1. Science - Year 3/4A Summer 2
Sound
Sounds Spectacular
Session 5
Task PowerPoint
© Original resource copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
We refer you to our warning, at the foot of the block overview, about links to other websites.

2. We have already discovered that the size of a vibrating object makes a difference to the pitch. This means you can make a simple homemade instrument using items that come in different sizes. Here are some ideas you could try:
Metal tins
Flowerpots
Plastic tubs

3. Some items might move or roll away when you try to tap them, so you may need to experiment with different ways to hold them steady, without spoiling the sound (dampening the vibrations).
Here, some cardboard and some felt have been used to make a xylophone

4. Here, some different sized cardboard tubes have been used to make a xylophone. Try using string and rubber bands to hold them together or you could thread them and stretch them across a box.

5. You could make a xylophone with lolly sticks, twigs, logs or rods
You could make a xylophone with lolly sticks, twigs, logs or rods. Use different sizes and experiment with ways to hold them in place.

6. Metal spanners make a beautiful sound when they are hit with a metal rod or spoon. You can make them into a xylophone with 2 lengths of foam piping.

7. Try filling bottles or jars with different amounts of water
Try filling bottles or jars with different amounts of water. Tap with a pencil or metal spoon

8. Try making a stringed instrument using a biscuit tin, a rod and a selection of different rubber bands.
Experiment with the position of the rod, try moving it forward and back. Pluck the strings and listen to what happens to the pitch of the note.
Try plucking on the short string and then the long string (either side of the rod). Compare the pitch of the sound.

9. These rubber bands are all the same size but the rod has been laid diagonally.
Try plucking the 8 strings that have been created. Listen to the notes and decide which are high and which are lower in pitch.
Perhaps you can play a tune!

10. Create a set of pan pipes using paper drinking straws.
Squash down the end of a straw to make it flat. Then use scissors to cut the flat end into a point. Put the pointed tip into your mouth and blow air down the straw. The tip should begin to vibrate and make a loud reedy sound. It is not hard, but it takes a few minutes practise to get the technique right.
Make pipes of different lengths and compare the pitch of the notes. Tape them onto a wedge shape piece of card – make sure you leave enough straw sticking up above the card (so you can blow it). Try playing a tune!

11. Your task is to: Create your own tuned instrument
Discover which are the low notes and which are the high notes and what is changing the pitch
3. Record your findings on your task sheet
4. Try to play a tune