Pitch Concept

Demonstrations in Pitch

Two signal generators, a Behringer Eurolive B205D powered monitor speaker, an Agilent oscilloscope, and a microphone on a lab bench
Safety

Range of Hearing

Demonstrates the range of human hearing by sweeping from 20 kHz downward. Students raise their hands when they hear the tone, vividly showing that high-frequency hearing declines with age — …
Galton's whistle mounted on a Leybold stand with rubber hose for compressed air supply
Safety

Galton's Whistle

Galton's whistle produces very high-frequency sound at or above the limit of human hearing. Students discover that sound exists beyond audible perception -- younger audience members typically hear it while …
Two sensitive flame burner assemblies: left unit has a small wheel-like fixture on a rod with round black base, right unit has a brass tube mounted in a gray rectangular block
Safety

Sensitive (Manometric) Flames

Sensitive flame burners produce flames that flicker visibly when exposed to high-frequency sound, providing direct visual evidence that sound carries energy. Historically, these flames served as detectors in "optical" experiments …
Collection of about ten bottles of various sizes — a large plastic Sprite bottle, green glass bottles, a dark champagne-style bottle, and several clear glass and plastic bottles arranged on a gray surface

Bottle Band

Demonstrates how resonant frequency varies with bottle shape, size, and air column length. Adding water shortens the air column and raises the pitch. One bottle has no base, allowing comparison …
Eight color-coded Boomwhacker tubes of graduated lengths with note labels (C through C), plus two black end caps, arranged on a green surface

Boomwhackers

Colored tubes of different lengths produce different pitches when struck, demonstrating the inverse relationship between air column length and resonant frequency. Adding a cap to one end converts an open …
Large metal siren disk with multiple concentric rings of holes, mounted on a white motor base. A yellow air hose with nozzle is positioned near the disk, and a yellow bar clamp secures the apparatus to the table.
Safety

Seebeck's Disk

Demonstrates that periodic air disturbances produce musical tones while aperiodic ones produce noise. Evenly spaced holes on the outer rings create chords; randomly spaced inner holes create noise. Changing rotation …
Nine toothed disks mounted on a horizontal shaft in a wooden frame with numbered positions 1-9, a blue cordless drill at the left end, and a wooden shim in front

Savart's Toothed Wheel

A drill-driven set of toothed disks produces a musical scale when a wooden shim is held against each rotating disk. Students directly observe that more teeth per revolution means higher …