Sounds of Music

Sounds of Music is a mostly building event with a slight academic portion. Teams are expected to build two instruments to specifications (sometimes) in terms of instrument type (chordophone, aerophone, etc) and range. In addition, competitors need to compose an accompaniment to the given song each year, perform their own chosen song, and answer a set of questions on the physics of sound.

Event Details
Firstly, teams must construct two instruments prior to competition. These instruments must be to specifications as according to the event description: for the 2012 year, the bass instrument may play within the range C2-D4, with a required G major scale, while the alto instrument may play within the range F3-G5, with a required C major scale. Although this means that you may construct your instruments to play and only play the required scale, points are given for a larger possible range.

Looking at the rubric for Sounds of Music, clearly, if you must make a choice between making an instrument that is extremely creative versus one that you know will be in tune, make the interesting one. The craftsmanship part is weighted much more than absolute pitch; take note, though, that pitch will affect many other things, such as the performance and the tone quality of the instrument. However, if you can somehow make an instrument that sounds nice, looks neat, and fits well with the accompanying instrument that isn't exactly in tune, take it. I have no idea how you'll do that, but hey, it could happen.

Make sure you start early on your instruments, especially if they are reasonably complex. For 2012 and 2011, we used the same two instruments, a marimba for the bass and a flute for the alto. Since we were lazy, nearly 0 alterations were made between years. This was obviously poor decision-making and laziness on our part, since every other team had much improved instruments. Make sure you actually change up things year by year and improve; every other team will. Also, don't be afraid to make up random stuff. Like, although a flute or a violin are very standard and known instruments, creativity will earn you points; if you have an idea for some organ design or maybe a hydrophone, consider it and draw it up! Who knows, it might actually work.

The second things to consider are the chosen song and required song. Whichever song you do do must take into account the actual ranges and keys of your instruments. If your instruments can play the entire range with accidentals, great, no problems. However, if not, make sure it's actually playable. In addition, take into account the maximum scorable range. Technically, you won't be awarded additional points for going outside of it. Realistically, most judges won't notice if you're slightly above it, and if it complements the song, just add it in. You will need a decent accompaniment which actually meshes; your sheet music and your playing will reflect a poor accompaniment. In addition, your chosen song may have an arrangement on the internet if you chose a popular song. As such, you might as well transpose it. And PRACTICE. If you don't practice, you'll probably just fail, because some songs may be technically hard.

The final portion to consider is the physics section. Over the last two years, the questions have been generally extremely easy. In 2012, at states, the individually answered questions were "How does your instrument produce pitch?" and "How does it produce tone?" while the team questions were "What is a FFT and how does it relate?" and "How do octaves relate, in terms of frequency?" Even without knowing anything, you, as an AB Sounds of Music contender, should be able to answer everything except for potentially what an FFT is. These questions were almost exactly the same as 2011, additionally, except that the frequency question was a question relating to how flaring affects the tone of a trumpet.

At Nationals, the questions were even more basic. The marimba player was asked, "How would you increase the amplitude of your sound?" and "How would you adjust for a too sharp key?" The flute player was asked "What happens when you press on a tone hole?" and "What kind of wave is sound?" The team question was, if a fundamental and its first overtone is played, in what ratio are the frequencies? Unless there is a fundamental shift in the types of questions asked for Sounds of Music, most teams will get every question correct. Thus, your score will be mostly based off of musicianship and craftsmanship. The only warning is, do not fail this section from lack of studying.

Allowable Resources
No allowable resources to consult, but the team questions, you may ask each other. Still, it means you should both understand the physics of sound, in general, for your instrument, and for common classes of instruments.

Past Interview Questions
2011:States

2011:Nationals

2012:States

2012:Nationals

(I'll do this later/BLi?/MWu?)

More Links
General Construction:

http://lifehacker.com/5712087/build-a-pvc-instrument-for-thumpy-and-fun-tunes-on-the-cheap

http://dennishavlena.com/

http://homepages.bw.edu/~phoekje/olympiad/index.html

General physics of music

http://www.phy.mtu.edu/~suits/Physicsofmusic.html

http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/music/ http://homepages.bw.edu/~phoekje/acoustics/mahome.html

http://soinc.org/sites/default/files/Tapatio%20Sound%202010.ppt

http://www.tufts.edu/as/wright_center/workshops/workshop_archives/physics_2003_wkshp/book/pom_book_acrobat_7.pdf

http://method-behind-the-music.com/mechanics/physics

http://www.sarahtulga.com/Harmonics.htm

 resonance (natural) frequency of a cantilever beam is given by

 f=[kn/2pi][sqrt(EI/wL^4)] where, kn=3.52 for mode 1, E is Young's modulus, I is moment of Inertia, w is beam width, L is beam length.

http://www.lafavre.us/marimba-bars.htm

Flute construction:

http://www.cwo.com/~ph_kosel/flutomat.html - Generates location of tone holes for 6 hole flutes

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-family:SegoeUI,LucidaGrande,Arial;line-height:19px;color:rgb(68,68,68);text-align:left;">http://www.markshep.com/flute/Pipe.html

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-family:SegoeUI,LucidaGrande,Arial;line-height:19px;color:rgb(68,68,68);text-align:left;">http://www.chrysalis-foundation.org/flute_tone_holes.htm - Very mathematical analysis of flute construction