Claim, lead in, evidence, & analysis

Xylophone (vibration):
Our xylophone is a chime instrument. The longer the pipe is, the lower the note is. We
made our xylophone by finding a pre-cut piece of pipe and hitting it with a mallet to see what
note it makes. From there we used a chart that told you what numbers to multiply the original
length with to create different notes. Our original pipe, the longest one, was 33 centimeters long
and an E4. We decided to make our xylophone have one octave of notes. The highest note is
E5 at 23.43 centimeters. All of the other pipes are varying in lengths that are between 33 and
23.43 centimeters, but the higher the note is, the shorter the pipe length. The reason why
shorter pipes make higher pitched sounds is because there is less time for the sound wave to
travel through the pipe. The wave lengths are compressed, which creates a higher pitched
sound. That means that the longer the pipe, the more spread out and longer the soundwave will
be. If the wave lengths are more compressed, they vibrate faster. The more time they have to
rarefy, the slower the waves vibrate.

33cm

31.02cm

29.37cm

28.71cm

27.06cm

25.41cm

24.09cm

23.43cm

Guitar (string):
Our guitar uses vibrations and tensions to play a 12 note scale. Our guitar classifies as a
string instrument and plays a total of 12 notes. It ranges from an F3 to a C4. To reach these
notes we have included 4 strings, each having an open note, and two frets to play. Each fret
plays one note higher than the last. We tuned the open string by tightening screws that keep the
strings in place. We then used the guess and check method with a tuner to place the frets. To
find the lengths of the open strings, we used the provided wavelength chart and calculated the
length of the longest string. We then just placed blocks of wood on the other open strings to
shorten them, and played with the tensions using a tuner. The vibration resonating through the
large, wooden box makes the sound louder and the sound waves from plucking of the strings
becomes audible. When the string is shorter or tenser, you get a higher not, and when it is
longer or looser, you get a lower note.When the string is tight and short the vibration is small

and vibrates in a smaller proximity, producing a higher note. When the string is long and loose,
the vibration is large and wide, producing a lower note.
F3

98.78 cm

G3

88.01 cm

A3

78.31 cm

B3

69.885 cm

C4

65.938 cm

D4

58.74 cm

E4

52.33 cm

F4

49.39 cm

G4

44.005 cm

A4

39.205 cm

B4

34.925 cm

C4

32.965 cm

Bottles (wind):
The bottles use sound waves, vibrations, and different frequencies to create sound
waves, which create notes. Our bottles are classified as wind instruments. For all wind
instruments, it is essential to create vibrations. The vibration can be from friction (example: reed
in a clarinet), or from splitting air (example: flute). In the case of our instrument, we are splitting
the air. Half of the air goes over the bottle and the other half goes into the bottle. This creates
each bottles unique sound (along with the amount of water/fluid in it). The vibrations created
must travel through some kind of tube to actually create a certain note. To find how long the
tube must be in order to create a certain note, you take the wavelength of the note and divide it
by four. Wind instruments require 1/4th of the original wavelength to create the certain note.
WHY - INCLUDE analysis right here describing why works. If a note has a wavelength of
131.87 cm (middle C), then in a wind instrument the wavelength must be 32.97 cm. This means
that the pipe must be 32.97 cm long in order to create that note (can place a hole at same
distance for same effect). The bottles we used play notes that range from a C4 to a C5. Our
group decided to change the notes by adding different amounts of water into each bottle. The
more water that was in the bottle, the higher the note. This is the result of the sound waves
vibrating. The bigger the bottle/space provided, the longer THE WAVELENGTH WILL BE - Not
time based, but length based. Actually, i might be wrong on this. Longer time between
compressions would lower the freuency which would do the same thing. it will take for the

pressure inside to build up (vibrate) which results in longer frequencies, causing deeper notes.
As you add in water, the sound waves space becomes restricted and they will start to move
faster causing a higher frequency. This results in higher notes. TABLE

Notes

Amount of Water
Needed

C4

empty

D4

3 cm

E4

6 cm

F4

7 cm

G4

9 cm

A4

10 cm

B4

12 cm

C5

12.5 cm

Drums (vibration):
Our drums are a vibration instrument, but we did them a little differently. We started out
trying to make them like the steel reggae-style drums like the ones in Under the Sea, but we
had some trouble. We tried to use a cupcake tin to make the note range and were trying to
modify the note by hammering it so it would produce a lower or higher sound. This did not work
out, and each part sounded like the same metal bang. We also couldn't really get a good read
on what note it was making with that metal bang. We decided since we had 3 other instruments
that this one would be sort of a background beat, much like a simple drum set with a pot lid as a
cymbal, a garbage can as one of the big drums, and a metal platter tray as a sort of snare. We
also have two drumsticks made out of wooden dowels and another wooden dowel with a paper
towel and duct tape tip on the end for the big drum (it makes a different sound). -