Post By Gau
This was a physics assignment for my 1st term.
The basic components of any stringed instrument is the string for creating the sound, the bridge for creating the tension in the string, the nut for adjusting the tension and finally the wooden body, on which the other components are placed and through which the sound reverberates.
This was a physics assignment for my 1st term.
We built a 1 string guitar, 1 string because it is much simpler to adjust the tension for a single instrument than for a multi-string guitar. The design is adapted from a Diddley Bow Guitar on makers camp.
The base of my guitar is the front board of a now defunct draw from under our bed.
two nails are hammered into either end of the board to hold the guitar string .
an empty glass bottle with straight sides is used as the bridge to tension the string.
a wooden block from my brother's toy set was used as the nut at the other end to adjust the tension.
when I first started playing, I used one finger to pluck the string and another finger to alter the tension and play different notes; However this produced a very flat sound.
The pitch of a string instrument can be changed by varying the length of the string, tension in the string or thickness of the string. The length of the plank limits the extent to which I can change the string length; I only had a single guitar string, so I could not modify the string thickness. The only thing adjustable was the string tension. I then used a glass bottle for adjusting the tension and my finger for strumming this worked beautifully , but i could not play fast enough.
I used a drum stick (from 5th standard annual day) for strumming the guitar and a glass bottle for adjusting the tension. This worked the best. I ended up with a percussion cum string instrument.
I set the bottle at various points along the length of the string, strummed the guitar, identified and marked the locations for the complete musical scale. I could then play nursery rhymes clear enough for my 3 year old brother to identify.
The sound produced was clear but low in volume, so I tried adding a chamber in which the sound would reverberate like in the wooden casing of a real guitar. The holes on the plant for pulling the draw provided an obvious location for adding a reverberation chamber. Both a mud pot and a plastic box produced equally good sounds. I tried a smaller, more easier to attach iPhone box.
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| top view of plant hole, iPhone box goes below |
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| side view with iPhone box |
The sound was just as good and I could superglue it to my guitar frame.
I have posted a song played on this guitar to my YouTube channel.
