Physics · Unit 3: Acoustics ·  Project 3-1-3

Garage Band

Build a working instrument out of scraps, tune it on purpose instead of by luck, and record it in action  ·  4 class days

Starringshorter → higher pitchtighter → higher pitch
Strings (rubber bands, wire)
Shorter or tighter → higher pitch. Longer or looser → lower pitch.
Tubes & bottles (air columns)
Shorter air column → higher pitch. Longer air column → lower pitch.

🧭 Plot Summary

Anyone can pluck a rubber band or blow across a bottle and get some sound. This project is about getting a specific sound — deliberately choosing a pitch and hitting it, because you understand why the instrument makes the pitch it makes.

You'll build a real instrument out of scrap materials, then tune it using the same idea that showed up back in the bottle activity: length (and for strings, tension) controls pitch. Once it works, you'll record a short music video showing it off.

What you will do in this project

  • Learn why a string or tube only rings out certain pitches — not just any frequency you want.
  • Connect length and tension directly to pitch, so tuning stops being guesswork.
  • Design and build a real instrument out of scrap materials.
  • Tune it deliberately, using what you now know instead of trial and error alone.
  • Record a short music video showing it off.

Why it matters

This is the payoff for two lessons of vocabulary. Frequency, pitch, wavelength — they all stop being test words and start being the reason your instrument sounds right (or doesn't yet).

Self-Check Before You Roll On

Check off each item as you get there. These are not grades — they are your own signal.