Resources to Make Do-It-Yourself Musical Instruments

It’s one thing to purchase an instrument and have hopes that your children will stick to it. It is entirely another thing to make homemade instruments and let your kids enjoy them freely and at their leisure.

Your kids will love to make their own do-it-yourself instruments, stress-free and no pressure to commit to one — unless they LOVE it. These resources can help you and your kids make do-it-yourself musical instruments right at home.

Do you have musical kids? If your kiddos are anything like mine, they could make instruments out of anything. My son loved banging on things making music as a baby/toddler. Sometimes he hit a little bit too hard, as I don’t think he knew how strong he was.

Fast forward seven or so years, and my son is still banging on things. He plays the drums and loves it. I wonder what would have happened if I would have wholly stopped him from banging on things when he was a baby. I wonder if he would have still pursued playing the drums.

Music is such an essential language in learning, that not using it to teach your kids as they grow is a great disservice to them.

As an early learning teacher, I adjusted my teaching style to include music because I learned how well children responded to it and how music memory can help learning.

Thanks to internet access, we are now able to learn how to make all types of instruments with our kids with simple and inexpensive tools that your kids will love. What’s great is that you can incorporate music into all aspects of your homeschool, and making instruments involves many subjects like math, science, history, art, etc.

The musical instruments that you make with your kids do not have to be super fancy or expensive. Upcycle old materials to make new instruments and then use what’s around the house to make the sounds.

Music is essential to our children’s upbringing. Making instruments themselves will give them a sense of accomplishment and most of all, have fun while they are at it.

Making homemade instruments with young learners is an excellent introduction to music in your homeschool and to evaluate which type of instruments they are interested in the most.

Here are a few ways to appreciate music in your home:

1. Listen to music. Listen to all types of music with your kids. Teach your kids to appreciate many genres of music.
2. Dance together as a family. Get silly, dance; have some fun with your kids by dancing around the house. No one is there to judge you, and your kids will never forget the memories.
3. Sing with your kids. My kids like to put their memory verses for the week into song. I have no problem with that as long as they remember their Bible verse. I love it.
4. Find opportunities to take your kids to hear live music. Kids relate to people and watching others play music allows your children to see their passion. There truly is an awesome benefit to hearing and watching music live on stage.
5. Last but not least, make your own instruments to make beautiful noise!

Making Poor Man’s GuitarsMaking and Playing Homemade InstrumentsMaking Musical Instruments with Kids: 67 Easy Projects for Adults Working with ChildrenMister Rogers’ Neighborhood: Curiosity Homemade Musical InstrumentsJunkyard Jam Band: DIY Musical Instruments and Noisemakers 

Don’t miss out on the resources below to make do-it-yourself musical instruments with your music lovers at home:

Do-it-Yourself Drums to Make and Play | Fantastic Fun and Learning

Pin Strummers | Piikea Street

The Water Xylophone (Don’t forget to add water coloring to make it colorful.) | Homegrown Learners

Paper plate tambourine | SheKnows

Classic Rhythmic Shaker – With a Twist! | How We Learn

DIY Egg Maracas Instruments | RedTedArt

Fringe Musical Anklet | Giggles Galore

Child’s Tutorial: Making a Pan Flute With Straws | Cultura Creas

How To: Make a Shoe-Box Guitar | Real Simple

How to Make A Homemade Rainbow Xylophone | And Next Comes L

How to Make a Rainstick Instrument | Buggy and Buddy

Singing Straws | KroKotak

Bottle Top Castanets | RedTedArt

Making Music with Nature – DIY Percussion Instrument | Artsy Craftsy Mom

Easy DIY Kids Harmonica | Mom to Posh Lil Divas

DIY Shofarot for Kids | Hearing Shofar

Bell Shaker – With Added Bling! | Mini Eco             

DIY Craft Stick Piano | Deceptively Educational

Making a Magic (Drinking Straw) Flute | Deceptively Educational

Easy To Make Noise Makers | FreeKidsCrafts

List of Fun and Free Homemade Musical Instruments all in one place

Do you feel like you need to incorporate more music into your homeschool? These music resources can help:

Preschool Music Activities

How to Use Songs to Remember Facts

Resources for Teaching Music Vocabulary

10 FREE Music Resources

Check out this article about How and Why to Add Music to Your Homeschool.

Remember to enjoy the music all around you, dance with your kiddos, sing at the top of your lungs, play your homemade instruments even if you guys sound horrible. Laugh, giggle, and enjoy the joy that music will bring to your home.