Contact Microphone
Lesson Objectives:
Materials:
Let's Get Started!
Follow the instructions laid out by Matt Mueller at the soundscience.education and instructables websites to create your own contact microphone. By placing the contact microphone in a 3D printed case with a rounded top, you can then touch it against any surface and hear what vibrations sound like through that material.
Matt has created a design that contains the piezo sensor and a battery connected to a custom circuit to amplify the signal inside, and a headphone jack with a volume knob on the outside. This allows for the electric signal induced by the vibrations of the piezo crystal to be amplified, allowing students to observe the way that vibrations travel through different materials of different dimensions. After students have explored the way vibrations travel, discuss why instruments are made how they are.
Matt Mueller, creator of soundscience.education, was inspired by David Wells, the director of maker programming at the New York Hall of Science, and his methodology for running science of sound workshops.
- Students will discover how vibrations travel through different materials of different dimensions
- Students will learn why different instruments are made how they are
Materials:
- Printed circuit board
- 3D printed casing
- Volume knob
- Power switch
- 220uF & 0.05uF capacitors
- 10 & 10k ohm resistors
- Amplifier
- Battery connector
- Piezo disk
- Headphone jack
- 9V battery
- Solder
- Soldering iron
Let's Get Started!
Follow the instructions laid out by Matt Mueller at the soundscience.education and instructables websites to create your own contact microphone. By placing the contact microphone in a 3D printed case with a rounded top, you can then touch it against any surface and hear what vibrations sound like through that material.
Matt has created a design that contains the piezo sensor and a battery connected to a custom circuit to amplify the signal inside, and a headphone jack with a volume knob on the outside. This allows for the electric signal induced by the vibrations of the piezo crystal to be amplified, allowing students to observe the way that vibrations travel through different materials of different dimensions. After students have explored the way vibrations travel, discuss why instruments are made how they are.
Matt Mueller, creator of soundscience.education, was inspired by David Wells, the director of maker programming at the New York Hall of Science, and his methodology for running science of sound workshops.
Contact Microphone
This device is designed to allow you to hear the vibrations moving through a solid object. The piezo disk in the cap converts the vibrations it feels into electrical signals in the form of positive and negative voltages.
Examples:
