Poptar Instrument Report

Poptar Instrument Report

The poptar was an instrument made by Nick Penny. He took the names “soda pop” and “guitar” and combined them to make “poptar.” The instrument is composed of three simple objects. This includes an empty two-liter soda bottle with a small slit towards the end to let air in and to be able to pluck it, a fishing line to produce the sound, and a pencil to help control the frequencies of the instrument. In general, sounds are vibrations in the air. This particular instrument can create a variety of sounds despite the fact the instrument only has one string.

Every instrument or even object can vibrate at certain frequencies. This is called the natural frequency. The lowest being the fundamental frequency, while the higher multiples are called the harmonic frequencies. Most times, the natural frequencies depend on the shape of the instrument and the material it is made of. If not done correctly, the natural frequency of the instrument will cause heavy displacement on the shape of the instrument, causing the sound to be not pleasant. This phenomenon is called resonance. Frequencies are made through the waves of a string. Amplitude comes into the role as the severity of the disturbances of waves. It is the the highest it can go from equilibrium.  To make these waves happen, the string would require the ends to not be affected by any attempt of displacement after being plucked and can stopped by being damped. These string ends are called nodes. For every two nodes, there must be an antinode located in the middle to support the wave.

The string mass determines the type of sound the instrument would make. The thicker the string is, the slower it vibrates. The tone of the poptar may be changed by pulling on the pencil or spinning it around. The main objective is to tighten the strings. The tighter the string is, the higher the tone will be. On the poptar, pulling the string at the correct times could lead up to producing up to four total notes.

The poptar instrument is a simple sound producing object yet may be complicated. Errors occurred when an actual guitar string was used. It was very loose and there was no way to tighten it at all. A fishing line was replaced, wrapped around the bottle, causing the tightening process to become easier. The slit was also made bigger due to the constant bleeding of finger. In conclusion, the poptar was able to produce many frequencies despite the fact it only has one string.

Works Cited:

"Resonance." Resonance. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. <http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/sound/U11l5a.cfm>.

"Standing Wave Patterns." Standing Wave Patterns. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. <http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/sound/u11l4c.cfm>.

"Natural Frequency." Natural Frequency. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. <http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/sound/u11l4a.cfm>.

"How Does a Guitar Work?" How a Guitar Works. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. <http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/music/guitar/guitarintro.html>.

"Musical Instruments from Junk: Make a Poptar with Nick Penny." Penny, Nick. YouTube, 30 July 2008. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he215SLuOLI>.