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 “non- instrument” 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 NoteFrequency(Hz) Middle C261.6 D293.7 E329.6 F349.2 G392.0 A440.0 B493.9 C523.3

Musical Inventions Rubric CategoryIn ProgressBasicProficientAdvanced GuidelinesTwo or more guidelines not followed One guideline not followedAll guidelines followedAll 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 -or- falls apart when played Produces tones that are not accurate -or- does 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 CalculationsDoes 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