Abstract

In our introductory musical acoustics course for non-science majors, a major goal of the course is to introduce students to the principles of scientific thinking and investigation. Many students have preconceived ideas or beliefs about factors influencing the sounds produced by musical instruments. It is the role of the instructor to help students frame their ideas into scientifically testable experiments, which can be conducted in the laboratory. In our course, we have designed a laboratory activity to challenge students to explore the role of the mouthpiece of brass musical instruments. A parametric model of a trumpet mouthpiece is customized by students in order to investigate the effects of changing mouthpiece geometry on the trumpet acoustics. The models are manufactured on a 3D printer and used in the laboratory to make input impedance measurements. Students compare their quantitative results to the qualitative conceptions they held before completing the laboratory investigation.

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