Music Makers | CMSMatHome

Music Making at home from CMSMathome Children's Museum of Southern Minnesota in Mankato

We will be making music at home today!

Let’s use items found in our kitchen and experiment with different sounds we can make, and hear. We’ll pay attention to the variety of sounds and how they change between instruments.

Material ideas: uncooked/dry rice, noodles, or beans, plastic containers, kitchen utensils, rubber bands, plastic wrap…

Make your instruments and explore different sounds. Record your performance and listen to the sounds you made.

Further Your Exploration

Explore Instruments
  • What kind of instruments do you know?
  • Do you have any real instruments in your home?
  • Play music and identify the instruments you hear.
  • Homemade Instrument Discussion
  • If we put rice inside of a container and shake it, what will we hear?
Do different materials make different sounds?
  • Which material do you like the most?
  • Make a drum by securing plastic wrap over a container with a rubber band or tape. Use kitchen utensils to make music.
Let’s talk about sounds.
  • Hit or shake your instrument lightly.
  • Hit or shake your instrument very hard.
  • Which sounds make you happy?
  • Are any sounds scary?
  • Do any of these sounds make you think of other sounds? Is it like rain? Someone stomping? Leaves rustling?
  • Is there a song you can play?

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