PhysicsbehindOurInstruments

By:KyH.,BellaB.,JackT.,BrandonF.,andMimiP.

ChimeInstrument:
Thechimeswentthroughanumberofdesign
changes.Originally,thechimeswereplannedtobestrungbetweentwo
raisedplatformswith4strings.Thisstringswouldholdtheindividual
chimesaloftmuchlikearopebridge.However,thechimeskeptbumping
intoeachotherwhenhit,andtherewasntanymoreroomtoputin
betweenthem,soIhadtomovetoPlanB.
PlanBinvolvedthechimesbeingstrungbetweentallnailsbyrubber
bands.Thisdesignwassimilartowhateveryoneelseseemedtobe
doing.However,therubberbandsweretootight.Theystoppedthe
chimesfromvibrating,thusdullingthesound.
Sothatdesignwasnogood.Ithenhadtomoveontomythirdplan.
Thistime,Itooktheleftovernailsthatwerestillstuckintomyboardfrom
mysecondplan,andhungmychimesfromthemwithspring.Now,they
resembledwindchimes.Thisdesignactuallyworked!
Itmayhavetakenalotofredesignstogetmychimestowork,but
thatsjustpartofthescientificmethod.Whensomethingdidntwork,I
foundawayaroundit.Ievenrepurposedfailedelementsfromolddesigns
innewwaystosavebuildingmaterialsandtime.
Thechime'sactualsoundisdeterminedbyitslengthanditsmaterial.
Eachmaterialhasadifferentnaturalfrequencythatcreatesaunique
scaleofsound.Thisfrequencycanchangebasedonsize,thickness,and
compositionofamaterial.Theresonatingsoundiscausedwhenthe
materialisforcedtovibrateatit'snaturalfrequency(inthiscase,byhitting
itwithamallet).
Thelengthandsizeofthematerialdoesn'talwaysrelatetothe
wavelengthofthenoteinthesameway.Forexample,ifyouhitamallet
againstawoodenchime,itwillsounddifferentthanifyouusethesame
mallettohitametalchimeofthesamesizeandthickness.
Thereis,however,somerelationbetweennotesandlengthswhenall
chimesaremadeofthesamematerial.Toseetheapproximate

relationship,seethe"note"and"chimelength"columnsofthechartatthe
bottomofthepage.

StringInstrument:
Ourstringinstrumentisbasedofthedesignofa
guitar,butwithshamisentuningandstringing.Ashamisenisatraditional
asianinstrumentthathasthreestrings,withaskinbase.Originally,this
instrumentisplayedbypluckingthestringswithatriangularpick.Our
instrumenthas40.5cmnylonstrings.ItcanplaynotesC,E,F,A,B,andD.
Howdoesourinstrumentwork?Whenwepluckthestrings,themotion
makesvibrationsintheairwhicharethencreatedtowaveswithcertain
frequency.Thewavetravelstothesoundboxoftheinstrument.Here,the
soundvibratestheairmoleculesanddirectstheminacertaindirection,
thusamplifyingthesound.

Drums:
Ourdrumsaremadeoutofballoonsandsomewhatdurable
metalcoil.WebuiltthembycuttingmetalHandymancoilsandtaping
theminacylindricalshape.Wethenstretchedballoonsoverthetop,and
adjustedthemasneeded.Asyoucansee,thebiggerdrumshaveamuch
lowersound.Thetighterthedrumheadisandthesmallerthefaceofthe
circle,thehigherthesound.Whenthedrumistighter,itvibratestheair
withinitfasterbecauseoftheshorterwavelengthitcreatesthusmakinga
highersoundduetotherelationshipbetweenfrequencyandwavelength.
Wemade7drums,includingasetofbongosandfiveloosedrums,all
varyingsizes.TheycanplaythenotesG2,A2,B2,C3,D3,E3,andF3.
Whenyouhittheheadofthedrum,itsendsvibrationsthroughout
thespaceinthedrum,thusvibratingthecolumnofairwithinthedrum.
Dependingonwhereandhowyouhitit,thedrumscanmakedifferent
noises.Forthemostpart,theyproduceprettyconsistentnotes.Typically

wewillbehittingthedruminthemiddleoftheheadtomakeagood,low
soundthatstaysconsistent.
Clickhere

WindInstrument:
Thewindinstrumentwemadeismadeoutofalong
pipewithacoupleholesinittodifferentiatethesound.Thefronthasa
tenorsaxophonemouthpieceforaslightlylowersound.Thereisasmall
extensionconnectedtotheoppositeendtogetanextranote.
Thewaytheinstrumentworksisairisblownintothemouthpiece,
vibratingthereedinsidetocreateawave,thenthewaveissentthrough
thetubeanddependingonhowmanyholesareopentheairisletout.If
alloftheholesareopenthentheairishigherbecauseithasashorter
wavelength.Ifalltheholesareclosedthentheairhasonlyoneopening
toescapemakingthesoundhavealongerwavelengthsothesoundis
lower.

*quarterlengthrelationship

Musical Frequen Wave

Note
cy(Hz) length
(cm)

Length
ofPipe
(cm)

Length Diamete Length

ofString rof
ofchime
(cm)
drum
(cm)
(cm)

C3

130.81

263.74

N/A

D3

146.83

234.96

N/A

E3

164.81

209.33

N/A

F3

174.61

197.58

N/A

G3

196.00

176.02

N/A

A3

220.00

156.82

N/A

B3

246.94

139.71

N/A

C4

261.63

131.87

N/A

D4

293.66

117.48

N/A

E4

329.63

104.66

N/A

F4

349.23

98.79

N/A

G4

392.6

88.01

N/A

A4

440.00

78.41

29.5

N/A

B4

493.88

69.85

N/A

C5

523.25

65.93

N/A

NA

D5

587.33

58,74

N/A

N/A

E5

695.25

52.33

N/A

N?a

F5

698.46

49.39

N/a

N/A

G5

783.99

44.01

N/A

N/A

A5

880.00

39.20

N/A

N/A

N/A

B5

987.77

34.93

N/A

N/A

N/A

frequenciesandjazz