Oh, the Music You Can Make With Homemade Instruments

I've been thinking about the letter O and it has been a tough one for me. But, I didn't want to skip a day and wanted to share yet another couple homemade musical instruments with you from my book.

Music is a positive way to promote social interactions among children, involving them in rhythm activities and games. Gross and fine motor skills are exercised as children play rhythm instruments and dance. And if they make their own instruments they will have fun along the way.

My "Green" Tambourine

Punch three to five evenly spaced holes around the outside rim of a heavy-duty paper plate (it's best to use paper instead of plastic for this project). Invite the children to decorate their plate with paint, markers, or crayons. Glitter, sequins or stickers may be added as well. An adult can help the child to tie on several jingle bells in the holes. Elastic thread works well. Children can hold the plate in their hands and shake it. They may also tap the tambourines against their bodies.

Click Those Castanets

If you can find some metal bottle caps you will be all set to make this project. Have an adult punch a hole in the middle of each bottle cap using a hammer and a nail. Be sure to flatten out any sharp edges. Take a one-inch by six-inch strip of heavy cardboard and invite children to use paint or markers to decorate the strip. Then, have the adult punch a hole an inch from each end of the cardboard strip using the hammer and nail.

Place a bottle cap face down over one of the holes in the cardboard strip, lining up the hole in the strip with the hole in the cap. Thread string through the holes and knot them. Repeat this process on the other side. Help the children fold the cardboard strip in half with the bottle caps on the inside. The children can hold the folded end of the cardboard strip in one hand and click the bottle caps together by squeezing the cardboard.

Store-bought instruments may be okay, however, the making of musical instruments offers children fun, great hands-on experience, and the pride of ownership of a project made alone. 

*Instrument ideas have been taken from Shake, Tap and Play a Merry Tune by Tania K. Cowling

Photo by Tania Cowling, all rights reserved

 

D is for Drums

Drums are a favorite of children when playing musical instruments. I wrote an entire book for teachers and parents on making musical instruments, so I'm including one of my favorites -- the snare drum made with a cookie tin. I'm sure you have most of the materials you need at home. Try this craft with your kids -- it's a great art project and a way to practice making sounds and rhythm.

SNARE DRUM:

You will need:

*Metal cookie/candy tin

*Metal paper clips (about 20)

*Cardboard circle (cut slightly larger than the diameter of the tin)

*Thick packaging tape

*Adhesive stickers, including musical notes

*Drum sticks (unsharpened pencils or chopsticks)

Remove the lid from an empty cookie tin.  Decorate the outside with colorful adhesive stickers (or paint a solid color with acrylic paints).  Paint the cardboard circle, too, if you wish.  Have the kids turn the cookie tin upside down and spread paper clips evenly on the recessed bottom of the tin.  Place the cardboard circle over the bottom (the cardboard should not touch the paper clips).  Secure this circle to the bottom with thick tape, bringing the tape up the sides.  The children can use drumsticks to tap this snare drum.

Encourage the kids to think of other materials to use inside this drum besides paper clips to see what other sounds may be produced.

Sing this song as you play your drum---(tune: Row, Row, Row Your Boat)

Play it loud,

Play it soft,

Rhythm everywhere.

Play it slow,

Play it fast,

Music is in the air!

If you would like to purchase a book on making homemade instruments, check out my website http://www.taniacowling.com to view "Shake, Tap, and Play a Merry Tune" available through my website for $8.00.

Until tomorrow,
Tania

How to Make Homemade Musical Instruments

Children enjoy making musical instruments from collecting the materials to performing in a homemade band. Go 'green' with recycled materials for your projects.

The homemade instruments below fall into the category of idiophones and with a few recycled materials, children can make creative rhythm instruments to experiment with sounds and contribute to a classroom rhythm band. The best part of these homemade instruments is that when playtime is over or the child tires of the project, most materials can go back into the recycle bin for a greener Earth.

 

Coconut Clappers

Those who live in the tropics can pick up a coconut, if not this fruit can be found in markets.

·      An adult needs to cut the coconut in half, drain the milk and take out the meat.

·      Help the children sand the outside of the coconut shell until all surfaces becomes somewhat smooth.

·      Children can paint the coconut shell with poster paint and decorate the outside as they wish.

To play this primal instrument, children need to hold a half in each hand. Tap the cut edges together to create unique, hollow-wood sounds. Challenge the kids to guess which animal makes a sound like a coconut clapper. The correct answer is horse and have the children use these clappers to make sounds like a horse is walking and a faster pace like galloping.

Bongos

Simple bongo drums can be made from empty gallon or half-gallon plastic containers, such as bleach containers.

·      To prepare the containers, cut the tops off and make sure both bottles have been cut to the same size.

·      Tape the cut edges with a heavy duct or vinyl tape to protect the fingers.

·      Have an adult staple two containers together side by side for each child.

·      The kids can decorate the plastic bongos with adhesive stickers and/or permanent colored markers.

To play these drums, turn the containers upside down and children can tap the bottoms with their hands. To be authentic, sit on the floor and place the bongos between the knees.

And more ideas to come...

The ideas above have come from "Shake, Tap and Play a Merry Tune" by Tania K. Cowling (available on Amazon.com and from the author on http://www.taniacowling.com)

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See you next week,

Tania