Instrument Justification and Song Lyrics

Nightwhisper, Amritha Somasaker, Emmy Nam

Wind Instrument:
Our wind instrument reuires the musician to send a constant, steady airstream o!er the
tops of !arious "ott#es$ Each "ott#e produces a different natura# note% this is intentiona##y caused
"y the change of materia#, !o#ume, height, and amount of water$ &he different types of "ott#es
each contained a different natura# freuency "ecause the "ott#es are composed of different
materia#s, such as g#ass and p#astic$ 'irst, we tested each to "ott#e to disco!er its origina# pitch
"efore we a#tered the sound "y adding water$ Increasing the amount of water forces the note to
"ecome higher$ Our group p#anned the #owest note first, which is the third octa!e (, so we
wou#d "e capa"#e of ad)usting the other "ott#es to fit the same range of notes$
*y "#owing air near the top of the "ott#e, the air mo#ecu#es wi## "e pushed into the "ott#e
creating a higher air pressure$ Since the !o#ume of the o")ect is o"stinate, the amount of
pressure needs to decrease% this direct corre#ation forces air mo#ecu#es that were origina##y
#ocated inside the "ott#e to "e forced out of the opening$ &he departing air mo!es faster to
create a !i"ration against the "ott#e unti# the pressure is reduced to an a!erage #e!e#$ &he faster
the air tra!e#s out of the "ott#e, the higher pitched noise$ &he si+e of a "ott#e wi## determine the
wa!e#engths of the air !i"rations$ If the speed remains the same, "ut the wa!e#ength f#uctuates,
the freuency of the !i"ration wi## compensate$ A #arger, ta##er "ott#e wi## produce a much #ower
sound "ecause the air takes a #onger time to reach the "ottom of the g#ass and create enough
pressure to produce #onger, "ut #ess freuent !i"rations$
When augmenting the amount of water inside a "ott#e, we are essentia##y shortening the
#ength of the "ott#e$ &his means the air tra!e#s a shorter distance and creates sma##er
wa!e#engths$ When the wa!e#ength is reduced, the freuency increases and affects the pitch of
an instrument$ Whi#e e,perimenting with different pitches, we noticed that the notes correspond
with the !o#ume of air present in each "ott#e$ &he more space and height "etween the water
surface and the top of the "ott#e are direct#y corre#ated with the noise the "ott#e produces$
&he air stream is sucked into the "ott#e, which
pushes e,tra air into the "ott#e
E!entua##y the pressure inside the "ott#e
gets high enough to push
An empty "ott#e has a #arge !o#ume which means that
the air "eha!es #ike a weak spring, "ecause a #ot of
air has to mo!e in to change the pressure much$
A ha#f fu## "ott#e of water has #ess
space for air inside, so it "eha!es as
a stiffer spring, so it wi## !i"rate faster$
String Instrument:
&his instrument consisted of a "o, with an open top% the open area had eight different guitar
strings tied taut#y o!er the empty space$ &he space underneath a##ows the !i"rations produced
"y the strings to resonate more$ Each string was origina##y an A-natura#, "ut our group modified
the #ength or tension to create uniue sounds$ &he origina# four guitar strings were measured
and cut in ha#f to pro!ide the strings for a## of the notes in the ( ma)or sca#e$ Each string was
tied to a nai# and p#aced e!en#y a#ong one side of the handmade "o,% the other end was
attached to a screw which was dri##ed into the opposing side at different ang#es or distances$
&his insured each string had a different tension or #ength$
&he tension or #ength can change the pitch of a sound "y affecting the wa!e#engths of the
!i"rating string$ A string instrument.s pitch can a#so "e affected "y a finger"oard, which ad)usts
the portion of string "eing p#ayed$ &hickness of a string p#ays a part in creating the tension, "ut
since a## of our strings are the e,act same, this doesn.t affect our resu#ts with tuning$ If the string
is tighter or shorter, it wi## produce a higher pitched sound$ &his change causes the wa!e#engths
produced to "ecome shorter as we##$ When this occurs, the formu#a, !e#ocity/freuency times
wa!e#ength, is app#ied$ Since the !e#ocity remains constant, the freuency needs to change% in
this case, the freuency decreases "ecause the wa!e#ength increases$ 0ifferent freuencies
creates the different pitches of an o")ect or instrument$ &o mode# our instrument after these
ideas, we rough#y estimated the #ength each string shou#d "e$ After that, we tightened each one
unti# the tuner picked up the desired note$
(hime Instrument:
&he fact that our instrument can p#ay a fu## natura# sca#e is no accident$ We did not )ust
guess and check to figure out the si+es and notes of the instrument keys$ 'rom on#ine, we got a
series of ratios that we app#ied to the "#ocks of wood$ We chose one s#a" of wood, which wou#d
act as our 1(1$ After that, we cut other pieces of wood according to the ratios 2note the chart
"e#ow3 "ased on on#y the area of the first key.s top surface, for a## the pieces had the same
thickness$ *asica##y, "y cutting down the wood pieces, we were changing the woods. natura#
freuency$ If you ha!e seen our instrument, you shou#d ha!e noticed the "ase 2detai#s of it
"e#ow3$ In short words, the "ase with the ru""er "ands a##ows for the keys to produce wa!es,
and in return, sound$ &he different freuencies of the wa!es cause the different pitches our
instrument emits$ In our case, the sma##er keys ha!e higher pitches "ecause when they !i"rate,
the wa!es ha!e higher freuencies$
In order to get our preferred sound out of chime instrument, we had to take se!era# steps$
'irst, we had to find the right materia# to make the keys from$ We wanted a more woody, muted
sound 2#ike temp#e "#ocks3, so we opted for, o"!ious#y, wood$ &he wood had to "e #arge and on
the thicker side, so we chose a #ight #ayered sort of wood 2that type of wood was a#so a"undant
in the c#assroom3$ Ne,t we had to create an appropriate "ase for the keys2see rough diagram
"e#ow3$ &he "ase.s purpose is to gi!e the keys an area in which they can free#y !i"rate without
muff#ing the !i"rations too much$ Our chief ena"#ers are the ru""er "ands$ When the wood is
p#aced on them, the a##ow the wood to !i"rate, since they can !i"rate free#y as we## 2un#ike a
so#id surface #ike a hand or a ta"#e3$ &he !i"rations are crucia#, since they are what cause the
wa!es, which produce the sound$ 'rom there, we created the pieces using the ratios a"o!e and
fine tuned them to work proper#y and produce the notes to the "est of their a"i#ities$
C 4 261.626 1.301 Middle C
C# / Db 4 277.183 1.228
D 4 293.665 1.159
D# / Eb 4 311.127 1.094
E 4 329.628 1.032
F 4 349.228 0.974
F# / Gb 4 369.994 0.920
G 4 391.995 0.868
G# / Ab 4 415.305 0.819
A 4 440 0.773 Tuning reeren!e n"#e
A# / $b 4 466.164 0.730
$ 4 493.883 0.689

C 5 523.251 0.650
C# / Db 5 554.365 0.614
D 5 587.33 0.579
D# / Eb 5 622.254 0.547
E 5 659.255 0.516
F 5 698.456 0.487
F# / Gb 5 739.989 0.460
G 5 783.991 0.434
G# / Ab 5 830.609 0.410
A 5 880 0.387
A# / $b 5 932.328 0.365
$ 5 987.767 0.345
4&his was the chart consu#ted for the measurements and #engths of certain aspects of our
instruments$ It was used to find the ratios for the temp#e "#ocks or chimes$ &his chart a#so
pro!ided the correct estimations for our string and wind instrument$
Song Lyrics 2tune of On#y &ime "y, Enya3
5etit#ed: Why 6eop#e 'a##
Who can say where our road goes,
where the schoo# goes,
on#y science$
And what can change your future,
When you #ea!e home,
on#y science$
And why do peop#e fa## down,
&hen hit the ground,
0ue to gra!ity$
And why hot air "a##oons rise,
And e,pand more
*ecause of heat
Air mo#ecu#es mo!e faster,
Start co##iding,
e,panding
&he pressure changes and increases
(ompensating for,
&he temperature$
&echno#ogy makes an ad!ance,
6ossi"i#ities enhance,
'or computers
7oog#e dri!e can he#p share ideas,
And communicate
In our studies$
&he screen g#ows "#ue in the night,
as the stars shine
in the sky
Spending hours )ust studying
'or perfection
As a student$
Who can say where our road goes,
where the schoo# goes,
on#y science$
And what can change your future,
When you #ea!e home,
on#y science$