Sixth Grade, Music Science Projects (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

Can You Make a Happy Song Sad?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Are there some songs that always make you feel sad when you hear them? How about "Scarborough Fair," George Gershwin's "Summertime," or the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby"? All of these songs are in a minor key. Minor and major scales both use the same number of notes and include the same number of semitones (also called half tones), but in a different pattern. Some musicologists (people who study music) maintain that minor-key songs are more likely to be perceived as sad, while major-key songs are… 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

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

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

Sixth Grade, Music Science Projects (19 results)

Explore Our Science Videos