Make a Musical Instrument 🎶 🏠 🎵
Discover musical potential in everyday household items.
What will I need?
Common household items: pots, pans, rubber bands, empty bottles, rice or beans, boxes, and more.
Steps:
Explore your home and gather items that catch your attention.
Think about the different sounds each item can produce. Can it be struck, shaken, or strummed?
Assemble your chosen items into a makeshift musical instrument.
Play around and experiment with different sounds and rhythms.
Click the “heart” button for this post to track your progress and let us know you did this one.
Share a picture in the Substack chat or a video or audio clip of your musical masterpiece on social media with a link back here.
Tips, Guidance, Inspiration, and Science
Want to keep going?
Create a mini-orchestra by making multiple instruments and playing them together.
Challenge family members to craft their own instruments and form a family band.
Try recreating your favorite song or tune using your new instrument.
Help! I'm stuck!
Remember, this is about exploring and having fun. There's no "wrong" sound.
Search online for DIY musical instruments for inspiration.
Experiment with water levels in bottles to achieve different pitches.
What's the science?
It’s ok to take your crafting seriously; crafts count as a legitimate domain of creativity. Glăveanu, V. P., & Lahlou, S. (2012).
Standing on the shoulders of giants
Big thanks to our friends at Another Limited Rebellion for this activity idea. If you’re looking to help your team be more creative at work, they’re here to help!
"Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart." - Pablo Casals