Musical Instruments
For this project, we were assigned to build musical instruments. We were to build 3 instruments: 1 wind instrument, 1 string instrument, and 1 chime instrument. For our wind instrument, we made a trumpet. For our string instrument, we made a ukulele, and a xylophone for our chime instrument. Our trumpet was made out of a PVC pipe with a funnel on the end to increase the sound and has holes at certain lengths to make different notes. Our chimes are different sized metal pipes strung across a box with fishing line.The box is 56 cm by 34 cm. Our chimes play the G6 to G7 scale. Our ukulele has four strings on a 65 centimeter long neck with a 8 by 8 inch box. It plays the C4 to B5 scale. To start the project, we made blueprints of all the instruments and then built from there. We made the trumpet first because it was the easiest to build, and then we made the guitar and chimes. The guitar took the longest because there were so many different parts to it. We had to build the base using wood by cutting to the right length. We then had to put the strings on. It took a long time to get the strings to stay tight, and for them to play the right notes.
Sound
To make these instruments, we had to learn about sound and how it is transferred by waves. We learned that the frequency of a wave is the amount of wavelengths in a period of time. The higher the frequency of the wave, the higher the note is. The wavelength is the distance of one full wave. The length from crest to crest or trough to trough. Longitudinal waves are sound waves. They require a medium to travel through in order to hear sound. Longitudinal waves are waves that compress and rarefy as it travels along. On a guitar, if the string is shorter, the frequency is shorter, which makes a higher pitched note. A longer string makes a longer frequency making a lower pitched note. Here is a website that shows the frequencies for all notes.
Concepts
Frequency: How many waves pass a certain point in a certain unit of time. Calculated either using v=λf or f=1/T.
Period: The amount of time between waves/vibrations. The period is inverse to the frequency. Calculated using T=1/f.
Wavelength: The length of a wave from one point on the wave to the corresponding point on the next wave. Calculated using v=λf.
Wave Speed: The velocity of a wave. Calculated using v=λf.
Amplitude: Displacement from equilibrium to crest.
Longitudinal Wave: A wave that compresses and rarefies (expands) as it travels along. Sound waves are longitudinal waves. Does require a medium to travel through.
Period: The amount of time between waves/vibrations. The period is inverse to the frequency. Calculated using T=1/f.
Wavelength: The length of a wave from one point on the wave to the corresponding point on the next wave. Calculated using v=λf.
Wave Speed: The velocity of a wave. Calculated using v=λf.
Amplitude: Displacement from equilibrium to crest.
Longitudinal Wave: A wave that compresses and rarefies (expands) as it travels along. Sound waves are longitudinal waves. Does require a medium to travel through.
Reflection
I did not like this project very much. It did not interest me and was kind of boring. I really liked my group, but we got off task a lot. We finished the project, but our instruments and our presentation could have been better. Our group was good at working together, but we needed to stay on task and not slack off because when we did work, we got things done. I thought that I was pretty good at being productive. I did slack off occasionally, but when i did work, I worked hard. I could have been a better leader. I did not really tell people what to do. I just worked with my group. I did not really understand some of the topics, so it was kind of hard for me to lead. So in these last few projects, I need to stay on task and work on being a leader.