Teachers Demonstrate the Physics Behind Music
Physics teacher Heidi Leibowitz partnered up with band instructor Frank Rizzo (both pictured) to bring physics students into the band room for a lesson that was geared toward the "physics behind the music." The two teachers co-taught a lesson on harmonic series and the frequency spectrum. The lesson was launched with a physics review by Ms. Leibowitz and then Mr. Rizzo utilized the expert playing of his band members to illustrate how many musical effects are influenced by physics. For instance, he played flute with a student to illustrate a buzzing noise produced when certain tones are joined together to create new waves of sound. He also demonstrated several other concepts such as how the pitch of a brass instrument is affected by the length of the tubing of that instrument. Students found the demonstrations fascinating.