Sounds Good to Me!

Jane Wahl
Kim Vredenburg
November, 2001
 What Is Sound?

Sound is
vibrations that
you can hear
 Sound Depends On:
 A vibrating
source to set up
the sound waves
 A medium to
carry the waves
 A receiver to
detect them
 Vibrations
 Back-and-forth
movement of
matter or particles
of matter
 Sound travels
away from the
vibrating object in
all directions
 Sound Waves
 Sound travels through
matter as sound
waves
 Particles of air are
pushed together and
then pulled apart
 Compressions are
where particles are
pushed together
 Volume
 Amount of sound
energy reaching your
ears
 Depends on:
 How far the vibrating
object is moving as it
goes back and forth
 How far you are from
the source of a sound
Volume Control
 Pitch
 How high or low a sound is
 Remember: ; the roots are low
The sky is high

 Depends on how fast the

source of the sound is
vibrating
 To change the pitch:
 Change the length of the
material vibrating
 Change the thickness of the
material vibrating
Sound Travels at Different Speeds
Through Different Materials
 Feet per second

20,000
18,000
16,000
14,000
12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
AIR WATER GRANITE
 Which Would Be the Best
Conductor?
 Solid?
 Liquid?
 Gas?

 Solid – The
Bricks!
 Reflection vs. Absorption
 Just like light waves, sound waves can be
reflected or absorbed
 Sound waves reflect straight from a
smooth, flat surface
 There is a clear echo
 Sound waves are reflected in many
directions from a rough, uneven surface
 There is no clear echo
 Your Instrument
 Should be:

Well designed
 Simple

 Functional


Attractive
 Creative

 You must be able to:

 Produce Sound

 Change Pitch


Change Volume