When playing a musical instrument, shortening the length of the air tube will make the pitch higher, and expanding the length of the air tube will make the pitch lower. Drinking straws can be cut to different lengths to produce different pitches. They can form a type of “oboe” (a woodwind instrument, similar to a clarinet) that will vibrate and create a sound when it is blown into. A straw that is half the length of another straw will be exactly one octave higher than the longer straw. It is recommended to use paper straws, because plastic straws are harder to focus into one note.
Sound is a wave, which can change in pitch according to changing air pressure. It is produced by the vibrations of objects. Waves can be measured by speed (v), frequency (f), wavelength (λ), and period. The frequency of a wave describes how many cycles of a wave occur per unit time. A sound with a high frequency has more wavelengths in a set amount of time than a sound with a low frequency. High frequencies have smaller wavelengths, and low frequencies have larger wavelengths. The higher frequency, the higher the perceived pitch. The wavelength, frequency, and speed are all related by the equation: v = fλ. They can also be used in the equation: f = v/λ.
Wavelength is the difference between peaks or troughs in a sound wave. It is the measured difference between the highest parts or the lowest parts. When you combine tones that are an octave apart, the sound waves interfere. A trough will cancel out a peak of the same magnitude. There are two words that are used to define a good combination of tones and a bad combination of tones. “Consonant” is used to describe a pleasant-sounding interference pattern (combination of tones), and “dissonant” is used to ...
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...heir straw oboes together to form a type of pan-flute.
Straw oboes can teach us about wavelengths and the formation of sound through vibrations. We can also learn about mathematical equations that can allow us to cut our straws in a way that creates the do-re-mi scale. Tuning the straw oboes to the correct pitches can help us develop an ear for matching musical tones. It will also teach about the correct embouchure (position of the mouth) for playing a reed instrument.
Works Cited
(Olson, Andrew. Do-Re-Mi with Straws. N.p.: Science Buddies, 2013. N. pag. Science Buddies. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.)
(Arons, Eric. Making A Straw Woodwind. N.p.: Reach Out Michigan, n.d. N. pag. Reach Out Michigan. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.)
(Hodges, Richard. The Musical Scale and its Intervals. N.p.: RHodges, 2009. N. pag. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.)
It was proposed that if the length of the PVC pipes were to increase, then the sound produced will have a lower amplitude each time because the sound will lose energy as it continues in the pipe for a certain amount of time. However, the data actually showed that with every increase in pipe length, the amplitude got louder as well, thus refuting the hypothesis. These results made sense because what was created inside the PVC pipes was a standing still sound wave, or a resonance wave. These kinds of waves have certain locations on its wavelength in order for the change in sound to be heard, which it usually half a wavelength. With this, the tuning fork is 83.3Hz and a usual wavelength is about 300Hz, 300/83.3 = 3.6 meters, which is about 4 meters (half = 2 meters). So for the change in sound to be heard, the pipes had to be about 2 meters in change according to the frequency of the tuning
...he scales in this composition. As for timbre, at the lower register, the song took on a dark, rich, tone, and at the high points it had more of a tinkling melody. The “upbeat” parts made me think of a happy couple strolling through the fair on a summer afternoon.
The Western concert flute was developed over the centuries from a simple end-blown flute to the current transverse flute. Transverse flutes are flutes that are held parallel to the floor. To play a transverse, the flutist directs the airstream across the mouth or blow hole and not directly into the instrument. The flute constitutes one of the most important instruments of the orchestra because of its high range, ability to blend in with other instruments and play the melody.
About in 1825, people found the Hutter Winnebago flute, shown in picture 5. [5]. The flute were used for many reasons, usually for courting, ceremonies, and tribe activities. Flutes were used for entertainment, encourage people and spirit ceremonies; many of these songs still exist today, like we learned in class, The Rabbit song, Standing Elk song etc. Here is an interesting story about flute usage of courting.
The most common model of the ancestral hearing aid is that of the simple ear trumpet. This was a small, pipe-looking device which was carved from either bull’s horn or seashell, and was held up to the ear in order to amplify sound. The audible result of such would have been much like cupping your hand around your ear.
Noise is ubiquitous in our environment. (Pediatrics , 1997) It is undesirable sound, unwanted sound. Sound is what we hear. It is vibration in a medium, usually air. Sound has intensity, frequency and duration. The ability to hear sounds at certain frequencies is more readily lost in response to noise. (Pediatrics , 1997). The further you are from sound the less effect you hear it but the more closer you are to sound the louder it is.
Ultrasound is sound waves that have a frequency above human audible. (Ultrasound Physics and Instrument 111). With a shorter wavelength than audible sound, these waves can be directed into a narrow beam that is used in imaging soft tissues. As with audible sound waves, ultrasound waves must have a medium in which to travel and are subject to interference. In addition, much like light rays, they can be reflected, refracted, and focused.
The choice of wood also affects the violin's acoustical properties. Traditionally, violin makers used spruce and maple fr...
The clarinet is a woodwind instrament consisting of a cylindrical wood, metal, or ebonite pipe with a bell-shaped opening at one end and a mouthpiece at the other end, to which a thin reed is attached. The clarinet has five different sections, the mouthpiece, the barrel, the upper section, the lower section, and the bell. The length of the entire instrument is 60 cm long. The mouthpiece section consists of a slotted cylinder, to which a reed is attached by a metal clamp called a ligature. The mouthpiece plugs into the next section which is a barrel. The barrel is simply a connecting cylinder to which the mouthpiece and the upper section plugs into. The upper section is a cylindrical pipe consisting of 4 holes and 9 keys placed in different locations along the pipe. On the back of the pipe there is a hole and a key that is used by the thumb. The lower section plugs into the upper section and is also connected via a special bridge key. This piece consists of 3 holes and 8 keys. On the inward facing side of the pipe, there is a protruding piece of metal called a thumb rest, which supports the entire clarinet. The bell plugs into the lower section. It consists of a cylinder that flares out into a bell shape and ends the clarinet.
1. The mouthpiece and reed are surrounded by the player’s lips, which put light, even pressure on the reed and form an air tight seal.
Richard W. Payne, M.D. "The Plains Flute",The Flutists Quarterly, 1988, Vol. 13, no.4, The National Flute Association, Ind. Ann Arbor MI.
In calculus we learn about sequences and series, and more specifically a series called the harmonic series, or overtones series in music, which gets its name from the mathematical relationships within music between notes and pitches and frequencies. When someone hears a note they are actually hearing a periodic sequence of vibrations in which the sound enters their ear as a sine wave that is compressed in the air in a periodic pattern. Similarly, when one hears a pitch, they aren’t hearing one pitch alone but rather a series of notes that when combined create that pitch. This is called the pitch’s harmonic series. For example, in a pitch producing source like a piano string vibrates not just as a whole string but as
...te. In old times, most flutes were made of bamboo, which allowed even common people to play it. By covering the holes and blowing through the side hole while moving the fingers flexibly between the six holes, a sound will be produced that is leisurely and mellifluous like sound from far away. This always reminds people of a pastoral picture of a farmer riding on a bull while playing a flute
These simple forms of music expanded and the need to invent new instruments were created through knowledge of sounds. Modern science tells us that sound is simply energy created by vibrations from various medium. However in early human history, sound was believed to have mysterious power. These new instruments created forms of music that did not rely heavily on human voices.