Instrumentsarecool.

Theycanallowpeopletomakemusicbymovingtheirfingersand
hands.Buthowdotheywork?First,weneedtocoversoundwaves.Soundwavesare,well,
wavesofenergythattravelthroughwhatevermediumpermitted.Forexample,soundmoves
throughallthreemainformsofmatter:Solids,Liquids,andGases.Soundisreallyvibration,
whichtransmitsenergythroughthemediumuntilitreachestheearofanorganism.Butthe
eardoesn'tdothework.Itjustmakesthesoundwave'viewable'tothebrain(likechanginga
filefromawindows.exetoamac.appora.xcftoa.pngora.avitoa.mp4).Thebraindoes
allofthework,interpretingsoundwaves.Wavespeedvariesbasedonmedium.Forexample,
thespeedofsoundthroughairis340.29m/sor761.2mph.Allwavesthroughairatsealevel
travelatthisspeed.Wavestravelfastestinsolidsandslowestingases,leavingamiddle
speedinliquids.Wavesingeneralhavecrests(thepeakorcompression),troughs(thelowest
pointsorrarefaction),wavelengths,speeds,andfrequencies.Eachindividualnotehasa
differentfrequency,whichleadstothedifferenceintone.

TheXylophone:
Thexylophoneworksbystrikingitwithsomesortofobject(likeamalletorastickofwood.I
alsohadfunhittingitwithmyphone.Forthesakeofrealism,weusedprofessional
Glockenspielmallets)thenitmakesasound.Thissoundismadebydisplacingtheair.The
rubberbandsaroundthexylophonekeeptheindividualpipesraisedoffofthewood,butloose
enoughtovibratetheair.Sincetheyareraisedoffandarebarelytouchinganything,the
xylophonecanmakethelongestandclearestsoundpossible.Thedisplacedaircarriesthe
energyofthepipetoyourear,whereitisreformattedsoyourbraincaninterpretit.The
metalpipesareveryresonantsotheyarepleasingandproduceclear,longnotes.Longer
pipesdisplacemoreair,whichleadstogreaterwavelengthsanddeepernotes.

Note

Frequency(Hz)

MultiplyLongest
LengthBy:

Length(cm)

C6

1046.50

1.0000

32.2

D6

1174.66

0.9428

30.2

E6

1318.51

0.8944

28.4

F6

1396.91

0.8660

27.8

G6

1567.98

0.8165

26.3

A6

1760.00

0.7746

24.5

B6

1975.53

0.7303

23

C7

2093.00

0.7071

22.4

TheBasaxinet:

TheBasaxinetconsistsofa75centimeterlongrubbertubewithatenorsaxaphone
mouthpieceinsertedintothetube.Theinstrumentmakessoundwhenthemouthpieceis
blowninto,vibratingthebambooreed.thereedcausestheairinsidetheinstrumenttovibrate
atitsnaturalfrequency,amplifyingthenoise.Theholesdecreasethelengthofthewave,
becausetheairescapesasearlyaspossiblebyplugginguptheholesyouincreasethe
wavelength,andthusdeepenthenotes.Normally,awindinstrumentwouldbeverylongif
youusedtheentirewavelength,howeverbecauseyoucreateahighpressurezonewhere
youblow,ittakesaofawavelengthtodecreasethepressuretonormal,whichquartersthe
wavelength.Thelengthofaclarinet,forinstance,isthewavelengthofthedeepestnote/4.
Eachholeisroughlyofthewavelengthawayfromthereed.

Note

Wavelength(cm)

OurWavelength
(cm)

Frequency(Hz)

A2

313.64

75

110

B2

279.42

71

123.47

C3

263.74

64

130.81

D3

234.96

57.4

46.831

E3

209.33

54.3

164.81

F3

197.58

48.8

174.61

G3

176.02

44.6

196

Thereasonfortheinstrumenttobecuttothequarterofthesoundwavelengthisthatittakes
aquarterofthewavelengthtoreachnormalpressure(attheendofthetube)fromhigh
pressure(atthemouthpiece).