Analyzing "The Other Side" Of A Song

For the course Radio Rithmetic, we studied meters, phrase, form, notation, tempo, conversions of songs into seconds, golden ratio, outlining the song, and how to graph the pitch, volume, speed and rhythm of a song. We went to Guitar Center for an FE, where we visited the percussion section. We got to try the instruments, make rhythms with them and we each did research on an instrument that we found interesting. Another FE that we did was walking around our neighborhood listing for music, going into stores hearing what type of music they have and asking the employees about it. We also did research on music that has unique instruments in it. I researched Samba from Brazil and I found that it has African roots. For our action project, we chose a song that we like to analyze it. I chose the song The Other Side by Bruno Mars because I like the beat. Once I analyzed it, using everything that we learned I made a video. During this project I had difficulty reaching the length of my song and I learned how to have an equal balance when I speak and the background music. To learn more about my project check out my video below.

Guitar or Diddley Bow?

In the second unit of the course Light, Sound and Time, we studied the speed of sound, echoes, the Doppler effect, Mach, rates, decibels, parts of the ear and how we receive sound. We also learned about harmonics, infrasound, audible hearing, ultrasound, sonar, how fast sound travels through materials, and how a guitar’s frequencies change through the strings. For our action project, we made a Diddley Bow. A Diddley Bow is a one string instrument made of a piece of wood, four screws, a battery and a tin can. During this action project I had difficulty getting tension on the string because my original idea was making a long Diddley Bow, but since I couldn’t get the tension needed, I made it shorter to get the right sound. From this project I learned that screwing a screw on a thick piece of wood with a screwdriver is hard and that to make a good sound for an instrument you need to be accurate with string tension and the type of string. I am proud of my Diddley Bow because it was difficult to build and to sound how I wanted it to sound and at the end I got it how I wanted it.

KIS. Diddley Bow. 2016.

The way my Diddley Bow produces sound using one string is that when I play it, it vibrates through the tin can which amplifies the sound. When it is played with a slide on the string it changes sound as it moves. For example, when it moves down towards the tin can the sound becomes higher because the strings vibration gets shorter and when moving the opposite way it sounds deeper and the string vibration gets longer. Depending on the thickness of the string it will most likely decide what type of sound will come out. For example on a thin string, the sound will be high pitch like a violin and on a thick string the sound will be low like a bass guitar. My instrument demonstrates pitch/frequency by the type of string. I chose a thick, short, tight wire string. Another thing that really helps with the sound is the size of the tin can because it changes how loud and clear your sound is. My Diddley Bow demonstrates sound waves because when I play the string, depending on how soft or loud I pluck the string it will determine the amplitude of the sound wave.

KIS. Sketch of Diddley Bow. 2016.

The Doppler Effect is when a frequency changes as it moves towards or away from the observer. The frequency get higher when it gets closer to the observer and the wavelength get shorter. The wavelength get longer and the frequency get lower when it moves away from the observer. My Diddley Bow can demonstrate this if I walk and play my instrument as I move towards someone who is standing still. As I move closer to the person the frequency is higher and as I move away from the person the frequency is lower.

The length of the string from the tin hole to the screw is 13 ½ inches, the diameter of the tincan is 4 inches and the radius is 2 inches. The height of the tin can is 5 ½ inches, the thickness of the string is 0.046 inches and the volume of the body is 69.11 inches. The way I got that is by using the equation “pi x r^2 x height.” The note of my string is F2, the frequency of that note is 87.31Hz and the wavelength is 395.16cm. The way I got the frequency and wavelength for my harmonics is by multiplying the 1st harmonic by 2 and dividing the wavelength by 2 and as I go on I just multiply and divide by the next number. The 1st harmonic is 87.31Hz (F) & 395.16cm (W), the 2nd harmonic is 174.62Hz (F) & 197.58cm (W), the 3rd harmonic is 261.93Hz (F) & 131.72cm (W) , and the 4th harmonic is 349.24Hz (F) & 98.79cm (W).

KIS. Harmonics. 2016.

If I could do this project again I would choose a different string, maybe a thinner one because it was very difficult to get the right tension for a thick string so it might be easier for a thinner string. Also the pitch of my Diddley Bow would be much higher than it is and I would like that. Also I would use nails instead of screws because the nails would be more easier to get through the wood and I would have finished my project sooner.

KIS. Diddley Bow. 2016.

 

My Homemade Camera!

For the first unit for the course Light, Sound & Time, we studied refraction, Snell’s law, Trigonometry, lab reports and light. We learned about the speed of light and how fast it goes. We also learned about frequencies, waves, electromagnetic spectrum, prism, colors, particles and how a camera is similar to the human eyeball. For our action project, we were assigned to create a pinhole camera. The camera's body can be a box, cardboard, metal, cylinder, etc. as long as you can open it and put (special) paper inside. At the end we will have created our own camera and have a picture from it developed in a dark room. During this project it was difficult to find a way to close the box so no light could come in but at the same time I needed a way to open it so I could put the film paper in and take it out. I also had difficulty finding a shutter speed that would create a good image. I learned how film is made, the process of it and how time consuming it is (9 minutes). I am proud of my calculations.

KIS. Camera. 2016.

The way my camera works is by capturing the light by opening a pinhole in the middle of my camera. The light then goes through the camera and shines on a special paper inside that will capture the image upside down. I leave it open for about two minutes to let the image develop then I close it. I put my hand over the hole to make sure no light enter as I make my way to the dark room. In the dark room there is no light allowed, only low yellow lights. In there I take out the film and put it in a process of four trays with chemicals that allows you to see the photo. Unfortunately my camera does not illustrate the idea of refraction because refraction only occurs when light goes from one medium to another, such as air to water or glass. It is super important to paint my camera black inside because when the light goes in it won’t reflect whereas if it were white it would reflect and the image wouldn’t come out as wanted.

My camera demonstrates wave vs. particle when the light hits the paper which will record the image. The light hits the paper as a particle and leaves photons behind which take part in the developing process. It demonstrates the electromagnetic spectrum, specifically the visible spectrum in terms of colors because it uses black to absorb the light and energy from the sun. The object I chose to photograph is a mini Eiffel Tower because I had it and because I like the Eiffel Tower. The distance from my lens to the photo paper is 8cm, the height of pinhole is 12cm, the height of the Eiffel Tower is 26cm and the distance from the camera to Eiffel Tower is 15cm.

 KIS. Similar Triangle. 2016.

                                           

                                                            KIS. Calculations. 2016.

For my first picture I used a shutter speed of 3 minutes and when I developed it, it came out black because it had been exposed to too much light. Then I tried again with a shutter speed of 1 minute, but it still came out dark when I developed it. That’s when I realized that my box wasn't covered well because light was getting in and that is what ruined my picture. If I could do it all over again I would choose a different box or a cylinder so that no light could come in and the opening would be different. I would also like to use less tape because after taping and untaping the same tape it loses the stickiness and that’s what probably happened to my camera.

KIS. Black Photo. 2016

Rook Chess Piece

In the second unit of the course Rapid Prototyping, we studied Riemann sums, Conic sections, Forced perspective, Functions, Visible human project, PLA plastic, ABS plastic and learned how the 3D printer works. The things we focused more on 3D printing, how it works, what parts does it have and what kind of plastic the printer uses. We talked a lot about Forced perspective and how viewing something from different angles makes you see different things. Also learning about the visible human project was one of the key point of this project because it slices up the human body and takes a picture of every slice. For our action project, we were assigned a chess piece to create. I was assigned the rook with my partner. We went thought the process of innovating or creating something.  We went through the sketch process, the first clay model, the cardboard model and finally the end product 3D model. During this project, I had difficulties with getting the clay look like a rook and creating my piece on Tinkercad because every time I turned the view the pieces weren't on top of each other. I am proud of my 3D print and my Prezi.