It depends on the length and width of the rod to create the sound.  


Am I on the right path Ms. Awesome? 

 

The instrument I chose was a xylophone. In order to produce sound you must hit the xylophone. The xylophone is a rectangular type of instrument with longer or shorter rectangles that produce higher and shorter notes. Those rectangles or hollow bars (depending on design) produce higher and lower pitched noises when you hit them.

 

When you hit the instrument the vibration through the material causes the sound waves to occur. If the bars are larger there needs to be more vibration, therefore causing a deeper sounds. So the size of the bars actually causes the pitch. For the instrument I am making I will most likely be using metal, copper, or PCP piping. I will play the instrument by hitting it with some type of bar that will actually cause sound. I will use nails and screws to make the instrument and as little tape as possible because tape muffles the sound and interferes with the sound waves. 

​I have decided to make a water xylophone.  

1. The friction between the rotating glass and one’s wet finger creates a slight level of friction. This friction creates a vibration in the bowl, which then redirects the vibration’s frequency towards the user.

2. The pitch of the instrument is changed by using an instrument with a different bowl shape/size that produces a frequency equivalent to the specific note.

3. The materials necessary to construct the instrument include numerous glass bowls, a spindle mechanism, and a small container of water. Playing the instrument involves  changing my thumb from one bowl to the next. I plan to complete the instrument as soon as possible.

4. I currently have no additional questions.

My instrument, a simplified "Hammered Dulcimer":
The instrument is played by hitting strings with a small metal mallet. When the mallet hits the string, it causes the string to vibrate. This vibration sets off a wave in the air molecules - a sound wave. The different strings of the instrument produce different waves, and therefore different pitches. For example, a more tightly pulled string will produce a higher frequency wave, which results in a higher pitch. Important physical characteristics of the instrument include something to tune the strings with, so that I can make sure they produce the right wave frequency. Another important characteristic is the mallet, because that is what causes the strings to vibrate. I think that I need to have some kind of base that will make the sound more audible, but I'm not sure how. Maybe something like a guitar – a hollow wooden construction. I'm not sure. I'm not sure what kind of material is best to use for the strings, but I think I'll use a spool of "string wire". I'll need wood for the base of the instrument and also a stick of wood for the handle of the mallet. I'll need some metal for the head of the mallet. I kind of want to try to use bridges as well, but I'm not sure how those work. I need to do a bit more research into that topic.

I am making a bass guitar it is played most of the time using the fingers,but a pick could also be used if the person so choose.The tension on the strings produce a note and you are able to change the note thought pressing on the fret bored at different points.The waves it produces is sound wave that most of the time have a deep undertone.

The xylophone produces sound through the vibrations created when the mallet hits the keys. The vibrations displace air molecules, which creates waves because the air molecules are now bunched together and they are trying to rearrange themselves, but that causes more areas of bunched up air molecules.
These sounds are changed when the waves are altered. This can happen when the tension in the instruments changes or when the size of the object creating the waves changes. The latter is what the xylophone uses. Different keys of different sizes change the pitch: the smaller create higher notes and the bigger keys create lower notes.
To get the best sound, I will use metal tubes to create my xylophone. I think metal creates clear, sharp sounds and it will be easy to change the size of the tubes. I will need to research how the size changes the pitch in much more detail. Then, I plan to attach them to a base and hit them with mallets with metal tops to them.  

xylophone/wood blocks
Sound is produced by using a mallet style stick of either metal, rubber, or wood. It is hit against the metal or wood surface. When this happens, the energy from the mallet transfers into the energy of sound waves which are then created. The shape can have two closed ends or one loose end depending on the design. This creates different types of resonance. The vibrations are continued through the shape of the instrument (tubes or blocks). The length of these tubes or blocks is what changes the pitch. When building these wooden blocks or tubes, keeping the width constant is going to be very important. The only varying factor should be the length. This gives less variables to think about. As the length of the tubes or blocks increase, the pitch will decrease.

As far as the actual construction of the instrument goes, I am not entirely sure whether I am going to be making wooden blocks put together in a xylophone style or an actual metal xylophone. I think this will all depend on the actual plausibility of building the wooden blocks which were my original idea. I need assistance from Echols on this one. Building either will be a lot of work but I can use my engineering class periods to work on it. I will be playing this instrument using mallets. The only outstanding question I have is whether wooden blocks seem possible to Echols or if I should do a xylophone instead. 

Since I was a little kid, the one instrument that’s always captured my attention was the guitar. It was something that could be used for so many different types of genres for music. Hip hop, rock, classical. It captured every sound. So the beginning of this year our school finally got a real music. Who was cool, fun, amazing at some many different types of music and he was an awesome friend. Mr. Newman has taught me a lot about the guitar, some good, some awesome. But such an amazing and interesting kind of instrument.

Playing the guitar takes a little time to really grasp, because you can play the guitar in two types of methods, using tabs and/or chords. For personally chords are much more fun and easier to play but tabs always good to learn especially if you want help with fingering. First you would place your fingers on the chord or sting you want to play then depend on the volume of mood of the song give the strings a strum and if you playing tabs you may have to play that one string first and move to another string so you strum the one string first then move onto the next one using the beat of the song to guide your strumming speed and/or strumming pattern.

To change a note:

For chords you would simply move from the previous chords to the next one while continuing you strumming pattern. Same thing for tabs except in some cases you would be moving from one string to another or one tab to another.

A guitar has a strange shape but it’s very helpful for playing and for the player.  But a fun way to describe its shape is to say it’s like an 8 on a stick.

Basically I want to be able to try and make a guitar that is as professional as possible which means I can’t take too long to make it. I know I’ll be able to get real guitar strings for it so that’ll help with the sound and I can try and make a guitar that represent my personality as well.