The Physics of Music:
Standing Waves in Musical Instruments
Sandy Lampreda '04

Abstract:

    This project is about the physics of music. The purpose of this project was to not only find and reproduce demonstrations, but also write up handouts and laboratory directions that can be given to students. These experiments are intended to be class projects for students taking a physics of music class at the introductory level. I will discuss each demonstration separately and give my results for each experiment.

    I replicated three different demonstrations that dealt with both physics and music. For the first demonstration I built an amplifier to connect to a microphone and oscilloscope to demonstrate the different waveforms produced by different musical instruments and of different notes. The second experiment concentrated on stringed musical instruments such as the guitar. The purpose of this experiment was to demonstrate standing waves on a lead filled hose to better understand the harmonic series and the working of many musical instruments. The third experiment was to build a wind chime. Using my knowledge about standing waves and music, I constructed a set of wind chimes in which each hanging rod produces a clear tone, and the combination of rods generates a chord.

   For more information, contact Dr. Catherine Jahncke:

Return To 2004 Senior Projects

©	St. Lawrence University	Department of Physics

Revised: 18 Dec 2003

Canton, NY 13617