In this paper I propose a method of calculating the time between line captures in a standard complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) webcam using the rolling shutter effect when filming a guitar. The exercise links the concepts of wavelength and frequency, while outlining the basic operation of a CMOS camera through vertical line capture.

Ask many elementary school teachers or principals, and they will say that science and music are not the top priority in their classrooms. Teachers need to know "how" they can incorporate the necessary mathematics and reading goals and objectives while still engaging students in the critical and aesthetic thinking developed through…

In our "Physics of Music" class for non-science majors, we have developed a laboratory exercise in which students experiment with Chladni sand patterns on drumheads. Chladni patterns provide a kinesthetic, visual, and entertaining way to illustrate standing waves on flat surfaces and are very helpful when making the transition from one-dimensional…

Anyone who plays a guitar needs a stand to hold the guitar when he or she is not playing it. A guitar is not an instrument that one can lay down or prop against the wall without risking potentially catastrophic and long-term damage. There are several options in pre-made guitar stands made for single or multiple guitars, but as an alternative that…

An experiment intended to familiarize a student with the musical scale and the technique of tuning an instrument by listening for beats is described. From the dial reading of the oscillator frequency and the counted beats frequency, the student then computes the frequency of each musical note over one full octave. (Author)