http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py3jT0uaZw0

​--How is it played? What does the person have to do to produce sound?
The instrument is played by stroking/strumming/plucking the strings.
--How do you change a note? (you might have to watch very carefully to see this)
This makes me think that you can create a vibration and alter the sound it makes by the area you surround it with?
I really don't know how to express what I'm thinking, but I feel as though waves are a disruption of whatever is happening and when you surround them they are amplified and made stronger. (if that makes any sense.)

The instrument I want to play is a xylophone. This instrument originated in Africa. The xylophone belongs in the percussion family and consists of either wooden or metallic bars of different lengths. These bars are then adhered or tied down to a base that gives enough space to allow the bars to vibrate. These bars are struck by a mallet that can be made out of plastic, wood, or even rubber. This is what gives the instrument its sound because when struck the bar vibrates.

The general shape of a xylophone is a rectangle. To change the not of a xylophone, you have to hit a different note on the xylophone with a mallet. You can alter the sound by altering the density of the individual notes. I've noticed that different dimensions of bars give off different sound. So this can tie end to density and surface area having something to do with what produces certain certain waves. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHP5xjBP-9I (This is a link that shows a xylophone being played).

I want to create a simplified version of a "hammered dulcimer", which is a kind of string instrument. Here is a video of someone playing a hammered dulcimer, and here is an instructional video on how to play.

The instrument is played by hitting strings with a kind of mallet/stick. Different strings produce different notes. I'd want to make a similar version of this instrument, so I might not include the piece that divides the string into two. I don't know. When the string is struck, it vibrates, creating sound waves. I could control various aspects of the wave by controlling the length of the string and how tight it is. I'd have maybe seven or eight strings, each playing different notes. I could also put in a bridge at some point to control the length of the waves. If there is a bridge one-third of the way down the string, that piece of the string would be held in place - and that would control the length of the wave. One thing I wonder is what kind of mallet is used. I also wonder how to make a good base for the instrument that will help to make the sound audible.

Before starting, consider what type of instrument you might be interested in making for this project.


The instrument that I'm interested in making or playing is the celesta or piano.

Try to find a video of someone playing the instrument. As you do so, take notes on the following questions:



http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/32473749/ns/today-today_pets_and_animals/t/secrets-behind-amazing-piano-playing-cat/

It's played with elegance. 
--What does the person have to do to produce sound?
Press on the right notes on the keyboard. 

I can have rods of different sizes like an organ and put it in a box then have metal rods as the keyboard and underneath the rod will be small metal balls attached to it so, when I press on the keyboard the sphere will hit the "organs" and create a sound. Just to think about it, after all that work, I should just go straight to making a xylophone. 

The instrument that I am very interested in is flute, but I am not sure that it will be my piece for the benchmark. 
Flute it basically a pipe, that has one closed end, one opened end, and multiple other air holes on the pipe, between the ends. Flute makes sound base on the pattern in which air is exiting, through the air holes. That is why, when playing flute, people always put their fingers on the air holes, as a way to control the sound. By this way, player can create variety in frequency that would result in different pitches.
The oldest flute was founded in Slovenia and traced back as far as 43,000 years ago. It was originally made out of Mammoth's tusk, and used to communicating when hunting. Over time, it had developed to become an authentic piece of cultural practice, especially during gathering and musical performances. 
Playing and watching people play flute generate the fundamental point of sound. That is sound is created as a vibration of air, in this case it is that of air through the air hole of flute. Sound waves' properties focus on a few essential parts: frequency, magnitude, wavelength, air pressure...To change the sound means to change on of these thing. Higher frequency create higher pitch sound. Changing amplitude would change the loudness of that sound. 

Listen to flute playing here

Just to clarify for those who are confused the ukulele is not the guy, that is Elvis, it is the magical instrument he is holding.

For this benchmark I got pretty excited since I play guitar and we would be working with instruments so it was something I could defiantly relate to and have fun with, if  I do it correctly, but I should have fun with it. But even though I play guitar I wanted to do something slightly different so I could learn something new about a different instrument. But I did want to keep it in the string family since I know best how to play those more then any other instrument. So I finally thought of an instrument that was close to the guitar but a bit different and sounded like something interesting and fun to make and play. And the ukulele journey had began.

 The ukulele is played a lot like the guitar. Where you have to strum it to make any sort of sound. The only differences is the ukulele is much smaller, has only four strings and also creates a sort of different sound, like different pitch almost. A ukulele's neck is slim and straight but the body of it is almost hour glassed shaped. Because they use different strings for a ukulele then they do guitars.The way you change a note is by taking your fingers that are on the neck of the ukulele, the long part, and moving them to different positions and different frets, holding down your fingers on the different strings as you do so. The way this gets me thinking about how I can change and create sound is strumming something or plucking something, like s string, creates a sound. And holding down things certain ways and positions, like when you hold down the string on the different frets. They create a different pitch.


Here is a link of some cool guy playing the ukulele:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBFdrLu7o9w&feature=related

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.