John F. Kennedy Center
The Kennedy Center: Brass Instruments and Pitch
Students will enjoy making their own brass instrument with this interesting lesson plan. Objectives include what factors affect the pitch of brass instruments and what determines pitch.
Other
Homemade Instruments
Do you want to make an egg shaker? Come to this website and find out how. Homemade instruments can be made from different household items. Don't miss out on all of the music that can be made at home or school.
Other
The Virtual Museum of Music Inventions
The title is misleading, for a reason! The site consists of tips, ideas and plans about instruments and sound. The site also serves as a "museum" for photos and audio/video clips of kids' homemade instruments from around the nation.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Clifford the Big Red Dog: Let's Make Music!
Explore music at home and in class with homemade instruments. In "Top of the Charts," Emily Elizabeth gets inspired to create the happiest song in the world. Emily Elizabeth, Jack, Pablo, Samantha, and Clifford pool their talents and...
John F. Kennedy Center
The Kennedy Center: Woodwind Instruments and Pitch
In this instructional activity, students will enjoy making their own woodwind instruments. They will also discover how the instruments change pitch based on the length of the airpipe.
Other
Creative Kids at Home: Rain Sticks
Making homemade instruments is always fun for young kids. Help them make these percussion rain sticks using ordinary materials. Kids will have fun decorating and playing their rain sticks.
Other
The Mudcat Cafe: Blocks, Bells, Box Drums and Mallets
Have you ever wondered how to make homemade musical instruments? Use this site to find out how to construct sandpaper blocks and mallets.
Other
Rhythm Web: Coffee Can Drums
Learn how to make a percussion instrument using a coffee can. This site provides instructions for making the coffee can drum. You can also listen to audio clips of coffee can drums being played in various ways.
Family Education
Family Education: Music Making Activities
Bring music-making activities home or to school. Check out how to guess instruments by their sounds and learn how to make a rain stick at this resource. It gives great directions on what you'll need and what to do.
John F. Kennedy Center
The Kennedy Center: Percussion Instruments and Pitch
Students will enjoy learning about pitch as they construct their own percussion instruments. They will predict and explore how pitches can change based on the materials used and how the instruments are made.
Other
Creative Kids at Home: Water Chimes
Learn to make your own water chimes with the instructions included on this website. Kids will enjoy making their own music with this easily made instrument.
Other
The Mudcat Cafe: Gourd Rattlers
What is a calabash? Use this website and find out what it is but also how to make it. This gourd rattler can be constructed with the easy to follow directions.
Other
The Mudcat Cafe: Make Your Own Drums
Hands-on-activity for making music. Find out how to make your own drums at this website. Explore and have fun with music.
Other
The Mudcat Cafe: Bongos, Banjos, Fiddles and More
Use this site to learn more about how to construct bongos, banjos, fiddles and more.
Other
Hammer Dulcimers: What Do Hammered Dulcimer's Look Like?
Pictures of homemade dulcimers. A site for Charlie Alm's book "The Hammer Dulcimer".
Phil Tulga
Phil Tulga: Music and Math Teacher Resources
This personal site is great for the music/math teacher looking for a new and fun way to teach math shapes with music and musical instrunments.
PBS
Pbs Kids: Design Squad: Build: Headphone Helper
This challenge is to design and build a headphone system to hear a musical instrument (real or homemade) better. Can you do it?
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Make That Invisible! Refractive Index Matching
Students determine the refractive index of a liquid with a simple technique using a semi-circular hollow block. Then they predict the refractive index of a material (a Pyrex glass tube) by matching it with the known refractive index of a...
Curated OER
Coffee Can Drums
Learn how to make a percussion instrument using a coffee can. This site provides instructions for making the coffee can drum. You can also listen to audio clips of coffee can drums being played in various ways.