Scie

nce What is the science of music?

Music is generally thought to be an art rather than a science but
what is the science behind the production of music? And can

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three 'tone-deaf' scientists use these principles to make musical
instruments and maybe even play a tune? Let's face it, if we can
master this challenge anyone can.

Firstly, how is sound produced?

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For sound to occur you need a vibrating source and
a medium, and to detect it, you need a receiver.
There are many natural vibrating sources - vocal cords,
stretched strings, reeds - but to create vibration there must
be a certain amount of surface tension in the vibrating
body.

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To reach the receiver, the vibrations need a medium of
transmission such as air or water.
Vibrations from the sound source disturb molecules in the
medium. The molecules move at the same rate as the
sound source. As the vibration travels through the medium
each molecule hits another and returns to its original

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position.
Regions of the medium become alternately more
dense and less dense. The variation in pressure in the
medium is sensed by a receiver such as the human ear or
recording device and is called a sound wave.

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Flow of longitudinal sound waves
Sound travels in the same way whether it is music or noise.
The difference between music and noise is that musical
sounds are organised into patterns that have pitch and
rhythm whereas noise is just random, disorganised

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sounds.
A particular musical note is determined by the number of
times that the musical instrument vibrates per second
resulting in a sound wave. The number of times that a
sound wave vibrates in a second is called its frequency.

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Scientists measure the frequency of sounds in cycles per second and express the
measurement in Hertz.
The human ear can detect a range of frequencies. There are frequencies that are too
low to detect but can be heard by other creatures, such as whales, and there are
frequencies that are too high for us to hear, such as those produced by bats when trying
to avoid other objects.

Loud high note vs loud low note diagram

So we know how higher and lower notes are produced - but how are louder
and softer notes made?
Put simply, louder notes are made by bigger vibrations and softer notes are made by
smaller vibrations, although the number per second, or frequency, of vibrations may
remain the same. The loudness of a musical note does not necessarily change its
frequency.

Soft high note vs soft low note diagram

If producing a note is so simple, why do the sounds made by each instrument

in an orchestra or band sound so different?
The pitch is the degree of highness or lowness of a musical note. The pitch depends on
how rapid the vibrations are i.e. how high the frequency is. A higher pitch has a higher
frequency.

The diverse sounds made by the instruments in each section of an orchestra are due
to harmonics. These are higher and quieter sounds that are mixed in with the main note. They
are not heard separately but add to the tone of the sound.
How are musical notes measured?
Musical notes are conventionally measured on a scale from A - G with middle C usually
being used as a reference note. The scale is repeated over all 88 keys on a piano, all 6
strings of a guitar, etc.
The distance from one 'C' to the next 'C' is called an octave and in each octave the
higher C has a frequency that is twice the frequency of the lower C. This shows that
there is a scientific formula behind what we naturally find pleasing to our ears.

How is an instrument tuned?

To tune any two instruments, the sound waves from both of them must be at the same
frequency. If the frequencies differ very slightly, the two sound waves interfere, making
another sound wave that undulates in volume or 'beats'.
The beat frequency is the number of volume undulations heard per second. It is found
by subtracting the lower frequency from the higher one. When two instruments are in
tune, the beat frequency should be zero. This is an extremely useful tool for tuning
instruments accurately by ear.
Most people can usually tell whether an instrument is in tune or not without knowing the
underlying science.

Three types of instrument

Stringed instruments
The pitch of a stringed instrument depends on the tension and the length of the string.
In most stringed instruments the pitch gets higher when the player moves their hand
closer to the bottom of the string making the vibrating area shorter. However, Mike's
double bass depended on changing the tension of the string to obtain each note.
In many stringed instruments, the strings themselves only produce a small fraction of
the sound that is heard. The rest is due to resonance from the body of the instrument
vibrating in sympathy with the strings. Mike's double base had a huge box and a long
string which gave it a very low pitch.
Wind instruments
These instruments work by using vibrating columns of air that amplify an initial sound. In
all wind instruments, the length of the column of air determines the general pitch of
the instrument. That is why the panpipes played by Ellen used bamboo tubes cut to
different lengths to produce various notes.
In order for a column of air to vibrate, something must start it going. The small sound
produced by blowing over the top of each panpipe tube is greatly amplified within the
tube, in much the same way as the body of a stringed instrument amplifies the sound
from the string.
Percussion instruments
The sound of a percussion instrument comes from striking two things together. They
can be the simplest type of instrument because usually very few parts are needed to
produce an amplified sound. Our scientists made some drums from old barrels. When
struck, the skin of the drum vibrated and was then amplified by the barrel to give out a
sound.
We've seen that musical notes can be explained using science. We can even predict
how to make notes using scientific equations but this doesn't help scientists to become
better musicians!

Making Music
People have been using sound to make
music of thousands of years. They have
invented many kinds of musical
instruments. Despite their diversity,
however, musical instruments share certain
similarities.
 All musical instruments create sound
by causing matter to vibrate. The vibrations
start sound waves moving through the air.
  Most musical instruments use
resonance to amplify the sound waves and
make the sounds louder.
Resonance occurs when an object vibrates in
response to sound waves of a certain
frequency. In a musical instrument such as
drum, the whole instrument and the air inside it
may vibrate when the head of the drum in
struck.
 Most musical instruments have a way
of changing the frequency of the sound
waves they produce. This changes the pitch
of the sounds, or how high or low the
sounds seem to a listener.

Categories of Musical
Instruments
There are three basic categories of musical
instruments: percussion, wind and stringed
instruments. Instruments produce sound when
a part of it vibrates, producing sounds that are
loud enough to be heard by human ear. These
sounds, or musical notes, are produced
differently in each of the three main families of
instruments.
 Wind instruments (flute, trumpet)- Air is blown
across the reed attached to the mouthpiece of
the instrument, vibrating the air down the tube
of the instrument to produce sounds. Different
notes are produced by covering or opening
holes in the instrument tube, changing the reed,
and size of the instrument tube.
 String instruments (violin, guitar)- Strings are
plucked or bowed and vibrations from the
strings hit the hollow body of the instrument,
bouncing off the instrument box to produce
sounds. Different notes are produced by
changing the tension of the strings or by
changing the length of the strings vibrating by
pressing fingers on the frets or the size of the
instrument box.
 Percussion instruments (drums, tabla)-
Material is stretched over a hollow container
and struck by hand or stick, producing a
vibration that produces sound. Different notes
are produced by tightening the material
stretched over the container or by damping the
vibrating surface or the size of the hollow
container.