There are multiple types of string from different brands for a acoustic guitar. Each string plays a different note. As the size of the string changes the pitch, the string becomes lower and the quality of the string will vary. The purpose of this experiment was to determine if the size gauge of the strings affects the frequency of the tone by using one of the many brands called D’Addario. I have examined the diameter, the tension and the weight of each string to find the frequency of the tone using the equation expressed as V=f, but in order to get there, I needed to use two other equations, Tension ForceLinear Density and Mass (kg)Length (mm).
It is important to determine if the gauge makes frequency of the tone different from one another because musicians especially who play guitar need to know which type of string are best fit for them and the guitar and to determine if the tone is good. The history of my topic in science is that both ends of the string are fixed on a guitar and once you play it, the strings will vibrate and play a music note, making it a standing wave. In this investigation, I needed to find the frequency of the tone. The materials I used were an acoustic guitar, tuner. peg winder, one pack of D’Addario heavy gauge string (0.014-0.059), one pack of D’Addario medium gauge string (0.013-0.056), one pack of D’Addario light gauge string (0.012-0.053)
To do this investigation, I created three 7×6 tables. On one of the tables I labeled them Light Gauge, and the other Medium Gauge and the last one is Heavy gauge. Each column for each table, I labeled them “Notes played”, “Diameter of the string”, “Tension”, “Length”, “Weight” and “Frequency”. In one row underneath Notes Played, label them E, B, G, D, A, E. I used a wood acoustic guitar from the brand Fender. I properly change its strings with one of the three size I was testing with using the peg winder carefully. After completely change the strings to one of the sets of gauged strings, tune the guitar to standard tuning (E-6th string (lowest), A-5th string, D-4th string, G-3rd string, B-2nd string, E-1st string (highest), I Analyze individual string from highest to lowest and repeat steps until all sets of strings are analyzed.
I used this equation Tension ForceLinear Density to determine the speed. However, I first needed to figure out the linear density, so I used Mass (kg)Length (mm)and took the answer I got from Tension ForceLinear Density and the wavelength of the string that was played on the guitar and use those to subsititute them in the equation of V=fto find the frequency. The errors I could have done in this experiment is measuring the weight the string. What I did to measure the weight was that I wrapped the string around and laid it on the scale. Another error could be the calculations I did with the equations to figure out the frequency of the string. Here is the data I have collected:
Light Gauge
Notes Played / Diameter of the String (mm) / Tension of the string (kg) / Length (mm) / Weight (kg) / Frequency (N)
E
- 0.30
- 10.60
- 648
- 0.00076
- 24.09502081
B
- 0.41
- 10.57
- 648
- 1.00020
- 0.6266676774
G
- 0.61
- 13.63
- 648
- 2.00036
- 0.4817285383
D
- 0.81
- 13.58
- 648
- 4.00001
- 0.3618267475
A
- 1.07
- 13.12
- 648
- 6.00072
- 0.285326491055155
E
- 1.35
- 11.32
- 648
- 10.00047
- 0.2168046211175
Medium Gauge:
Notes Played / Diameter of the String (mm) / Tension of the string (kg) / Length (mm) / Weight (kg) / Frequency (N)
E
- 0.33
- 12.44
- 648
- 0.00086
- 24.57487112552033
B
- 0.43
- 11.94
- 648
- 1.00034
- 0.666661233702244
G
- 0.66
- 15.94
- 648
- 2.00077
- 0.503250510513341
D
- 0.89
- 16.27
- 648
- 4.00067
- 0.372209680901972
A
- 1.14
- 14.86
- 648
- 7.00065
- 0.281136402214363
E
- 1.42
- 12.59
- 648
- 11.00062
- 0.218001665385847
Heavy Gauge:
Notes Played / Diameter of the String (mm) / Tension of the string (kg) / Length (mm) / Weight (kg) / Frequency (N)
E
- 0.36
- 14.42
- 648
- 0.00097
- 24.90329811079091
B
- 0.46
- 13.38
- 648
- 1.00049
- 0.705664951713159
G
- 0.69
- 17.26
- 648
- 2.00093
- 0. 542118689095128
D
- 0.99
- 19.93
- 648
- 5.00078
- 0.368463971577726
A
- 1.24
- 17.48
- 648
- 8.00094
- 0.285218090585203
E
- 1.50
- 14.07
- 648
- 12.00085
- 0.220646261207173
After I gathered the data, I graphed the frequency and this is the result I got:
I concluded that the size of the string does affect the frequency however, only by a few millimeters off, so there are slightly different. My data seems to be sufficient because I used the three equations to help me predict the frequency and I was investigating this experiment very thoroughly, however, there could be some errors that I am not aware of. My hypothesis was that the gauge of the string would affect the frequency, but by a huge difference between the three brands. After a thorough investigation, it seems that it does affect the frequency but not by a huge difference.