This web page has been created to
support the
Science Olympiad
Sounds of Music Event
THE #1 BIGGEST PROBLEM FOR
CONTESTANTS IS GETTING THE INSTRUMENTS IN THE RIGHT OCTAVE!
About half of the teams in the invitationals, regionals, and state
events in Ohio in 2006 were knocked down to Tier 4 just because their
instruments were an octave higher or lower than the participants thought! It
is hard to hear this by ear, sometimes, and electronic tuners usually
don't report the octave, even though they may give a precise report of
the pitch. The only reliable way to tell the octave is to use a
spectrum analyzer. Here is a document that explains how to use
the free Audacity computer software to measure the sound spectrum of
your instrument and figure out the octave.
Determining Pitch - PDF file
Determining Pitch - HTML
Some sample sound files for you to practice on
Flute 1
Xylophone 1
Psaltery
Chimes 1
Flute 2
Xylophone 2
Guitar
Water Glass
Flute 3
Xylophone 3
Violin
Basic Concepts
A. Theory outline
B. Sample Test (Ohio State Science Olympiad, Sounds of Music,
2002)
Download PDF file
Coaches Training, OSU, October 29, 2005
Download MS-Word doc
Get Audacity sound
analysis
software
Also of interest:
From the national Science Olympiad website
Sounds of Music
ASA Musical Acoustics Website Project
Current version under development
Sound Analysis Software
Important Events
Science
Olympiad - Ohio State
Science Olympiad - National
I will keep adding to this site, so check back from time to
time. For example, I have a few years worth of item analysis for
the exam, and I plan to post it when I get it organized, so you can see
what parts gave past olympians the most trouble.
Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have about
musical instruments and the physics of music. If I come up
with any good answers of wider applicability, I'll post them too!
Peter Hoekje
Associate Professor of Physics
Department of Physics
Baldwin-Wallace College
Berea, OH 44017
(440) 826-2494
phoekje@bw.edu
Professional Interests
Musical Acoustics
Physics Education