I made a pan flute with copper tubing (3/4 in diameter) to correspond to the following notes/lengths:
C - 15.4cm
D - 13.6cm
E - 12.0cm
G - 9.8cm
A - 8.7cm
The original instructions called for PVC pipe at 1/2in diameter, so the notes are off.
How do I change the measurements of the pipes with those notes to fit the copper volume and 3/4in diameter of the tubing?
Extra note: I'm planning to cut up some more copper to build other notes to play a C major scale, so if I know how to do this, I can probably cut more to make a bigger pan flute.
Thank you!
To change the measurements of the pipes to fit the copper tubing with a 3/4 inch diameter, you will need to calculate the new lengths using the principles of acoustics.
The fundamental frequency of a pipe is inversely proportional to its length. In other words, the longer the pipe, the lower the pitch.
To calculate the new lengths, you can use the following formula:
New Length = (Original Length x New Diameter) / Original Diameter
Let's use the example of the C note (15.4 cm length) and the D note (13.6 cm length) to demonstrate how to apply this formula:
For the C note:
New Length = (15.4 cm x 0.75 in) / 0.5 in
New Length = 23.1 cm
For the D note:
New Length = (13.6 cm x 0.75 in) / 0.5 in
New Length = 20.4 cm
Repeat this calculation for the remaining notes using their original lengths and the new diameter of 3/4 inch.
Please note that the resulting lengths may not be exact due to variations in the density and thickness of the materials. It is always a good idea to use a tuner or a music app to fine-tune the instrument after making the adjustments.
If you want to create a larger pan flute with additional notes for a C major scale, you can continue applying the same formula to calculate the lengths of the new pipes. Simply determine the desired notes and use the formula for each of them, considering the new 3/4 inch diameter.