Singing wine glasses

Make music with wine glasses and squash, and investigate how changing one variable can affect another.

a young girl is running her finger over the rim of a glass while smiling at her mother
Tilly, 5, making music with wine glasses, Image credit: The Royal Institution

Aims

Make a musical instrument using wine glasses and water.

ExpeRiment with different amounts of water in the glasses to see how it affects the sounds you can make.

Learn about the connection between sounds and vibrations. Discover how running your finger around the rim of a wine glass produces a musical note.

About this activity

Create a wine glass orchestra in your kitchen and explore how sound is caused by vibrations.

Marieke and Tilly experiment with making music and doing science experiments at home. Using wine glasses filled with different volumes of liquids, they investigate how sounds are caused by vibrations and how changing the volume of liquid affects the pitch of the note. Simply rubbing your fingers around the rim of a glass can make an amazing noise. Explore sound, music and science in this fun activity to do with kids.

With enough glasses and little bit of practice you might be able to play 'Ode to Joy' like Marieke!