For this project, we were assigned to make three different instruments: a wind, a string, and a chime instrument. . The instruments also needed to be able to play a full scale octave, which is C,D,E,F,G,A and B and we had to be able to preform a song with the instruments. We also had to explain how these different instruments created the music.
For our string instrument, we made a guitar, with seven different strings that were tightened to play each note clearly without having to place our fingers on the string. This was one of the more simpler designs, but it took us quite a while for us to build.
The chime instrument was a little more complicated because we had many different ideas. We first thought that we could use glass bottles and fill them with water to create different pitches. We first noticed that you could barely hear anything when the bottles were placed on the surface so we made a stand to have them hang while we played them. It became too difficult for us to tell what notes each of the bottles were playing so we decided to use metal pipes instead. This was much easier because we could just use a ratio to find the right length for each pipe.
Our last instrument was a flute, We used a PCP pipe to build our flute and we measured the distance between the holes to find the right pitch for each note. We first thought that we would build a recorder, but we found out that the flute design was easier to build. We drilled eight holes, seven for the notes, and a bigger one to blow into. This was our best instrument because it sounded really nice, it was the easiest one to make and we all were happy that it worked as expected.
Below is the written presentation:
Concepts
Waves- transfer energy
Transverse Wave-a wave whose motion is perpendicular to its direction of travel (sound waves, water waves are examples of transverse waves)
Longitudinal Wave - a wave whose motion is parallel to its direction of travel (light waves, any wave on the electromagnetic spectrum)
Wavelength- the distance from crest to crest of a wave, or trough to trough of a wave (measured in meters)
Amplitude - displacement from equilibrium to crest in a wave (measured in meters)
Frequency - number of waves or vibrations in a unit of time (measured in waves/second)
Period - time between waves or vibrations (measured in seconds)
Velocity (Wave Speed) - the rate at which a wave travels (measured in meters/second)
Reflection:
Overall, I think that we worked really well together as a group. We stayed on task throughout the project, and we made some instruments that met all of the requirements. I think that at first we were a little nervous that we would have been behind, because we had some trouble with our instruments while some other students had already completed theirs. However, I feel I could have contribute more than I did. I think that I could have shared more of my ideas. Sometimes being shy has this disadvantage.
There was also a point in the project where I felt that I was doing more of the research and not helping with the building. But, we ended up finishing the project on time, which doesn't normally happen with other groups I worked with before.
I learned that its a lot easier to stick with the original plan from the beginning, because normally I make a lot of different changes which slows us down. I also think I really did a lot more research, which helped us finish the written presentation quickly. Now I know how to work quickly and efficiently with my future groups.