Build a Band

Our Task

In this project, we worked in groups to design, build, and play musical instruments, implementing what we learned in class about waves and how sound works. Each group was required to construct at least one string instrument, wind instrument, and chime/percussion instrument. Every instrument had to be able to play one octave, or eight notes.

My group consisted of Izzie, Sahana, and Katie. We each chose to build a different instrument. Katie built the slapaphone (chimes), Izzie the drum set (percussion/chimes), Sahana the trumpet (wind), and I built the ukulele (strings). Attatched below is the document that goes in depth about how each of the intruments work.

Content

Wavelength (λ): length of one wave

Frequency (f): the number of vibrations/waves per second

Wave Speed (v): velocity at which the wave travels; wave speed is equal to the wavelength times frequency

Amplitude: height from midline to maximum of the wave

Transverse Wave: particles move perpendicular to direction of wave motion; does not require a medium to travel

Example: ocean waves, electromagnetic spectrum waves

Longitudinal Wave: particles compress and rarefy as wave moves along; requires a medium to travel through

Example: sound waves

Electromagnetic Spectrum: transverse waves of varying wavelengths that travel at the speed of light

Example: radio waves, visible light, x-rays

Natural Frequency: the frequency at which an object naturally vibrates at

Reflection

Overall, this project was enjoyable, but the final product could have much improvement if we had more professional materials and more time to work on it.

One thing my group and I were successful at were problem solving. When something did not work out as planned in the construction process, we were able to figure out different ways to solve the problem. Since it was difficult to predict what materials we would end up working with, we created very rough blueprints and adapted the design as needed to accomodate available materials and occurring problems. Another thing I did well was conscientious learning. I was able to stay on task and work on my project for the majority of the time, and managed time efficiently so that we finished building on time.

Some areas we could improve on were quality of construction and collaboration. Since we had a limited selection of materials to work with, we struggled with the slapaphone to cut the lengths to get the rights pitches because each pipe we found had a different density, width, and thickness. Furthermore, if I was able to use real ukulele strings and tuning pegs, the quality of sound from the intrument would be greatly improved. For collaboration, I mostly worked individually on building my own instrument, but could have helped my teammates more with their instruments when they needed it.