Making instruments preschool: 25 Homemade Musical Instruments for Kids

25 Homemade Musical Instruments for Kids

Minted

Start your family band by crafting some awesome homemade instruments. Most of these are super easy to make, and kids will have a blast banging on a tin can drum, shaking DIY maracas and making some tunes. Get the dance party started!

Cardboard Rain Stick

The Imagination Tree

A rain stick makes the prettiest sound, and it’s very easy to make one at home with a few simple items. We love the tutorial for this musical craft found over at The Imagination Tree. 

Cardboard Guitar

Pink Stripey Socks

Perfect for toddlers who aren’t ready for the real thing, we love this cardboard guitar spotted over at Pink Stripey Socks. You can paint it in any design, too! 

Hand Drums

Minted

Kids can twist and twirl these homemade hand drums to their heart’s content! Find the tutorial over at Minted.

Bongo, Shaker, Güiro All in One

Mama. Papa. Bubba

This fun little instrument is really three in one! Kids will enjoy shaking it or playing it as a drum and it’s super easy to make. Get the tutorial over at Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Jingle Ring

Buggy and Buddy

This adorable nature-themed tambourine-like homemade instrument is the perfect addition to a May Day celebration or even just a day outside. Easy to make, you can find the tutorial from Buggy and Buddy.

“Do-Re-Mi” Xylophone

Chelsea Foy of Lovely Indeed, in Partnership with The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization

If you’ve got a serious hankering for DIY projects, this adorable xylophone kids can play along to “Do-Re-Mi” from The Sound of Music fits the bill. From Lovely Indeed, you’ll need to make a trek to the home-improvement store for all the materials, but the chic design and good sound quality means you’ll want to keep it out instead of stashing it away somewhere. Be sure to check out all the other adorable projects over at the Sound of Music Crafting Corner. 

CD Cymbals

Jackie Currie via Happy Hooligans

Happy Hooligans makes good use out of CDs. We love especially love these “cymbals” because they don’t actually sound like real cymbals. 

Sensory Bin Shakers

courtesy Fun-a-Day

We love these sensory bin shakers because they’ll extend sensory play time. It’s also easy for your kids to make on their own. Head over to Fun-a-Day to see how to make your own. 

Rainbow Xylophone

And Next Comes L

This super cute and colorful, homemade instrument is as much fun to make as it is to play. Get the scoop on how to do it yourself over at And Next Comes L. 

Singing Straws

Handmade Charlotte

We love Handmade Charlotte’s take on the pan flute. Not only does this homemade instrument actually make music, but it’s also as bright and colorful as can be.

Paper Plate Tambourine

Gabby Cullen

This little instrument really packs a jingle and it’s a great use for paper plates leftover from a birthday party. If you have the plain white ones, even better, though because then your little maestro gets to decorate her own. Get the complete step-by-step here. 

Didgeridoo

courtesy KiwiCo.

It’s one of the world’s oldest instruments, and your kids can make their own colorful version in an afternoon. The secret to making it look real? Earth-toned paint colors. You can find the entire tutorial over at KiwiCo. 

Chicken in a Cup

All for the Boys

For an outside-the-box take on a homemade instrument, you’ve got to try this “chicken in a cup” from All for the Boys. It’s super easy to put together using household items, and kids will get a kick out of the squeaky sound it makes.

Cereal Box Guitar

Made by Joel

If you’ve got a cereal box and a couple of rubber bands lying around, you’ve got a guitar! Made by Joel has the super simple how-to. Older babies and toddlers can help you decorate the cereal box with stickers or washi tape, then get to strumming. No cereal box? Rubber bands stretched around a loaf pan will produce a similar effect.

Tin Can Drums

Red Ted Art

Keep it simple (but still super fun) with this sweet homemade instrument idea from Red Ted Art. Kids can paint the “drums” however they want, then they’ll have a blast discovering the different sounds they can make with kitchen utensils.

Backyard Concerts

PreK K Sharing

Banging on a pot with a wooden spoon is practically a rite of passage in babyhood. Why not take it a step further and construct an outdoor music wall for your kids like this one from PreK + K Sharing? Scour your house for any seldom-used odds and ends that make a fun sound (or hit up your favorite thrift store), then use a hammer and nails to secure to a section of fencing. 

Easter Egg Maracas

iStock

Shake to the sound of rice with these easy-peasy maracas. All you need is rice, plastic spoons, easter eggs, and tape! Best part? These shakers have been tried and tested by lifestyle blogger and mom of three, Katelyn Fagan of What’s Up Fagans, and they are certified to play at a decent volume without being too annoying. 

PVC Pipe Flutes

Jnkyrdguy via Instructables

This whistling instrument isn’t a project for the kids, but if mom or dad is up for some intense DIY action (or stopping by Home Depot for their drilling services), the results are just as amazing as the real thing.  

Kazoo

Buggy and Buddy

Explore sound and science with Buggy and Buddy’s homemade kazoo. With simple materials that you’re bound to have at home, this kazoo is perfect for vocal tots who love to spend their days humming and singing. What a fun homemade instrument!

Shoebox Guitar

Minieco

Did you know empty containers hold a secret melody? All you need are some rubber bands, a shoebox and split pins; then your quick-fingered tot can get their twang on. For the key to perfect, magical sound, check out the tutorial over at Minieco.

Mini Mandolin

Hello Bee

With a little more time and effort, your wooden mandolin is set to last much longer than your musician’s first gig. The community blog for moms and moms-to-be Hello Bee has an awesome tutorial on making a mandolin that’s worthy of being part of a kid-sized Philharmonic.  

Pin Strummers

Josie via Pi’ikea Street

Strum up a tune with bobby pins. This experiment and discovery project by Pi’ikea Street explores how different sounds can become just by changing one object.

Bell Shakers

Hello Bee

Ring in a merry afternoon with these bell shakers. This tutorial from craft blog Hello Bee requires some drilling, but the modern look and long-lasting build are worth it. Now your littlest can join the family band with just a wriggle of the wrist!

— Taylor Clifton, Christal Yuen, Gabby Cullen & Amber Guetebier

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10 DIY instruments to make with your kids that actually sound great!

Song of the Week

Why hello there! I hope you are reading this in your pajamas. This week I thought the most helpful thing to write about would be some At Home activities to occupy your At Home kids, and what could be a better fit than making your own musical instruments?!

The thing about DIY kids’ instruments is there hasn’t been a single good idea that hasn’t already been written about one million times before. So instead of trying to reinvent the paper-plate tambourine, I curated an extensive list of the best “make your own instrument” videos I could find for you to easily peruse here! There are a lot of tutorials in the webiverse that demonstrate how to make instruments that look good, but don’t sound like anything. All of the instruments on this list actually make great sounds, which is the whole point of an instrument! I also included timestamps for any videos demonstrating multiple instruments and any specific tools you might need like a hot glue gun for each. I hope you enjoy!!

Before you get lost in the land of DIY, let’s talk about the perfect song to use for your perfect new instruments – “Shake Shake Band”. The original version of this song is called “Don’t You Hurry Worry Me” from the Bahamas. The lyrics urge you not to stress, and to enjoy the calm, slow pace of island time. I literally couldn’t think up a more perfect song for the current ball-of-anxiety state that many of us (including me) are stuck in! So close your eyes, imagine the sound of the waves, the smell of the sand, take a deep breath, and then channel that inner peace into making some awesome instruments with your kids, on island time. 

*Tip – once you make your instruments, don’t forget to stream “Shake Shake Band” on The Music Class app if you’re enrolled in class!

1. This is the video I recommend starting with – she does a great job of quickly explaining how DIY instruments work!

00:01 Introduction to most basic pitch changing instrument using a cup and rubber band
02:17 Straw, balloon, cardboard tube horn
03:02 Small rubber band guitar
04:04 Tennis ball container pitch changing string instrument
05:25 Cardboard tube, fishing line pitch changing instrument
06:45 Large rubber band guitar

2.

The basics – Two adorable kids teach you how to make adorable shakers

3. Science of sound video – How to make a super simple harmonica

(He uses tongue-depressors, but you can also use popsicle sticks!)

4. Another cute kid DIY instrument tutorial!

0:38 Monkey drum – Hot glue gun and balloons needed
2:20 Bottle cap castanets – Hot glue gun needed
3:45 Bell bracelet – Small bells needed

5.

Quick DIY instruments made with mostly paper, cardboard, and glue!

00:01 Maracas
02:47 Rain stick
5:17 Paper plate tambourine – small bells needed
6:20 Monkey Drum – balloons needed

6. Simple instruments using household tools (raid the toolbox)

00:01 Wrench and Styrofoam cup xylophone
00:50 Large nail and rope xylophone
01:34 Cardboard tube guitar

7. DIY Paper Xylophone – Only paper, pencil, string, glue, tape, and scissors are needed!

8. DIY Rain Stick – Using a cardboard tube, nails, rice, beans, and tape

9. DIY Timpani Drum – Using plastic bottles, chopsticks, a glue gun, and a clothing iron

10. DIY Pan Flute – Pitch perfect and made out of plastic straws! (If you still have any lying around)

Author Bio

Raina Sayer

Master class for educators “Making noise instruments for a music corner”

MUNICIPAL
Budgetary Preschool Educational Institution

Kindergarten No. 56 “Mosaika” of the city district of Shchelkovo

9000 9000 Class Class for
educators

“Production of noise
instruments for the music corner”

9000
music director

Chernovolova
Oksana Viktorovna

Shchelkovo

2019
year

Master class for
teachers of the preschool educational institution: “Making musical noise instruments from
waste material”.

Purpose: Transfer
experience of a music director in making homemade musical
tools from waste material to teachers.

Tasks:

1.
Familiarize teachers with technology
production of musical instruments from waste material.

2.
Assist in the selection of funds and materials for
manual labor with children.

3.
Practical way to master the technology
work with waste material.

Expected
results:

Educators:

• will master
  technology for working with waste material.
• organize
  work on making homemade noise and percussion instruments with children
  in the group and fill up the music zones.

1.
Theoretical part:

Surround sounds
baby from early childhood. We rejoice when children begin to respond to
rattle, whistle, squeaker toy. We entertain children, amuse and
we develop! As a result, we strive to ensure that the child, leaving the walls of the nursery
garden had a baggage of musical knowledge, his own preferences in music, was
emotionally responsive to everything beautiful.

– Remember which
your baby had the first toy. (educators’ answers)

– A
Now tell me, which toys attract children more, sounding or non-sounding?
Why do you think?

Logarithmic
game “Who is sitting under the chair?” E. Makshantseva.

(learn
with modified words, using options: rustling, knocking, cracking, etc.)

Teaching for
preschoolers should not only be an easy and enjoyable pastime, but also
interesting.

Musical
instruments for children always remain wonderful, unusual
attractive objects that you really want to play with. After all, the tool
for children – a symbol of music, and the one who plays it is almost a magician.

Favorite
a type of children’s orchestra is a noise orchestra, which allows you to turn on
all children in music making.

Use
homemade tools develop ingenuity, associativity and
variability of thinking, contribute to the enrichment of musical ear, especially
its timbre-rhythmic component.

Practice
it has been proven that children who have been withdrawn by playing on homemade
musical instruments are liberated and revealed from different sides,
become more sociable, can perform in front of a large number of
people actively participate in all activities

So what is
noise? Noise – random non-periodic vibrations of a sounding body.
Unlike musical sounds, noise does not have a precisely defined pitch.
Noise sounds include crackling, rattling, creaking, rustling, etc., and noise
orchestral instruments are noise producing devices that
create a certain rhythmic and timbre flavor.

Job
for teachers: – List children’s noise
tools. (auction – who will be the last to name).

To noise
orchestral instruments include percussion instruments with an indefinite pitch
sound: drums, rattles, cymbals, tambourine, triangle, castanets,
spoons, rattles, etc.

Some noise
musical instruments can be made by hand. Here is what is often
may be at hand: tin and plastic cans filled with dry
rice, buckwheat, bunches of keys, different types of paper (newspaper, corrugated, wrapping and
etc. ), natural materials (acorns, chestnuts, nuts, cones) and much more can
become the basis or filler for the tool you created.

On the table are
different noise instruments. Please take one for yourself. Attentively
review and try to describe what it is made of and how to use it.

1.
Practical part.

Today we
we will make musical instruments from waste material, very quickly. On him
don’t need a lot of expenses. The filler can be different: cereals, beads, large
sand. It depends on what kind of sound you want to endow your
musical instrument.

Squeakers

Colored
plastic “kinder surprises” are filled with beans, peas, seeds
or beads, etc. For a variety of timbre, the rattle filler can be
use cereal.

Rustle Clock .

Through the cover
matchbox stretches a thin rubber band (according to the size of the wrist, and
you can put any seeds, cereals, etc. in the box. Putting the watch on your hand,
you need to shake your hand to “wake up” the instrument. This tool
it is also convenient to use as a guide (right, left side) when
performance of musical and rhythmic movements.

Maracas-turners

In jars
chips are poured with various fillers (cereals, seeds, beans, peas) – this
maracas. If you play on the lid of the maracas with a stick or finger, then it
“turns” into a drum. This transformation of the tool allows it
use in games to determine the nature of the music.

Miracle Castanets

Double folded
light bulb cardboard. Glue on both inner sides of the cardboard
metal caps from beer bottles. Sound is extracted by compression
miracle castanets in the palm of a child.

Shaker

Tins
from under coffee, drinks with small loose objects.

Drum

Empty mayonnaise
bucket, rubber band, paper, water (wet the paper)

Bell

mayonnaise or sour cream, beads, colored thin ribbons.

Children love everything
bright, shiny, colorful, so all homemade tools are desirable
decorate with colored, shiny wrapping or self-adhesive paper, etc. All
children can decorate these instruments to their taste by pasting them with multi-colored
paper.

Now let’s
let’s play together with our musical, home-made instruments in “Orchestra”. sounds
Russian folk melody “Like at our gates”.

Very
a fascinating pastime is the telling of fairy tales-noise makers.
Playing along on musical instruments when telling even
the simplest, long-known fairy tale will open the world to the child
creativity and fantasy. It does not require special musical
preparation.

In such a fairy tale
the text is composed in such a way that after one or two phrases something is given
represent noise.

Thanks
using tools, a story or a fairy tale becomes more interesting and
bright. Playing the instrument should sound in pauses, illustrating the text.

Take
instruments according to your preferences, check their sound. You will
voice it when you see fit. But, if you play with children,
the introduction can be prompted by a look or a gesture.

And now we
let’s try to voice small stories ourselves:

story”.

In autumn, the whole mouse
day ran to and fro, gathering supplies for the winter.

(drum)

And finally with
beautiful white snowflakes began to fall from the sky. (Bell ringers)

They covered
frozen ground like a fluffy white blanket, and soon on this snow appeared
small footprints of mice.

The mice hid in
their minks, where they had a lot of food.

They gnawed nuts,

(wooden spoons,
cubes)

gnawed grains

(comb)

warm straw nests. (maracas – turners)

Especially they
loved to eat sweet treats. (rustling paper and bags)

A outside to the ground
snow fell every day (sounding keys)

The wind was noisy,
(we blow into a bottle)

And over mouse
minks covered a big, big snowdrift.

But the mice had
very well under the snow in warm minks.

(or drumming
fingers on an empty box)

Cowardly
hare”

Once upon a time in the forest
cowardly hare.

One day a hare came out
from home, and the hedgehog in the bushes suddenly rustles! (rustlers)

The hare was frightened and
run. (drumming fingers)

Run, run and
sat down on a stump to rest. And the woodpecker on the pine tree will knock! (knocking cubes)

A hare rushed
run. (drum)

Run, run,
ran into the very thicket, and there the owl flapped its wings! (ratchet)

A hare ran out of
forests to the river. (drum)

A on the bank of the river
the frogs were sitting. (harp made of pencils)

They saw a hare
and jump into the water. (ringers)

The hare was delighted,
that the frogs were afraid of him – and boldly galloped back into the forest.

1.
Reflection.

And in the end I would
I wanted to know if you liked our lesson today, did you get
new information and will you be able to apply the acquired knowledge in your work?

It’s spring outside,
I want sun and bright colors. There are colorful flowers in front of you:

¾
a red flower means that you liked everything;

¾
green – did not like everything;

¾
blue – did not like it at all.

I offer you
choose the desired flower and plant it in a flower bed and see what flowers we have
will grow more.

I wish you
creative success.

Master class

Master class “Making musical instruments or an orchestra with your own hands”

Purpose: Transfer to parents – the experience of a musical director and educators in making musical instruments with their own hands from waste material.
Creation of a unified educational space in a preschool organization and the family of pupils, contributing to the development of musical abilities in children of senior preschool age; use of homemade musical instruments at home.
Tasks:
1. To acquaint parents with the technology of making musical instruments;
2. To master the technology of work and help in the selection of funds and material for working with children;
3. Practically master the technology of working with waste material.
Expected results:
Parents of pupils:
• mastering the technology of working with waste material;
• organization of work on the production of noise and percussion instruments with their children in the family.
• use of musical instruments in children’s independent activities at home.

Projector, screen, laptop, multimedia presentation, music center.

Materials:
Spools and multi-colored threads, colored self-adhesive film, simple pencils, awl, filler (beads), shoe covers containers, wooden sticks (for sushi), scissors, jars, bags, boxes, bulk materials, rubber bands, sequins, multi-colored braid, a set of keys, curlers.

There are a huge number of sounding objects around us, and it is very interesting to study their possibilities! Homemade tools are just as necessary for children as homemade toys. This is a space for creativity, an opportunity to invent and make discoveries. The world of sounds surrounding us is amazing. You just have to try to hear it. Fantasy and imagination can breathe colorful life into ordinary everyday objects: Magic Brush Waltz, Colored Pencil Polka, March of Wooden Cubes. Children’s improvisation is varied: ordinary fishing bells “talk” to each other, jars of cereals can tell how snow creaks underfoot on a frosty day. Children are attracted not only by the appearance of the instruments, but also by the fact that they themselves, without anyone’s help, can hear its sound. Playing music on children’s noise instruments is one of the most accessible forms of introducing a child to the world of music. Music is a necessary condition for the overall development of children. Playing children’s noise instruments – develops an ear for music, rhythm, musical memory, forms the skills of verbal and non-verbal communication, forms the readiness and ability to act in a team, develops fine and gross motor skills, as well as auditory, visual, tactile perception abilities. It is in playing music that a child manifests a rich imagination, a desire for self-expression, the ability to reincarnate and create a new image. The active involvement of the child in the process of perception of music and its performance makes it possible to see how he feels the music as a whole, to what extent and to what extent he observes the development of the musical image.
Therefore, playing percussion and noise instruments provides ample opportunities for working with children to develop their musicality, allows you to surprisingly quickly introduce a child to interesting, vibrant music as listeners and performers.
Involving a child in the process of creating children’s musical instruments
gives him many new opportunities. He is more actively involved in collective activities, he feels like a creator. The main thing is to create an atmosphere of joy and provide children with the right to invent and create.

Practical part.
Familiarization of the participants of the master class with crafts and the material from which they are made.
We offer you musical noise instruments that you can make yourself:
1. Maracas (barrels from New Year’s gifts, crackers, cereals).
2. Shakers (coffee jars with fine fillings).
3. Castanets (cardboard, walnut shells).
4. Tambourine (plastic plates, fishing bells).
5. Drums (sports nutrition jars, plastic buckets, used markers, sushi sticks).
6. Bluebells (yogurt cups).
7. Rustlers (juice bottles, candy wrappers, bags).
8. Whistles (tubes for a cocktail).
9. Ratchet (used wooden rulers and beads).
10. Knockers (coloured caps).
11. Noise maker and its varieties (hanger, curlers, keys), etc.
12. Cereals: buckwheat, rice, peas, millet for sound.
3. Practical work.
And now we will all make musical instruments “Noise Maker” – these are spools of thread woven together, decorated with a colored self-adhesive film. As well as a closed container made of solid material, partially filled with small loose contents and attached to a wooden stick. The sound from this instrument is extracted not by a blow, but by the method of moving the stick, moving the brush back and forth, up and down with light movements.
4. The sequence of making a musical instrument.

Step 1. Pierce the coils with an awl on both sides at a distance of 1 cm from the edge.