Musical Instruments You Can Make at Home

Looking for a fun craft for yourself or something to do with the kids? Making your own DIY instrument is quick and easy. Ya’ll can display the finished product in your home or use your homemade instruments to host an at-home parade. Of course, not every instrument is practical to make at home. An elaborate metal trombone might not work, but what about drums, maracas, and xylophones? Let’s check out some musical instruments you can make at home.

A Native American Drum

Whether you’re a fan of world heritage products or trying to teach your children about history, a Native American drum is a great instrument to make from the comfort of home. For this project, you’ll need specialty products from a craft store or online shop, and a little extra money and time. If you’re interested in supporting Native American artist communities, y’all can purchase your rawhide, drum frame, and other necessary supplies from a verified Native American craftsperson. Love to make music? A Native American drum will work great. Y’all can play it yourself or teach your children to play it. Y’all can even incorporate it into a lesson on history and culture, which makes it both an interesting craft and a valuable learning tool.

Recycled Maracas

Another musical instrument you can make at home is maracas. Ya’ll can make maracas out of recycled material, which makes it a fantastic way to practice reducing, reusing, and recycling. To make your own maracas, you’ll need water bottles, toilet paper rolls, a filling—such as pebbles, rice, or birdseed—along with colorful electrical tape. Pour your chosen filling into the bottles, shake them, and, when you’re satisfy with the sound, close the cap. For the handle, grab your toilet paper rolls. Make a cut straight across and tighten the roll in on itself. Secure the new shape with electrical tape. Lastly, attach the toilet roll handle to the bottle with extra tape. It’s as simple as that!

A PVC Pipe Xylophone

A quick trip to your local home improvement store will give ya’ll all the materials you need to make a homemade xylophone. Since cutting the materials can be dangerous, it’s best to do this part on your own. To make your xylophone, you’ll need:

1″ PVC pipe
pipe cutter
3/4″ square wood dowels
flat wood hobby board
1″ metal brackets
screws
drill
saw
alphabet stickers
paint
paintbrushes
rubber mallet or spatula

To start, cut your PVC pipe into different lengths. Depending on their length, the pitch of each tube will change. Ya’ll can test the pitch by whacking on the open ends of the tube. Next, cut your hobby board to 19 1/2″. Screw the tubes onto the back of the hobby board using the metal brackets, alternating the brackets from high to low so you can place each tube at least 1″ apart. To finish up, cut two square dowels to 13″, another two to 9″, and four to 5 3/4″. Cut these at a 45-degree angle. Create a T-stand by screwing the 9″ pieces into one end of the 13″ pieces. Then screw in an angled brace piece on either side of the T. Repeat to make two T-stands. Next, it’s time for the fun part — painting! Bring out the paints, markers, and other crafting supplies, and get your kids involved.