower frequency, and a lower pitch. String length is also another way to alter the pitches, and is often seen on instruments such as the guitar. The shorter strings, which are often made to be thinner as well, provide higher frequencies and pitches. On the guitar, this shorter string would be the high E. The longer strings, which are thicker, give lower frequencies and pitches. We used all of these properties for our guitar that we played later.
Chime Instruments:
Chimes one of the most basic of instruments. Examples include: the xylophone, drums, and other percussion instruments. By definition, chimes are classified as instruments that require the hitting of a solid object, which then must be able to vibrate in order to create sound and pitch.
Without the vibrations, sound is not possible. A common example is the jar or glass chime. We can alter the pitches that chime instruments make by playing with the natural frequency and the amount of vibrations the chime can produce. This can be done by adjusting the length, diameter, and amount of water in the jars. This way, the natural frequency of the jar will change and a different note will be produced.
Wind Instruments -
Wind instruments require an initial vibration, caused by the mouth. There are many different wind instruments covering the various note ranges. There’s the flute, clarinet, trombone, trumpet, French horn, saxophone, and many others. People can play different notes on a wind instrument by designating certain holes to be either left open or closed. This creates different wavelengths. Pitches can also be manipulated by drilling differently-sized holes across the instrument.
For our wind instrument, we created a trute. We used PVC and, using calculations that we found, drilled in the appropriate holes. To vary and help pitch, we played with the size of the holes.
Flutes work because the mouth vibrates, sending a wave in the air down the instrument. The number of wavelengths change with the different pitches that can be created within the trute.
Wind instruments require an initial vibration, caused by the mouth. There are many different wind instruments covering the various note ranges. There’s the flute, clarinet, trombone, trumpet, French horn, saxophone, and many others. People can play different notes on a wind instrument by designating certain holes to be either left open or closed. This creates different wavelengths. Pitches can also be manipulated by drilling differently-sized holes across the instrument.
For our wind instrument, we created a trute. We used PVC and, using calculations that we found, drilled in the appropriate holes. To vary and help pitch, we played with the size of the holes.
Flutes work because the mouth vibrates, sending a wave in the air down the instrument. The number of wavelengths change with the different pitches that can be created within the trute.
Note:
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
C
Wavelength, cm:
65.93
58.74
52.33
49.39
44.01
39.20
34.93
32.97
1/2 Wavelength, cm:
32.965
29.37
26.165
24.695
22.005
19.60
17.465
16.485
Frequency, Hertz:
523.25
587.33
659.25
698.46
783.99
880
987.77
1046.5
Physics Concepts:
Sound waves - created by the vibrations of material objects; compression and rarefaction
Compression - pushes together
Rarefaction - pulling apart
Medium - sound waves require a medium to travel through (ex: gas, liquid, solid)
Amplitude - distance from the midpoint to the crest (top of the wave) or trough (bottom of the wave)
Wavelength - distance from crest to crest, in meters
Frequency - how often a vibration occurs in Hertz, or cycles per second
Period - amount of time between waves
Wave - disturbance or vibration through a medium
Wave Speed - Wave length * Frequency
Transverse waves - move up and down
Longitudinal waves - moves compression horizontally
Positive interference - adds to create a bigger wave
Non Constructive interference - adds to make a smaller wave
Node - area between a wave
Pitch - due to varying frequency, creates different notes that we hear
Doppler Effect - the concept of a change in frequency due to the motion of a source. A higher frequency will create a higher pitch. A car coming towards you, according to the Doppler Effect, has a higher frequency than when it's going away from you. The sound of the siren will sound higher-pitched coming one way as opposed to the other.
Resonance - creating a standing wave when unnatural vibrations are equal to the natural wavelength / frequency
Reflection: For this project, I felt like I learned a lot more about vibrations and about waves than I did before. I feel our group did very well and that our group worked very well together. We were very productive during the project. We were the first ones to finish out of the class and we were one of the better groups out of the class. Some of our downfalls as a group were that we got off task and that we weren't as prepared as we should have been for presentations.
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
C
Wavelength, cm:
65.93
58.74
52.33
49.39
44.01
39.20
34.93
32.97
1/2 Wavelength, cm:
32.965
29.37
26.165
24.695
22.005
19.60
17.465
16.485
Frequency, Hertz:
523.25
587.33
659.25
698.46
783.99
880
987.77
1046.5
Physics Concepts:
Sound waves - created by the vibrations of material objects; compression and rarefaction
Compression - pushes together
Rarefaction - pulling apart
Medium - sound waves require a medium to travel through (ex: gas, liquid, solid)
Amplitude - distance from the midpoint to the crest (top of the wave) or trough (bottom of the wave)
Wavelength - distance from crest to crest, in meters
Frequency - how often a vibration occurs in Hertz, or cycles per second
Period - amount of time between waves
Wave - disturbance or vibration through a medium
Wave Speed - Wave length * Frequency
Transverse waves - move up and down
Longitudinal waves - moves compression horizontally
Positive interference - adds to create a bigger wave
Non Constructive interference - adds to make a smaller wave
Node - area between a wave
Pitch - due to varying frequency, creates different notes that we hear
Doppler Effect - the concept of a change in frequency due to the motion of a source. A higher frequency will create a higher pitch. A car coming towards you, according to the Doppler Effect, has a higher frequency than when it's going away from you. The sound of the siren will sound higher-pitched coming one way as opposed to the other.
Resonance - creating a standing wave when unnatural vibrations are equal to the natural wavelength / frequency
Reflection: For this project, I felt like I learned a lot more about vibrations and about waves than I did before. I feel our group did very well and that our group worked very well together. We were very productive during the project. We were the first ones to finish out of the class and we were one of the better groups out of the class. Some of our downfalls as a group were that we got off task and that we weren't as prepared as we should have been for presentations.