SURROUNDING SOUNDS

ABOUT THIS CHALLENGE

The world is full of sounds to explore. Indeed, anything can be a musical instrument with a little bit of creativity. This challenge is designed to encourage students to discover the musical qualities of various everyday objects and put them to use. Note, we chose to highlight the set of topics and standards below as a list that closely connects with this challenge.

TOPICS STANDARDS

Sound Science Standards (NGSS): Pitch 4-PS3-2 Make observations to provide evidence that energy Amplitude can be transferred from place to place by, sound, light, heat and electric currents. Music 4-PS4-3 Generate and compare multiple solutions that use Analysis patterns to transfer information. Using Tools to Record Data Categorizing Data Organizing Data

PAGE 1 www.OKGoSandbox.org EXPLORE INSTRUMENTAL QUALITIES IN ORDINARY OBJECTS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES Students will be able to: Observe and record information about the qualities of various objects. Organize that information in a convenient way. Collect and interpret data in order to help operationally define what an instrument is. Experiment with different methods and new ideas in order to determine if an object will fit their desired purpose.

GETTING STARTED

Show the “Needing/Getting” music video Get students excited about the STEAM concepts in this video. Go to OKGoSandbox.org and play the “Surrounding Sounds” videos. These videos will outline the challenge and explain OK Go's creative thinking behind the music video “Needing/Getting.” Go to OKGoSandbox.org and play the “Needing/Getting Q&A” video In this Q&A, OK Go explains the creative and scientific processes they went through to create the music video “Needing/Getting.” The Q&A can be shown before the challenge to inspire students, or after to answer any lingering questions they have.

PAGE 2 www.OKGoSandbox.org MATERIALS

Surrounding Sounds Worksheet Bowls Surrounding Sounds Student Guide Tin Cans Soft Mallets Wood Blocks PVC Pipes Other Sturdy Objects and Recycled Mate- Vases rials

PART ONE: INQUIRY

Collect and analyze unusual musical instruments Students will form groups of 2-4. Have them collect 4-7 objects that they believe may be musical. It may be helpful to stage a few items such as vases, bowls or jars of small objects throughout the room for students to find. If you are comfortable, introduce soft mallets to allow students to strike sturdy objects for effect. Allow time for students to experiment and collect those objects they think are just right. Once students have collected their items, have them work together to analyze the different qualities of their objects. Provide questions that lead towards the musical characteristics of the objects, for example: the pitch, the resonance, the amplitude and the manner in which its sound is made. Using the Sound Intensity and Pitch Sensors in Science Journal, students can record precise values and quantify the characteristics of their instruments. Have students take detailed notes, or use our surrounding sounds worksheet, to record their observations.

PAGE 3 www.OKGoSandbox.org PART TWO: CHALLENGE

Create music by combining data and household objects With their completed worksheets from part one, have each group pick a song from the music on the last page. Their goal is to perform the song in their groups using the instruments they’ve collected and the information they gathered about pitches on their worksheets. If the pitches of their objects don’t match any of the songs available, help them find an object that does. The pitch of an object, like a vase or bowl, can also be changed by adding or subtracting water from it.

Now that their instruments have been put to the test, it’s time for students to create a song of their own. The groups should try to do this on their own, but if it proves challenging, a very common method is to have each member create a rhythm that they enjoy and have each member add their rhythm one at a time until all members are playing their instruments.

PAGE 4 www.OKGoSandbox.org VOCABULARY

When struck, objects tend to vibrate. The speed at which they vibrate is called a frequency. Frequencies are mathematically predictable and definable.Pitch is a simpler name that we give to a certain frequency that we use very often. These most often take the place of letter-names on the musical scale. Amplitude describes how loud a sound is. Amplitude is measured in decibels, and is a measure of the total energy in a sound wave at a given distance from the source of the sound. Pitch and Amplitude are qualities of the sound itself, but resonance is a quality of the object creating the sound. A resonant object will vibrate, and thus create sound, for a long time after it is struck. Things like cymbals and bells are said to have strong resonance. On the other end, objects can be dampened, which means they do not vibrate well after being struck. If you knock on a door, and the sound does not ring out, the door is said to be very dampened.

GUIDING QUESTIONS

What instruments stand out the most? How can the instrument be changed to suit your needs? What qualities make the instrument sound the way it does? How would the instrument sound if it was bigger/smaller/thicker etc.? Do you have anything in your backpack that could be an instrument? Where did OK Go use unconventional instruments in their music video “Needing/ Getting?”

PAGE 5 www.OKGoSandbox.org