My son needs to make a musical instument by tomorrow?

Question

He doesn't want to make a drum or a tin can shaker.... any easy ideas?

Answer 1

If you've got something like a shoe box or similar, cut a circle out the lid, then stick the middle of a kitchen roll at one end. Put some elastic bands round the box so they go over the hole and you have a guitar.

Answer 2

If you have an empty ice cream container or tissue box you can put 5 elastic bands around. Then stick a kitchen roll tube onto one end and decorate the whole thing - voila a guitar! Or fill an empty small drinks bottle with pasta, rice, glitter (looks good!) and whatever you had handy and you have a shaker. Or cut the bottom off an ice cream container (or similar) and cover with greaseproof paper and secure with a band. Attach milk bottle tops to band with little bits of string for a tambourine.
Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Take an empty cereal box. Seal it up with sticky tape. Place it flat. Cut out a circle, about the diameter of a bowl, towards one end.Get 4 elastic bands that fit around the box and must go over the hole. Next, get 4 wooden blocks that will go under the elastic bands. Glue these on separate bands, at intervals, from the cut circle, about an inch apart under the bands and affix to box. Wallah! a home made guitar!.

Answer 4

TAMBOURINE

2 paper plates
stapler or glue
hole punch
string
jingle bells
crayons

Staple or glue two paper plates together, facing each other. Using a hole punch, make holes around the plates and tie jingle bells to the holes with string. Decorate the tambourine with crayons.

Shake to play.

Note: Heavy duty paper plates may be more durable for this craft.

Safety note: If using a stapler, an adult should do this. When finished be sure to cover the staples with scotch tape.



DRUM
empty oatmeal box with cover
yarn
pen
2 pencils
2 spools
construction paper
crayons

Before beginning, you can decorate the oatmeal box with construction paper and/or crayons for a colorful effect.

Place the cover on the box. Use a pen to make a hole in the center of the cover and in the center of the bottom of the box. Through these holes, pull a piece of yarn long enough to hang around child's neck and down to their waist.

For the drumsticks, place the spools at the ends of the pencils, secure with glue if necessary.


CHIMES

ruler or stick
washers
nail polish
string
mixing spoon

Hang the washers from the ruler or stick with pieces of string by wrapping the string around the ruler or stick and securing. Strike the washers with the mixing spoon to play.

Note: You can make this craft colorful by painting the washers first with different color nail polishes, such as red, gold, glittery, etc. Parents should supervise this part of the activity closely.


HORN

paper towel roll
waxed paper
rubber band
pen

Cover one end of the paper towel roll with waxed paper, secure it with a rubber band. Punch a row of holes along one side of the roll with the tip of a pen.

To play, sing a tune into the open end of the horn.


CYMBALS

two matching pot covers
yarn or ribbon

Tie the ribbon or yarn around the handles of the pot covers. To play, strike together.


XYLOPHONE

tall glasses or jars
water
mixing spoon

Fill the glasses or jars with different amounts of water. The more water in the glass, the lower the pitch will be. Having less water in the glass or jar will raise the pitch.

To play, gently strike the glasses with a mixing spoon.

Note: This instrument should probably be played by older children in "the band" because of the use of glass.


COMB BUZZER

pocket comb
tissue paper

Fold a piece of tissue paper over the tooth edge of a comb. To play, hum through the tissue paper.


GUITAR

empty shoe box
rubber bands
ruler or stick

Remove the cover from the box. Stretch the rubber bands around the box. Attach the ruler or stick to the back of the box on one end to act as the arm of the guitar.

To play, strum or pluck the rubber bands.


HAND BELLS

2 paper towel rolls
hole punch
4 jingle bells
string or yarn

Punch a hole in each end of the paper towel rolls. Tie two jingle bells to each side of the paper towel rolls by running string or yarn through the holes and carefully tying off.

Shake to play.

Answer 5

He can make a lagerphone (Aussie instrument). Take two stcks or thin boards and make a cross with a long leg. Take bottle caps (traditionally beer bottle caps but you can buy plain bottle caps at craft stores.) Nail the bottle caps to the wood loosely so that they jingle. Use by either shaking or thumping the leg end on the floor or you can even hit it with a stick to make noise. Easy and fun and also something nobody else will probably have. BTW make sure the wood part is sanded smooth...splinters are no fun.

Answer 6

Not going to give any advice - you have plenty already! However, I am glad to see other children let you know about projects like these just before they are due!

(The best my son was to make a Norman castle over the Easter holidays. He told me the morning before he went back to school! We managed it, though! Mangled a base from something else and designed houses and a castle on the computer as 3D models to cut out! How we managed it without the police being called to a murder scene, I shall never know!)

Answer 7

Well it is Fall; you can probably buy dried gourds at your local craft store and come up with something. Fill one with beans, paint it and it would be a much cooler shaker than a tin can.

Answer 8

take a paper towel roll....put straight pins in a spiral going all the way down from one end to the other. Cover one end with paper, then reinforce with masking tape so it holds. put about 1/4 cup of raw rice in the opened end. cover that end with paper and then reinforce it with masking tape as well. (make sure that there is paper first or the rice will stick to the tape). Then cover the whole thing neatly with masking tape. Now decorate with markers, stickers, exc.... turn it slowly and you have yourself a rain maker.
Good luck!

Answer 9

How about a comb with a piece of paper folded over it to make an improvised kazoo? Blow on the top of the paper and the paper vibrates over the teeth of the comb to gove a humming noise.

Hope this helps?

Answer 10

Try stretching a few elastic bands over a small open topped box. Each rubber band should have more tension than the next and you have a mini - harp.