Sound+Project+Essay

Sound Project Essay

Over the past few weeks, I have been working on my sound project. I was required to build an instrument from household objects, and draw a blueprint for a theater to put in Langhansville. I decided to make a percussion instrument, which I call //Impacto//. This idea came to me when I was struggling to come up with and instrument. I looked at my snare drum and decided to use beads and other small items to make a can vibrate and create a sound. The //Impacto// instrument makes a sound almost like a tambourine, it jingles and jangles. The name of my band is //Beat Squad,// and the concert hall is named //Langhans' Concert Hall// When I decided what to use for my instrument, I wanted to use very simple materials. I used an empty coffee can for the main part of //Impacto.// I then poured about a half of a cup of rice in to the can. After I securely closed the can, I wrapped a gypsy coin trim around the can. My mom helped me with making the instrument by finding the coin trim, and helping me figure out how to keep the trim on the can. I didn't really make anything myself, but I recycled items from around my house, like trim from a costume my mom had made, and used coffee cans. In the end, I used the items from around my house to create something completely different, and something you wouldn't think about when you looked at these items on any other day. I did run into a few obstacles while making the instrument. First, I couldn't figure out how to create the sound I had wanted. Second, I couldn't come up with a way to keep the coin trim attached to the can. I resolved these problems by hot-gluing the trim onto the can. It is very easy to play //Impacto.// All you have to do to play the instrument is shake it to the beat that you prefer. The coins attached to the trim hit the side of the can causing a jingling noise to sound from the instrument. //Impacto// can also be played my hitting the top of the can with your hands, or sticks, and it causes a drum-like sound. There really isn't a way to tune //Impacto//, all you have to do is make sure that the coins it the side of the can, and make sure there isn't too much or too little rice in the can. Since the sound of this instrument has a high pitch, the frequency of the sound waves from the instrument travel quickly. When I was assigned this project, I was very overwhelmed. It turns out, that I had as much trouble as I thought I would. Throughout the time of this project, my favorite part if the project was being able to make my own instrument. I learned that there is a lot of thought that goes into how making an instruments works, and how it is difficult to find ways to make new instrument. I am happy with the results of my instrument, though I do wish I could have made it a little more detailed.