A demonstration on flutes showed students how harmonies create new waves of sound. North Babylon High School Physics teacher Janice Brady recently teamed up with band instructor Frank Rizzo to teach students a valuable lesson about the connection between physics and music.

The two teachers co-instructed a lesson based on harmonic series and the frequency spectrum. After a physics review by Ms. Brady, Mr. Rizzo utilized the expertise of two NBHS band members to illustrate concepts related to tones and the harmonic series up to the 12th partial. Mr. Rizzo played flute with a student to illustrate the buzzing noise produced when certain tones are joined together to create new waves of sound. Another student played the guitar to show how harmonics are achieved on a string instrument.

The students were delighted by the demonstrations and the two teachers truly showed that physics can be musical and fun!