About Panpipe Workshop
Panpipe Workshop shows why an instrument plays the notes it does. A panpipe is a tube closed at the bottom, and the air inside it bounces up and down: a longer pipe holds a longer wave of air, so it plays a lower note. Slide the length of each bamboo pipe, listen to the note you want and to your pipe, and cut it when they match. Half the length plays exactly one octave higher.
The first songs have a tuner with a needle. Then the tuner only says higher or lower, and the last songs are tuned by ear: play both notes together and listen to the wobble, called beating, which gets slower as the notes get closer and stops when they match. Older players can use the ratio hints, the real maths of music: a G pipe is 2/3 as long as a C pipe, and a high C is 1/2 as long.
When every pipe is cut, the song plays on the panpipes you made, mistakes and all, from Hot Cross Buns to Ode to Joy, Frère Jacques and the whole C major scale. Close tuning earns stars, and stars unlock new pipe materials with their own sound: river cane, clay, silver and crystal. Each song ends with a science fact about sound, from cents to the speed of sound.
Best for ages 7+
Free to play. No ads, no sign-up, nothing to download. Privacy
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