The Pipe-a-Phone Project Blog - Sound V - 4/22/18

The Pipe-a-Phone Project Blog : Victor N. 8B

Summary

Frequency is the rate at which waves pass in a given time. Pitch, however, is the highness or lowness of a note. The relationship between the two is that frequency influences pitch. If there is a low frequency, there will be a low pitch. The appearance of the wave changes with a change in the pitch because of the higher the pitch the shorter the wavelength. The appearance of the wave changes with a change in the volume because the louder the sound, the larger the amplitude. When you play higher notes, the waves are closer together. Yet, when you play louder, the waves are taller. 'Musical instruments create sounds that can be varied in pitch and volume.' Some instruments give pure tones while some produce a mix of frequencies. Musical sounds are created from vibrations from the device in the instruments. Our task is to use what we know about musical waves and sound and to create an instrument that could play 8 tuned notes, and be loud enough to hear. 

Backward-Looking: What problems did you encounter while you were working on this piece? How did you solve them?

Some of the problems we’ve encountered while building our instrument. Buying and getting the pipes was not a problem. We had some problems finding the length of the pipes to get the right tune and notes. We used trial runs and error to get the correct notes, cutting off about ½ an inch each time. After testing out the different lengths, we got our notes to achieve the correct pitch. Another problem we had was building the base so it was strong enough and sturdy enough to carry the PVC pipes. We solved this by changing our original materials to something sturdier.

Inward-Looking: Have you changed any ideas you used to have on this subject?

When we first started this project, my group wanted to make a chopstick piano. But, I said that it would be too difficult to make so I suggested a xylophone. My group members also suggested we should make a pvc pipe xylophone and use bamboo sticks. We then found that the bamboo sticks weren't as sturdy as wood, so we changed our material to wood. After that, we named it the Pipe-a-phone, a xylophone made of pipes. As you can see, we changed our original idea, the Chopstick Piano, to the PVC pipe xylophone (Pipe-a-Phone).

Outward-Looking: In what ways did your work meet the standards for this assignment? In what ways did it not meet those standards?

I feel like our instrument met most of the standards and requirements of the project. We were to create an instrument that could be loud enough and play 8 tuned notes. Our instrument met that requirement and could play 8 notes and be loud enough to hear. But the requirement that we did not meet was the tuning part. Most of our notes were tuned, except a few. As you can see, our instrument met most of the requirements, with some parts not meeting the standards.

Forward-Looking: What would you change if you had a chance to do this piece over again?

If I had a chance to do this piece over again, I would choose another instrument that's easier to build or an instrument that is more creative. Our instrument is based on a xylophone and I feel like that isn't creative and original enough. Also, our instrument is kind of complicated to build. You need specific lengths of the pipes to get the correct notes, and you to build a sturdy enough base to hold the pipes. While other groups, they had a simple box of rubber bands to make a guitar like instrument. As you can see, this is what I would do if I could do this piece over again.

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