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Make Your Own Musical Instruments

© Jennifer T. Stack

Creating musical instruments is a great way to get kids involved in music in a hands-on way. There are lots of books and internet resources to help you get started.

Note: I suggest making instruments with children who are at least 3 (preferably 4) years old. Although it is possible to make fun instruments (shakers and the like) for babies, the use of many craft materials poses choking and other hazards. For children under 3, I would use commercially made toys designed for this age, such as the Lynn Kleiner series (see previous article "Acoustic Toddlers").

Advanced crafters might want to try using gourds to make instruments, as people in many cultures have done for centuries. Making Gourd Musical Instruments : Over 60 String, Wind & Percussion Instruments, and How to Play Them by Ginger Summit and Jim Widess for a thorough guide to making natural instruments from your own garden. Requires time and planning but the results will be rewarding.

Making Simple Musical Instruments: A Melodious Collection of Strings, Winds, Drums & More edited by Bart Hopkin and Deborah Morgenthal shows how to make beautiful and somewhat ambitious pieces. Cool Cardboard Instruments to Make & Play by Dennis Waring shows how to make some pretty sophisticated instruments from ordinary cardboard.

Musical instrument crafts for younger kids can be found at http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/musical... PBSKids' Arthur has some tips on musical activities and crafts: http://pbskids.org/arthur/grownups/activ...

Kathy Engell, of Eagle Creek Elementary, has a terrific musical directory site that includes a gallery of instruments created by third graders. See http://www.asd.wednet.edu/EagleCreek/Eng... for inspiration!