In this project, we were asked to create a band consisting of at least one string instrument, one wind instrument, and one chime/percussion instrument. Each instrument was required to be able to play an octave, which is a series of eight notes. We were also given the opportunity to create a song with STEM related lyrics for extra credit. In this project, my band was Luke Venezia, Kian Namiranian, Sam Sokalzuk, and Sebastian Orellana.
My Instrument
My instrument is a string instrument. It is a variation of a bass, but it only uses three of the four strings and is much higher pitched.
How It Works
All sound is created by vibration and the vibrating part of my instrument is the strings. My instrument works by amplifying the vibration of the string when it is plucked or strummed. The hollow base of the instrument provides a space in which the sound amplifies. I was able to change the note played by the string by changing the tension on each string. The instrument changes notes by changing the length of the string. If you press down on a string, it shortens the amount of string vibrating, thus creating a higher note.
Build Process
When I was building my instrument, I wanted to mix a bass and an acoustic guitar. I started by cutting down a long piece of wood into a fret board. I then marked my fret board with sharpie in the same locations as areal bass guitar. I then found six thin pieces of wood, two 16 x 10's, two 16 x 3's and two 10 x 3's to provide extra vibration and volume to my instrument. I then cut a hole in one of the 16 x 10 pieces and cut a hole in it with a jigsaw. I nailed all of these pieces together to form the base of the bass. The next step was to screw on the fret board. I used six screws to attach the fret board to the base. Next a glued each string to a nail on each end and screwed one nail to the top of the fret board and one to the bottom of the base. I then adjusted the tension of the strings to be A, D, and G notes.
Rest of the Band
Here are descriptions of the rest of my band's instruments.
Solar Radiation
For our STEM related song, we did a STEM parody of Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Solar Radiation (Californication Parody)
5 X 10 to the 6th is scientific notation
And wavelength and frequency have a similar equation
And if you know these terms, you know Solar Radiation
It's the end of the world and start of alien civilization
The sun may expand and you’ll be livin’ in a space station
It's understood that NASA sells Solar Radiation
Buy your solar glasses to keep you from going blind
Solar eclipse, is that the moon? That’s a major find
Might’a move to Mars
Music’s cut in bars
Run from Solar Radiation
Run from Solar Radiation
Robots take over, kill all four-leaf clovers, start a philanthropic foundation
Light turns dark, Iron Man is Tony Stark, technology’s creation
And it’s in all the planets in the solar system, it's Solar Radiation
Now kids are stressing themselves out over something like advanced placement
And Donald Trump’s gonna run away and start a brand new nation
And Tatooine's not far away, there's Solar Radiation
Robots rise and then they’ll take control of population
Science and technology, mankind’s exclamation
Might’a move to Mars
Music’s cut in bars
Run from Solar Radiation
Run from Solar Radiation
Run from Solar Radiation
Run from Solar Radiation
Steam comes out when water goes through a process called evaporation
And sound waves are longitudinal, they're another compressed vibration
And Superman couldn't save the world from Solar Radiation
Buy your solar glasses to keep you from going blind
Quicker than the rest, there is no test but what’s the cost on your mind?
Might’a move to Mars
Music’s cut in bars
Run from Solar Radiation
Run from Solar Radiation
Run from Solar Radiation
Run from Solar Radiation
Original song by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Lyrics by Pranav Pannala
Performed by (Band name TBD)
Solar Radiation (Californication Parody)
5 X 10 to the 6th is scientific notation
And wavelength and frequency have a similar equation
And if you know these terms, you know Solar Radiation
It's the end of the world and start of alien civilization
The sun may expand and you’ll be livin’ in a space station
It's understood that NASA sells Solar Radiation
Buy your solar glasses to keep you from going blind
Solar eclipse, is that the moon? That’s a major find
Might’a move to Mars
Music’s cut in bars
Run from Solar Radiation
Run from Solar Radiation
Robots take over, kill all four-leaf clovers, start a philanthropic foundation
Light turns dark, Iron Man is Tony Stark, technology’s creation
And it’s in all the planets in the solar system, it's Solar Radiation
Now kids are stressing themselves out over something like advanced placement
And Donald Trump’s gonna run away and start a brand new nation
And Tatooine's not far away, there's Solar Radiation
Robots rise and then they’ll take control of population
Science and technology, mankind’s exclamation
Might’a move to Mars
Music’s cut in bars
Run from Solar Radiation
Run from Solar Radiation
Run from Solar Radiation
Run from Solar Radiation
Steam comes out when water goes through a process called evaporation
And sound waves are longitudinal, they're another compressed vibration
And Superman couldn't save the world from Solar Radiation
Buy your solar glasses to keep you from going blind
Quicker than the rest, there is no test but what’s the cost on your mind?
Might’a move to Mars
Music’s cut in bars
Run from Solar Radiation
Run from Solar Radiation
Run from Solar Radiation
Run from Solar Radiation
Original song by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Lyrics by Pranav Pannala
Performed by (Band name TBD)
Reflection
This project was one of the most fun projects I've done. It allowed me to be really creative and to get hands-on work. The project definitely had a few problems, though. One problem was when I was attaching the strings to the bass. The strings are supposed to form different notes because of different string lengths, but I found that one string was longer than the bass itself and another was going to have to be put in halfway into the fret board. I was able to change this pit into a peak by instead changing the tension of the string to create notes. The strings worked really well and they were easy to tune. This taught me the importance of careful calculation and caution. Another bump in the road was when I was putting the fret board together. I was relying on wood glue and I could not get the wood to stick together. One day I had it , but when I came back the next day, it was a pile of wood again. I solved this problem by switching to screws, which are more sturdy. This taught me resourcefulness. Another high was when I was writing the lyrics to our song. I found that part to be really fun and I was efficient with the lyrics. The original song has a lot of random lyrics so I was able to have a lot of creative freedom in deciding the words. This part taught me about the importance of creativity. This project was a lot of fun and I hope I can do it again someday.
This project was one of the most fun projects I've done. It allowed me to be really creative and to get hands-on work. The project definitely had a few problems, though. One problem was when I was attaching the strings to the bass. The strings are supposed to form different notes because of different string lengths, but I found that one string was longer than the bass itself and another was going to have to be put in halfway into the fret board. I was able to change this pit into a peak by instead changing the tension of the string to create notes. The strings worked really well and they were easy to tune. This taught me the importance of careful calculation and caution. Another bump in the road was when I was putting the fret board together. I was relying on wood glue and I could not get the wood to stick together. One day I had it , but when I came back the next day, it was a pile of wood again. I solved this problem by switching to screws, which are more sturdy. This taught me resourcefulness. Another high was when I was writing the lyrics to our song. I found that part to be really fun and I was efficient with the lyrics. The original song has a lot of random lyrics so I was able to have a lot of creative freedom in deciding the words. This part taught me about the importance of creativity. This project was a lot of fun and I hope I can do it again someday.