Transcript Musical Invention Project

Musical Invention Project
The Main Idea
• Design and construct a new musical
instrument which produces sound from
vibrating strings, vibrating air, and/or some
other vibrating object(s). The instrument
should produce sounds that have distinct
pitches (i.e. musical notes), and should be
designed according to the following
guidelines:
Rules and Regulations
• It should be portable;
• It should be clearly audible from across
the Physics room;
• It should be made entirely by the
student(s);
• It should be made entirely from “noninstrument” parts; and
• It should be capable of producing 8 or
more notes (at least one full octave).
Rules and Regulations
• You may work on this by yourself or with
one other person (i.e. no groups bigger
than two).
Grading
• Grades will be assigned according to the rubric
on the website. Your finished product will
include a working model of the instrument you
have designed, plus a written summary
describing the instrument and how it works, and
calculations pertaining to the frequencies your
instrument produces. Look in “advanced”
column of the rubric for additional details about
what should be in the written summary.
Tuning
• The following table is included to help you “tune” your
instrument
Frequencies of Musical Notes
Note
Frequency(Hz)
Middle C
261.6
D
293.7
E
329.6
F
349.2
G
392.0
A
440.0
B
493.9
C
523.3
Musical Inventions Rubric
Category
In Progress
Basic
Proficient
Advanced
Guidelines
Two or more guidelines not
followed
One guideline not followed
All guidelines followed
All guidelines followed &
instrument can
produce more than 8
notes
Instrument
Design
Design shows little
understanding of
physics of sound
Design is functional but not
at all creative (ex. a
basic pan flute)
Efficient design (form
follows function);
awareness of
physics of sound
evident in design
Proficient plus exceptional
creativity; contact the
music department and
the patent office
immediately
Instrument
Function
Does not produce tones -orfalls apart when
played
Produces tones that are
not accurate -ordoes not work well
Works well but may not be
durable; produces
accurate notes
Works well time after time
(durable); produces
accurate notes; stays
in tune; sounds
pleasant
Written
Summary
must be 50
words or
less must
be typed
Description shows little
understanding of
physics -or- summary
more than 50 words or- not typed
Describes why instrument
works but is
inaccurate in some
aspects of
explanation; more
than 2 mechanical
errors
Describes why instrument
works, but could be
more thorough; no
more than 2
mechanical errors
Thoroughly describes why
instrument works;
includes diagram; no
spelling or grammar
errors
Calculations
Does not include
calculations
Calculations are attempted
but are incorrect or
incomplete
Calculations are correctly
performed for the
instrument
Calculations performed for
the instrument using
accurate
measurements of
instrument
dimensions; all work is
shown (sig figs, units,
etc)
Total Score = ___________/100