Make Your Own Instruments

We all know of someone who has trouble clapping or dancing to the beat. As quirky and fun as it may be to have that person around, the ability to keep the beat is something that can be developed at a very young age and kept with a person for their entire life. Families have the most important role in developing this skill because they spend so much time together and can have a great influence over this skill. Simply putting on music that you love and exploring the beats and rhythm together as a family helps your young children learn these skills internally.

Having instruments around for kids to play with and explore helps them gain interest in music and gives them practice with beats and rhythms. But good, quality instruments can be expensive, so while you’re gathering your collection, here are some simple, inexpensive ways to make your own instruments at home.

Image by Autumn via It’s Always Autumn

Balloon Drums

These colorful drums can be made with various size cans for different tones of drums. Put on some music and let the budding musician join in the fun! Make sure you use a safety can opener when opening the cans so there are no sharp edges. Check out It’s Always Autumn for the tutorial.

Image by First Palette

Paper Plate Tambourine

Have a few jingle bells and a couple paper plates? This tambourine is both ready for the band and a work of art. Depending on the time you have to complete this project, and the interest your child has in decorating it, the design can be as complicated or simple as you want it to be. If you’re not in the mood for an art project, white paper plates sound just the same, so adjust the project to your own family and what sounds fun to you. Also, be aware that small objects, such as bells may be a choking hazard for kids under age 3. I suggest using large bells (even larger than the picture) for this reason. See First Palette for tutorial.

Image via Pre-K Pages

Egg Shakers

Egg shakers are one of the simplest ways to have a musical instrument in a short amount of time. These are fun and instantly encourage musical expression and exploration. There are lots of ways to do this. You can fill your eggs with beans, popcorn kernels, rice, lentils, salt, or candy sprinkles. Seal your eggs with hot glue, super glue, duct tape or a combo.

If you’re really fancy and want to be certain that your eggs won’t break open, paper mache over your eggs will make them very strong and likely unbreakable. See this great tutorial from Red Ted Art that uses real blown out eggs and the process of coating them with tissue paper and glue. If there is any chance that you think the eggs will break open and you are using them with children under the age of three, I suggest that you fill them with the salt or the sprinkles. Something edible that’s not a choking hazard.

Be creative and pull the whole family in for band time when you’re finished to foster a love of music and an internal understanding of beat and rhythm.