• Question: Why are vuvuzelas so loud?

    Asked by eliterippz to Jo, Mark, timcraggs on 24 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Tim Craggs

      Tim Craggs answered on 24 Jun 2010:

      Hi Eliterippz,

      when you match up exactly the same pitch and tone, then the sound waves constructively interfere with each other to produce a sound wave with a huge amplitude (ie really loud). I think this is something to do with why the vuvuzelas are so loud, because they are all the same pitch. COME ON ENGLAND though!

    • Photo: Joanna Buckley

      Joanna Buckley answered on 24 Jun 2010:

      Hiya eliterippz 🙂

      Those blummin’ vuvuzelas! They say on the telly that it sounds like a bunch of angry wasps but I think it’s like a really loud elephant fart. I’ve never hung around the back of an elephant but I imagine that’s what it would sound like.

      This is a really interesting question, especially because I love music (I play the sax and clarinet). The loudness is because of two things. The first is that it’s really easy to play and loads of air gets forced down the plastic tube. You play it by blowing a raspberry into the mouthpiece so loads of air gets pushed down.

      The second is more difficult to get your head around but if you play a wind instrument, then you might have heard of this. Any wind instrument produces harmonics which are notes that are higher than the one you’re playing and you can’t really distunguish them from the played note. The end of the vuvuzela is flared and a flared instrument has louder higher-frequency harmonics than a straight one.

      Hope that makes sense 🙂

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