Children love to play with musical instruments, but they can be costly! Why not upcycle and make your own homemade musical instruments with things you probably already have lying around? Here is a collection of instruments the children have made, we hope you enjoy them.
I made these very simple knitted jingle wristbands about 4 years ago, and the children still get them out to use from time to time. They’re great for babies’ ankles, and grow with the kids as they mature.
We got our hands on some plastic tubing a while ago and it just ‘sang’ to us! The children upcycled the tubes into two types of homemade musical instruments. The first were these fancy tube shakers.
The second way they used these hoses were as whirring wind makers.
These fun and beautiful South American-style rainsticks were fun to make, and the children learned that they could make them sound different by what was put in them.
I love the sound of a bodhran, and was inspired to have Tristan make his own after taking photos of one and it bringing back the memories of visiting the workshop of one of the top Irish bodhran makers.
Musical washboards have been around for forever. And there are plenty of ways that you can make your own if you don’t happen to have the real thing to use.
Even something as simple as an egg carton can easily be turned into a pretty musical bell! This is an easy craft for toddlers to make, and they can double as Christmas tree ornaments.
So there you have them! Which is your favourite? Have you made your own instruments before? What have you made? If you haven’t yet, why not?
