Make Your Own Instruments
Make simple musical instruments like a rubber band guitar, paper tube flute, and shaker from recycled materials, then explore rhythms and sound differences.
About this activity
Make simple musical instruments like a rubber band guitar, paper tube flute, and shaker from recycled materials, then explore rhythms and sound differences.
What you need
Step by step
- 1
Step 1
Gather all the materials and clear a workspace where you can make noise.
- 2
Step 2
Close the box so the top is flat and ready to hold rubber band strings.
- 3
Step 3
Stretch several rubber bands around the box so they sit across the top like guitar strings.
- 4
Step 4
Pluck each rubber band once to hear how each one sounds.
- 5
Step 5
Cut a small notch or mouth hole at one end of the paper towel tube for blowing.
- 6
Step 6
Use a marker to mark five evenly spaced spots along the tube where you will make holes.
- 7
Step 7
Poke or cut holes at each marked spot so you can cover them with your fingers.
- 8
Step 8
Blow gently across the mouth hole to make the tube sound like a flute.
- 9
Step 9
Cover and uncover different holes while blowing to change the pitch.
- 10
Step 10
Add a small spoonful of beans or rice into the bottle or jar to make a shaker.
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Step 11
Close the bottle or jar lid tightly and tape it shut so nothing falls out.
- 12
Step 12
Decorate each instrument with coloring materials and stickers to make them your own.
- 13
Step 13
Play each instrument to create at least three different rhythms and listen to how the sounds are different.
- 14
Step 14
Share your finished instruments and a short description of your rhythms on DIY.org
Fun facts
How do I make simple musical instruments like a rubber band guitar, paper tube flute, and shaker with my child?
To make a rubber band guitar, stretch different-width rubber bands around a sturdy cardboard or tissue box and pluck to hear pitch changes. For a paper-tube flute, cut small holes along a cardboard tube or slide a straw inside and blow across or cover holes to change notes. For a shaker, fill and seal a small container with rice or beans. Let kids explore rhythms, compare sounds, and play together.
What materials do I need to make these recycled instruments?
You’ll need recycled items and basic craft tools: a sturdy cardboard or tissue box, paper towel or toilet paper tubes, rubber bands of different sizes, empty plastic bottles or small containers, rice/beans/beads for filling, tape and glue, scissors (adult use) and markers for decorating. Optional extras: straws or wooden dowels for flutes, hole punch or awl (adult only), small bells, and extra cardboard for frames.
What ages is this activity suitable for?
This activity suits children roughly ages 3–12 with supervision and tweaks. Toddlers (3–5) can shake sealed bottles and explore simple rhythms with close adult oversight. Preschoolers (4–6) can decorate and help assemble with pre-cut parts. School-age kids (7–12) can cut, tune rubber-band guitars, make holes in tubes and compare pitches. Always supervise scissors, small parts and sealing of shakers for younger children.
What are the benefits and safety tips for making homemade instruments?
Making instruments from recycled materials builds fine motor skills, creativity, listening, and early music concepts like rhythm and pitch while promoting problem-solving and teamwork. Safety tips: use age-appropriate tools, pre-cut or closely supervise with scissors and awls, seal shakers securely to prevent choking, avoid small parts for toddlers, and test instruments before play. Try variations like changing rubber-band tension, different fillings, or adding bells to explore new sounds.
Watch & Learn
Need help?
What can we use instead of a paper towel tube, rubber bands, or beans if we don't have them?
Use an empty toilet paper roll for the flute, substitute hair ties or elastic ponytail bands for the rubber bands around the box, and put dried pasta or beads into a sealed bottle or jar as a shaker instead of beans or rice.
My box guitar or tube flute isn't making a clear sound—what should I check or fix?
If the rubber bands on the closed box are too loose or buzzing, tighten or replace them and move them toward the box edges, and if the paper towel tube won't sound, slightly enlarge the mouth notch and blow across it (not into it), while also ensuring the shaker lid is taped tightly so nothing falls out.
How can I adapt this activity for younger kids or make it more challenging for older kids?
For younger children, pre-stretch the rubber bands on the box, pre-cut or pre-poke the flute holes, and help tape the shaker lid while they decorate, and for older kids, use the marker to precisely mark five evenly spaced holes to experiment with pitch, try different rubber band thicknesses to tune strings, and compose three rhythmic patterns to record for DIY.org.
What are some ways to personalize or extend the instruments and the final performance?
Decorate each instrument with the coloring materials and stickers, add a small paperclip or folded cardboard 'bridge' under the rubber bands to change string height and pitch, layer the flute and shaker to build harmonies, and arrange at least three different rhythms into a short performance to share on DIY.org.