Music Science Projects (Page 2)

Beats

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Beats are a pattern of oscillating sound intensity (i.e., the volume of the pattern grows and fades with a regular cycle). They occur when two tones of almost equal frequency interfere. People can perceive beat frequencies below about 7 Hz. Figure out how to create sound files to play pure tones on your computer. Create files with a pure tone of one frequency in the left channel, and a pure tone of a different frequency in the right channel. Systematically explore different frequency… Read more

Movie Music

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever seen a great movie and then rushed out and bought its soundtrack? Did the soundtrack bring back the thrill of an action chase? Or the sadness one of the movie's characters felt? Music is a big part of the movie experience. It intensifies the emotions in scenes so that you do not just jump when that hairy spider comes around the corner, you scream! In this music science fair project, you will find out if happy, sad, scary, and action scenes in movies use music with the same… Read more

Take a Musical Step Back in Time: Make Your Own Phonograph from Everyday Items

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Don't you just love listening to music? In the 1980s, people listened to music on the Sony® Walkman®. Now, people listen to their favorite tunes on MP3 players and on their Apple® iPhonesTM. But listening to music on devices actually started in the late 1800s and early 1900s. In those days, people would gather around their phonograph to listen to their favorite tunes—people were just as amazed with the phonograph as you would be to handle an iPhone. In this physics science… 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

Do-Re-Mi with Straws

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Do you love to make music, but do not have access to all the instruments you would love to play? Check out this fun science fair project about the physics of musical sound production. You will make musical instruments with drinking straws, one for each note on a one-octave major scale. Can you figure out the right lengths for a series of straw "oboes" in order to play a musical scale? Read more

How Tweet It Is: Bird Songs in Classical Music

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Do you enjoy singing contests like American Idol? Well, male songbirds have their own version of a singing competition that has been going on for thousands of years, and classical musical composers have been taking notes! In this music science fair project, you'll investigate the different instruments composers have used to imitate or create impressions of bird songs and bird calls. 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

Comparing Vocal Ranges: How High and Low Can Your Voice Go?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

What is the highest note you can sing? How about the lowest? Do you think males and females can reach the same notes? How about children and adults? Find out the answers to all these questions in this "note"-worthy science fair project! 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

Blowing Bottle Tops: Making Music with Bottles

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever blown across a bottle's top and made a pleasant, resonant sound? If so, have you wondered how that note is made exactly? A bottle is actually what is called an air cavity, also known as a Helmholtz resonator. Ocarinas are examples of musical instruments of this type. In this science project, you will use bottles to investigate how the volume of air in the cavity affects the pitch of the note that it makes. All you need are some bottles, water, a ruler, and a chromatic tuner. Read more

Music Science Projects (36 results)

Explore Our Science Videos