#tonoscope

[cryptid-stimming]

Watch my voice!

[Image ID: two gifs of a person using a homemade tonoscope, an instrument that allows sand to move from the sound of a human voice. The blue sand warps and swirls in round and geometric pattens on the surface of the instrument as the person sings.]

[iowacitypast]

Tonoscope, The University of Iowa, 1930

Photographer: Kent, Frederick W.

Tonoscope built by Professor Carl E. Seashore in 1930.

Source: http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ictcs/id/8560

[pretentiousartyshit]

Continuation of my mark making project, I built my own tonoscope an used salt and voice to create my own ‘cymatic marks’... captured with photography. Here my friend is also photographed giving it a go.

[nowstuffnow]

Mantrasv& Meditation Work

Picture credit Facebook

This blog strictly with the Home Team of F,S&HG! Honing Discernment, Informing Choice. Challenge but not hurt feelings. If its out there & worthy of remark, well, what do you expect? Turn On, Tune In, Be Still…….

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[safeminds]

432 hz vs 440hz cymatics experiment tonoscope

[everyendeavor]

Image 1: Swiss engineer and medical doctor Hans Jenny with his Tonoscope, an apparatus for rendering sound visible by registering the vibrations on a plate.

Image 2: Sri Yantra appearing as sound wave patterns on the plate of Dr. Jenny's Tonoscope as a result of human voice singing Om.

Image 3: An artist rendition of the Sri Yantra sacred symbol.

The Science:  In the 1960's and '70's, Swiss engineer and medical doctor, Hans Jenny performed experiments using sound frequencies on various materials such as water, sand, dust, liquid plastic and milk. 

Dr Jenny placed the material on a metal plate attached to a crystal oscillator, which was controlled by a frequency generator capable of producing a wide range of vibrations (the Tonoscope).  He then filmed and photographed what happened on the plate.

To describe his work, Dr. Jenny coined the term Cymatics (the study of wave-form phenomena), which is derived from the Greek 'kyma' meaning 'wave', and 'ta kymatica' meaning 'matters pertaining to waves'.

[mahinterncity]

Making Sound Waves Visible: DIY Tonoscope

If you’ve been following along with us this summer you might have heard about some of our preparations for our 3rd Friday Event called Santa Cruz Music Night. At 3rd Friday events Community Programs Interns like myself come up with art making experiences for visitors. On Friday August 16th we presented our music related projects which included record art, song writing, and creating a collaborative playlist. My research into sound and art led me to discover a device called a “Tonascope” which allows you to make the sound waves from your own voice visible. A vibrating membrane spread with sand or salt will pick up sound waves and make visible the patterns these waves create at various tones.

Because the tonascope was a hit at our event I wanted to share it with you! The Tonascope device is made of plastic PVC pipe from a hardware store, a balloon, and sand or salt. It is simple to construct, easy to use, and a fun way to talk about some of the science of sound. To create your own tonascope you will need the following:

Construct your Tonascope: The long straight piece of PVC will become the “mouthpiece” of your tonascope. It should be fitted into the curved joint piece and then fitted into the piece with the larger opening. The large opening will eventually be covered by a balloon to become the vibrating membrane where you see the sound waves of your voice. Specifically I used ABS pipe (at the hardware store they said there was very little difference between ABS and PVC), and my mouthpiece was 1 foot long and 2” wide. This length of pipe fit into an elbow piece which was also 2” wide. The elbow was then inserted into an “adaptor” which changed the 2” opening to a 4” opening. The end which was now 4” in diameter fit into another elbow piece which was 4” on one side and 6” at the other. I used 4 pieces total and the 6” opening became the surface for the balloon.

It is not necessary to use these exact specifications to create your scope. The general goal is to create a scope where the mouth opening is small and the end opening is as large as possible (since this is where the sand will be spread to view the sound waves). The other goal is make the curve of the scope such that when you hold the scope up to your mouth the opening will lie flat and parallel to the ground (so that the sand does not fall off). 

If you choose to us ABS or PVC pipe to create your device the pipe will fit together naturally like Legos and no further attachment will be necessary. To finish the tonascope the last step is to create the membrane by stretching a balloon over the wide opening. I used a standard sized balloon from Walgreens to cover the 6” opening of my scope. To stretch the balloon over the pipe cut off the long end of the balloon (where you would blow into it) so that you are left with the round head. Then stretch the round head piece over the opening so that the balloon is pulled taught over the hole and secure the balloon with rubber bands. Your tonascope is now ready to use!

Use Your Tonascope: To use your scope to make your voice visible pick up your scope and spread some sand or salt on the surface of the balloon. Hold it level to the ground so that the sand does not fall off. Then sing a tone into the opening of the scope and hold that note for a few seconds. Rather than blowing air directly into the mouthpiece make a sound into it, think “do re mi fa so la ti da”. You can even sing a song! You should start to see the sand move and fall into different geometric patterns. Now try singing a higher or lower tone and watch how the pattern changes.

The Science of Sound: The sound produced by your voice travels in waves which flow through the balloon and make the surface of the balloon vibrate. When two waves hit each other they cancel out and no movement occurs at the point where they hit. Sand catches in the spots where no movement occurs and forms the geometric patterns you see. As the pitch of the note gets higher the frequency of the sound waves increase and the waves appear more “intense” or close together, as in the image above. As the frequency of the waves increase the patterns become more intricate. Thus the higher the note you sing, the more intricate the pattern will be. The pattern from the tonascope in the left image may be made by a frequency like 100 HZ whereas the pattern on the right will be made by a more intense frequency from a higher pitch like the 220 HZ.  

Happy experimenting!

Alexa

Community Programs Intern

[hvc3]