YOU WILL NEED

• Identical sized milk

bottles

• Water

• A spoon

• Measuring jugs

(optional)

HOW TO DO IT 1) Fill each bottle up with a

different amount of water.

2) Blow across the top of the

bottle or tap it with a spoon

to create a sound.

3) Order the bottles by pitch,

from lowest to highest.

4) Challenge yourself to create

a tune!

MUSICAL MILK BOTTLES

How can we create musical sounds using water?

INVESTIGATE

Using 8 bottles, see if

you can create an

octave scale.

How does the amount

of water affect its

pitch?

WHAT IS HAPPENING?

The pitch of a note refers to how high or low it is. When we tap each bottle we cause the glass to vibrate, creating a sound. The pitch varies depending on the size of the bottle

and the amount of water in it. The more water in the bottle, the slower the glass vibrates and the

lower the pitch. The less water, the faster the glass vibrates, the higher

the pitch.