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Posted by Alexis Beckton in Physics - Echols on Monday, June 13, 2011 at 3:51 pm

For the fourth quarter fire streams benchmark was about waves and frequencies and how the corresponded to certain instruments. What I liked about the project is that we were able to choose any instrument we wanted and had the freedom of making it however we wanted. However in choosing my own instrument I was surprised by how much work this project took. I didn't believe building a xylophone would take so many calculations. With this being said the most lasting impact I got from the project was seeing all my classmates present their instruments. It was really fun to see people showcase their work. 

For my instrument with was the xylophone, sound is produced by the vibrations that occur after the bar is struck. The pitch of the bar is based on the vibrations also therefore the longer the bar the longer the wavelength and the deeper the note. 
For my instrument I choose to use steel bars, I choose these materials because they are closest to what most xylophones are made of. I will play my instrument with a mallet.  

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Blog #1

Posted by Antoine Smith in Physics - Echols on Friday, June 10, 2011 at 11:33 am

I am interested in playing the xylophone which is a percussion instrument. The metal plates are struck with a plastic rod. The plates produce different sounds. It looks like piano keys.
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Blog #2

Posted by Shelby Harcher in Physics - Echols on Wednesday, June 8, 2011 at 11:00 pm

For the Xylophone, sound is made when the bars or pipes vibrate. When the pipes are hit, the energy is transferred to the pipes which makes them vibrates which then vibrates air particles around it. The pitch of the sound depends on the size of the pipes and also the type of material the pipe is made out of. In order to make a xylophone, I'm going to get copper pipes and use calculations to determine how long they have to be to make the notes that I want them to make. After I cut the pipes to the correct lengths, I will have them sit on a piece of wood, but make sure that the ends aren't fixed, so the pipes can vibrate.
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Blog #2

Posted by Natikwa Goodwin in Physics - Echols on Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 11:10 am



Sound is produced from a percussion instrument by hitting the instrument and vibrations come out. You change the pitch of the instrument, by hitting the instrument in different places. The physical characteristics of my instrument that are necessary is making sure the pipes are alligned in the right form. For my instrument the materials I will by using are, wood, copper pipe, and nails. I will need these to create my instrument. To make my instrument I will cut the copper pipe, in different lengths and along them together.




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Blog #1

Posted by Natikwa Goodwin in Physics - Echols on Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 11:01 am

The instrument I am interested in playing is a percussion instrument, the xylophone. The xylophone is played using a mallet. Using the mallet, you hit the different pipes along the xylophone. You change the sound of the xylophone, by placing hitting on the different parts arranged along the xylophone. By placing the mallet on different pipes, the note is changed. The xylophone is many pipes alligned next to each other. 
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Blog #1

Posted by Anthony Torrance in Physics - Echols on Monday, June 6, 2011 at 12:29 pm

I will be playing bass in my musical group. In order to play base one must fist get a guitar, then set us the frets appropriately to fit the sound of the song. Usually, the bass carries the deepest tone, and its always constant. Its actually the backbone of the song, and must be held by plucking the frets throughout the song. Unlike the rest of the instruments, it doesn't change at all past its consistent four count. In order to change a note you have put a finger on a different fret and continue strumming. This particular guitar is shaped like a rounded rectangle with a squeeze towards the middle, but the shape actually doesn't matter, so long as it has a hole directly under the strings for the sound to escape.

When you pluck the strings, the sound waves head into the hole directly beneath them, and resonate inside, bounding off the walls to enhance the sound and give it longevity. In addition to that, you can see the strings vibrating after you pluck them.
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Blog #2

Posted by Uyen Nguyen in Physics - Echols on Sunday, June 5, 2011 at 9:23 pm


Thumb piano produced sound by the vibrations of the metal when it’s being pressed. The sound than travels through the box and produce  a sound. When pressing down on the metal piece, the longer the piece vibrate the sound will travel for a longer period of time. The piano can be tune by changing the length of the metal piece. By undoing the bar that holds the metal, the metal pieces can be move around and changes it tune. I will be using different sized of woods and make a wooden box with a circle whole in the middle. I will then add about a dozen of metal piece that can be found in a rake or something close to it for the piano’s keys. Also a wooden bar to hold the metal together and a screws that can be move around for tuning.
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Blog #1

Posted by Uyen Nguyen in Physics - Echols on Sunday, June 5, 2011 at 9:10 pm


When talking about music and instrument, I have the biggest heart for piano. Since piano is one of the instrument that I’ve learned to play I have always want to get better at it. My wish was being able to create my own piano that I can bring along with me and play songs. I did some research and found an interesting instrument call a Thumb piano that can be easily build right at home. The instrument included a box that can be build in many different sizes along with different sized metal pieces that are being held down by a stick. The instrument will produce sound when pressing down on the metal pieces then releasing it. Since the metal is being pressed down in able to produce sound, the metal piece is causing a sharp sound. Also the box is to is to so the metal please can bounce back and make the sound travel. The sound can be tune by how long our short the metal piece might be and how hard a piece of wood is pressing against it.
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Musical Instrument #2

Posted by Zillah Hernandez in Physics - Echols on Thursday, June 2, 2011 at 10:04 am

1. How is sound produced by this instrument (now that you know more about sound, please try to refer specifically to the energy transfer and vibrations)?
- It is produced by hitting the notes, when that happens it vibrate and there for it would most likely produce sound. 

2. Based on your understanding, how are you changing the pitch? What physical characteristics are important in this instrument? 
-To change the notes so that it can change the pitch, i'm guessing, you would have to switch notes up.

3. What materials will you actually be using for your instrument and why? How will you play your instrument? What is your plan for constructing the instrument?
- I would be using a flat surface like a board or something so that my tabs can be leveled right and i would have some type of pipes for my tabs and i would use like a spoon or something to hit my notes.

4. What outstanding questions do you still have?
- I don't have any questions to ask =)

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Musical Instrument blog #2

Posted by Ashley Etheredge in Physics - Echols on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 10:26 am

In a ukelele sound is produced through sound waves, created by vibrations. Vibrations are created from energy transfer from the strings being strummed. Depending on how hard you strum the more the strings will vibrate and the louder the sound will be.
Specifically, pitch is be changed through the tension of the strings at the head of the guitar and where you apply pressure to the strings on the neck. For instance, if you apply pressure to the strings onto a fret close to the center of the guitar, the pitch of will be higher and vice versa; if pressure was applied closer to the head of the guitar then the pitch would be deeper.

What materials will you actually be using for your instrument and why?
I will be using a wooden box, strings wooden rods or poles for the neck and guitar stings. I will shorten them to a appropriate length for my ukelele. To create the correct sound, I'll use a wooden box because I can easily sand it and change the shape of the box accordingly to the sound I'm trying to create. The rods will act as my ukelele's neck. Together,  I'll be able to  play my instrument like an acoustic guitar or ukelele.


Do we have time in class to practice the song or do we have to build and practice the instrument outside of class?
Tags: Ashley Etheregde,Fire stream
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PHYS-004

Term
2010-11.S2

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  • Ashley Etheregde,Fire stream 2

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  • Rosalind Echols
  • Andrea Tollison
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