Klarinet Archive - Posting 000921.txt from 1999/12

From: "John W. Sheridan" <otare@-----.au>
Subj: Re: [kl] science fair project
Date: Tue, 28 Dec 1999 02:28:27 -0500

Hi Mark:

As a science teacher with 26 years of experience I'd like to offer some
suggestions or thoughts as to a fair project. I agree that a focus on the
reeds is an excellent choice. You don't mention scientific equipment
available, though I'd imagine as a high school student you have access to
microscopes at least, and possibly instruments to measure or record
qualities of sound. Possibly you might be able to graphically display
frequencies, overtones, etc using an "oscilloscope", or perhaps even some
physics software in conjunction with a computer - making a comparison of
reeds of the same general strength, but that exhibit different qualities of
tone. It would be neat if you could physically identify reeds that produce
a good or poor tone - comparing cellular structure, etc along with graphical
evidence that could be used to identify "good tone". Do take care in
keeping to one single variable that you are testing for - perhaps even
focusing on a single brand of reed to avoid the possiblilty of introducing
different varieties etc of cane, etc that might influence the outcome. Try
to be liberal and original in your thoughts on actual testing - maybe once
you've tried a number of reeds and separated them out by quality you could
try staining them and examining under a microscope to find unique qualities
in structure that don't show up to the naked eye. Even when you can find no
subtle differences, the effort and thought behind the research count much
towards your judging. Judges, and teachers love original thoughts and ideas
in testing, and if you could design your own testing apparatus it would
certainly be impressive. Maybe even something really freaky, like soaking
reeds in an electrolyte and measuring electrical resistance would turn up
some interesting results. Imagine how grateful reed manufacturers would be
if you came up with a simple test to identify premium sounding reeds from a
box that all appeared identical!
In addition to your lab work, research all you can about cane used for
reeds - are there different species of cane used, or factors such as climate
that influence good or poor quality cane? It generally turns out in a
"good" science project, an alert and conscientious scientist creates more
questions than answers. For example, is there a difference in porosity or
water holding qualities in various reed which might affect sound.
Ultimately, a list of possible questions to explore or test continues to
grow and you may find it difficult exactly which one you wish to pursue.
Lastly, I'd recommend that you collect all the information about reads,
including other influencing factors like mouthpieces, ligatures, and
instruments to round out your background knowledge that you'll be
presenting - you really can't have too much material, lest the judge or
judges slip in a question about your project that you "hadn't thought of".
Good luck in your project and I'd enjoy hearing from you as to what you
settle on, and your work.

John W. Sheridan
otare@-----.au

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