9781422272923

CHAPTER 1

SCIENCE IN MUSIC

Science and music may seem like very different fields of study, but the two have all kinds of amazing connections. From the ways instruments and voices produce sound, to the ways that sound vibrations affect our bodies and the world around us, the links between science and music are mind-blowing. Without music, life on earth would be very different. HOW INSTRUMENTS MAKE SOUND Sound is created by vibration. Whenever a musician plays an instrument, it creates a sound wave that wiggles the air molecules around it. The sound waves create wiggly air molecules that move through space until they reach a listener’s ears. Then the sound waves travel through the listener’s ears, causing the structures of the ear to vibrate. The listener’s brain perceives these vibrations as sound. Musical instruments create vibration in various ways. There are four main categories of musical instruments: winds, brass,

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