How To Teach Kids to Make Musical Instruments

You might have come upon this book called “Make and Do”, which contains a wide array of things that kids can, as the title says, make and do. It contains easy to follow instructions on cooking simple dishes, making art projects, sewing projects, and basically everything else that a kid might enjoy making and doing.

One of the things taught in this book is how music lovers can create their own band, or set of musical instruments made from improvised materials. Nowadays, a lot of music references are found in the Internet, and are perfect for those who really do not have the talent to play real musical instruments yet love making them.

Teaching your kids to make musical instruments is easy. Here’s how:

1. You just have to make sure that they have the motivation to do it. Doing this is a lot easier and cheaper than buying the real musical instrument, since your kid may be too young to know how to take proper care of the real thing. Making the improvised version is perfect for young kids especially at the practicing stages, since it wouldn’t be wise if they lose the interest somewhere along the way or break the real instrument when they have temper tantrums. Having their own musical instruments, they can play and learn anytime they want to without your strict supervision.
2. One of the more popular improvised musical instruments is the guitar. You can easily make one out of an empty box of Kleenex. Simply wrap rubber bands around it, especially over the opening. Then, you can show your kid how to strum it and make some music.
3. Another popular musical instruments to make are the shakers or maracas. You only need empty canisters or water bottles. Simply fill them up with rice, sand, dry beans, or pebbles. Then, you can close the opening and start shaking.
4. One of the all-time favorites is the water xylophone. Although it doesn’t look like a xylophone, it sounds like one. You will need similarly sized glass bottles or glasses. Fill them up with varying amounts of water. You can then use a spoon to lightly tap against the glass and produce a sound. A new sound that may correspond to the notes on the musical scale is created, depending on the volume of water inside the bottle or glass. You can use food coloring on the water to liven it up and make it more exciting.
5. Buying a similar book would help you teach your kids how to make more musical instruments that are not found here. A simple Internet search would also be helpful. A book will be helpful since the pictures on the book pages would stimulate your child’s imagination as compared to merely looking at the computer screen. A book is also easier to take anywhere. Printing the instructions you found on the Internet would also help.

With a little imagination and a creative mind, you can have fun with your kids in creating their own improvised music band.