Anatomy of an Instrument: teacher key

Music and Instruments, grade 12 edition, written for 12th grade and up. From standing waves to a theremin's capacitor: a close look at how instruments turn motion into music, how people tested their claims, and what is still argued.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What does sound need to travel?
   • A vacuum
   • A medium (answer)
   • A magnet
2. What is true of the harmonics of a tube closed at one end?
   • Only even multiples
   • All the multiples
   • Only odd multiples of the fundamental (answer)
3. What is a semitone's frequency ratio in equal temperament?
   • About 1.059 (answer)
   • About 2
   • About 12
4. What did the double-blind violin test find?
   • All players chose an old violin
   • No one played
   • Only 8 of 21 players chose an old violin (answer)
5. What is still argued about the Divje Babe bone?
   • How tall it was
   • How its holes were made (answer)
   • Who bought it
6. What changes pitch on a theremin?
   • The distance of a hand from an antenna (answer)
   • A string being plucked
   • Air through a reed

Words

• harmonics: overtone family
• fundamental: lowest frequency
• inharmonic: not whole multiples
• temperament: tuning system
• electrophones: electric instruments
• capacitor: stores charge