Sound is produced by air vibrating around us. How fast the air
vibrates, determines the pitch of the sound.
A slow vibration will produce a low pitch.
A fast vibration will produce a high pitch
The note A has 440 vibrations per second. Listen to the sound of the note A
Middle A = 440 vibrations per second
The next highest A has double the vibrations
Higher A = 880 vibrations per second
The A which is lower than middle A has half the vibrations of middle A
Lower A = 220 vibrations per second
Activity 1
Listen to these different pitches. Next to each one, describe
whether the sound is high, medium or low pitch.
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Listen to the sounds again. This time put them in order of pitch, with the lowest sound first. For example if you think 6 was the lowest sound, start your list with 6.
You can listen to the sounds more than once if you need to.
When you have finished, check your answers here.
Activity 2
How high or low a sound is, depends on how high up the stave (the 5 lines) the note is written. There is an easy way to remember the lines and spaces on the stave.
For the lines, remember the phrase : Every
Green Bus Drives Fast
For the spaces, remember the word : F A C E
For this activity you will need a keyboard or a glockenspiel.
Look at the notes below and try to find them on your instrument
When you have finished, check your answers here.
For these tests, you will hear 3 different pitches. You have to
draw a graph of how high or low the notes go when they are played.
If the note goes higher, draw a line going up.
If the note goes lower, draw a line going down.
If the note stays the same, draw a line going across.
Example
Listen to this example then look at the graph of the notes.
Now it's your turn. Draw a graph of the notes you hear.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
When you have finished, check your answers here.
Information
The oboe is a member of the Woodwind family of instruments. This is the instrument in the orchestra with the purest sound, so it is the instrument that the whole orchestra tunes to. At the beginning of a concert, the oboe will play the note A (440 vibrations per second) and all the rest of the orchestra will tune to this note.
