Mathematics HL

Internal Assessment

Topic: Modelling musical cords using sine

waves

1|Page
 Table of contents:

Introduction 03

Aim 03

Period and Frequency in Oscillations 04

Simple Harmonic Motion 05

Studying Music Sine Graphs of music notes 06

Graphing Music Chords 07

Conclusion 14

Bibliography 15

2|Page
Introduction:

I’ve always been a music fanatic, the idea of expressing your emotions and thought through

sounds seemed like a great deed. In school when I found out that music, or any sound in

general, was only just a vibration that is created and which our sense of hearing can pick up I

was amused. And later when I discovered how music and sine waves were related, I

immediately picked this up as something I was interested in, so when it was time for me to

pick a math IA topic for research, I already knew where my interest lied.

Music is one of the oldest art forms. In modern times it has turned into an ever-present art.

We have music in movies, videogames, etc. In other media presentations, it is generally

relegated to the background, but it is still present. General definitions of music include

common elements such as pitch, rhythm, dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and

texture.

Different styles of music emphasize other qualities. I do not have much affinity for this art

form. While I could listen to music, I did not actively seek it. The most I enjoyed it was when I

heard it in other media. My interest in it was piqued when I noted the connection between

music and math. When I connected with Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM), as sound moves in

longitudinal waves, music whose medium is sound should also move in waves. One of the

simple representation of locks is a sine or sinusoidal wave.

Aim:

To study how different factors, such as frequency and amplitude, affect the sound produced by using

the Simple Harmonic Motion and analysing the sound wave’s sine graphs.

3|Page
Period and Frequency in Oscillations

Period is the time it takes to complete one oscillation in the absence of friction which is always

a constant figure. Seconds is the unit that is used most often, but it is possible to find other

given units too. Most frequencies deal with periodic motion, which refers to a certain

repetitive period. Frequency is related to period, and is the number a particular action that

takes place in a given unit time. It is additionally alluding to as fleeting recurrence, which

underlines the differentiation to spatial recurrence and precise recurrence.

Period and frequency are inversely related, meaning as one increases the other decreases in

value and can shown in an equation

1
𝑓=
𝑇

The standard unit for frequency is the hertzs (Hz), and this refers to the number of cycles per

second.

1Hz = 1cycle/sec

Or

1
1Hz = = 1s −1
s

An Oscillation is a complete cycle, or redundant variety, normally as expected, of some

measure about a focal worth or between at least two unique states. The term vibration is

correctly used to depict mechanical oscillation. Recognizable instances of oscillation

incorporate a swinging pendulum and rotating current.1

1
"Period and Frequency in Oscillations | Physics." Lumen Learning – Simple Book Production,
courses.lumenlearning.com/physics/chapter/16-2-period-and-frequency-in-oscillations/.

4|Page
Simple Harmonic Motion:

Simple harmonic motion is exemplified by the motion of a mass on a spring when it is

dependent upon the straight versatile re-establishing power given by Hooke's Law. The

motion is sinusoidal true to form and shows a solitary resounding recurrence. Simple

harmonic motion is epitomized by the motion of a mass on a spring when it is dependent

upon the direct flexible re-establishing power given by Hooke's Law.

The motion equation for simple harmonic motion contains a complete description of the

motion, and other parameters of the motion can be calculated from it.

𝑘
𝑦 = 𝐴 sin (√ 𝑡)
𝑚

The formulas for acceleration and velocity are respectively:

𝑎 = −𝜔𝐴sin(𝜔𝑡) = −𝜔2 𝑦

𝜔 = 𝐴cos(ω𝑡)

2
"Atomic Models Timeline." Issuu, issuu.com/daennagonzalez/docs/atomic_models_timeline.

5|Page
Studying Music Sine Graphs of music notes
A musical sound can be put into a sin wave, where the domain or the x-axis will represent

time, and the range or the y-axis represents pressure. This would form the equation

𝑃 = 𝐴𝑠𝑖𝑛(2 𝑓𝑡)

Here:

• P= Pressure, Unit: Decibels or Pascals

• t= Time, Unit: seconds

• f= frequency or pitch, Unit: hertz

• T= period, seconds is the duration of one wave (T=1/f)

So, if we know their values of any musical chord or note, then we can construct the sin

graph for the same.

y = 𝐴𝑠𝑖𝑛(2 𝑓x)

Firstly, we will look at a basic music not with the following values:

• Amplitude A= 60 dB

• frequency f= 100 HZ

This would give us the equation:

𝑃 = 60𝑠𝑖𝑛(200𝑡)

When put into a function to plot the sin graph this becomes:

y = 60𝑠𝑖𝑛(200x)

This would give us the following sin graph:

6|Page
 (Made using Desmos graphic calculator)

When sound is produced, it has two different characteristics. One being the pitch, or the

frequency, and the other being the volume, or the amplitude of the sound. A high-pitched

note would have a much higher frequency than a lower pitched sound, meaning that there

would be more oscillations.

I’ve taken another music not of a higher pitch and compared its graph with the existing

graph to understand how mathematically a high-pitched note is different from a low-

pitched note. The volume was kept the same, and the values of the new sound note are:

• Amplitude A= 60 dB

• frequency f= 200HZ

This gives us the function:

y = 60𝑠𝑖𝑛(400x)

The function made from this was placed beside the previous function, and produced the

following graph:

7|Page
 (Made using Desmos graphic calculator)

Volume refers to the amplitude of the pressure or the sound which is produced. Loud music

tends to have a much higher amplitude than regular music due to the much higher-pressure

oscillations which are created. I’ve constructed another graph for music notes with a much

higher loudness and compared it with the first sound not graph which I’ve made. The pitch

was kept constant, and the values are:

• Amplitude A= 90 dB

• frequency f= 100HZ

This gives us the function:

y = 90𝑠𝑖𝑛(200x)

The function made from this was placed beside the previous function, and produced the

following graph:

8|Page
 (Made using Desmos graphic calculator)

Through this we understand that music notes which are louder than other have a much higher

and lower y-values, or the aptitude is much higher, and music notes which are of a much

higher pitch have more oscillations and the sin waves are tightly packed together. But how

does this affect their sounds and what exactly does this mean.

9|Page
Graphing Music Chords

We’ve understood what a wave is, how it can be graphed using the Simple Harmonic Motion

and how different pitches and different amplitudes produce different sin waves and different

sounds. Now we will look at how music chords can be graphed.

A music chord is simply put a set of music notes. Each note has a particular frequency and

once put along side other notes produces a particular type of sound which is used in the music

we listen to and other media forms.

We will look at the basic C major note on the 4th scale to start with. It has the following notes

with their respective frequency:

𝐶4 : 261.63 𝐻𝑧

𝐸4 : 329.63 𝐻𝑧

𝐺4 : 392.00 𝐻𝑧

These values can be put into the equation formed above to give us graphable sin functions.

We will keep a constant Amplitude of 60𝑑𝐵 as when an instrument is played, it has a fixed

volume. With this we get the following functions:

𝑦 = 𝑎 sin(2𝑓𝑥)

𝐶4 :

𝑎 = 60𝑏𝐷

𝑓 = 261.63 𝐻𝑧

𝑦 = 𝟔𝟎 𝐬𝐢𝐧( 𝟓𝟐𝟑. 𝟐𝟔𝒙)

10 | P a g e
𝐸4 :

𝑎 = 60𝑏𝐷

𝑓 = 329.63 𝐻𝑧

𝑦 = 𝟔𝟎 𝐬𝐢𝐧( 𝟔𝟓𝟗. 𝟐𝟔𝒙)

𝐺4 :

𝑎 = 60𝑏𝐷

𝑓 = 392 𝐻𝑧

𝑦 = 𝟔𝟎 𝐬𝐢𝐧( 𝟕𝟖𝟒𝒙)

If we put all the framed equations into a graph, we get the following result:

(Made using Desmos graphic calculator)

11 | P a g e
We see that all the waves are put close together and have a certain pattern. But in real life,

the sound produced would only have one curve which would be a sum of all the three curves

we see here. To analyse this, we can study it through the Fourier analysis.

Fourier analysis is a method of representing general functions by approximate sum of simple

trigonometric functions. We can study the previous graph made to understand how a general

function could be made with the three graphs at hand.

(Made using Desmos graphic calculator and edited with MS paint)

As seen here in the graph, the sum of the three graphs would be the addition of the y values

at each given x value. In the above graph, at point 0.01, it would be the addition of the end

point of the red line from the other end as it touches the x axis, the addition of the yellow

line, and the subtraction of the green line as it has a negative y value. Understanding this, we

can try to come up with a general equation for the same using trigonometric equations:

12 | P a g e
 𝑦 = 𝐴(sin(𝑎𝑥) + sin(𝑏𝑥) + sin(𝑐𝑥))

(a, b, and c being different frequencies)

𝑎𝑥 + 𝑏𝑥 𝑎𝑥 − 𝑏𝑥 𝑐𝑥 𝑐𝑥
= 𝐴[2 sin( ) cos( ) + 2𝑠𝑖𝑛 cos ]
2 2 2 2

𝜋 − 𝑐𝑥 𝑎𝑥 − 𝑏𝑥 𝑐𝑥 𝑐𝑥
= 𝐴[2 sin( ) cos( ) + 2𝑠𝑖𝑛 cos ]
2 2 2 2

𝜋 𝑐𝑥 𝑎𝑥 − 𝑏𝑥 𝑐𝑥 𝑐𝑥
= 𝐴[2 sin( − ) cos( ) + 2𝑠𝑖𝑛 cos ]
2 2 2 2 2

𝑐𝑥 𝑎𝑥 − 𝑏𝑥 𝑐𝑥 𝑐𝑥
= 𝐴[2 cos ( cos( ) + 2𝑠𝑖𝑛 cos )]
2 2 2 2

𝑐𝑥 𝑎𝑥 − 𝑏𝑥 𝑐𝑥
= 𝐴[2 cos ( cos( ) + sin ]
2 2 2

𝑐𝑥 𝑎𝑥 − 𝑏𝑥 𝑐𝑥 𝑐𝑥
= 𝐴[2 cos ( cos( ) + 2𝑠𝑖𝑛 cos )]
2 2 2 2

𝑐𝑥 𝑎𝑥 − 𝑏𝑥 𝑐𝑥
= 𝐴[2 cos ( cos( ) + 𝑠𝑖𝑛 )]
2 2 2

𝑐𝑥 𝑎𝑥 − 𝑏𝑥 𝑎𝑥 + 𝑏𝑥
= 𝐴[2 cos ( cos( ) + cos )]
2 2 2

𝑎𝑥 − 𝑏𝑥 𝑎𝑥 + 𝑏𝑥 𝑎𝑥 − 𝑏𝑥 𝑎𝑥 + 𝑏𝑥
𝑐𝑥 + −
= 𝐴[2 cos (2 cos( 2 2 ) × cos( 2 2 )]
2 2 2

𝒂𝒙 𝒃𝒙 𝒄𝒙
𝒚 = 𝟒𝑨 𝐜𝐨𝐬 × 𝐜𝐨𝐬 × 𝐜𝐨𝐬
𝟐 𝟐 𝟐

With this, we can now graph make an equation for a given chord with different frequencies

and notes.

For C major:

13 | P a g e
 𝒂𝒙 𝒃𝒙 𝒄𝒙
𝒚 = 𝟒𝑨 𝐜𝐨𝐬 × 𝐜𝐨𝐬 × 𝐜𝐨𝐬
𝟐 𝟐 𝟐

𝐶4 : 261.63 𝐻𝑧

𝐸4 : 329.63 𝐻𝑧

𝐺4 : 392.00 𝐻𝑧

𝑎 = 60𝑏𝐷

261.63𝑥 329.63𝑥 392.00𝑥

𝑦 = cos × cos × cos
2 2 2

This gives us the following graph:

C Major

(Made using Desmos graphic calculator)

Similarly, we can use the given values of frequencies for different music notes to make

graphs for music chords.

Note Frequency
C4 261.63
C#4/Db4 277.18
D4 293.66
D 4/Eb4
# 311.13

14 | P a g e
 E4 329.63
F4 349.23
F 4/Gb4
# 369.99
G4 392.00
G 4/Ab4
# 415.30
A4 440.00
A 4/Bb4
# 466.16
B4 493.88
C5 523.25
C 5/Db5
# 554.37
D5 587.33
D 5/Eb5
# 622.25
E5 659.25
F5 698.46
F#5/Gb5 739.99
G5 783.99
G 5/Ab5
# 830.61
A5 880.00
A 5/Bb5
# 932.33
B5 987.77

The A minor chord with the notes 𝐴4 , 𝐶5 , 𝐸5 :

(Made using Desmos graphic calculator)

B diminished chord with notes 𝐵4 , 𝐷5 , 𝐹5 :

15 | P a g e
 (Made using Desmos graphic calculator)

Through this, we understand how music chords have different frequencies and amplitudes

from the parenting music notes, and how different music notes combine to produce a

particular music chord.

16 | P a g e
Conclusion

In music, harmony is the process by which the composition of individual sounds, or

superpositions of sounds, is examined by hearing. This music is considered to be a pleasant

sound are used in most media outputs. My investigation firstly identifies the process of how

sound in created in brief, introduces the major key elements which contribute to produce

sound, and studies the sign graphs of important music notes.

Through the study of the three music notes, it is identified that sounds that are considered to

be more in harmony, are more well organised mathematically, than the others. When the

sound waves in different music notes are all close together as seen on their respective sign

graphs, they are more pleasant to the year. The ratios of frequencies of chords in agreement

are more concise than the discordant notes.

With this, musicians can compile music together based on their wavelength, and according to

their sign graphs and make sounds of their liking based on this. This could also be used to

study other types of waves and see how the distance between each wavelength makes a

difference in the effect they produce.

17 | P a g e
Bibliography

amath.colorado.edu/pub/matlab/music/MathMusic.pdf.

"Attention Required!" Attention Required! | Cloudflare,

www.toppr.com/guides/physics/oscillations/force-law-for-simple-harmonic-motion/.

"Harmony | Definition, History, & Musical Tones." Encyclopedia Britannica,

www.britannica.com/art/harmony-music.

"Oscillations and Simple Harmonic Motion: Simple Harmonic Motion |

SparkNotes." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides,

www.sparknotes.com/physics/oscillations/oscillationsandsimpleharmonicmotion/sect

ion2/.

"Period and Frequency in Oscillations | Physics." Lumen Learning – Simple Book

Production, courses.lumenlearning.com/physics/chapter/16-2-period-and-frequency-

in-oscillations/.

"Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM)." BYJUS, 10 Apr. 2019, byjus.com/jee/simple-harmonic-

motion-shm/.

18 | P a g e