Musical Instrument Project Blog

Instrument Project | Luke Pires, Nathaniel Marino, Nicolas Reed, and Oscar Ponce

Summary:

       For this project, we had to create a completely new musical instrument with a full scale. With that, we also had to answer questions about out instrument and its function, use a program to measure it sound waves and answer questions about them, and play a song on our instrument. What I learned about percussion instruments (which is the type of instrument that we made) is that in order to create different notes, each thing that you hit (in order case, wooden sticks) needs to be a different size. This is due to how different sizes means that there is a different amount of space that the sound wave can travel (and vibrate molecules) in each note. I also learned that different materials create different tones. For example, when hitting a piece of wood and metal with the same amount of force, the two will create different sounds due to the difference of tone. Lastly, I truly learned the relationship between frequency and pitch through recording the sound waves of my instrument. That the greater the frequency, the greater the pitch and the smaller the frequency, the smaller the pitch.

Backward-Looking:

       What I knew about the subject before we started was the basic function of sound waves. That sound waves vibrate molecules which creates sound. I also knew how fast sound travels in different states of matter. That in gases (air), it travels the slowest, in solids it the fastest, and in liquids it travels in the middle. The process that we went through to produce this piece was brainstorming, designing/sketching, selecting, building, recording the sound waves, creating the song, answered the questions about the instrument and its sound waves, and then, created a presentation. In the brainstorming stage, we discussed what type of instrument we were making, and how we wanted it to work along with how it was going to look. We then sketched the most promising solutions and then selected which one we felt would work best. After selecting, we built it and recorded its sound waves to ensure that it worked well and to collect data. Then, we actually found a song and played it on our instrument. We then answered questions about our instrument and its waves. Lastly, we actually had to create an interactive google draw presentation along with an audio visual presentation about our instrument, its sound waves, and our song.

Inward-Looking:

       I feel pretty good about this piece of work. This is due to how I feel that we worked hard on it and really worked hard to make it well done. The part of the project that I like is the interactive presentation. This is due to how it looks very professional and has lots of extra graphics that really enhance it. The part of the project that I dislike are the notes of the instrument. This is due to how the difference in pitch between each sound is very subtle and not as obvious as I would have liked it to have been. What I enjoyed about this project was the planning stages. This is due to how it really brought out a creative side of me that I haven't seen in a while. In addition, it was just very fun creating a totally original product with my friends. 

Outward-Looking:

       If I was the teacher, the comments I would make about our project are that "the interactive presentation is very good. It has all the necessary components and has a bit extra that really take it to the next step. Although, the instruments notes should be a bit more differentiated from each other in terms of pitch." The grade I would give this project is an A-. This is because we followed all of the directions, although, as mentioned before, our instrument itself could have been improved. The ways that our project met the standards for this project are how we answered all of the questions about our instrument and its sound waves. In addition, both of our presentations and song followed the rubric for the project. The way that we did not meet the standard was that our instrument did not play completely different notes.

Forward-Looking:

       What I would change if I had the chance to do this piece over again was our wooden sticks (the things that we hit). I would do this by changing the thickness and the size (length and width) of each of them. This would allow for the notes to sound much more different so that we could really meet the standard for the project in that sense. One goal I would like to set for myself next time is to be more involved of the building stages of the instrument. This is because, when my group was building our instrument, I was not really helping with that part and more so doing the behind the scenes part of it. Another goal I would set for myself is to be a better group mate. As in this project, and many others, I tend to get frustrated with teammates which does no good for anyone. I would like to change this so that projects can run more smoothly and my classmates would more likely want to work with me again. As they would think of me as a better group mate.