Music education overlaps with many other curricular areas, including science, technology, engineering and math otherwise known as the S.T.E.M. curriculum. S.T.E.M. is getting a great deal of attention and focus by local, state and national curricular decision makers. S.T.E.M. educational standards include the teaching of musical elements and principles through the science of sound. These standards cover concepts often taught informally in the music classroom. Classical MPR can help classroom teachers cover these standards by thoughtfully including these lessons and concepts at a time that coincides with the teacher s curricular sequence. Music teachers need not add anything to their very full curricula, but if they are thoughtful about how and when these standards are taught, they will make valuable connections to the students regular education classes and teachers. This also helps solidify the value of music education as part of the school day. Below you will find science standards as presented in Minnesota, along with a number of music lessons that help bring these standards to life. 3 rd Grade: Minnesota Science Standards: http://education.state.mn.us/mde/edexc/stancurri/k- 12AcademicStandards/index.htm Synopsis of Standard: Scientific inquiry pose questions about the natural world and investigate phenomena (e.g. Investigate the sounds produced by striking various objects). Activity: Play a variety of instruments while the students guess what instrument they are hearing. Have the students describe the sound as a means to help the identification process. They should talk in terms of musical elements: pitch, volume, timbre and duration. Sound sources could include any instruments that you have in your classroom Orff instruments (metal & wood), pitched and non- pitched percussion, string, woodwind, brass, found sounds (keys, water glass, trash can). The point of this activity is to get students listening to and identifying sounds using the principles of sound and musical terminology, such as sustain and decay, articulation, volume, duration, pitched vs. non- pitched, etc. The students can then match the sound with an image as well as a name. You can project the images or have the sound sources on display from which students can choose. This is a good time to define timbre (tone quality) which lets us hear the difference between a flute, violin, trumpet, and the human voice, etc. Next, you can change the pitch, duration, articulation or volume of one of the sound sources and ask students to investigate how these changes are done.
Minnesota Science Standards: http://education.state.mn.us/mde/edexc/stancurri/k- 12AcademicStandards/index.htm Synopsis of Standard: Energy sound as energy explain the relationship between pitch and physical properties of the sound source. Definitions: Sound as energy moves though space that is then picked up by the ear. Cycles per second or Hertz (Hz) is a measure to quantify pitch. The more cycles per second, the higher the pitch (A 440 has 440 cycles per second). An octave has a 2:1 ratio; 2 x 440 would be an octave higher at 880. A visual representation of this would be a string vibrating slowly, creating a lower sound than a string vibrating fast with a higher pitch. The more mass an object has, the slower it vibrates (bass notes on the piano are thicker and longer). Sympathetic vibration occurs when one sound source creating sound causes a silent sound source to start to vibrate because it is tuned to a similar frequency. Common examples might be the vibration of snare drum, or a pitched instrument playing the same pitch of an open string on a guitar that starts to resonate in turn. Orff Activity: Set up a classroom set of Orff instruments that have the root, 5 th and octave isolated, making sure the notes all have the same width and depth. Have the students play the three notes individually in a call- and- response pattern from your direction. Ask students if they notice any relationship between the length of the notes and the pitch. Taking a ruler, measure the note lengths in order to discover the 2:1 ratio of the octave and the 3:2 ratio of the fifth which is 50% longer than the root. String Activity: The above activity can also be taught using a fretted guitar. Play an open string. Measure the halfway point (12 th fret) and play the string at that fret. This sounds the octave. Then find the 7 th fret to play the fifth. This demonstration should help to visualize the concept of length and pitch. A string can also change pitch by tightening or loosening the tuning peg. Notice that each fret gets shorter as it goes up the neck. Half steps are a fraction of the octave; thus, the shorter the string, the smaller interval. Students can experience this first hand by stretching a rubber band and strumming it while changing the tension.
Bottle Activity: Find three, plastic, liter soda bottles. Blow across the top of each bottle to confirm the fundamental pitch of each bottle is the same. Leave one bottle empty (the fundamental pitch). Fill the remaining two bottles halfway (the octave). Empty one of the two bottles approximately halfway. Add or subtract water and then test the pitch until you find the 5 th. You can demonstrate the same principles as the activities above, ask the same questions and come to the same conclusions. YouTube Examples: Beer Bottle Orchestra: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwk8atdi73u Glass harp- Toccata and fugue in D minor- Bach http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkrj- T4l- e8&feature=related Water Drum Activity: (Note: If you don t have a water drum, find a set of five aluminum graduated mixing bowls.) For this activity, you will only use the largest and second to smallest. Fill the largest bowl ⅔ to ¾ full. Take the smaller bowl and float it upside down in the water of the larger bowl. You should have a nice drum sound by hitting the top of the smaller bowl with a rubber- headed Orff mallet or a wooden spoon. Now change the pitch by gradually letting small amounts of air out of the smaller bowl, striking the top after each adjustment. Again you can ask the students to explain what changes the pitch and if there might be a similar ratio of air in the bowl chamber to pitch. It should be the same 2:1 and 3:2 as above. This is something students love to experiment with in the kitchen sink at home. YouTube Example: How to make a Gourd Water Drum: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wul- CiPN5vk Minnesota Science Standards: http://education.state.mn.us/mde/edexc/stancurri/k- 12AcademicStandards/index.htm Synopsis of Standard: Energy sound waves transferring energy Explain how sound waves transfer energy. Definitions: Wavelength of a sine wave, λ, is the distance or time between two peaks or two valleys as shown. Higher pitches have shorter distances, and lower pitches have longer distances. Speed the faster the speed of the sine wave or closer the distance of the sine wave, the higher the pitch. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) and determines pitch. The average human ear can hear from 20 to 20,000 Hz.
Amplitude determines how loud a sound will be. In this diagram, the blue sound wave is twice as loud as the pink wave. A player increases amplitude by blowing the instrument with more air or striking the drum harder. This, in turn, increases the air pressure between the sound waves or amplitude. Decibel (db) is a measurement that quantifies how loud or soft something is. Here are some examples of common decibel levels: Our students need to know that if we listen to loud sounds for an extended period of time, we will suffer hearing loss, damage, or painful tinnitus. This damage is affected by how loud the sound is and for how long we listen. Government research suggests that we keep our extended listening below 85 decibels. tinnitusdx.com Demonstration: Many computer programs or ipad applications give us the opportunity to make sound waves visible. Audacity, a computer program available as a free download to your desktop computer, is great for recording and editing sound files. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ As sound is recorded, it is visually graphed to show amplitude and frequency. This could be projected for student observation. A better visual representation is on the free ipad application Tone Generator Ultra. If you are able to hook an ipad into a projection system, this program shows the sine wave of any pitch while showing the Hertz. You can vary the waveform, sweep the auditory range to test your listening range. While projecting this program, prompt student inquiry by asking the following questions: What do you notice about the Hertz number when moving octaves? What happens to the size of the sound wave when pitch goes up? Healthy human hearing has a range of 20 to 20,000 Hz. What is your range? Activity: A decimeter is a great tool to help students understand the relationship between volume, decibel ratings and healthy listening. Handheld sound- level meters vary in price, but can be purchased for as little as $27. A free application for the ipad which shows the current, average and peak decibel readings is db Meter Pro. With either device, students can take readings of different sound sources. They can then make their own classroom poster for auditory awareness and safe listening. Possible acoustic tests could include silence in the room, varied hand percussion, classroom recorder playing, classroom singing, various levels of stereo sound- system listening, the gym during a phys ed class, the lunchroom, an all- school assembly or the school bus trip home.
Minnesota Science Standards: http://education.state.mn.us/mde/edexc/stancurri/k-12academicstandards/index.htm Synopsis of Standard: Energy is transferred from its source through space and is then perceived by the human ear. YouTube Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcyz8- eas1i Sound goes from the outer ear through the ear canal to the middle ear where it meets the eardrum. The sound makes the eardrum vibrate, which connects to three tiny bones the hammer, anvil and stirrup. These bones connect the eardrum to the inner ear, amplifying the sound before it reaches the snail- shaped cochlea. Little hairs in the cochlea are vibrated by the sound relaying information to the brain indicating what sounds are heard. Higher frequencies are heard at the beginning of the cochlea and lower frequencies are at the furthest point inside the coil. When we listen to loud sounds for too long, these little hairs are permanently damaged, causing hearing loss. Higher frequency hearing loss is more common because the higher frequency hair receptors are at the beginning of the cochlea. Demonstration: Students can realize how sound waves travel through the air by experiencing sympathetic vibration. Kids can easily imagine a stone being dropped in water and the way it creates rings of waves that move away from the point of impact. You can describe sound in the same way with the addition of three- vs. two- dimensional movement. If a toy boat were floating near the point where the stone landed, it would move in the water from the waves created by the stone. Sympathetic vibration works the same way. Just as the toy boat is moved by the stone s waves, sound waves can initiate vibration and sound in surrounding things that vibrate. Some ways to demonstrate this are: Singing near a snare drum, altering pitch until the snare begins to rattle. Silently depress a piano key. Then play a variety of other notes including those of the overtone series (octave, fifth, fourth etc.). When you stop playing the other notes, the open string should be sounding. Create a sustained pitch by singing or playing a wind instrument at the same pitch of an open guitar string. When the sustained tone is stopped, the string should be ringing clearly.
YouTube example: Spoon or coat hanger experiment http://www.exploratorium.edu/science_explorer/secret_bells.html Strobe on piano to see strings vibrate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzffbzg4jwu Sympathetic Vibration on piano http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rab6- bic47a&feature=related Tuning Fork Demo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=722ev4gqary&feature=related Minnesota Science Standards: http://education.state.mn.us/mde/edexc/stancurri/k- 12AcademicStandards/index.htm Definitions: Transverse waves A transverse wave is a moving wave that consists of oscillations occurring perpendicular (at a right angle) to the direction of energy transfer. If a transverse wave is moving in the positive x- direction, its oscillations are in up and down directions that lie in the y z plane. Light is an example of a transverse wave. Sound waves are transverse or longitudinal waves. A string vibrating is a good example of how sound travels away from the string through the moving air on either side of the string. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/transverse_wave Interference If two sound waves of the same frequency or in- phase collide, they will combine to a louder sound. Two sound waves that are out of phase or the same pitch can cancel each other out, thus reducing or quieting the sound. Resonance occurs when a sound source (guitar string, marimba bar, etc.) has a sympathetic vibration with a vibrating object (guitar body, resonating tube on marimba, etc.). Refraction is the bending or changing direction of sound waves when they encounter varied spaces. For instance, when sound travels through areas of differing temperature, it travels faster in warm air than cold. A good example of this is at dusk near a lake when the air temperature near the water is cool and warmer above. This effect refracts the sound across the water so that it is possible to hear a conversation of people across a lake at a significant distance.
Math Reflection of sound happens when sound strikes a flat surface. Hard surfaces (concrete or wood wall) can amplify sound while soft surfaces (fabric or carpeted walls) will reduce sound. Concert halls are designed to amplify sound while choirs often sing with acoustic shells behind them to reflect their sound toward the audience. Doppler Effect is heard as we listen to a train or a siren that passes. The pitch is higher than its source as it approaches, in tune at the moment is meets us, and lower as it travels away. The waves are compressed as each wave progressively has a shorter distance to travel to our ear. As the source travels away from us, the waves have a further distance to travel, thus stretching out and lowering the pitch. Visual animated graphics can be found on this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/doppler_effect Playing fraction pie http://www.philtulga.com/pie.html Other Resources Minnesota Science Standards: http://education.state.mn.us/mde/edexc/stancurri/k- 12AcademicStandards/index.htm National Science Standards: http://www.csun.edu/science/ref/curriculum/reforms/nses/nses- complete.pdf Science Museum of Minnesota http://www.wildmusic.org/en/aboutsound Construct a vocal chord model http://www.mn- stem.com/ Minnesota Public Radio thanks The Sunup Foundation for generous support of this music education initiative.