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Just thought you should know that

Joe is a nice guy. Rancid, ugly, disgusting, horrible, mean spirited , but somewhat has a nice side to him. Could you figure it out?​

this is a poem i wrote in freshman year....yeahh
Now jimmy’s only 20 years of age.
He has a dead end job with minimum wage.
He has a girlfriend that has to lay,
15 guys for 60 dollars a day.
He dropped out of school to be with his honey
Now they got a child and they're running out of money
Life is so very dangerous and so it seems
The only place he’s safe is in his dreams
So jimmy nods his head, brushes his teeth, turns out the lights and goes to sleep
Praying one day he'll find a place with no worry or any type of haste.
Next thing he knows, he’s riding on a tiger
His girls on his left, their daughter right beside her
They're riding through the jungle, strong and fast
They ride off a cliff but the fall don’t last.
Now they're riding in a jet, sitting first class
With hearts full of hope, and pockets full of cash.
Now hey land inside a active volcano
He asks her hand in marriage, she really cant say no
Next it’s the wedding small and bliss
Its finally time, he goes for the kiss
emotions run deep. the good guy finally wins
Its his first and last chance to repent for his sins
He holds her tight. their souls begin to blend
But nothing after that. the dream just ends....

R.I.P Brian Jr

I'm picking out a macbook for college.
I got my nails done for prom today.
I can't wait to start dorm shopping.
I can't wait for six flags on saturday.
I love my life. This is great.

The school district cut our budgets so much that peco cut our electric.
Hahahahah<3.

5.19.2011

The instrument that I am interested in making would be either a violin or a small classical guitar.

A violin is played by rubbing a bow across a set of different strings and then placing your fingers across different sections of the violins strings to create a higher or lower pitched sound. A guitar is played in a similar way, except there is no bow, only the strumming against the guitar's strings with either a fingernail or picker.

You can change a note in a guitar and violin by either plucking/strumming a different string or by placing your fingers on different portions of the string to create a different sound.

A violin is shaped like a pear, it has a curvy top but an even curvier bottom and in the middle lies the plane of strings. Guitars are sometimes shaped like violins with a pear-like shape as well, however instead of having a just a long strip of strings, some guitars have small holes in the center which is unlike a violin.

The shape of these instruments makes me think that the way they are held could possibly affect the way that sound is created and transferred. I know that in order to play a violin you have to hold it upright and parallel to an outstretched arm on a shoulder, yet with a guitar you can be more relaxed. A cello and violin are shaped very similarly, however they both produce different sounds and are held different ways, so that makes me wonder if the shape or the way the instrument is held can make a big difference.

The connections that I see is that when you strum a guitar and a note is played, it isnt continuous because the sound waves/vibrations eventually stop and this is very similar to the lab we did in class with the slinkys because when I would push one side, there would be a wave that would go to the other side and then stop.

 I used to play the violin for about two or three years when I was in elementary school so I am somewhat familiar with the way it works and how to achieve different sounds, however, I have never played a guitar before.

Some helpful youtube videos:

Violin Basics -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_04rjPbZarE

How to hold a violin --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dFjpdCdbXs&feature=relmfu

Simple Guitar Basics -->

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RaXQKL-xbQ

I decided to focus on the wood blocks. I am not sure that it will end up being my final instrument, but I would love it to be if possible.

The wood blocks are played by taking a stick or a drum stick/xylophone stick and hitting it against the different blocks. To change a note, you have to hit a different block. They are very similar to xylophones with the exception that they are wooden. By hitting a block of a different size, a different note is produced. The wooden blocks are, as expected, shaped as a block. They are 3D rectangle boxes essentially. They have holes in the side and are hollow. This is what produces the sound. This makes me think about how size can affect sound. Using different sizes and shapes of holes, I can create different sounds and notes. I think this has to do with resonance. Hitting hollow blocks creates resonance which in turn creates sound. I think that I can connect this to what I know about waves by how they move. The construction of these blocks is going to be difficult because of the exact placement of holes and size to create the right notes. This is all based on the sound waves produced and the motion of those sound waves when the blocks are played.

​

--How is it played? What does the person have to do to produce sound?

Most woodwind instruments are tubes. The sound comes from a vibrating column of air inside the tube. The player makes this column of air vibrate in one of several ways:

By blowing across an edge, as in the flute, recorder, whistle, and root beer bottle

By blowing between a reed and a fixed surface, as in the clarinet and saxophone

By blowing between two reeds, as in the oboe, bassoon, sarusaphone and bagpipes

--How do you change a note? (you might have to watch very carefully to see this) 

Woodwind pitch depends on the volume of air that is vibrating. A larger volume vibrates more slowly, for lower pitch; a smaller volume vibrates more quickly, for a higher pitch. For most woodwinds, the player changes pitch by opening and closing holes along the instrument's length. Without keys, there can only be as many holes as the player has fingers to cover them with. Adding keys allows the number and complexity of holes to be increased. Increasing the blowing pressure past a certain critical point (called the "break") causes the air column to resonate at a higher harmonic (see the harmonics section, below) and raises the pitch of many woodwinds by a large interval. In most cases this interval is an octave (e.g. middle C to high C), but in the clarinet it is a 12th (e.g. middle C to the G above high C). With minor variations this is the way woodwinds achieve large ranges.

--How is it shaped?

At one time, most woodwinds were made of wood; hence the name. The easiest way to characterize them now is as wind instruments (that is, you blow into them) which aren't played by buzzing your lips together.

--What does this make you think about how you can create and change sound?

i think that if you put your fingers on different holes it will kinda make it fun trying to play different notes because it is so easy to play the recorder. 

--What connections (if any) do you think you can draw between what you are observing and you might already know about waves?

its like a vibrating sound that really makes the music from your fingers to your mouth with you blowing the air into the instrument.  

1. How is sound produced by this instrument (now that you know more about sound, please try to refer specifically to the energy transfer and vibrations)?

The air vibrates over then under the fipple by the Bernoulli principal causing a vibration in the tube of air inside the recorder. The pitch is regulated by covering holes which in turn lengthen and shorten the length of vibrating air.

2. Based on your understanding, how are you changing the pitch? What physical characteristics are important in this instrument?

The recorder is distinguished from its cousin, the transverse flute, by the whistle mouthpiece built into the instrument. This mouthpiece channels the air stream through a "windway" and against an "edge" where the tone is produced, doing automatically what a flute player must learn to do through coordination of the lip muscles. The windway is an air channel carved into the "block" (of wood or plastic) which closes off the top of the instrument's tube. This block is also called a "fipple." The "window" is the rectangular opening on the front of the instrument where the edge and the bottom opening of the windway can be seen. you can really chang the pitch by the way you play the notes. 

3. What materials will you actually be using for your instrument and why? How will you play your instrument? What is your plan for constructing the instrument? 

- White pipe pice 69.5cm long

- I will drill the holes in and also one at the top i might have to turn it around a bit because of materials and turn it into a flute. so there will be one big whole at the top like a flute has to it can be played. 

- Exactly the same posture needed for good singing, either standing or sitting, is needed for good recorder playing. The back should be straight but relaxed, and the shoulders, arms, hands and fingers should all be relaxed. Tension anywhere in the body can result in poor breath support, poor tone quality, problems with intonation, or fingers that are stiff and unresponsive. The second basic element of recorder playing includes breathing and breath control. The breathing that produces a focused, unforced, non-vibrato vocal sound for children is the breathing that produces a focused, unforced, non-vibrato recorder sound. A student who can sing in tune and control the breath sufficiently to shape phrases can transfer those skills directly to the recorder.

4. What outstanding questions do you still have?

How many holes are in a Recorder? 

There are 7 holes in a recorder, plus a thumb hole on the back, which makes 8!

When will we start building these instruments?

Monday!

​

--How is it played? What does the person have to do to produce sound?

Most woodwind instruments are tubes. The sound comes from a vibrating column of air inside the tube. The player makes this column of air vibrate in one of several ways:

By blowing across an edge, as in the flute, recorder, whistle, and root beer bottle

By blowing between a reed and a fixed surface, as in the clarinet and saxophone

By blowing between two reeds, as in the oboe, bassoon, sarusaphone and bagpipes

--How do you change a note? (you might have to watch very carefully to see this) 

Woodwind pitch depends on the volume of air that is vibrating. A larger volume vibrates more slowly, for lower pitch; a smaller volume vibrates more quickly, for a higher pitch. For most woodwinds, the player changes pitch by opening and closing holes along the instrument's length. Without keys, there can only be as many holes as the player has fingers to cover them with. Adding keys allows the number and complexity of holes to be increased. Increasing the blowing pressure past a certain critical point (called the "break") causes the air column to resonate at a higher harmonic (see the harmonics section, below) and raises the pitch of many woodwinds by a large interval. In most cases this interval is an octave (e.g. middle C to high C), but in the clarinet it is a 12th (e.g. middle C to the G above high C). With minor variations this is the way woodwinds achieve large ranges.

--How is it shaped?

At one time, most woodwinds were made of wood; hence the name. The easiest way to characterize them now is as wind instruments (that is, you blow into them) which aren't played by buzzing your lips together.

--What does this make you think about how you can create and change sound?

i think that if you put your fingers on different holes it will kinda make it fun trying to play different notes because it is so easy to play the recorder. 

--What connections (if any) do you think you can draw between what you are observing and you might already know about waves?

its like a vibrating sound that really makes the music from your fingers to your mouth with you blowing the air into the instrument.  

I was talking to this 10th grader about college (she didn't want to go) and the conversation soon turned away from that topic and into our life stories. She said something that struck a cord with me. I notice that she is a very outspoken, happy individual and she told me that that's because "she feels like she has to be happy for every person that she knows who is sad." That a huge burden. But I guess not to her. 

Well, since the world is supposed to end on saturday and all, I say we make prom night crazy as hell and go out with a bang.

Natalie Sanchez

5/19/11
Blog #1

I am planning on building a guitar for my physics project. A guitar is played by plucking or strumming its strings. In order to change the note of a guitar, you must place your fingers on different strings of different frets on the fret board of the guitar. A (acoustic) guitar's body is shaped like a very wide "8" with a hole in the middle of it. I think that the a guitar creates sound because the sound waves that are produced when you pluck or strum its strings bounce into its sound hole and then re-bounce  out of the guitar to produce external sound. The guitar changes notes when you hold certain strings at certain points because the strings becomes more tense and produces a higher note than it would if you just play the string on its own. Maybe this also has to do with sound in that the sound wave is weaker than sound wave of a single chord so it sounds different when it rebounds out of the guitar. It could also just be that the string with pressure on the fret has a higher note than the string without pressure on the fret, and therefore just sounds the way that it does normally, only louder because of the sound hole. I like to connect sounds waves to ocean waves because they move in a very similar manner. The wave travels straight through said path and does not stop. The same thing happens with a sound wave. The wave is caused by an initial disturbance (as explained the in the beginning of the today's experiment) and then continues to travel throughout the path is started on. The sound waves in this case are created by the strings, go into the sound hole of the guitar, and then bounce back out of the guitar once they hit the back board of the body of the guitar, much like ocean waves do when they hit rocks; they bounce bounce back into the ocean. 
Links to guitar picture:
http://stringsattached.info/?p=463
link to guitar player:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lcmb4RplClQ

5/26/11:
Blog #2

1. How is sound produced by this instrument (now that you know more about sound, please try to refer specifically to the energy transfer and vibrations)?

My instrument (guitar) produces sound through its strings. The thiner the string, the higher pitch it will have, and the more the string is stretched, the higher its pitch. The thicker the string, the lower its pitch and the less it is stretched the lower its pitch. When it vibrates (the strings), it throws sound waves through the sound hole, which hit the back of the guitar, and then travel back out because it has a set boundary. 

2. Based on your understanding, how are you changing the pitch? What physical characteristics are important in this instrument?

The pitch changes according how thin/stretched the string is. The thinner/more stretched the string is, the higher the pitch and visa versa. The most important physical characteristics on the guitar is the sound hole, and the strings. 

3. What materials will you actually be using for your instrument and why? How will you play your instrument? What is your plan for constructing the instrument? 

I will be using a cigar box, wood, a wood cutter, cote hangers, guitar strings, smaller planks of wood, and tunners. These objects will serve as my body, strings, sound hole, and tunner for my guitar. I already know how to play guitar. I will play the guitar by strumming/plucking it according to the guitar chords that I have printed out. I am planning to buy the parts that I have mentioned and build the instrument at home. 

4. What outstanding questions do you still have?

How does what we learn in class have to do with a guitar?
Am I right about how sound travels from a guitar? please correct me if I am wrong. 
How can I measure the sound weaves coming out of my guitar?

Having a mini-heart attack because of prom tomorrow. Plus, I still need Lat to sign my sheet. I'm totally thrown off.

Six word story:
Got nails done for prom.....EEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPP​

I watched THIS movie to observe my instrument: the Xylophone.

The xylophone is played by hitting wooden "keys" with wooden mallets (or metal keys and metal mallets). The sound comes from the vibrations the mallet makes on the key. The note is changed when the player hits different sized keys. The vibrations of the xylophone also allow for two notes to be played at the same time. The xylophone itself is a base with the flat, rectangular keys going from biggest to smallest. The biggest keys produce deeper notes than the higher ones. This set up makes me wonder why it is that a small key made from the same material and in the same shape, can create a different note. This is, also, similar in other instruments like the pan pipes. So, possibly, with less space for the vibrations to occur, the higher the frequency of the sound waves? As I watched the movie of xylophone players, I realized that the reason I was hearing them play was because sound waves were hitting my ear. I just assumed the keys were creating them. I also notice that the sound oscillates: it starts with a strong clear note, and fades to silence until it's hit again.   

There comes a time when you realize that pettiness doesn't matter, that sometimes your pride can be sacrificed, even if others may judge you for it and that although anger and rage feel good for an instant, they aren't productive in the long-run.  

This moment is called maturity; unfortunately, it hasn't hit you yet. 

·      May be triggered by a horrible event: Death of a loved one, break-up, failure at something like school. (This may make the person suffering from this cause suicide because they want to forget all of the pain or to want to be with the one they lost)

·      In teens, it is difficult to tell if they suffer from depression because they symptoms are close to the way normal teens are.(since no one can help them and they may suffering from the loneliness)

·      Signs of depression: doing worst in school, not doing well with friends and family, substance abuse, oversleeping, change in eating habits, breaking laws and obsession with death. (These are things to look out for so that you can help out the people who need it)

I didn't cry last night. 
Progress. 


(not a true story lol. has nothing to do with me.) 

"They're just so hopeful, all the time. If the world was about to end, and I looked at your eyes and they were still hopeful I'd know we'd be all right. But if I looked at them and they were scared or less bright, then we dying." 

I'm leaving school early anyway. 

What happens when you get involved? People start telling lies.

I really wish the lights would have stayed off so we could leave early. I have stuff to do.

Time on my hands, to sit and think about what I did wrong. As the days turns into nights, and nights back into days I sit alone.