Tube Chimes
INTRODUCTION
Percussion instruments produce sounds when they are struck, shaken, scraped, or crashed
together. Some have a fixed note that cannot be changed, such as the triangle, cymbals,
gong, or maracas. They are made from solid materials, usually metal or wood and,
because the sounds they make do not involve vibrating columns of air, their sounds tend
to be sharp and short-lived. Other percussion instruments, including the xylophone and
tubular bells, are tuned to a particular pitch and can play octaves. A xylophone is also
made from metal or wood—often a mixture of the two—and consists of a number of bars,
arranged in a similar way to the keys on a piano. Each bar is made a specific length so
that it produces a sound of a certain pitch. Short bars make high notes and longer bars
make lower notes.
MATERIALS
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60" of copper tubing (any diameter)
Broom handle
Tape
String
Scissors
2 large nails
Hacksaw
WHAT TO DO
1. Using the hacksaw cut a length of copper pipe into 8 pieces (4", 5", 6", 7", 8", 9",
10", and 11").
2. Lay the broom handle across the backs of two chairs.
3. Cut 8 similar pieces of string and tie the first to the broom handle. Take the
shortest tube and use tape to attach the tube to the piece of string. Repeat this for
the other tubes, trying to get them to hang straight and with their tops at the same
height.
4. Strike to tubes gently with a long nail to make them ring.
QUESTIONS
1. How does the length of the pipe relate to the pitch of the sound produced?
2. Can you make different sounds using objects other than the nails to strike the
tubes?
SOURCE
"SOUND: Science Projects." Simon de Pinna, Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishers: Austin,
1998, p. 36-37.
© S. Olesik, WOW Project, Ohio State University, 2000.
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