Turn random objects at home into awesome
musical instruments to explore rhythm and sound!
Have you ever noticed that no matter the place or the object… you can hear sounds and tones everywhere?
What objects in your house could make funny or weird sounds if you used them as musical instruments?
What instruments do you know?
What materials would be interesting to mix in order to simulate instruments we already know?
In this activity, we’re going to use objects and materials differently to have a fun musical experience!
Materials
See some suggestions:
To reuse:
- Plastic jars or buckets
- Boxes of different shapes and sizes
- Hollow metals, like cylinders
- Old toys
- Balloons
To transform the sound:
- Rice, beans or any other seed
- Water
- Coins, hair clips, paper clips or other similar objects
- Irregular surfaces
- Plastic caps
To play:
- Metal spoon
- Wooden spoon
To make new instruments:
- Cardboard
- Plastic jars
- Tape
- Scissors
- Paint or magic markers
- Paper
- String, wire, nylon strings or rubber bands
Steps
Look at an example of how to do this activity:
1. Imagine!
Tap objects around your house and experiment with the different sounds they produce.
How does a metal pan sound?
What’s the sound of that shoe box like?
What about the plastic bucket?
Explore different objects and materials to feel the musical vibe around you.
2. Create!
You can mix different reusable materials and combine different sounds and rhythms from them.
And also
Make new musical instruments from materials you already have at home. To do this, see some examples on this website or do a quick search on the Internet if you can, and get inspired!
3. Share!
You can share during or after the activity.
Meanwhile, experiment with different sounds and rhythms and talk to people in your house about what you’re discovering. How does plastic sound different from metal? What’s rhythm? What makes music?
After this, take the pictures or videos you’ve taken during the activity, share them on social media and tag your family and friends.
Cool tips
To enhance the sound of a drum, cover the base of a bucket with fabric or a pillow cover and tie it very tight. You can also make a pom pom or use any small ball at home and attach it to the stick you’re using to make the sound.
To make a rattle you only need a jar with a lid and fill it with grainy materials such as seeds, beads, rice, beans, buttons, coins… try one material at a time to notice how different each sound is.
How about experimenting with glass jars filled with different amounts of water? What sound will you make by tapping the water-filled jars with a metal object? But be careful and do it gently!
What other instruments do you imagine?
Take a look at what some people have created!
Acknowledgement
This activity was created by the Brazilian Creative Learning Network
