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 teachers 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.
3rd 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, 5th 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 (12th fret) and play the string at that fret. This sounds the octave. Then find the 7th 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 5th. 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 dont 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
to 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, , 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 stones 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 yz 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.

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

Math
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.