In this project we learned how to make three instruments that can play the notes A,B,C,D,E,F, and G. One of the instrument was strings, one used air movement, and one was something that you hit to make vibrations and noise. We made a guitar with metal around it for the string instrument, we made a flute for the wind, and for the one we hit or the percussion instrument we made a pipe drum. To make these we first had to research and do experiments. We had to find out about wavelength, amplitude, frequency, period, velocity, how we hear music, and why each instrument works. Once we researched those things, we did an experiment with a slinky and learned that a slinky is a lot like a longitudinal wave or sound wave because it moves the same way, and the farther it moves away from the source the smaller it gets which helped us because it made us realize that we needed to increase the amplitude to get the loudness we wanted. With this knowledge we started building our instruments. Below is an explanation of all our instruments, how they work and what they look like.
Pictures of Instruments
Concepts
Wave: A wiggle in space and time
Wavelength: The length of the wave, the distance from crest to crest. It is measured in meters
Amplitude: The distance from the mid point to the crest(trough) of the wave, or displacement of equilibrium. It is measured in meters.
Frequency: How many waves are created/passes in a certain unit of time. Its equation to find it is waves/s, and it is measured in Hertz.
Period: Amount of time between waves/vibrations. Its equation to find it is T=1/F, and it is measured in seconds.
Velocity: The rate of covered distance in a direction. Its equation to find it is V= d/t, and it is measured in meters per second.
Wave Speed: Velocity of a wave. Its equation to find it is v=λf, and it is measured in m/s.
Why do we hear music?: We hear music because our ears are able to process the vibrations and waves the music produces.
How do string instruments work?: String instruments works by the vibrations the string produces when plucked. (ex. guitar and harp)
How do chime instruments work?: Chime instrument work because when they are struck, vibrations are sent throughout the length of the tubes producing sound waves. ( ex. xylophone and pipe drum)
How do wind instruments work?: Wind instruments work by blowing air into it. The holes are then covered and the vibrations that cause the sound wave become faster, making a high note.(ex. flute and trumpet)
Traverse wave: motion at right angles to the direction in which a wave travels.
Longitudinal wave: when particles move along the direction the wave is moving
Doppeler Effect: Apparent change in frequency due to motion of the source of sound.
Destructive interference - when the crest of one wave overlaps with the crest of another wave, increasing the amplitude
Constructive interference -overlapping waves where the crests of one wave fill the troughs of the other, decreasing amplitude. Perfect destructive interference would result in no wave.
Wavelength: The length of the wave, the distance from crest to crest. It is measured in meters
Amplitude: The distance from the mid point to the crest(trough) of the wave, or displacement of equilibrium. It is measured in meters.
Frequency: How many waves are created/passes in a certain unit of time. Its equation to find it is waves/s, and it is measured in Hertz.
Period: Amount of time between waves/vibrations. Its equation to find it is T=1/F, and it is measured in seconds.
Velocity: The rate of covered distance in a direction. Its equation to find it is V= d/t, and it is measured in meters per second.
Wave Speed: Velocity of a wave. Its equation to find it is v=λf, and it is measured in m/s.
Why do we hear music?: We hear music because our ears are able to process the vibrations and waves the music produces.
How do string instruments work?: String instruments works by the vibrations the string produces when plucked. (ex. guitar and harp)
How do chime instruments work?: Chime instrument work because when they are struck, vibrations are sent throughout the length of the tubes producing sound waves. ( ex. xylophone and pipe drum)
How do wind instruments work?: Wind instruments work by blowing air into it. The holes are then covered and the vibrations that cause the sound wave become faster, making a high note.(ex. flute and trumpet)
Traverse wave: motion at right angles to the direction in which a wave travels.
Longitudinal wave: when particles move along the direction the wave is moving
Doppeler Effect: Apparent change in frequency due to motion of the source of sound.
Destructive interference - when the crest of one wave overlaps with the crest of another wave, increasing the amplitude
Constructive interference -overlapping waves where the crests of one wave fill the troughs of the other, decreasing amplitude. Perfect destructive interference would result in no wave.
Reflection
This project went very well. We worked great together all contributing more than one thing to the project, whether it was ideas or actual skill with the instruments. We also worked a lot on this project, out of all the projects this one had the most physical labor. Some things we did not do very well was we did not communicate very well when we agreed on something. Instead of a 4 string guitar which was easier to build, we made a 6 string guitar because we all did not communicate what we wanted it to be. Also we sometimes did not understand how the instrument worked until after we did it. Other than that this project was very fun and I would love to do something like this again.
Some things I did well in this project was I had a better attitude and I was more optimistic. When I thought we did not enough time instead of freaking out and getting upset, I worked through it by trying harder to get it done, and I came in at lunch. I also did a lot more critical thinking in this project. I had to make the design for our pipe drum but I had to make it the base a 100cm but some of the pipes had to be more than that, so I had to figure out how and were I had to bend them.
Some items I will continue to work on is my communication. Instead of assuming that everyone is on the same page I will make sure we are on the same page before we start building our project. Another item I could work on is understanding what we were building before we actually built it. When we first started I had no clue how it worked and I was just designing it off a website . Eventually, I understood how it worked and why, but next time I should figure out how to do my project before I start working on it.
Some things I did well in this project was I had a better attitude and I was more optimistic. When I thought we did not enough time instead of freaking out and getting upset, I worked through it by trying harder to get it done, and I came in at lunch. I also did a lot more critical thinking in this project. I had to make the design for our pipe drum but I had to make it the base a 100cm but some of the pipes had to be more than that, so I had to figure out how and were I had to bend them.
Some items I will continue to work on is my communication. Instead of assuming that everyone is on the same page I will make sure we are on the same page before we start building our project. Another item I could work on is understanding what we were building before we actually built it. When we first started I had no clue how it worked and I was just designing it off a website . Eventually, I understood how it worked and why, but next time I should figure out how to do my project before I start working on it.