Skip to main content

How to Make Your Own Acoustic Instruments

Plastic Easter eggs can be used to make an acoustic instrument.

Acoustic instruments create sound without the use of external amplifiers and external power sources. This means that anything that has its own acoustics can be considered an acoustic instrument. With this knowledge, it becomes easier to conceive and construct your own instruments. Acoustic instruments can be made with string, metal, wood and even paper.

Xylophone


Step 1 Cut seven pieces of pipe. Each pipe should be about 1 inch shorter than the previous pipe. This will allow you to create several different pitches. Tune the pipes by cutting the sides to match your pitches.

Step 2 Create a wooden frame to hold the pipes in place. Use hard wood such as oak or maple and cut two sides that are 3 inches high, by 1 inches wide and 12 inches long. Create an additional two inserts that are 2 inches high, by 1 inch wide and 4 inches wide. Place the inserts between the two sides and attach them with wood glue and two nails in each side.

Step 3 Play the xylophone by hitting the pipes with a mallet. You can use bouncy balls attached to a dowel or find a wooden spoon to strike the pipes. String Instrument Step 1 Create a wooden frame in the shape of an L at least 8 1/2 inches long on each side and 2 inches wide. This will act as the frame for each string. To create the frame use wood glue to attach the two 8 1/2 inch wood slats together. To make it more secure, hammer two nails into the side to keep the slats secured together.

Step 4 Play the string instrument by plucking each string. You can create additional tension and increase the pitch of each string by using thumbtacks. Place thumbtacks above the holes and loop the string around the thumbtack. This will increase the tension and raise the pitch.

Shakers 


Step 1 Place rice or small pebbles inside large, plastic Easter eggs.

Step 2 Wrap the eggs with duct tape to ensure they do not come apart.

Step 3 Shake the eggs and use them as maracas.

References DSO Kids: Make Your Own Instruments [http://www.dsokids.com/athome/makeinstrument.aspx]

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sunday Stories: The Power of Audiation in Music Composition

Happy Sunday! Today, let’s explore the transformative power of audiation in music composition and share an inspiring story about a composer who mastered this skill. Audiation, the ability to hear and understand music in your mind, is a crucial tool for composers, enabling them to bring their musical ideas to life with greater detail and precision. What is Audiation? Audiation is the process of hearing and comprehending music in your mind without any external sound. It is similar to thinking in a language, where you can understand and manipulate words and sentences internally.  For composers, audiation is an essential skill that allows them to imagine, develop, and refine their musical ideas before they are played or written down 1 . The Benefits of Audiation for Composers 1. Enhanced Musical Understanding Audiation helps composers develop a deeper understanding of music. By hearing and analyzing music internally, they can grasp the relationships between different musical elements, ...

Similarities of Classical and Baroque Music

Music has evolved through the centuries and undergone drastic changes. One of the most significant transitions was from the Baroque to the Classical period of music. In this paragraph, I will compare and contrast some of the main features of these two styles, such as ensembles, instrumentation, and counterpoint study. The Baroque and Classical periods of music have many similarities. While the style of music changed drastically, certain key elements remained the same between the two styles. Composers in the Classical period sought to simplify music and create clearly audible musical lines. In contrast, composers from the Baroque period were interested in creating complex and highly ornamented musical lines. The Baroque period occurs from approximately 1600 to 1750, and the Classical period extends from 1750 to 1820. Ensembles Ensembles are groups of musicians that perform together. Both the Baroque and the Classical period had similar types of ensembles, such as operas, orchestras, str...

List of Musical Techniques and Their Meanings

Musical techniques are the building blocks of any basic music training. These techniques allow performers to improve their coordination and develop accuracy through repetitive daily exercises. Musical techniques progressively build upon previously learned techniques. Scales Scales form the basis for other musical techniques. Student may study major and minor scales as well as modern scales, such as the whole-tone and octatonic scales. A scale consists of patterns of half steps and whole steps. These whole steps and half-step arrangements will be different for each scale. Scales are musical techniques that can help a performer to play faster and more accurately, and make learning new pieces easier. Chords Chords require knowledge of major and minor scales. Chords come in several different forms that affect the sound. Triads consist of three notes spaced a third apart and classified as major, minor, augmented and diminished chords. Seventh chords build on triads and have an additional no...