Creating Homemade Musical Instruments for Your Children

Although the days of a washboard band have gone, you can still find music in everyday objects. It is fun for children to make their own instruments and play them. You may not realize it, but almost any sound can be turned into music. When sound is manipulated, it becomes a part of music. I will spare you the music lesson of John Cage. Besides, I don't believe that I would agree with his entire theory about music. However, he is correct when he points out that many sounds in life can be quite musical.

When making a musical instrument, you have the opportunity to talk about pitch, rhythm, harmony and so forth. Children learn that the more hollow something is, the lower the pitch. They learn that the length of a string can also determine its pitch. Here are some wonderful inexpensive instruments for children to make.

*percussion:

These are the easiest to make. Drums can be made from any hollow container and a lid. Containers that are full can be experimented with, but they do not make a hollow enough sound for the drum. Let the children hear the difference between metal and plastic. Even different pieces of wood will have its own unique sound when struck. The children can decorate the outside of their drum in the colors and designs that they prefer. Let them experiment with different types of mallets. An old paintbrush would make a brushing sound on a percussion instrument. Talk about drums in other countries where people use their hands instead of mallets. The video "Stomp," might get them even more interested in percussion instruments.

Tambourines can be made by using some metal wire and some different sized washers. The washers have to be metal and thin. They can be wired to any type of lid or even an aluminum pie plate. Old fashioned bottle caps can also be used, if the rubber is removed and the cap flattened. A small hole will have to be pounded into each bottle cap. This is why washers work better. Different sized bells can also be strung to make bracelets. The wire or pipe cleaner can also be glued to a Popsicle stick.

Small containers can be filled with different kinds of seeds to make maracas. Save your food. Don't use rice or beans. Yes, these are inexpensive, but better alternatives are pebbles or the seeds and pits of fruit. Dried orange and apple seeds will have a different sound than cherry seeds, date or peach pits. Of course, sand will have a different sound altogether.

*Horns and strings:

Woodwind type instruments are certainly more difficult to make. Filling different bottles with something and blowing through the mouth of the bottle will simulate a flute sound. This type of instrument, would have to be a stationary one, though. You could have a long rubber tube to go from bottle to bottle, Instead of trying to blow into each different bottle. If all of the bottles are 20ounce soda bottles, the scale is as follows:

Do (c) -- 7 ounces
Re (d) -- 9 1/2 ounces
Mi (e) -- 12 1/2 ounces
Fa (f) -- 14 ounces
Sol (g) -- 16 1/2 ounces
La (a) -- 17 1/2 ounces
Ti (b) -- 18 1/2 ounces
Do (High c) -- 19 ounces.

A similar type of instrument could be constructed with metal tubes or copper pipes of varying lengths. To have the corresponding notes, cut them to the following sizes:

The longest pipe will be 11 inches,
2nd - 10 1/4,
3rd - 9 3/4,
4th - 9 1/2,
5th - 8 7/8,
6th - 8 1/2,
7th - 7 7/8 and
8th - 7 5/8. All of the measurements are in inches. Again, this instrument would be a bit more difficult to construct because you would have to cut the pipes. The pipes can be glued to two foam strips. This is like a xylophone or glockenspiel.

You can create horns out of straws. The straws should be flattened. Cut the corners off of one end. This will make the straw triangular on one end with the point in the middle. the pitch will vary Depending upon how long the straw is. The only problem with this is that each child will be able to play only one note. This project has had most success when wanting to play a specific song. If you get the lengths correct to play certain notes, you can, for example, have each child take one note of a song. You could play scales or such songs as "Mary had a Little lamb," A Tisket, A Tasket" or even "Joyful Joyful." If you want to try something even more difficult you could perform "When the Saints go marching in." In all of these songs, no more than five children are needed. "Happy Birthday," "Row your boat" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," will take more children and more planning/organization.

Wires and rubber bands can be stretched across a box or an object with a hole in the middle to create a type of stringed instrument. Smaller rubber bands or shorter wires make a higher pitched sound. While it is similar to a guitar, don't spend much time trying to tune it.

The human voice is a wonderful musical instrument. Help children experiment with echoes and different sounds. Wax paper on a comb (played like a harmonica) or stretched across a toilet paper roll will change how the voice sounds and be an interesting twist for the children.

All of these suggestions will make future musicians out of your children. Don't get so involved in the technical aspects that you lose the fun of just being a musician. Much of it is in the fantasy. But, don't be afraid to teach a bit about rhythm or scales. Children can have fun and learn, also. This is best in the summer so that the children can go outside and bond with their new creation as long as they would like. It will not affect the nerves of those who are less likely to appreciate their musical genius.