Music Perception and the Voice Concept

Demonstrations in Music Perception and the Voice

Four wooden resonance boxes of decreasing size arranged in a row, each with a turned wooden coupling knob on top and an open front face. A tuning fork rests on each box.

Resonance Boxes

Demonstrates acoustic resonance by coupling tuning forks to wooden boxes of matching resonant frequency. Students hear dramatic amplification when a fork matches its box, illustrating how cavity geometry determines resonant …
Blown glass flask-shaped resonator on cork base, three aluminum tuning forks of increasing size, and a cork-ball mallet on a gray surface

Glass Resonator

Demonstrates frequency-selective acoustic resonance. Three tuning forks (C-128, C-256, C-512 Hz) are held near a blown glass Helmholtz resonator; the C-256 fork produces a dramatically louder response, illustrating how a …
Agilent InfiniiVision oscilloscope displaying a sinusoidal waveform from a tuning fork; AKG microphone on desk stand, Behringer powered monitor speaker, and audio adapter box on table; hand holding tuning fork near microphone

Microphone and Oscilloscope

Visualizes sound as waveforms on an oscilloscope. Students see the connection between pitch and frequency, loudness and amplitude, and timbre and waveform shape by comparing tuning forks, voices, and instruments …