Making Instruments

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Sound Activities

After exploring some of the basic properties of sound, the students got the opportunity to create their own sounds. Using various materials such as spoons, rubber bands, shoe boxes, glass cups, etc., the students made their own instruments. The picture below depicts one group's “guitar.” As the students played around with the materials, they discovered that both the placement and the size of the rubber bands impacted the sounds that came from plucking the rubber bands. With some questioning from the instructor and other students, the students were able to apply some of the sound vocabulary terms to their description of their instrument.