Our Assingment
My group was assinged to create at least three different musical instruments the can make music. Each instrument had to be able to play a full scale of notes; (A,B,C,D,E,F,G). To make the instruments different and to make sure there was diversity eithin the band, one istrument had to use strings, one had to use air movement, and one had to use something the is hit to create a vibration and noise. We had to present our instruments to the class and explain how they work. Our driving question is, how are waves used to create music?
Group Document
String Instrument
I chose to do a string instrument for my project. There are many examples of string instruments like guitars, violins, and basses. String instruments make noise by vibrating the strings. As you pluck my instrument, it creates sound waves that make specific noises. The tightness and length of the string causes it to vibrate at various speeds creating various sounds. Tighter and thinner strings make higher pitched noises, while thicker and looser strings make lower notes. This is because thinner and tighter strings have a higher vibration frequency, which equals higher pitch.
The amplitude or volume of the sound is directly related to the range of motion in the strings. The larger the distance the string is vibrating, the larger the wavelength, the louder the sound. Frequency is the amount of string vibrations, while amplitude is the height of those waves.
My specific instrument is a single stringed guitar. This was made to play an octave by adjusting the length of the portion of the string being struck. My guitar is 85cm long, 8.75cm wide, and 2cm thick. The string being struck is approximately 74cm. The instrument plays a A3 to A4 scale.
Note:
Wavelength:
A3
148cm
B3
140cm
C4
132cm
D4
117.5cm
E4
104.5cm
F4
99cm
G4
88cm
A4
78.5cm
Percussion Instrument
For our project, I chose to to make a percussion instrument. There are many different types of percussion instruments such as drums, xylophones, bells, tambourines, and chimes. These instruments are percussion because they produce sound through being struck or hit which causes them to vibrate. Most of them are used for rhythm, such as drums and tambourines. However, percussion instruments can also be used to play melodies, like xylophones and chimes. For mine, I chose to make drums. Drums have hollow bodies that resonate and amplify the noise of a stretched membrane being hit. The stretched membrane being the drum skins or the part that you hit. When hit, it vibrates up and down moving the air creating sound waves. The sound that comes out of a drum is affected by its shape, or in this case, the length of it. If the drum’s longer, the sound will have a lower pitch because the material on the top of the drum will take longer to move upward when its hit. When the frequency is lower, it makes a lower pitched sound because the wavelength is longer and there are less waves. On the other end of the spectrum , a drum with a shorter body will create a higher pitched sound.
My Instrument
My instrument specifically, consists of 8 PVC pipes. They are all different lengths however. This is so they can all play different notes to collectively create a whole octave when played together. They are all designed to be as long as the wavelength of the note they are supposed to play. My instrument plays an A4 to A5 scale. The lengths of my “drums” can all be seen below
Note:
Length:
A4
77.3 centimeters or 30 inches
B5
68.9 centimeters or 27 inches
C5
65 centimeters or 25 inches
D5
57.9 centimeters or 23 inches
E5
51.6 centimeters or 20 inches
F5
48.7 centimeters or 19 inches
G5
43.4 centimeters or 17 inches
A5
38.7 centimeters or 15 inches
John Kosta
Wind Instrument
I chose a wind instrument as my portion of the project. Some wind instruments include the trumpet, saxophone, clarinet, trombone, etc. I chose to make my instrument as a mix between ..
a trumpet and a clarinet. I started designing my instrument with a piece of pvc pipe that was 65.93 centimeters long. This length gives me a C5 when the instrument is played. To make noise i blow into the pipe as one would blow into a trumpet which gives me sound without a mouthpiece. I then added a funnel at the end of the instrument to make it louder. From that end of the instrument to the end where the air goes in, i added holes so that the instrument would make different notes. These holes had to be placed at specific spots so that they would make the right note. This works because each note has a certain wavelength and if the hole is placed at the wavelength of the note, the that is the note that is produced. The scale for my instrument is C5 to C6.
Note Frequencies (hertz) Wavelength (Centimeters)
C5
523.25
65.93 cm
D5
587.33
58.74 cm
E5
659.25
52.33 cm
F5
698.46
49.39 cm
G5
783.99
44.01 cm
A5
880.00
39.20 cm
B5
987.77
34.93 cm
C6
1046.50
32.97 cm
In order to play the correct notes and fit all of my fingers on the holes of the instrument, i did not drill a hole for D5.
Ryan Loeber
Percussion Instrument
For this unit our task was to create an instrument from scratch. For my instrument I chose to make a percussion instrument. In specific I chose to make a chime instrument. There are not many variations on the chime instrument except for what material it is made with. My chime is struck in order to make noise. The chime consists 8 different length metal poles that sit on rubber bands which are supported by nails. When they are struck they create a vibration which creates the noise. The different lengths of the poles causes different amounts of vibration causing different notes. The smaller the pole the higher the pitch and opposite with a longer pole. This is because the smaller poles have a higher vibration frequency equaling a higher pitch. Chimes are based on the natural frequency of a material. The larger the pole, the greater the wavelength, the lower and louder the note is. Frequency is the amount of vibrations of the poles. Amplitude is the height of that wave.
Note:
Length:
C5
26.1 cm
D5
24.53 cm
E5
22.22 cm
F5
20.44 cm
G5
18.14 cm
A6
16.09 cm
B6
14.05 cm
C6
12.27 cm
I chose to do a string instrument for my project. There are many examples of string instruments like guitars, violins, and basses. String instruments make noise by vibrating the strings. As you pluck my instrument, it creates sound waves that make specific noises. The tightness and length of the string causes it to vibrate at various speeds creating various sounds. Tighter and thinner strings make higher pitched noises, while thicker and looser strings make lower notes. This is because thinner and tighter strings have a higher vibration frequency, which equals higher pitch.
The amplitude or volume of the sound is directly related to the range of motion in the strings. The larger the distance the string is vibrating, the larger the wavelength, the louder the sound. Frequency is the amount of string vibrations, while amplitude is the height of those waves.
My specific instrument is a single stringed guitar. This was made to play an octave by adjusting the length of the portion of the string being struck. My guitar is 85cm long, 8.75cm wide, and 2cm thick. The string being struck is approximately 74cm. The instrument plays a A3 to A4 scale.
Note:
Wavelength:
A3
148cm
B3
140cm
C4
132cm
D4
117.5cm
E4
104.5cm
F4
99cm
G4
88cm
A4
78.5cm
Percussion Instrument
For our project, I chose to to make a percussion instrument. There are many different types of percussion instruments such as drums, xylophones, bells, tambourines, and chimes. These instruments are percussion because they produce sound through being struck or hit which causes them to vibrate. Most of them are used for rhythm, such as drums and tambourines. However, percussion instruments can also be used to play melodies, like xylophones and chimes. For mine, I chose to make drums. Drums have hollow bodies that resonate and amplify the noise of a stretched membrane being hit. The stretched membrane being the drum skins or the part that you hit. When hit, it vibrates up and down moving the air creating sound waves. The sound that comes out of a drum is affected by its shape, or in this case, the length of it. If the drum’s longer, the sound will have a lower pitch because the material on the top of the drum will take longer to move upward when its hit. When the frequency is lower, it makes a lower pitched sound because the wavelength is longer and there are less waves. On the other end of the spectrum , a drum with a shorter body will create a higher pitched sound.
My Instrument
My instrument specifically, consists of 8 PVC pipes. They are all different lengths however. This is so they can all play different notes to collectively create a whole octave when played together. They are all designed to be as long as the wavelength of the note they are supposed to play. My instrument plays an A4 to A5 scale. The lengths of my “drums” can all be seen below
Note:
Length:
A4
77.3 centimeters or 30 inches
B5
68.9 centimeters or 27 inches
C5
65 centimeters or 25 inches
D5
57.9 centimeters or 23 inches
E5
51.6 centimeters or 20 inches
F5
48.7 centimeters or 19 inches
G5
43.4 centimeters or 17 inches
A5
38.7 centimeters or 15 inches
John Kosta
Wind Instrument
I chose a wind instrument as my portion of the project. Some wind instruments include the trumpet, saxophone, clarinet, trombone, etc. I chose to make my instrument as a mix between ..
a trumpet and a clarinet. I started designing my instrument with a piece of pvc pipe that was 65.93 centimeters long. This length gives me a C5 when the instrument is played. To make noise i blow into the pipe as one would blow into a trumpet which gives me sound without a mouthpiece. I then added a funnel at the end of the instrument to make it louder. From that end of the instrument to the end where the air goes in, i added holes so that the instrument would make different notes. These holes had to be placed at specific spots so that they would make the right note. This works because each note has a certain wavelength and if the hole is placed at the wavelength of the note, the that is the note that is produced. The scale for my instrument is C5 to C6.
Note Frequencies (hertz) Wavelength (Centimeters)
C5
523.25
65.93 cm
D5
587.33
58.74 cm
E5
659.25
52.33 cm
F5
698.46
49.39 cm
G5
783.99
44.01 cm
A5
880.00
39.20 cm
B5
987.77
34.93 cm
C6
1046.50
32.97 cm
In order to play the correct notes and fit all of my fingers on the holes of the instrument, i did not drill a hole for D5.
Ryan Loeber
Percussion Instrument
For this unit our task was to create an instrument from scratch. For my instrument I chose to make a percussion instrument. In specific I chose to make a chime instrument. There are not many variations on the chime instrument except for what material it is made with. My chime is struck in order to make noise. The chime consists 8 different length metal poles that sit on rubber bands which are supported by nails. When they are struck they create a vibration which creates the noise. The different lengths of the poles causes different amounts of vibration causing different notes. The smaller the pole the higher the pitch and opposite with a longer pole. This is because the smaller poles have a higher vibration frequency equaling a higher pitch. Chimes are based on the natural frequency of a material. The larger the pole, the greater the wavelength, the lower and louder the note is. Frequency is the amount of vibrations of the poles. Amplitude is the height of that wave.
Note:
Length:
C5
26.1 cm
D5
24.53 cm
E5
22.22 cm
F5
20.44 cm
G5
18.14 cm
A6
16.09 cm
B6
14.05 cm
C6
12.27 cm
Reflection
This was a very fun and exciting project to work on. It introduced me to everything i needed to know about waves and with my prior intrest in music, it was very interesting to see how all of it works. I definately learned a lot from this project. For my next project i am going to try to attempt to improve by getting my work done earlier and leaving time for improvements.