Build an idiophone
Build a simple xylophone-style idiophone using wooden craft sticks, a cardboard resonator, and rubber bands; test how length and thickness change pitch.
Step-by-step guide to build a simple xylophone-style idiophone
Percussion instruments for kids - Musical Instruments
Step 1
Gather all materials and put them on a flat workspace.
Step 2
Cut a rectangular sound hole in the top of the cardboard box about 10 cm by 20 cm using scissors.
Step 3
Use the ruler and pencil to mark five different lengths and mark two craft sticks at each length so you have pairs.
Step 4
Cut each marked craft stick at the pencil marks so you have two sticks of each length.
Step 5
Tape two sticks together for each length to make double-thickness bars while leaving one single stick of the same length as a single-thickness bar.
Step 6
Arrange the bars across the top opening of the box from longest to shortest with the middle of each bar over the hole.
Step 7
Wrap rubber bands across the box near both ends of the bars to hold them gently in place while leaving the middle free to vibrate.
Step 8
Gently strike the center of the longest single-thickness bar with the spoon or pencil and listen carefully to the sound.
Step 9
Gently strike the matching double-thickness bar of the same length and listen carefully to the difference in sound.
Step 10
Repeat striking each pair from longest to shortest so you can compare single and double-thickness bars at every length.
Step 11
Write a short note next to each length saying whether the sound was higher or lower.
Step 12
Shorten one of the bars by about 1 cm with scissors.
Step 13
Strike the shortened bar and listen for any change in pitch.
Step 14
Write down whether the pitch went higher or lower after shortening and whether adding thickness made a difference.
Step 15
Share your finished xylophone-style idiophone and your observations on DIY.org.
Final steps
You're almost there! Complete all the steps, bring your creation to life, post it, and conquer the challenge!
Help!?
What can we use instead of craft sticks, a cardboard box, or rubber bands if we can't find them?
If you don't have craft sticks use popsicle sticks or wooden coffee stirrers cut to the marked lengths, swap the cardboard box for a shoebox or cereal box to cut the 10×20 cm sound hole in step 2, and replace rubber bands with hair ties or elastic bands for step 7.
Why do some bars barely make a sound and how can we fix that?
If bars don't ring well after you tape them (step 5) and wrap rubber bands in step 7, loosen or move the rubber bands toward the box ends, ensure the middle of each bar sits directly over the cut-out hole so it can vibrate, or prop the bar middles up on a tiny folded cardboard shim to free the vibrating area.
How should we change the steps for different age groups so it's safe and fun?
For preschoolers have an adult do the cutting in step 2 and the craft-stick trimming in step 4 while using only three paired bars and sticker labels for observations, and for older kids let them measure with the ruler, cut bars at the pencil marks in step 4 themselves, and experiment shaving or shortening bars in step 13 to tune pitch.
How can we improve or personalize the xylophone-style idiophone after finishing the basic build?
After arranging and testing bars across the box opening in step 8, paint or label each bar by pitch, add small plastic cups under the hole as resonators to amplify sound, try tuning bars to a scale by shortening as in steps 13–14, and then share your decorated instrument and observations on DIY.org.
Watch videos on how to build a simple xylophone-style idiophone
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Facts about musical instrument making for kids
📦 A hollow cardboard resonator box can amplify and enrich the sound, making your homemade bars ring louder.
🔬 Professional xylophones are tuned by shaving wood from specific spots — tiny changes make noticeable pitch shifts.
📏 Shorter craft sticks vibrate faster and sound higher; longer sticks vibrate slower and sound lower — perfect for testing pitch.
🎚️ Thicker or stiffer bars usually produce lower, fuller notes and sustain longer than thinner bars of the same length.
🥁 Xylophones are a type of idiophone — instruments that make sound by vibrating their own material, not with strings or air.
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