Building Three Musical Band Instruments
We had to build three different types of musical instruments. They had to consist of a wind, string, and chimes instrument. For each of the different instruments they had to play all the notes of a certain scale. Also, we could choose to right a song with our own lyrics if we chose to.
Concepts:
Interference - adding two waves together
Positive (Constructive) interference - adds to create a bigger wave
Anti node - the maximums and minimums of a wave
Pitch - due to varying frequency, creates different notes that we hear
Non Constructive interference - adds to make a smaller wave
Node - area between a wave
Doppler Effect - the concept of a change in frequency due to the motion of a source
Blue shift - increase in frequency
Red shift - decrease in frequency
Resonance - the process of creating a standing wave when unnatural vibrations are equal to the natural wavelength/frequency
Sound waves - created by the vibrations of material objects; compression and rarefaction
Compression - pushes together
Frequency - how often a vibration occurs in Hertz, or cycles per second
Period - amount of time between waves [period = 1 / frequency]
Wave - disturbance or vibration through a medium
Wave Speed = Wave length x Frequency
Transverse waves - move up and down
Longitudinal waves - moves compression horizontally
Anti node - the maximums and minimums of a wave
Pitch - due to varying frequency, creates different notes that we hear
We had to build three different types of musical instruments. They had to consist of a wind, string, and chimes instrument. For each of the different instruments they had to play all the notes of a certain scale. Also, we could choose to right a song with our own lyrics if we chose to.
Concepts:
Interference - adding two waves together
Positive (Constructive) interference - adds to create a bigger wave
Anti node - the maximums and minimums of a wave
Pitch - due to varying frequency, creates different notes that we hear
Non Constructive interference - adds to make a smaller wave
Node - area between a wave
Doppler Effect - the concept of a change in frequency due to the motion of a source
Blue shift - increase in frequency
Red shift - decrease in frequency
Resonance - the process of creating a standing wave when unnatural vibrations are equal to the natural wavelength/frequency
Sound waves - created by the vibrations of material objects; compression and rarefaction
Compression - pushes together
Frequency - how often a vibration occurs in Hertz, or cycles per second
Period - amount of time between waves [period = 1 / frequency]
Wave - disturbance or vibration through a medium
Wave Speed = Wave length x Frequency
Transverse waves - move up and down
Longitudinal waves - moves compression horizontally
Anti node - the maximums and minimums of a wave
Pitch - due to varying frequency, creates different notes that we hear
String Instrument:
All string instruments make sounds with tensioned strings and a hollow case that amplifies the sound waves. Different types of strings produce different sounds. For example, the tighter the string the higher the sound and the thicker the string the lower the sound. String instruments are plucked, bowed, or struck to produce a sound and the placement of an object on the strings can affect the pitch of the instrument. For our instrument we created a bass guitar with one string that plays seven notes. We play our instrument by pressing down on nails that signify where the proper notes can be played. When we strum that note, the string vibrates to a hollow glass bottle that amplifies the sounds wave produced by the string. We figured out where to place our strings by taking the wavelength and dividing it by two. We did this because strings only get half a wavelength. After dividing, it gave us the centimeters which determined where we would play each note on the string. For example, the note C4 is 131.87cm (wavelength) which means we would play the note 66cm away from the bottle.
Notes:
Wave Length (cm)
Placement
C4
131.87cm
65.935cm
D4
117.5cm
58.75cm
E4
104.66cm
52.33cm
F4
98.79cm
49.395cm
G4
88.01cm
44.005cm
A4
78.01cm
39.005cm
B4
69.85cm
34.925cm
Woodwind Instrument:
Woodwinds are basically defined as hollow tubes, which, when blown on one end, produce a sound. Most woodwind instruments have keys or finger holes to vary pitch of the sounds. Different notes are created by shortening or lengthening the air column inside the instrument. This is usually achieved by covering certain holes on the instrument, either with keys it finger while playing. For our instrument we convinced different elements from different instruments. We have a funnel on the end of a PVC pipe that is similar to end of a trumpet that amplifies the sound. The shaft has seven holes that play different notes when covered, similar to a clarinet or recorder. We used the same method to find where to place the holes that play different notes.
Notes:
Length Units of Leo
C4
1
D4
8/9
E4
4/5
F4
3/4
G4
2/3
A4
3/5
B4
8/15
Chime Instruments:
A chime is an instrument usually hollow or solid and when struck, it creates a sound. The size or thickness of the object can create different pitches and different types of metals can make various pitches due to length or thickness of the object. When struck it vibrates the air particles that travel to our ears, letting us hear the instrument. For our instrument we decided to use bottles that contains different amounts of water that affects the pitch. The more the water the lower the pitch and little water the higher. We have seven bottles in total, each holding different amount of water. We added water by 50 mL. For example; C4 has no water, D4 has 50mL, E4 has 100 mL, F4 has 150mL, etc.... So when we hit them they each have a different sounds.
Notes:
Amount of Water (mL)
C4
0mL
D4
50ml
E4
100mL
F4
150mL
G4
200mL
A4
250ml
B4
300mL
All string instruments make sounds with tensioned strings and a hollow case that amplifies the sound waves. Different types of strings produce different sounds. For example, the tighter the string the higher the sound and the thicker the string the lower the sound. String instruments are plucked, bowed, or struck to produce a sound and the placement of an object on the strings can affect the pitch of the instrument. For our instrument we created a bass guitar with one string that plays seven notes. We play our instrument by pressing down on nails that signify where the proper notes can be played. When we strum that note, the string vibrates to a hollow glass bottle that amplifies the sounds wave produced by the string. We figured out where to place our strings by taking the wavelength and dividing it by two. We did this because strings only get half a wavelength. After dividing, it gave us the centimeters which determined where we would play each note on the string. For example, the note C4 is 131.87cm (wavelength) which means we would play the note 66cm away from the bottle.
Notes:
Wave Length (cm)
Placement
C4
131.87cm
65.935cm
D4
117.5cm
58.75cm
E4
104.66cm
52.33cm
F4
98.79cm
49.395cm
G4
88.01cm
44.005cm
A4
78.01cm
39.005cm
B4
69.85cm
34.925cm
Woodwind Instrument:
Woodwinds are basically defined as hollow tubes, which, when blown on one end, produce a sound. Most woodwind instruments have keys or finger holes to vary pitch of the sounds. Different notes are created by shortening or lengthening the air column inside the instrument. This is usually achieved by covering certain holes on the instrument, either with keys it finger while playing. For our instrument we convinced different elements from different instruments. We have a funnel on the end of a PVC pipe that is similar to end of a trumpet that amplifies the sound. The shaft has seven holes that play different notes when covered, similar to a clarinet or recorder. We used the same method to find where to place the holes that play different notes.
Notes:
Length Units of Leo
C4
1
D4
8/9
E4
4/5
F4
3/4
G4
2/3
A4
3/5
B4
8/15
Chime Instruments:
A chime is an instrument usually hollow or solid and when struck, it creates a sound. The size or thickness of the object can create different pitches and different types of metals can make various pitches due to length or thickness of the object. When struck it vibrates the air particles that travel to our ears, letting us hear the instrument. For our instrument we decided to use bottles that contains different amounts of water that affects the pitch. The more the water the lower the pitch and little water the higher. We have seven bottles in total, each holding different amount of water. We added water by 50 mL. For example; C4 has no water, D4 has 50mL, E4 has 100 mL, F4 has 150mL, etc.... So when we hit them they each have a different sounds.
Notes:
Amount of Water (mL)
C4
0mL
D4
50ml
E4
100mL
F4
150mL
G4
200mL
A4
250ml
B4
300mL
Reflection:
The musical instruments was certainly one of my favorite projects this semester. I do not usual do a lot with instruments so this was a great learning experience for me. I really loved learning musical skills and being able to build my own unique instruments. My group did very well on making our instruments look nice, but next time i would try to make the keys more exact. Next time I would also try and make more technologically advanced instruments. I feel that my group and I worked very well together and were always very efficient in getting our work done and making it look outstanding. For future reference, I will work with the same types of people who will work and not slack off.
I learned so much about strings, winds, and chimes through this project. I had no idea that there was so much perfection though music and through this project i now understand that music is very complex. Me being myself I am not very musically inclined, but now I am so much more inclined then ever before. Who would of know science would teach me the most about music. This project was definitely the best and I look forward to more projects just like in in the future.
The musical instruments was certainly one of my favorite projects this semester. I do not usual do a lot with instruments so this was a great learning experience for me. I really loved learning musical skills and being able to build my own unique instruments. My group did very well on making our instruments look nice, but next time i would try to make the keys more exact. Next time I would also try and make more technologically advanced instruments. I feel that my group and I worked very well together and were always very efficient in getting our work done and making it look outstanding. For future reference, I will work with the same types of people who will work and not slack off.
I learned so much about strings, winds, and chimes through this project. I had no idea that there was so much perfection though music and through this project i now understand that music is very complex. Me being myself I am not very musically inclined, but now I am so much more inclined then ever before. Who would of know science would teach me the most about music. This project was definitely the best and I look forward to more projects just like in in the future.