What Makes Sound?

Every sound you hear is made by something vibrating. Vibrating means shaking back and forth very quickly.

When you pluck a guitar string, it vibrates back and forth so fast you can almost see it blur. Those vibrations push the air around the string, creating invisible waves that travel through the air to your ears. When the waves reach your ears, your brain turns them into sound!

Try this: put your hand on your throat and hum. Can you feel the buzzing? Those are your vocal cords vibrating! When you talk, sing, or hum, your vocal cords vibrate and make sound waves.

Everything that makes sound is vibrating: drums vibrate when you hit them, bells vibrate when you ring them, and even your phone vibrates to make its ringtone!