Elementary School, Music Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 2)

Music for Martians: Build and Play a Theremin Instrument

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Here is a riddle for you: name an instrument that you play with your hands but never actually touch. Have you guessed the answer? It is a theremin! This unusual instrument makes sound without anyone touching it. How does a theremin work? It has an antenna that can detect the player's hand nearby, and as they move their hand around the theremin, the sound it makes changes based on the hand's position. In this music science project, you will get to use your own mini theremin to investigate how… Read more

Pick This Project!

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Here's a fun science project for anyone who plays an electric guitar. You'll learn about the physics of vibrating strings, and find out why the tone of your guitar changes when you switch between the different pickups. Read more

Singing Wine Glasses

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

The American holiday of Thanksgiving is a favorite of many. Friends and family getting together, a big feast, fancy china and glassware on the table. Who can resist the temptation to make the wine glasses sing? Find out more about how this works with this project! Read more

Background Bop: Do Different Businesses Play Different Tempos in Background Music?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Walk into a fitness club and what kind of music do you hear? Slow, sparkling, relaxing music? Or driving, "up-tempo" songs that are designed to encourage you to move? Fitness clubs and other businesses, like restaurants and grocery stores, use background music to set the mood and to determine how fast they want their customers to move. The tempo of the background music is a key component to the environment that businesses want to create. Tempo is an important number or word inscribed by a… Read more

Build Your Own Xylophone Out of Copper Pipe

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Did you know that making a musical instrument is not just an art, but a science, too? You can discover just how scientific by building your own xylophone (or a set of chimes) from copper pipe. First you'll need to do some research about the math and physics involved in the sounds of a xylophone. For example, there are equations that describe the transverse (side-to-side) vibrations of a pipe. These vibrations create the sounds you hear. So, to get specific sounds, xylophone makers must apply… Read more

Ding, Dong, Ding, Dong: Morning Bells Are Ringing

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

For centuries, beautiful bell towers, like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, have been the center of village life, announcing the time of day, the joy of weddings, and the sorrow of funerals. They were also used to call villagers to action in times of danger. Have you ever wondered, though, why people put the bells in towers? The bells are so heavy, why haul them all the way up to the top of tall towers? Why not just ring them on the ground? Putting bells up high does make for a dramatic visual… Read more

Does How You Hold Your Guitar Affect the Sound?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

What do a guitar, a piano, a harp and a violin have in common? Turns out a couple of things, including a soundboard. All stringed instruments use a soundboard to amplify (greatly increase) the volume of the sound coming from vibrations of the strings. The soundboard is positioned so that it gathers the sound vibrations coming from the strings and then retransmits them at an even greater volume when it begins to vibrate. Soundboards are common in the world of musical instruments, but they can… Read more

Does Virtual Practice Make Perfect?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

You've probably heard the phrase, "practice makes perfect" more times than you care to remember, but is it actually true when you use a music game as your practice for real-life singing, strumming, or drumming? You can design a science fair project to discover the answer! First, you'll need to think about how to measure how well someone is playing or singing a song in real life. Using the test you design, measure several musicians' ability to play or sing a few different songs. Then have your… Read more

Guitar Jingle: Discovering the Locations of Harmonics

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Did you know that your guitar has a secret? Yes, that's right—hidden along each string are special places where you can play harmonics and make your guitar sound like a bell! In this music science fair project, you'll find out where the main harmonics are located on a guitar, and then see how those locations are related to the length of the strings. So get out your guitar—it's time to ring in a science fair project! Read more

Is It a Country Ballad? Listen to the Beat!

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever noticed that hip-hop songs have a fast tempo, while country ballads are usually slow? Do you think there is a correlation between the number of beats per minute (bpm) in a song and the type of music? You can explore whether different genres of music have different bpm ranges by measuring the bpm in several different songs from a number of different genres. Bpm can be measured using free music software, like the one listed below in the Bibliography, or by counting all the beats you… Read more

Elementary School, Music Projects, Lessons, Activities (21 results)

Explore Our Science Videos