Musical Bottles/Jars.

Here is a simple yet interesting project for children and a curiosity for adults.

Take a glass bottle and tap it with a spoon on the side of the bottle. Listen to the sound.

Now fill the glass bottle up halfway with water and tap the bottle with a spoon.

Notice the change in sound?

Now take 4-6 bottles and put water in each glass bottle from a small amount to the large amount, and then tap each bottle in turn.

Note that each bottle sounds differently.

I made a mistake with my bottles, they still had their labels on them and it occurred to me that the labels would limit the sound, like sound-dampers, as is seen here in Image 1.

Image 1

I tried the experiment anyway and yes, the sound changed from each bottle.

I used 6 bottles.

My guess is that if the labels were not there that the sound would be brighter, higher and more chirpy.

I then, and you should do this as well, blew across the top of each bottle.

Did you notice a change in sound when you blew across each bottle?

Image 2

Next I got 4 glass jars (Image 2) and put different amounts of water in each one and tapped them each on the side with a spoon.

The sound changed and I was able to make some simple tunes. Try a spoon and a teaspoon if you like.

If your jars or bottles have labels it would be wise to remove them for this experiment.

I did wonder though if someone used bottles with no labels and stuck stickers of various sizes to the jars what effect that would have on the sound when tapped with a spoon.

Please consider making notes when doing such experiments.

For fun and further experimentation use different size glass bottles of various shapes and also use different coloured water.

Have you tried to make a tune yet?

Image 3

Image 4

Now take some drinking glasses and add water to each one of different amounts as shown in Image 4.

Tap each one on the side or top with a spoon and see how they sound.

You can experiment by tapping with something else other than a spoon.
Try different materials like wood, chopsticks, steel, plastics etc to see what difference each one makes.

Enjoy experimenting!

All the best from

James M Sandbrook.

30th of March, 2021.