3 DIY Fun Musical Instruments You Can Make Using Household Items

Music touches and influences almost everyone’s life, no matter how old he/she is. Whether you have youngsters at home who’re learning music online or want to introduce your kids to music early on, these DIY musical instruments could be a fun way to integrate music into your life. Making them is easy and you could have fun with your kids if you engage them to help you create these musical instruments using some household items.

1. Easter Egg Maracas

You’ll need some plastic Easter eggs, 2 plastic spoons, popcorn kernels, and white tape (or decorative tape). If you want to create multiple maracas with different shaking sounds, you could substitute popcorn with beans, rice, or lentils.

At first, you’ll have to fill your Easter eggs with popcorn kernels. Next, position the plastic spoons on the opposite sides with their concave sides facing the egg’s surface and tape them firmly to the egg. Tape the spoon ends together. And your maraca is ready for a shake!

If you use white tape, you could use markers to decorate it to make your musical instrument look aesthetic.

2. Straw harmonica

You’ll need a few drinking straws, a pair of scissors, and sticky tape. Take 6 to 8 drinking straws and cut them into different lengths, two at a time. Next, arrange them in two’s side by side, from the shortest to the longest, and secure them using a few strips of sticky tape. Make sure the straws are secured well and don’t move around. Blow into the straws to find your DIY harmonica producing different sounds.

With some practice, you would be able to create music with this DIY straw harmonica of yours.

3. Paper plate tambourine

You'll need two heavy-duty paper plates, a long and strong piece of yarn or string, a hole puncher, and a few jingle bells. At first, you need to hold the two paper plates facing each other and punch holes around their perimeter (at an inch apart). Next, take the yarn or string and pass it through the holes while tying a knot at each hole to secure the plates together. String a jingle bell in every alternate hole when you're weaving the yarn/string through the plates. Once you reach the hole from which you started, tie off the yarn/string securely.

You may use markers to decorate this DIY instrument before you shake it to play musical sounds.

You may find several other DIY ideas online to make fun musical instruments. So, create them and have some fun and laughter this festive season.