01x02 - Rock On

[bunniefuu]

Last time on Design Squad,

the teams put the pedal to the

metal and converted toys into

dragsters.

This is the greatest feeling

ever.

Ah!

They faced off in a head-to-

head showdown.

Blue Team broke down and left

the track empty-handed.

Red Team took home the hardware

and points each.

I don't know if it's going to

be clashing because of all the

tensions we had last week, but

you know, I'm still really eager

to work with a new team.

Even though I'm working with

the team, I'm going to make sure

I give it % so that I rise

up.

Brand-new challenge, brand-

new day, bring it on.

* We've got two days

to get this straight

* We got a challenge

just won't wait

our eyes are on the prize

* Two engineers

just set the date

* We got this client

can't be late

oh, no, it's go time

* Build it, test, fix it

debug now and kick it

* Got to get it off the ground

yeah

* Stick around and you'll see

what teamwork's supposed to mean

* It's so key

Design Squad

Design Squad! *

* Just the other day

I heard a client say... *

* I got this major problem

I have to solve today... *

* Who's going to do it...

* I don't even know...

* Better be fast

'cause we got to go

* Design Squad

Design Squad

* Design Squad. *

( cheering and applause )

If you loved that sound,

though, let me tell you, it's

going to get better.

You're going to love the sound

of our new client.

That's right.

Let's roll it.

Hi, Design Squads.

I'm Barry.

I'm Alex.

And I'm Terry.

By day, we're just your typical

engineers.

And by night, we're

Off White Noise.

* We took an expedition

to the middle...

( band playing rock music )

As you can tell, we're a

pretty quirky band, and we want

to make ourselves a little bit

more quirky.

So this is where you come in,

Design Squads.

Here's your challenge.

Each team is required to

build two original instruments.

One must be a stringed

instrument that can play an

entire octave.

This is an octave.

( plucking eight notes )

The second instrument will

have to be a percussion

instrument that can produce at

least two different, distinct

sounds, such as a high hat or

the tom.

We made a few instruments to

give you some ideas.

This I call the strumbone.

It's basically an electric

guitar that's played like a

trombone, where it has this

sliding roller that changes the

notes.

( strummed chord progression )

This instrument is called the

( mumbling ).

It's a foot-operated percussion

instrument that vibrates sheet

metal.

( wobbly metallic vibrations )

One last thing-- all the

instruments have to be loud

enough for a rock concert, which

means you may have to amplify

them.

Out of the four instruments,

the band will choose their

favorite three to be played by

us, Off White Noise, live in

concert.

( cheering and applause )

As you can see, there's three

members in that band, right?

And they all need instruments.

So the point score is going to

be a little different this time.

You're all going to get points.

Here's how.

That's right.

So if Off White Noise chooses

both of your team's instruments,

everybody from that team gets

points.

And if you're on the team

that only gets one instrument

chosen, everyone's going to get

points.

That's right.

And remember, at the end of the

episodes, whoever has the

most points wins the college

scholarship from Intel

Foundation.

( cheering and applause )

So this week, we shuffled up the

teams.

We've got a new Blue Team.

We've got a new Red Team too.

You have anything you want to

use in the shop to make your

instruments, but we're also

going to be going shopping.

So without further ado...

* It's time

to start brainstorming... *

I used to play the piano.

I don't play music.

That's...

You listen to it.

I listen to music, but I

can't play it.

We have to do a string

instrument and a percussion

instrument.

Remind me what a scale is.

Do, re, mi...

...fa, so, la, ti, do.

Sound of Music.

Right, I saw that.

How does a percussion

instrument work?

Well, you're banging on

stuff.

It's vibrations.

Well, that's what sound is.

All a sound is is vibrations.

Joey's right.

When an object vibrates, it

pushes the surrounding air

molecules into one another,

starting a chain reaction of

collisions through the air.

These collisions travel in

waves.

When they strike your eardrum,

it vibrates.

This vibration is converted into

electrical signals that your

brain recognizes as sound.

Harp would be really cool.

But I'm not sure that the

harp sound fits into rock.

Look, we have nothing drawn

here.

Maybe we should just, like, get

inspirations.

All right, let's rock and

roll.

That is not an instrument.

The lights, the lights.

I think that's good.

Let's go, guys.

That's cool.

We have plenty of stuff for

percussion.

We have nothing for a string

right now.

The string instrument makes its

noise by vibrating the strings.

And the strings make different

noises by either their

thickness, their length.

How tight they are.

And then the tension.

Why don't we put the strings

around this, and you keep

talking about spinning.

And then we could pluck

something right there.

And then you can put your

finger, and then you pluck it.

Yeah.

I like that.

That's really cool.

It's a totally quirky and

creative idea.

Let's see if it works.

You can hear that.

Yeah.

If we can figure out a way to

make it change pitch while it's

spinning, that would be a blasty

blast.

Pitch is whether a sound is

low or high.

When an object vibrates more

quickly, sound waves hit the

eardrum more frequently, and the

brain interprets a higher sound.

So the faster an object

vibrates, the higher the pitch

we hear.

Instead of plucking it, you

could just have the bow kind of

right here, and you could have

this spinning, and you could

have it hitting all the

different strings.

I think that's really

creative, a harp, because I

don't...

But you can't quite make a

harp...

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Who says we can't make a harp

out of this baby right here?

So we, like, drill holes in

here, and then we drill holes in

here, and then we tie the

strings.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So we have our basic pipe shape.

And then we'll have one side

longer than the other.

The string length will be

determined by that metal bar

right there.

So it ranges from short to the

longest length to produce the

lowest sound.

We have our pipe here, and we

have this metal rod.

But we need to know where to

drill the holes in the pipe

itself, which is going to be our

problem.

It kind of forces the air out

of it.

Yeah, it forces the air.

( hollow banging )

If you shorten the length of the

pipe, it would make it higher.

I mean, this is really long.

This is really low.

So if we can make it so it's

kind of, like, an assortment of

lengths, and then if we could

hit it, one person on one end,

we could have different notes

all the way through.

Mike is on the right track.

When he hits the end of a pipe,

a sound wave travels down the

pipe.

When the wave reaches the end,

some of it leaves the pipe and

reaches your ear, and part of it

reflects back up the pipe.

The air inside the pipe begins

to vibrate and produces a tone.

It takes less time for a wave to

go up and down a shorter pipe,

so the vibration is faster.

And the faster the vibration,

the higher the pitch.

That means shorter pipes make

higher sounds.

We could make this thing an

entire junkyard drum set.

What are we going to call it?

PVC playground.

I like that idea.

I think that we should try to

move on to the percussion

because we don't want to waste a

lot of time.

Everything has been used as a

drum.

But what hasn't been used as

a drum?

A person.

That's our goal.

A person?

I'm going to go play the

Joey.

Well, the shaker is a

percussion instrument.

We could, like, fill tubes

with, like, little beads or

something, just like a bunch of

these.

All right, we said we're

doing one for wood.

Yeah, one for metal, and then

one for plastic.

It's a wooden structure that

has three different parts for

each of the three different

maracas that we're doing.

If I'm the drummer, there will

be one here and there will be

two here so I can easily hit any

one that I want with the

drumstick or shake it.

That actually looks awesome.

I want to start building.

Come on, hurry up.

Get through with the shopping

list.

You guys can start building

because you have all the

materials that you need right

here.

I know how to use the tools.

It's almost shopping time.

You guys ready?

Well, I have your money here.

So if you guys know which two

people are going to go

shopping...

$ here.

Thanks, Deanne.

Spend it wisely.

Rock and roll.

Things that we need are strings.

We need to be able to play an

entire octave without any frets

or anything like that.

So what you're going to have

is a series of strings spaced

equidistant around the periphery

of this and tuned a half step

apart.

Yeah, more or less.

More or less.

( Jim singing scale )

I can bring out a kit of

single strings, and you can

select according to gauges if

you want.

That way, you can customize it

string by string and go from

treble to bass.

Now, that's seven-thousandths

in diameter.

A typical human hair is three-

thousandths in diameter.

If I had hair, I'd show you.

It goes from that thin to this

thick.

Inside maracas they use...

sometimes you have seeds.

We've been using, like, nuts

and bolts anyways inside PVC

pipes.

So you're building something

like this.

They use plastic pellets.

So actually, that's given me

a range.

But when you have a specific

length that you're not changing,

you very quickly run out of the

variation in string gauge.

Changing the string gauge or

thickness is one way Red Team

can change pitch and create an

octave.

A thinner, lighter string moves

back and forth more easily, so

it vibrates more quickly, making

a higher sound.

They can also control pitch by

changing the length or tension

of a string.

But shortening or tightening a

string, it will become stiffer.

A stiffer string will vibrate

faster and make a higher sound.

But Red Team doesn't want to

change the length of their

strings.

So if they want to create an

octave, they need to change both

gauge and tension.

So you're presenting yourself

with a formidable challenge to

have an instrument whose strings

are all equal in length, but you

want to have a whole octave of

pitch change.

Is it possible.

I think it's possible.

Rock and roll.

I'm actually going to make

several mallets, and I'm

actually going to be using the

foam and carving them out.

( hollow banging )

I like that.

Last challenge, I had a little

bit of a physics background, so

I know a bit about torque and

things like that-- and gear

ratios.

But I have no idea when it comes

to, like, reading and writing

music.

I've never done it.

I've never played an instrument.

So I'm just musically

challenged.

Everyone has their own small

expertise, so it's like I like

taking from each one of them and

enriching myself.

That's two pieces, and then

there's hinges right here and

right here.

So this would come over and

this would come over?

Yeah.

I think it's going to work out

really well, actually.

I think it's going to look

really cool too.

My fabulous co-host...

Yay!

What's up, guys?

Welcome back to the lounge.

Excuse me.

We've been hard at work, and you

guys are just sitting here?

Are you guys rested?

All right, stop slacking off.

We got materials.

We got to work on the next

thing.

We found things.

Wow, you guys made some

progress.

We got a lot done.

It looks impressive.

This is a pickup, and it has

a guitar plug.

So this gets mounted somewhere

inside of here, and it picks up

all the vibrations from the

strings.

These are fasteners for our

string instrument.

All you so is you put the string

in through it, and you just

crank it.

And then we bought

different strings so we can pick

and choose what we want.

They're all different

thicknesses.

We bought this tuner.

It's an electronic tuner.

You just play a note, and it

tells you what it is.

Coming here, we were thinking,

and we changed our design a

little bit from this to

something that is big enough to

sit on-- and two bows.

You sit on it.

You bow around the sides of it.

All right, we have a new plan,

and instead of using our smaller

spool as a little kind of

violiny instrument, we're going

to do a huge one.

Our strings will be right here.

Our guy will sit up here with

his bows and play it like so.

We picked this plan because it

was a little more quirky, little

more outrageous, and it would

just be a lot more fun.

It's a circle.

It's a circle-ish.

We're going to need a bigger

circle.

Well, it's nearing the end of

the day, and all we can do now

is measure, and we'll cut next

thing tomorrow morning.

All right, Design Squads,

time's up.

We just want to say, you know,

you did a great job, but we'll

see you tomorrow, another great

day in the lounge.

Um, so day two, we need to do

pretty much our entire stringed

instrument.

Our percussion's almost done.

Hello.

It's the PVC playground...

playground... playground...

playground... playground...

Do it again.

It's saying A now.

It's solid.

( banging )

Guys, we realized the

problem.

Hit that.

( shaking )

Okay, you can hear that, but

when it's like this one, you

really can't.

What is that?

The wood chips inside are not

making a sound.

So... it's because they're just

not creating a high enough

impact to create a vibration.

So do you want to use another

material?

Yeah, pick a different

material, that's all.

We're going to break a

bottle.

Oh, my gosh.

Smash.

Hey, Giselle, look at what I

found.

Oh, that sounds wicked

different.

Right now we're cutting the

columns for the instrument which

doesn't have a name yet.

We went from just having a box

underneath it to making these

columns...

inches.

...because we needed the

support to be more towards the

outside, towards the strings, to

keep the strings from becoming

loose when the board warps.

We didn't do our original

design, which was this crazy

spinning wheel thing, but it's

important to be flexible when

you're engineering new things

like this.

This thing is massive.

Do you think we made it too

big, you guys?

That's what's cool about it.

It's not a typical string

instrument.

I don't see why that wouldn't

work.

The only thing I'm concerned

about is the strength of the

screws in the wood.

If they pull out, that's a bad

thing.

Look who we brought.

Hey.

The lead singer of Off White

Noise.

What's going on here?

We're comparing sounds.

We're tweaking it.

Yeah?

What sounds do you have now?

( banging and shaking )

PVC is, like, kind of like

the overwhelming sound in all of

them, so I don't know if there's

a way of maybe making one of

them metal.

I don't know if you have a metal

tube lying around that you can

switch out quickly.

Oh, look at this.

( metallic banging )

Wow, that's really loud.

( metallic banging )

You guys have a whole 'nother

instrument to be working on,

right?-- as well.

How's that going?

There's going to be strings,

eight of them going like this,

and there will be tuners on this

side that'll be able to tune the

strings to whatever key he

wants.

So the biggest issue with

this is trying to figure out how

to mount these machine heads to

tighten the strings.

All right, let's get to work.

Look who we brought.

Hey!

This is what we call the PVC

playground.

( hollow banging )

It's very Blue Man

Group-esque.

I mean, it wouldn't be, like,

very original, but let's switch

to the other instrument.

Whoa.

It's a giant kind of drummish

thing, and the strings are along

the sides, and the player would

sit on top and bow these

strings.

Okay.

I see a few issues with this.

Ooh, they might be significant.

I'm not sure.

First, if you look here, these

machine heads are kind of

ripping off the base.

This is not the way they're

intended to be mounted on any

sort of instrument.

They're supposed to be press

fit.

A press fit is created when a

larger piece is forced into a

smaller whole, locking it

tightly in place.

So you probably have to come

up with another way of mounting

these.

As far as, like, playability, I

don't... this is huge.

That might be a little awkward.

Also, the strings are kind of

far apart.

But I think it would be a lot

easier to play and change notes

if they're closer together.

If this was close to the board,

you could change the notes also

by pushing this against these

support structures.

I will see you later when we

test them out for real.

Bye.

See you guys.

So, Mike, why don't you work

on detaching all these, because

we're going to move them all

around.

If you guys want to take all the

strings off and then drill new

holes...

You have to take the

criticism well.

You can't let it get you down.

And you just have to work doubly

as hard and just get it finished

and make sure you keep on track

and make sure you're efficient.

So what we're going to do now

is press fit it in there using

the drill bit.

Done?

Done.

Rock and Roll.

So right now we are going to

be testing our parp for the

first time with the pickup.

I got you guys the cable.

Oh, cool.

Thanks.

The cable fairy came.

Okay, so now everything is set

up.

So turn the amp on.

We have ignition.

( plucking string )

Yeah!

( scraping )

That is the sickest thing I

have ever heard.

I cannot believe we build

that.

Dude, I can't believe that we

made it work.

Ooh!

Stop screaming.

This is something I've never

done.

This is a first.

What?

I've never strung an

instrument before that I've made

with my own hands.

You guys want to think of a

name?

Sure.

Stonehenge, anyone?

How about Strumhenge?

Bowhenge?

No, that's lame.

Stringhenge?

I like it, Stringhenge.

Do you like it?

I like Stringhenge.

( plucking string )

Ooh, that sounds horrendous.

Tune it up.

We need an octave.

( bowing string )

That sounds lovely.

( bowing string )

So you guys got it tuned?

Yeah.

Yes, sir.

Should we try it out?

Yeah, go for it.

Yes.

* Up above the world so high

like a diamond in the sky... *

All together now.

* Twinkle, twinkle

little star

* How I wonder what you are.

( cheering and applause )

Very nice.

The three notes at the bottom

are in a lower octave though,

huh?

Because... did you guys not have

enough thinner strings.

We broke a few.

So this is the parp with all

eight strings on it right now.

And this is the back with all

the tuners.

They're all lined up, and you

can tune every string

individually.

( plucking strings )

That's crazy.

Time's up.

Ladies and gentlemen, Off

White Noise.

( cheering and applause )

Why don't we start over here?

Blue Team.

Blue Team.

What do we have here for

percussion?

We have the drumaca.

It's a drum set with maracas.

We should have the drummer in

the band try it.

Alex?

Sure, why not?

( shaking )

How about you guys' string

instrument?

Let's hear that.

Well, we took a pipe, and we

like the idea of the harp,

because it's very pretty, almost

angelic.

For a rock band.

And we decided to combine the

two and call it a parp.

And there's a Velcro...

( cheering )

Oh, okay.

Let's see what happens.

( plucking strings )

It sounds good, and I love the

Velcro.

Yeah!

Red Team, are you guys ready

for us?

Ready.

This is our Stringhenge.

( bowing strings )

And you can also give it one of

those.

Well, Terry, as the master

cello player, what do you think?

( bowing strings )

Next we have the PVC

playground.

( hollow banging )

( banging )

( cheering and applause )

First of all, we'd like to

say congratulations to both

teams.

We're really impressed.

You guys built awesome

instruments.

And they actually met all the

criteria.

Both of your percussion

instruments could make two

distinct tones.

And the string instruments

both played a full octave and

could be amplified.

So without further ado, let's

hear from Off White Noise and

see what they chose.

Barry, which instrument did you

choose?

I had to go with the parp.

( cheering )

It is beautiful, and it sounds

great.

Well, next.

Alex.

I went with the PVC

playground.

( cheering and applause )

It's definitely is fun to

play and has a lot of distinct

sounds and has a full range of

different notes I can play.

Okay, that's one for the Red

Team, one for the Blue Team.

Down to the wire.

Terry, what did you decide?

Well, I had a really

difficult time, actually.

I play a stringed instrument,

and so I tested this one out,

but it was really difficult to

tune and also kind of

uncomfortable to play, so I had

to go with the Blue Team's

drumaca.

( cheering and applause )

All right.

Awesome.

So points each to

everybody on the Blue Team.

And points still going to

the Red Team.

You guys ready to rock out at

the concert?

Yeah!

Give it up for Off White

Noise.

( cheering and applause )

( Barry singing )

( cheering and applause )

Thank you.

Kim and Joey are two for two

and tied at the top of the

leader board with points

apiece.

All right, Deanne, here's a

new challenge: describe the

Design Squad Web site in ten

seconds-- go.

There are games, photos, new

challenges, videos, quizzes,

scoring updates.

Time's up.

Ugh!

Just go to pbskidsgo.org.

I'm Amanda Bligh.

I'm a mechanical engineer.

I have the coolest job in the

world.

I make toys.

One of the great things about

engineering is you get to work

with moving parts, and one of

the goals is try to get those

moving parts to work better

together.

Welcome to Showtime Hoops.

This is Andy.

He helped do the electronic

development, and this Brian.

He made it look good.

I'm the one that made it work.

The designers primarily deal

with the exterior of a product.

They decide how it looks.

The engineers work on the inside

of the product, how it performs.

We've created a product that has

a spotlight.

The spotlight tells you where to

stand and sh**t from.

A MC's voice tells you when you

make a good shot, tells you when

you make a swish, and tells you

when you miss.

Air ball.

We put a number of sensors in

different areas so that you can

tell if you just hit the

backboard or if you hit the

backboard and you go in.

One of the best things about

being a toy engineer is to be at

a park and see people enjoying

something that I put a lot of

work into.