Tackling Musical Instruments in the Classroom

Kids will bang on anything. Sometimes it’s a good idea for teachers to begin music using body parts. “Slap your knees, clap your hands, can you snap your fingers?” Simple things, you say, but these sounds are discovery things in the mind of a child.

Children like to make music. It doesn’t have to sound like anything; it just has to be louder than the next child and fill the room with energy and noise. Kids are funny about noise; they like theirs a lot. They especially like whistling.

Collecting instruments for a music class should be a combination of store bought and make me at home. Store bought instruments are expensive. Music stores, distributors and toy catalogues carry all kinds of things that kids will love, but they cost. Old fashioned children’s instruments everyone remembers from first grade include sticks, sand blocks, bells, shakers and triangles. It will cost nearly $100.00 for enough of these instruments for thirty children.

There is a website for an excellent catalogue called Music for Little People, http://store.musicforlittlepeople.com/ we have used and like very much. They also have an excellent variety of quality children’s stories and learning videos about musicians and music history.

Sometimes it’s better to make a few of these things so that the $100.00 can go for things we can’t make like a good drum and a tambourine.

Sticks can be made with large dowels. Cut to about 12 inches and sand. Try different woods.

Sand blocks can be made with sand paper glued to blocks of wood. You can make fancy sand blocks with brush handles. Bushes also make great instruments.

Jingle bells can be purchased at the fabric and craft stores in different sizes. String bells together for different sounds. Use a big craft clothespin for a handle. It fits a child’s hand.

Shakers are simple with plastic Easter eggs and rice glued shut with hot glue. Use sand, popcorn, spices, and pebbles for different sounds.

Triangles are bits of metal dangling from a string that are hit with a short metal rod. Making triangles can be fun with different plumbing parts, collars, and things with holes.

We were lucky. One of my own children turned in a trumpet to the local music store – she tried playing piano, trumpet, tuba, Cello and anything you can blow into and decided on the tuba. When she turned in the trumpet, I got a $200.00 rebate, and I was able to buy the school a starter collection of things including some African stuff and some brass finger cymbals.

But enough stuff for everyone took a lot of donations and some creating.

A good drum is hard to find. I was given a Native American drum made from a tree trunk. I got a set of bongos from someone moving, and an electric keyboard was donated by our principal. We bought a giant wooden xylophone the kids bang away on all day.

Being on the look out for wooden flutes, different sized whistles, bells, and things kids can strike with other things is fun.

Make sure you group instruments together and keep in plastic tubs. They get horribly dusty out, and you want to keep most of them from little fingers until group use.

Once the orchestra is set, it’s time to play.