Length matters
Short, tight strings vibrate faster and sound higher. Long, loose strings vibrate slowly and sound lower.
Size of objects
Small bells, small drums and small pipes have higher pitches than big ones. Try a triangle vs. a big drum!
Your voice
Your vocal cords stretch and loosen to change pitch — that's how you sing different notes.
🔑 Key Terms
- Pitch
- How high or low a sound is.
- Vocal cords
- Two stretchy bands in your throat that vibrate to make voice sounds.
Did you know?
A piano has 88 keys — the lowest one vibrates 27 times per second; the highest, over 4,000!
Try it at home: Water bottle xylophone
- Fill 5 glass bottles with different amounts of water.
- Gently tap each with a spoon.
- Which has the highest pitch — most water or least water? (More water = lower pitch.)