Build a Band
Project Description and Concepts:
For the build a band project we made three instruments. We had to have one wind instrument, one string instrument, and one chime instrument. Here is a paper showing a description of each instrument and the concepts.
Musical Band
Wind Instrument: A wind instrument is a device that plays a/or various notes by using the vibration of air against some kind of tube. We built a pan flute. A pan flute incorporates different length/diameter pipes to play individual notes. Some are made from wood, bamboo, metal, or plastic. We used metal. Specifically EMT. The reason we chose EMT for our material, is because it resonates well. For the notes, we decided on a the common scale ABCDEFG. To create these specific notes, we found data on the wavelengths required to make these notes. A wave length is the distance from the top of one crest to the top of the next, in a sound wave. For transverse waves, in sound, it’s from one compression to the next. We used wavelengths based on a middle C, or sub 4. All “middle C” really means is the length of the instrument itself. Sub 4 could be considered a standard/medium size instrument. Back to the notes now. To find the lengths of the pipes to make ABCDEFG one divides the wavelengths by four. The reason we divide by four is because the wave must go through a cycle of four parts. The four parts consist of compression and rarefaction. So the cycle will be completed once the compression phase of pressure is reached again. The pattern follows compression to neutral, neutral to rarefaction, rarefaction to neutral, and neutral to compression. To finish off our pan flute, we glued them using high grade hot glue. e glued the EMT metal pipes to a piece of hard wood. We lastly added the finest of green bamboo shavings from Sasha Urban’s back yard. It looks quite majestic.
Note:
Wavelength:
Pipe lengths
(Quarter of Wavelength)
C
131.87cm
32.9675cm
D
117.48cm
29.37cm
E
104.66cm
26.165cm
F
98.79cm
24.6
975cm
G
88.01cm
22.0025cm
A
78.41cm
19.6025cm
B
69.85cm
17.4625cm
Chimes: Chimes make noise based off of the materials natural frequency. When you hit the chime, it vibrates at a certain speed. This vibration creates areas of compression (close together) and rarefaction (far apart) in the air. This compression and rarefaction is what a sound wave is made of, so when we hit the chime, all of that happens, and we hear a noise. Every material has it’s own natural frequency. Our chimes are made out of a type of metal pipe called Electrical Metallic Tubing, or EMT for short. The note that the chime makes depends on how long the pipe is. We started with a ten inch pipe, this pipe played an E. We then used a chart to find the lengths of the next pipes. We entered in our longest length and we multiply it by a certain number and that gives us the next length. We continued this until we repeated our original note, but in a different octave. Once we cut all of these pipes to length we drilled holes all the way through the pipe. We then put a string through the holes and tied them in a loop over our base. Our base for the chimes consists of four pieces of wood in the shape of a rectangle. The rectangle is placed standing upwards with the pipes hanging from the top bar. This design works quite well for us and provides a stable area for us to play the chimes. It also has the least amount of material in contact with the pipes. We tried some other methods of holding up the pipes, but they all were touching the pipe too much. When something touches the pipe it can impede on its ability to vibrate which in turn affects the sound that it makes.
Note:
Ratio:
Length of Chime:
E
1.0000
10"
F
.9789
9.7"
G
.9428
9.4"
A
.9129
9.1"
B
.8944
8.9"
C
.8660
8.6"
D
.8433
8.4"
E
.8165
8.1"
String Instruments: String instruments are instruments that are played by the plucking, or rubbing against strings. The vibrations from plucking or rubbing transfer from the string, and into the air as sound waves. To make a string instrument resonate, it is common to have a hollowed out area under the area you play at for the sound waves to vibrate back and forth inside of.
For our string instrument we chose to create a guitar. Our guitar was equipped with a large cubic base to allow sound to resonate. We included a large hole below the strings to allow sound to enter. For string, we used fishing line. We tied one end at the very back of the guitar, around a screw, and the other at the opposite end on another screw. We then tensioned the strings to produce the notes ABCDEFG. Increasing the tension makes the string vibrate faster and requiring more force to move. This increases the frequency and changes the note. At the end of our neck we included ¾ inch metal pipe under the string for more tension, and a little more resonance. To make the guitar easier to play, we made each fret elevated by layer popsicle sticks on top of each other. We ran into the problem of having our strings hitting the fret in front of it when playing different notes. To solve this we made each fret as it goes down the neck one popsicle stick higher so that the strings would vibrate above the frets.
Notes:
Wavelengths:
Fret Locations
(Half of Wavelength)
C
131.87cm
65.935cm
D
117.48cm
58.74cm
E
104.66cm
52.33cm
F
98.79cm
49.395cm
G
88.01cm
44.005cm
A
78.41cm
39.205cm
B
69.85cm
34.925cm
Terms:
Wavelength- the distance from the midpoint to the crest or of the wave
Amplitude- the distance from the top of one crest to the top of the next
Frequency- how often a vibration occurs
Period- the time of a back and forth swing
Velocity- speed with a direction of motion
Note:
Frequency (Hz)
Wavelength (cm)
C
261.63Hz
131.87cm
D
293.66Hz
117.48cm
E
329.63Hz
104.66cm
F
349.23Hz
98.79cm
G
392 Hz
88.01cm
A
440Hz
78.41cm
B
493.88Hz
69.85cm
Reflection:
This project went very well and overall our group cooperated and got what we needed to get done in time. One peak of the project is that we produced very nice instruments. All of the instruments that we created produced the notes that we wanted them to.Another peak was that we divided up our work very well. We had four people in our group, and we had one person per instrument and the last member was working on completing the song and the concepts for the project. One of our groups pits was that we had some students absent for a few days and because everybody had their own jobs one of the projects could not be worked on when they were absent. Another pit was that some of the days we had trouble getting the notes right and we wasted a lot of time trying to do it on our own when instead we could have asked for help. Although in the end we did get all of the notes working. Overall this was one of the better projects that I have done.
For the build a band project we made three instruments. We had to have one wind instrument, one string instrument, and one chime instrument. Here is a paper showing a description of each instrument and the concepts.
Musical Band
Wind Instrument: A wind instrument is a device that plays a/or various notes by using the vibration of air against some kind of tube. We built a pan flute. A pan flute incorporates different length/diameter pipes to play individual notes. Some are made from wood, bamboo, metal, or plastic. We used metal. Specifically EMT. The reason we chose EMT for our material, is because it resonates well. For the notes, we decided on a the common scale ABCDEFG. To create these specific notes, we found data on the wavelengths required to make these notes. A wave length is the distance from the top of one crest to the top of the next, in a sound wave. For transverse waves, in sound, it’s from one compression to the next. We used wavelengths based on a middle C, or sub 4. All “middle C” really means is the length of the instrument itself. Sub 4 could be considered a standard/medium size instrument. Back to the notes now. To find the lengths of the pipes to make ABCDEFG one divides the wavelengths by four. The reason we divide by four is because the wave must go through a cycle of four parts. The four parts consist of compression and rarefaction. So the cycle will be completed once the compression phase of pressure is reached again. The pattern follows compression to neutral, neutral to rarefaction, rarefaction to neutral, and neutral to compression. To finish off our pan flute, we glued them using high grade hot glue. e glued the EMT metal pipes to a piece of hard wood. We lastly added the finest of green bamboo shavings from Sasha Urban’s back yard. It looks quite majestic.
Note:
Wavelength:
Pipe lengths
(Quarter of Wavelength)
C
131.87cm
32.9675cm
D
117.48cm
29.37cm
E
104.66cm
26.165cm
F
98.79cm
24.6
975cm
G
88.01cm
22.0025cm
A
78.41cm
19.6025cm
B
69.85cm
17.4625cm
Chimes: Chimes make noise based off of the materials natural frequency. When you hit the chime, it vibrates at a certain speed. This vibration creates areas of compression (close together) and rarefaction (far apart) in the air. This compression and rarefaction is what a sound wave is made of, so when we hit the chime, all of that happens, and we hear a noise. Every material has it’s own natural frequency. Our chimes are made out of a type of metal pipe called Electrical Metallic Tubing, or EMT for short. The note that the chime makes depends on how long the pipe is. We started with a ten inch pipe, this pipe played an E. We then used a chart to find the lengths of the next pipes. We entered in our longest length and we multiply it by a certain number and that gives us the next length. We continued this until we repeated our original note, but in a different octave. Once we cut all of these pipes to length we drilled holes all the way through the pipe. We then put a string through the holes and tied them in a loop over our base. Our base for the chimes consists of four pieces of wood in the shape of a rectangle. The rectangle is placed standing upwards with the pipes hanging from the top bar. This design works quite well for us and provides a stable area for us to play the chimes. It also has the least amount of material in contact with the pipes. We tried some other methods of holding up the pipes, but they all were touching the pipe too much. When something touches the pipe it can impede on its ability to vibrate which in turn affects the sound that it makes.
Note:
Ratio:
Length of Chime:
E
1.0000
10"
F
.9789
9.7"
G
.9428
9.4"
A
.9129
9.1"
B
.8944
8.9"
C
.8660
8.6"
D
.8433
8.4"
E
.8165
8.1"
String Instruments: String instruments are instruments that are played by the plucking, or rubbing against strings. The vibrations from plucking or rubbing transfer from the string, and into the air as sound waves. To make a string instrument resonate, it is common to have a hollowed out area under the area you play at for the sound waves to vibrate back and forth inside of.
For our string instrument we chose to create a guitar. Our guitar was equipped with a large cubic base to allow sound to resonate. We included a large hole below the strings to allow sound to enter. For string, we used fishing line. We tied one end at the very back of the guitar, around a screw, and the other at the opposite end on another screw. We then tensioned the strings to produce the notes ABCDEFG. Increasing the tension makes the string vibrate faster and requiring more force to move. This increases the frequency and changes the note. At the end of our neck we included ¾ inch metal pipe under the string for more tension, and a little more resonance. To make the guitar easier to play, we made each fret elevated by layer popsicle sticks on top of each other. We ran into the problem of having our strings hitting the fret in front of it when playing different notes. To solve this we made each fret as it goes down the neck one popsicle stick higher so that the strings would vibrate above the frets.
Notes:
Wavelengths:
Fret Locations
(Half of Wavelength)
C
131.87cm
65.935cm
D
117.48cm
58.74cm
E
104.66cm
52.33cm
F
98.79cm
49.395cm
G
88.01cm
44.005cm
A
78.41cm
39.205cm
B
69.85cm
34.925cm
Terms:
Wavelength- the distance from the midpoint to the crest or of the wave
Amplitude- the distance from the top of one crest to the top of the next
Frequency- how often a vibration occurs
Period- the time of a back and forth swing
Velocity- speed with a direction of motion
Note:
Frequency (Hz)
Wavelength (cm)
C
261.63Hz
131.87cm
D
293.66Hz
117.48cm
E
329.63Hz
104.66cm
F
349.23Hz
98.79cm
G
392 Hz
88.01cm
A
440Hz
78.41cm
B
493.88Hz
69.85cm
Reflection:
This project went very well and overall our group cooperated and got what we needed to get done in time. One peak of the project is that we produced very nice instruments. All of the instruments that we created produced the notes that we wanted them to.Another peak was that we divided up our work very well. We had four people in our group, and we had one person per instrument and the last member was working on completing the song and the concepts for the project. One of our groups pits was that we had some students absent for a few days and because everybody had their own jobs one of the projects could not be worked on when they were absent. Another pit was that some of the days we had trouble getting the notes right and we wasted a lot of time trying to do it on our own when instead we could have asked for help. Although in the end we did get all of the notes working. Overall this was one of the better projects that I have done.