The Science Behind Your Favorite Music

Your child’s favorite music might make them want to sing and dance, but did you know it also can offer valuable learning opportunities? Music has a way of bringing us together, inspiring us and influencing our moods, but it also can teach us about the science of sound!

Keep reading to uncover fascinating elements of music — and the next time your child is grooving to their newest musical obsession, you can share the science that makes their favorite bands rock.

Pitch Perfect

Sound is produced from vibrations that travel through the air and reach our ears as sound waves, and they make our eardrums vibrate as we hear them.

Every sound — from the strumming of a guitar to the crash of a cymbal — has a wavelength, the distance between consecutive high points of a sound wave. The number of high points that pass per second, also known as frequency, tells us the pitch of a sound.

The more waves that pass in the span of a second, the higher the frequency. When a sound wave has a higher frequency, we hear a higher-pitched sound, like the squeak of a mouse. The opposite is also true – fewer waves lead to a low frequency, and we hear low-pitch sounds, like the call of a blue whale.

A song may be composed of many high and low notes that we can distinguish and enjoy thanks to pitch.

Turn Up the Volume

Amplitude, which is represented by the height of the wave, tells us the amount of energy carried by a sound wave. A sound wave with high energy will have vibrations that cause air molecules to knock into each other with greater intensity.

The amplitude is higher for waves with more energy, resulting in a louder sound. Waves carrying lower energy will not push air molecules around as much, creating a quieter sound with low amplitude. When you want to turn your favorite songs all the way up, you’re relying on high-energy sound waves.

If your child likes to sing along, you can also encourage them to experiment with amplitude. Ask them to try singing a verse quietly, with a low amplitude, and when you get to the chorus, tell them to belt it out and feel the difference of a higher amplitude!

Science Rocks

Want to help your child put their newfound music knowledge to the test? Check out this free STEM activity! By following some simple steps, your young innovator can create their own DIY instrument and dive deeper into the science of sound.

Keep Exploring

Keep an eye on our blog to discover more exciting ways to explore science in the world around us!