What Happens When We Turn Materials into Music?

Materials:

• Empty bottles or containers

• Rice, beans, or pasta

• Paper plates

• Rubber bands

• Boxes or tins

• Tape

• Glue

• Stickers, markers, colored paper (for decorating)

Instructions:

• Introduce the idea by asking: “What kind of instrument could you make? What sounds do you want to create?”

• Provide a variety of materials and invite children to freely explore and choose what they want to use

• Encourage children to experiment with different ways of making sound (shaking, tapping, plucking, scraping)

• Support children as they build their own instruments in their own way, without a fixed model

• Invite children to decorate and personalize their creations

• Give time for children to test and change their instruments (add more, take away, try something new)

• End by inviting children to play, share, and talk about the sounds they created

Powerful InterACTions - PK3:

• What are you making?

• What sound does it make?

• How can you make it louder?

• What happens when you shake/tap it?

• What did you use to make your instrument?

• Can you change your sound? How?

• Can you show me how you play it? 

Powerful InterACTions - PK4:

• How does your instrument make sound?

• What happens when you play it in different ways?

• How can you change the sound it makes?

• Why did you choose those materials?

• What could you add to make it sound different?

• Is your sound loud, quiet, fast, or slow? How do you know?

• What does your instrument remind you of?