Mitchell Betancourt

EDSEC 477B

Leah Mckeeman

10 May 2022

The Science of Sound + Instrument Construction

Context and Overview –

My concept for this interdisciplinary unit is to cover some of the science behind how and
why Instruments make the sounds they do. This topic would be covered over the course
of several lessons, and encompass topics like pitch frequency, vibrations, instrument
type classifications, and frequency mediums. In the single lesson provided I the
assignment students will discover and identify by name concepts such as Pitch,
Vibration, and frequency.

Part #1 – Interdisciplinary Text Set

I selected the following text because I felt that students would need the most scaffolding
in the context of science concepts. In your typical music class, the phrases Pitch,
Vibrations, and Frequency are never used in a mathematical or scientific way, they are
almost always buzz words used to direct a student’s inner ear to matching “pitch” or for
them to visualize a mouthpiece or lips moving to create sound. The goal of these texts
will be to connect what 7th-8th grade students already know about sound and connect it
to their science and physics curriculum.

1. Pitch and Frequency Video Introduction

a. PBS LearningMedia. 2022. Pitch & Frequency | UNC-TV Science | PBS LearningMedia.
[online] Available at:
<https://ktwu.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/c221a090-a656-4e19-a97c-
f1164d3694e9/pitch-and-frequency-unc-tv-science-video/> [Accessed 10 May
2022].
b. This video is a brief overview of how the concept of vibration and frequency lead to
changes of pitch. It included objects which music students would be familiar with.
c. I chose to use this text because I believe that it’s a great introduction video for
students to be acclimated into a new topic: The science of sound. This video SHOULD
be played first in the unit sequence.
d. This text will be a entry activity that will help students become interested in the
science of music making.
2. Sound Science Interactive Instructional Guide
a. PBS LearningMedia. 2022. Sound Waves: Interactive Lesson | UNC-TV Science |
PBS LearningMedia. [online] Available at:
<https://ktwu.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ilunctv18-sci-
ilsoundwaves/sound-waves/?student=true> [Accessed 10 May 2022].
b. These instructional texts feature several lessons which go over the vocabulary such
as volume, and wavelength. It also includes several assessments and discussion
questions to lead a student to become curious about the relationship between their
instrument and physics.
c. I chose this resource because it provides a great learning sequence to work from and
includes several GREAT assessments. If the teacher creates an account, they can also
collect those assessments as artifacts.
d. Various lesson in this text source will be converted into full length lesson plans for
experimentation and lectures with students.

3. Chrome Experiments – Sound Waves Interactive Lab

a. Musiclab.chromeexperiments.com. 2022. Chrome Music Lab. [online] Available at:
<https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Sound-Waves/> [Accessed 10
May 2022].
b. Sound Waves is an interactive webtool that can be utilized on any device that is
internet connected. This digital lab space illustrates both the particle movement
created by sound waves but also demonstrates the varying wavelengths that
correspond to different notes on the piano.
c. I chose this resource because it allowed students to visualize the waveform and
particle movement mentioned in the PBS Learning Lesson, and They can play around
with it and answer discussion question based off their experimentation with it.
d. The text will be used as a tool that students will draw conclusions from based off
visual responses to their actions.

4. OpenStax CNX – Sound, Physics, and Music

a. Cnx.org. 2022. OpenStax CNX. [online] Available at:
<https://cnx.org/contents/GOQaowEz@1.52:M8ISkDD_@16/Sound-and-
Music-Activities> [Accessed 10 May 2022].
b. This text source provides several activities and diagrams for illustrating and enacting
the various concepts discussed in the other text sources.
c. I chose this text because I LOVED the diagrams that it included. I appreciated that the
pictures didn’t just include drums and string instruments, which are the easiest
instruments to communicate the concept of acoustics but not necessarily the most
familiar.
d. These illustrations and project ideas will be projected on the board during lessons
and will also be used as assignments to assess students in a practical, musical way.
Part #2 – Interdisciplinary Lesson Plan

Lesson #1: Pitch, Frequency and Rubber Bands!!

Materials Used:
1. Shoe Boxes, Pringles Cans, anything to stretch a rubber band over
2. Various Rubber bands of varying thickness and length.
3. Pencil
4. Handout Assessment (to be constructed at a later date)
5. Video supplement:
a. https://ktwu.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/c221a090-a656-4e19-a97c-
f1164d3694e9/pitch-and-frequency-unc-tv-science-video/

Standards Addressed:
HS-PS4.A.2 Students will understand that the wavelength and frequency of a wave are related to one
another by the speed of travel of the wave, which depends on the type of wave and the medium
through which it is passing.

MS-PS4.A.1 Students will understand that a simple wave has a repeating pattern with a specific
wavelength, frequency, and amplitude.

Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects 6–12

9. Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia
sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic

Entry: Goodmorning class! Come in and take a seat, today we are going to learn about how music
instruments make sound!

Activity 1: Group Discussion + Background Knowledge

T: Class, Lets get in Groups of 2!
[Teacher will engage students in a series of questions designed to make them think about
the nature of music production on a guitar]
Questions Include:
1) What lets a guitar make its sound?
2) What factors might lead to two different strings sounding different notes?
3) What could you do to change the pitch?
4) What causes a string to sound louder?
5) Why might a guitar be hollow?
T: Turn to your partner and talk about your experiences and thoughts regarding these questions.
(5 Minutes)
Transition: Now as you finish up your discussion, I want you to fill out the top box on the handout, right
down your collective thoughts and experiences.
Activity 2: Form a Hypothesis!
T: Hey Partner groups, Lets bring the discussion back here!
T: I would like you to look at the 2nd box on your handout, it has a couple questions I want you to think
about as partners and then hypothesize (fill in) what you believe the right answer is. Its okay not to be
confident in the answers, use your most educated guess if you need to. We take risks and experiment in
both music and in science and it’s a perfectly acceptable part of learning!
Questions in the hypothesis section include:
1. What might happen to the pitch of a plucked string when I increase the thickness of
the string?
2. What might happen when I increase the length of a string and then pluck it?
3. What might happen when I DECREASE the thickness of a string?
4. What might happen when I DECREASE the LENGTH of the String???
5. What might happen to the sound if we pluck a string on top of a big open container?
6. What would happen when we pluck it over a smaller container?
[Teacher allocates 5 minutes for them to fill out the second column of the worksheet]
Transition: Discuss with your partner some of your Hypotheses, while I pass out our materials!

Activity 3: Test your sound Hypothesis!

T: Before You lies a couple different materials! You have several rubber bands of different lengths and
thicknesses; you also have several different resonators that you can wrap your rubber band around. Some
resonators, “such as the pringle can” are long and tall, while others are short and wide. Try them all and
see what different sounds you can make!
T: I would like you to look at your hypotheses and answer these questions again by trying to recreate
the scenarios which led to your hypotheses. (10 Minutes)
[Teacher scaffolds as necessary but mostly moves around the room observing how student
interact with the various rubber bands, and resonators.]
T: Now class, Let’s look at the 3rd box on out handout, can you spend 5 minutes with a partner and
discuss your finding. Talk about what hypotheses were correct, and which were incorrect. What surprised
You? Fill in the 3rd box with your observations!
Transition: Lots of good things I’m hearing and SEEING on your handouts, Lets come back together and
share some things we found with the class!

Activity 4: Share Your Results and Video Presentation!

T: What are some observations you made as you tested your hypotheses?
Topics for discussion:
1. Pitch change, volume change
 2. Length as it effects pitch
3. How to change volume without pitch
4. Wavelength
5. Volume because of larger resonators
[When teacher is satisfied that the students have explored an adequate amount of finding,
discussion will end, and the students will watch a short video presentation] \
T: Lets look up at the projector and watch the following video, I think it will confirm many of the
observations that you have all made!
[Teacher plays the “Pitch and Frequency” Supplemental Video]
b. Link: https://ktwu.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/c221a090-a656-4e19-a97c-
f1164d3694e9/pitch-and-frequency-unc-tv-science-video/
c. T: What did you hear or see that confirmed your observations?

Transition: Lets finish up this activity by answering box #4. In box #4 I want you to write about some of
the things that you learned today! Include the definitions of vocabulary such as pitch, frequency, and
wave.

Assessment: Students will return the Handout as an exit ticket on their way out of class. Students will be
assessed on the quality of their responses and whether they attempted to answer all questions on the
handout!