Physics of musical instruments Essay - 2009 Words

Physics is all around us, and yet we always overlook it. We see, hear or feel something happen but never stop to question why. Physics will tell us why. Music plays a part in everyones lives. So much so that it is often overlooked and the technicalities of it are unappreciated. Sure there are times when we listen carefully to the music behind the songs we hear, we may focus on the rhythm or the harmonies, but we never think of what it took to make the sounds that we are hearing. In this paper, I will explain the physics musical instruments. I will describe and define sound in psychics terms and then describe how different instruments create their unique sounds. There are so many different kinds of music, and thanks to the variety of†¦show more content†¦As the amplitude grows so does the energy. However amplitude is not directly proportional to energy, rather a multiple by the square roots. For example, a wave with amplitude twice as large actually has four times more ene rgy and one with amplitude three times larger actually has nine times more energy. The loudness of sound is related to the amplitude of the sound wave (Lapp, 2003). The number of waves that pass a certain point per second is called the frequency of the waves. In music, the notes on a musical scale are the way that we can record and read different frequencies. Lower frequencies will let off low pitches while higher frequencies will give off high pitches. We measure frequency in Hertz. 1 Hertz is one wave per second. Similarly, a period is the time it takes for a wave length to pass a point and will be the reciprocal of the related frequency. For example, if five waves passed a point in one second the equation would be f = 3 Hz (or frequency equals three Hertz). The period is the time it takes for one of those waves to pass the point, or the reciprocal of the frequency which would be 1/5 of a second. Speed is the ratio of distance to time. In music terms, speed equals wavelength over time, or speed equals wavelength multiplied by frequency (Lapp, 2003). Musical instruments make sounds by vibrating, and do so when they are at their natural frequency. TheyShow MoreRelated Physics of Music Essay851 Words   |  4 Pageschemistry either Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742-1799) Music is not purely a form of art. There is a great deal of science that goes behind the production of beautiful musical sounds. In order to understand how music is possible, one must have an understanding of physics. Physics allows us to create musical instruments with different tone qualities and the ability to be played in a certain way to produce a specific pitch or note. Music is sound, and sound is vibrations or waves that are atRead MoreBlowing Bottle Tops: Making Music with Glass Bottles716 Words   |  3 Pagesabout sound, sound waves, standing waves, musical note names and frequencies, resonance, and closed-end air columns. Closed-end air columns will be a main focus in the paper, studying the physics behind it. Glass bottles are an example of a closed-end air column. Therefore, the more water inside the bottle, the lower the note, and less water would be a higher note. Closed-end air can be many things; ranging from brass instruments, woodwind instruments, organ pipes, and flutes. These closed-endRead MoreEssay about Sound715 Words   |  3 Pages Resonance and Sound†¦Physics and Music Since sound is the medium of music, most of the physics of music is the physics of sound. Its important to remember that sound waves are compression waves. 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By looking at the instrument, it doesn’t look very complicated, but if you delve deeper into its composition, you’ll find that it’s very complicatedRead MoreSimilarities Between Kepler And Kepler s Platonist Geometric Cosmology1462 Words   |  6 Pageswas comprised of many nested celestial spheres, or orbs. According to M.S. Mahoney, an astronomical researcher at Princeton University, Johannes Kepler, in his physics research, regarded â€Å"the spheres† as the â€Å"geometrical spatial regions containing each planetary orbit rather than physical bodies as in preceding Aristotelian celestial physics†. Kepler provided mathematical evidence to this theory, including the fact that the â€Å"eccentricity of each planet’s elliptical orbit and its major and minor axesRead MoreIntellectual And Emotional Skills Of Practicing Music765 Words   |  4 PagesINTELLECTUAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS Practicing music affects human brains by improving intellectual and emotional skills. 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Most of the energy is lostRead More Physics of Electric Guitars Essay1309 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction More than any other instrument, the electric guitar has shaped and redefined music in the last century. Although popular culture did not pay much attention to it when it was first introduced in the 1930s, it has since become equated with the very essence of rock and roll music. On an international level, the electric guitar is by far the most famous instrument to come out of the United States (howstuffworks.com). Background Inventors have been playing with the idea