Flute Physics

Overview

Objectives/Goals The objective of this project was to see if keyhole (finger hole) size, on a flute, would affect its pitch, (I was curious how a flute worked). I believed that as the keyhole size got bigger the pitch would go up. Methods/Materials First I did some research on flutes and sound waves, then, me and my dad built a two-foot PVC flute with an embouchure hole and a cork in one end and a keyhole in the other end. I used different size drill bits from 1/16-3/4 and a drill to bore different size keyholes in the same flute (one at a time). I then played the flute, with the keyhole open, and used a tuning app on my dad¡#s phone to see the note being played and the hertz. For each hole I played the lowest note, an octave above it, two octaves above it, and a note in between the second and third octaves. Results As the keyhole size got bigger the pitch went up, but it barely went up between some keyhole sizes where it went up drastically for others. Conclusions/Discussion Although the keyhole size did affect the pitch, I also realized that there were many other factors affecting the flute¡#s pitch as well. I thought this because the tuner was showing me many of the notes I was playing as much higher notes due to overtones.

Competition history

• CSEF 2014 Physics & Astronomy · Entry J1825

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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