instruments Archives - Minds On Music

Let’s Play: Is it an Instrument?

Music. It’s all around you! You hear it in obvious places like the radio and TV, but music is also happening in nature and on the streets. It’s found in the rhythmic drive of jack hammers (albeit a bit annoying) and in the songs of birds. I’m going to give you the answer to the question I’ve posed in the title of this post: YES, IT’S AN INSTRUMENT! Anything and everything can become an instrument if you stretch the imagination. Let’s explore the possibilities…

Let’s Start with Percussion

This is the easiest place to start. Just about anything can become a drum – a bucket, a pot, a tennis ball can. If you collect a bunch of differently sized items, you can create a drum set! The folks over at Wikihow bring us three different methods of turning a coffee can into a drum.

But don’t stop there! How about creating some shakers, made from various household items. The folks over at Howcast show us how.

What About Pitched Instruments?

Homemade percussion instruments are pretty easy – you can bang on just about anything. But what about something that can make different tones or pitches? The crafting geniuses over at Mess for Less designed a homemade harmonica out of craft sticks and rubber bands! It’s a nifty little project that can be made rather quickly, providing lots of musical fun! This site has countless other ideas for activities and crafts – definitely worth bookmarking.

Strummies!

Okay – I’ll admit it…the name made me smile. Strummies are homemade “string” instruments that are super easy to make and very versatile in the sounds they can produce. What do you need? Teach Preschool provides instructions. Have fun! Decorate your instrument – make them personal. What do you need?

Empty boxes of various sizes
An assortment of rubber bands
A musical imagination

Box Guitar

Making homemade string instruments is lots of fun. Don’t limit yourself to boxes as your sound chamber. Try empty tubs of margarine or those plastic containers that pre-sliced deli meats come in. Each will provide a slightly different sound quality. If you want to get really crazy, you can even make a homemade guitar out of a shoe box. Once again, Wikihow gives us detailed instructions.

The Landfill Harmonic

Speaking of instruments created from repurposed items, if you haven’t heard of the Landfill Harmonic – or the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, you need to! In this Paraguayan where the primary money making activity is separating recyclable materials from trash, Favio Chavez has created something magical. This is an entire youth orchestra making music on instruments created from refuse. The groups story is told in the documentary film, The Landfill Harmonic. Take a look at the trailer here.

The Sky’s the Limit

Pretty amazing, huh? So look around your house…what might make an interesting sound? Have an old tennis racquet? Cut out those strings and add some rubber bands! Some extra PVC pipe taking up space? Cut some different lengths, paint them some flashy colors, and viola! – you have a pipe xylophone! There really is no limit to what you can use to make music. Remember, it’s all around us! So carve out some time to try one of these little projects with your young one. The journey is just as fun as the destination.

3 Ways to Use Music to Take Children Around the World

Listen - Sing & Say - Collect - Music Around the World for Kids

Want to take your children around the world? It’s easy with music! No passport required. No suitcases to pack. Just three simple things you can enjoy almost any time, any where, and you’re off of a grand, musical travel adventure!

Listen to music from around the world.

Every culture has its own beautiful repertoire of rich folk songs, soothing lullabies, and happy dances that can be very appealing to young children. With internet radio stations, streaming music apps, and downloadable song tracks, it’s easier than ever to listen your way around the world. Try searching on “world music for children” or “multicultural music for kids.”

Use your voice to enjoy music from around the world.

There are simple songs and chants that even young children can enjoy learning or hearing from you. In fact, our Kindermusik music library is full of these songs, rhymes, and chants from various countries and cultures. The more exposure a very young child has to other languages, both spoken and sung, the more receptive he or she will be to learning and speaking another language.

Collect instruments from around the world.

Whether someone else demonstrates the instrument or the child can explore and play it themselves, there’s nothing better than seeing, hearing, and touching the real thing. Nearly every culture has some kind of a drum, shaker, or flute-like instrument, and most are easily curated. Give your little world travelers a sense of having gone around the world simply by introducing them to some of the instruments from around the world.

BONUS reading! How Music Helps Children Expand their Cultural Horizons
Learn more about how Kindermusik can take children around the world and give the music learning adventure of a lifetime at www.Kindermusik.com.

Contributed by Theresa Case who has an award-winning Kindermusik program at Piano Central Studios in beautiful upstate South Carolina.

Instrument Play that Helps Children Hit All the Right Notes

A music class really wouldn’t be a music class without instruments, but the benefits of instrument play extend far beyond the obvious musical benefits. Here are a few surprising ways in which instrument play supports six core strengths that are essential for all children to develop.

Download the PDF Here.

Find out more about Kindermusik at www.Kindermusik.com.

Questions from the ESL classroom: Setting boundaries with puppets, instruments, and more.

Screen Shot 2012-10-29 at 12.15.24 PM — Puppets can help to provide a cultural connection to the classroom while helping young children learn English.

Puppets are often used in the ESL classroom for young children. These playful characters are used to provide a cultural connection to the classroom, to enhance storytime, and to model conversational phrases. In addition, the puppet can speak exclusively in English, and the teacher can speak in the child’s first language to help facilitate class activities.

Even in the most playful classroom, behavior issues with puppets can arise. For one educator, a few students started a “hitting game” with the puppet during class time. Should this problem arise, an educator can use the opportunity to set appropriate boundaries with the puppet and all the classroom props – such as instruments – and redirect the behavior back to appropriate, playful classroom behavior.

We asked curriculum authors and Master Kindermusik Educator Carol Penney and Cindy Bousman to provide a few classroom behavior tips.

Here’s what they had to say:

When the puppet is first introduced to the class, it is important to set and state acceptable behaviors. Be clear and simple when these are stated. The same goes with instruments, books, visuals, and all other materials used in the class. When a teacher does this, it’s helping the children build and develop respect for other people’s “things.”

1. Start all over with a brand new puppet. Even if it is a homemade sock puppet. Talk to the children as a class about how to treat and handle this new puppet. If a child starts to hit the new puppet, immediately withdraw the puppet and explain why, then go on to the next child. The child needs to understand hitting the puppet is an unacceptable behavior.

2. Let puppet stay at home for a while. The teacher can use his or her own hand as a puppet – opening and closing four fingers together and thumb. To make it interesting, put circle stickers on hand for eyes.

3. Speak up. Say, “I don’t want you to hit my doll. You can touch him gently and sing or say hello or you can choose not to.” Make clear what you expect and/or remove the temptation.

Tag: instruments