For this project we where told to build a instrument. We where told to use what we knew about sound waves and pitch. I chose to build a drum set because that is what I play in the jazz band. Below is what every one wrote about there instrument.
Strings: Strings create sound by using vibrations. These are created when you pluck the strings. The vibrations are then inserted into the body of the instrument, and bounce along the walls of the body until it bounces out of the hole. This amplifies the sound and creates a clearer note. The notes made are the way they are not only because of the note they are tuned to, but the length of the playing area. The longer the playing area, the deeper the tone, since there is more space to be vibrated. The material of the instrument also determines the amplitude of the note. The thicker the wood is, the less loud the sound will be, since the vibrations are absorbed to a greater extent.
Note Frequency Distance
A 220 Hz 38.5cm
B 246.9 Hz 34.2cm
C 261.6 Hz 32.5cm
D 293.7 Hz 29cm
E 329.6 Hz 25.7cm
F 349.2 Hz 24.2cm
G 391.9 Hz 21.7cm
A 440 Hz 19.2cm Wind: Wind instruments fall into two distinct categories, woodwinds and brass. Woodwinds work by blowing air past a wooden or plastic reed, which vibrates, creating waves that make sound. In the case of brass instruments, the vibration is in the lips of the player, and which then goes through a metal mouthpiece, which forces higher resonances down, and then through a series of tubes, and eventually out of the bell, which helps to force lower resonances up. The pitch of the vibration is determined by the length of the tube, or the amount of air coming out of different holes
Percussion: Percussion instruments are made from different materials and sizes of drum. When you hit the drum the top of the drum vibrates making sound. You can change the sound off the drum by making the drum deeper or wider. For example bass drums have such low sound because they are so big and deep. You can also change the sound off a drum by adding things onto it. A example of this is in a snare drums crack sound when you hit it. The reason it has this sound is because there are metal wires strung tightly underneath the drum that hit each other when the drum is struck. Lastly, one way you can change the sound of a drum is changing the tension of the head of the drum. If you were to loosen the tension on a drum, it would have a lower sound because the head is not vibrating as fast as it normally would. Cymbals are made of sheets of metal, and when you hit them they vibrate making a sound. You can change the sound of a cymbal by making the cymbal either thinner or smaller. For example a ride cymbal is made out of thicker and bigger metal and a crash cymbal is made of thin metal and the diameter is very small.
Chimes: Wind chimes can be made from many different kinds of materials including glass, wood, and metal. Metal tubes are cut to various lengths which alters the sound they make when they are struck. The larger the tube, the deeper the sound. Also, the thickness of the material comes into play so if the material is very thick it would be harder for the material to vibrate. So the smaller the tube the faster it will vibrate. The tubes can be constructed in differing diameters too, which also changes their sound. Chimes are often made from aluminum to achieve the longest and loudest sounding chime. In the picture above you can see the the different sizes of the chimes, resulting in different sounds due to the vibration of hitting it. Chimes have a natural frequency which which can only be changed by either amplifying it or changing the size of the material. In this case, my longest chime is 30 cm and my shortest is 18 cm. This results in a natural frequency of a C for my longest chime and a natural frequency of an E for my shortest chime. Note Frequency Wavelength E7 2637.02 13.08
E4 329.63 104.66
C8 4186.01 8.24
B7 3951.07 8.73
F5 698.46 49.39
Reflection
This project was very fun because I am in the San Marin Jazz band and building an instrument that I could play. Every one in are group worked very good together. I feel like some of the reason for this is every one was doing there own thing so we stayed out of each others way. Also I worked with a other group to build my drum set so that gave me some great ideas to work with. Some things I felt like i could have done a better job at was time usage and also thing of new ideas and learning new things. Other that that this project was really fun.