Gravity in Space and Sound
Gravity in Space and Sound Concert Video Program
*It is recommended that Elementary Grade students watch the Gravity in Space and Sound video in chapters or segments. This allows students opportunity to engage with the website curriculum activities and lessons that delve deeper into the concepts explored in individual segments of the video.
VIDEO TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction: 0:00-1:36
What is Gravity: 1:37
Building Chords and Chord Cycles: 4:09
Mozart Chord Cycle Imitates Mercury’s Orbit: 7:45
Tonality and Gravity in Chord Pairings: 9:36
Handel’s Chord Cycle Imitates Mars Orbit: 11:50
Featured Guest: Dr. Kimberly Arcand NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory: 14:35
Shostakovich Chord Cycle Imitates Neptune’s Orbit: 20:21
Featured Guest: Dr. Matt Russo SYSTEM Sounds: 23:09
4,000 Exoplanets: 26:30
Featured Guest: Eyal Gever, Gravity in the Visual Arts: 27:40
The Milky Way Galaxy: 29:48
Featured Guest: Dr. David Ibbett, Multiverse Concert Series, Composer: 30:34
Sound of Gravity: 34:49
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GRAVITY IN SPACE AND SOUND ONLINE CURRICULUM TABLE OF CONTENTS
*listed in order of appearance on this webpage
Section 1: Trappist-1 System Gravity in Music and Math
Students hear a performance of Wen Zhang’s Trappist-1 composition and analyze the ratio of melodic durations to determine the orbital rates of planets in the Trappist-1 system.
Section 2: Demonstrating the Motion of Objects with the NBSO Gravity Well
Students observe how objects move through curved spacetime using the NBSO gravity well and marbles.
Section 3: Exploring Gravitational Force between Melody and Chords
In these videos, we explore how melodies can demonstrate strong and weak gravitational force with the chords or harmonies sounding with it. Students can then complete two worksheets that allow them to analyze and graph melodies with chord tones and non-chord tones.
Section 4: 4,000 Exoplanets by Matt Russo and Exoplanet Melody Composition Activity
In these activities, students compose melodies from exoplanet discovery data.
Section 5: Compose your own Chord Orbit Video Game
In this online game, students drag and drop chords into an orbit around the sun. The students can create chord orbits for Mercury, Mars and Neptune and hear their music performed as the planet orbits the sun.
Section 6: Exoplanet Detection Methods Represented through Music
In this video, students discover the transit method of detecting exoplanets. Using the auditory dimming of the bright sun chord, students can test their ears to determine the type of exoplanet that is transiting the sun.
Section 7: Gravity in the Visual Arts
In this visual arts curriculum students explore various artists’ sculptures that were influenced by strong and weak gravitational environments. Students then create their own sculptures that demonstrate strong and weak gravitational force through considering the concept of orientation in the visual arts.
Section 8: Binary Beats
In this video lesson and activity, students learn how to perform Binary code as rhythm. In the followup activity they code their initials into binary code and perform in rhythm ensembles with other students.
Section 1: Trappist-1 System: Gravity in Music and Math
In this video, we explore the Trappist-1 system and the seven orbitting exoplanets through a musical piece composed by Wen Zhang. In this piece, the duration of each melody is proportional to the orbital rate of each planet allowing students to hear their orbital rates through musical sounds.
In this worksheet, students calculate the orbital rates of the Trappist-1 exoplanets based on the duration of each melody in Wen Zhang’s musical piece.
Section 2: Demonstrating the Motion of Objects
with the NBSO Gravity Well
In this video we demonstrate how objects moved through curved spacetime using the NBSO gravity well.
Section 3: Exploring Gravitational Force between Melody and Chords
In our program, we have explored varying degrees of gravitational force between various chords and the home chord or I chord. In these lessons, we expand our understanding of gravity to include melody and harmony.
In these videos, we explore two melodies, one that is comprised of chord tones and another that is comprised mostly of non-chord tones. Melodies that have many chord tones demonstrate a strong connection to the harmony. Melodies that have mostly non-chord tones demonstrate a weak connection to the harmony.
Following the video, students can practice identifying chord tones and non chord tones to create melodies that have a strong and weak gravitational force with the harmony.
Section 4: 4,000 Exoplanets by Matt Russo
and Exoplanet Melody Composition Activity
In 2019, Matt Russo and his team created this piece to celebrate the 4,000th exoplanet discovery. In this video, you will see the timeline at the top of the screen span from 1991 to 2019. As the timeline progresses you will see a small circle appear on the Milky Way galaxy each time an exoplanet was discovered. At the same time you will hear a note played. The note relates to the exoplanet’s orbital rate. A fast orbitting exoplanet will be performed as a high note, and a slow orbitting exoplanet will be performed as a low note.
Listen to the piece and then try creating your own exoplanet discovery melody in the activity below.
Sample Exoplanet Discovery Melody Graph
Section 5: Compose Your Own Chord Orbit Video Game
Chord Orbit Game Instructions
- Click on a planet to start.
- Drag and Drop chords into the boxes to create your chord orbit.
- Consider selecting chords that match the same gravitational force (weak, moderate, or strong) as the planet experiences from its distance to the sun.
- Click the arrow on the bottom right to hear your chord orbit.
- Click the arrow on the top left to return to the main menu and to select another planet.
Section 6: Exoplanet Detection Methods Represented Through Music
In this video, we explore the transit method for detecting exoplanets. Using the bright sun chord, we can listen as various exoplanets block notes from our chord as they transit across. Students can test their ears at the end of the video to determine the type of exoplanet that has transitted across our bright sun chord.
Section 7: Gravity in the Visual Arts
by Emilie Grossman
In this interview with contemporary artist, Eyal Gever we learn about his 3-D printed sculpture entitled “Laugh” which was the first sculpture ever to be printed in space.
Eyal shares his thoughts on the inspiration for the scultpure and the unique opportunities that creating art in zero-gravity provides the artist and those who are present to experience it.
Section 8: Binary Beats
Binary Beats Video Lesson
Binary Beats Play-a-long Video No. 1
As NASA’s data arrives from the Chandra X-Ray telescope it is first displayed as binary code. Through a series of 0’s and 1’s, scientists can decode information about objects and events in space. In this video, we explore the rhythm of binary code. Students can perform various letters in the alphabet using the binary code 8-bit sequence.
