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Inquiry-Based Labs in Musical Acoustics

Inquiry-Based Labs in Musical Acoustics. M. S. Pettersen Washington & Jefferson College. “Good Vibrations:” a course in musical acoustics for non-majors. Goal: bring active learning into a class for non-science majors

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Inquiry-Based Labs in Musical Acoustics

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  1. Inquiry-Based Labs in Musical Acoustics M. S. Pettersen Washington & Jefferson College

  2. “Good Vibrations:” a course in musical acoustics for non-majors Goal: bring active learning into a class for non-science majors • Studies show active learning methods are more effective (Laws; McDermott; Redish and Steinberg; Birk and Foster; etc.). • Students see and hear phenomena for themselves. • The best way to learn about science is to practice it • It’s fun, too!

  3. … which implies that the course should: • Include the old-fashioned kind of experiments that students can see, hear, feel • Alternate bench-top experiments with measurements of real instruments, acoustics of campus auditoriums, etc. • Using Vernier Software’s Logger Pro • Using free software from the internet • Incorporate music listening

  4. Old-fashioned experiments Siren disc Monochord (sonometer) Melde’s apparatus Chladni plates

  5. New-fangled experiments using Logger Pro • Overtones • Inharmonicity in the piano • Percussion instruments and virtual pitch • Differences among the woodwinds • Sound envelope • Echoes • Auditorium acoustics

  6. Inharmonicity of the piano

  7. Percussion instruments; virtual pitch Timpani Bass drum

  8. Differences among the woodwinds • Clarinet: odd overtones only (one end open, one end closed) • Saxophone: particularly strong second harmonic • Flute: almost pure fundamental

  9. Auditorium acoustics Reverberation time is about 1 s

  10. New-fangled experiments using software; Electronic music • Fourier synthesizer Java applet • Spectrogram software • Software synthesizer (electronic instruments) • .mp3 compression with MediaMonkey • Signal processing and sound editing with Audacity

  11. Fourier synthesizer Java applet http://www.phy.ntnu.edu.tw/ntnujava/viewtopic.php?t=33

  12. Spectrogram software • Aaaaaaaaaaa! • FFFFF Note formants, overtones

  13. Signal processing and sound editing with Audacity Row, row, row your boat….

  14. Listening • Bach Brandenburg #2: overtones on the Baroque (valveless) trumpet • Berlioz Requiem – Dies Irae (Tuba Mirum) – speed of sound

  15. Sources • Fourier synthesizer Java applet: • http://www.phy.ntnu.edu.tw/ntnujava/viewtopic.php?t=33 • Spectrogram software: • http://www.visualizationsoftware.com/gram.html • Media Monkey audio format converter and .mp3 ripper: • http://www.mediamonkey.com/download.htm • Audacity sound editing and processing software: • http://audacity.sourceforge.net • Auditory Demonstrations CD: • http://asa.aip.org/discs.html • Evolution eKeys Keyboards: • http://www.zzounds.com

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