Middle School, Music Science Projects (Page 3)

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 an Electronic Piano with a Raspberry Pi

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Lights and music make a great combination! Getting sound and lights to complement each other just right helps set the mood for everything from DJ parties and concerts, to theater shows, the circus, and ballet performances. You can put together your own lights and music show using a Raspberry Pi. Check out the video to see what this simple, but fun, project looks like. Once you have the basics down, you can keep tinkering with the circuit, the sounds, and the program to make fancier versions… Read more

Make Your Own Electric Guitar Pickup

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

If you like playing electric guitar, this could be a cool project for you. Have you ever wondered how an electric guitar works? In this project you'll wind one or more of your own electric guitar pickups and test them out in an inexpensive electric guitar. How will the sound change with the number of turns you use in the coil? Or with the strength of the magnets you use? Read more

Pitch Perception

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Do violin students have better relative pitch than piano students? Since the violin requires the player to choose the correct location to stop the string in order to sound the proper note, you might think that violin players would, as a result of practice, have better ear training than piano students. On the other hand, you could argue the opposite viewpoint, since piano students would have the benefit of hearing correct intervals (assuming that the piano is in tune). Which hypothesis do you… Read more

MP3 Squeeze: How Much Compression is Too Much?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Do you love to listen to your MP3 player while you're exercising, or listen to songs on the Internet? The relatively recent development of MP3 technology has made it possible to take a stack of CD's and store them on a device no bigger than a deck of cards. How does the MP3 format squeeze all those CD's down so well, and can it go too far? Try this music science fair project to find out! Read more

Cha-cha-cha by Latitude

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

You probably know that where you live on Earth affects your weather. If you live in a far northern or far southern latitude, you experience colder temperatures than people who live near the equator at latitudes close to zero. Your latitude on Earth affects many aspects of your culture, like how you dress, what kind of house you live in, what foods you eat, and even how your day is structured: what time you go to school, to dinner, and to sleep. Some cities at latitudes closer to the equator,… 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

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

Middle School, Music Science Projects (28 results)

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