Tag Archives: music crafts for children

Ocean Drum From A Pie Box – A Thanksgiving Music Craft

Ocean drum completeWho doesn’t love the soothing sound of the surf?  And who doesn’t have too many pie boxes around this time of year?

Combine those two things and you can have a handy, functional ocean drum made from a few materials found around your home.

What Is An Ocean Drum?

If you haven’t already fallen in love with an ocean drum, it’s a simple frame drum with small round objects between the two heads.  (You’ll get a chance to see and hear one below! ) When you tilt it from side to side, the little objects roll and the sound created is like waves lapping against the shore.  And even our craft version can create the relaxing and hypnotic effect of this quieting drum.

apple pie ocean drum suppliesGather A Few Supplies

Make sure you have a sturdy pie box, then look for whatever you have around your house that is small and round.  Almost any item will work, but objects like seed beads or round “acini de pepe” pasta will sound remarkably like the ocean.  Remember, the smaller and rounder the object, the more it will sound like the surf!

Then check your craft area for any supplies to decorate.  You can leave your pie box plain or feel free to make it unique by adding paint, stickers or other creative design ideas.  In the image at the top of this post, you can see that we painted the sides and added our favorite fishy stickers to keep with the ocean theme.

Add It In, Seal It Up!

ocean drum contents 1When you’ve completed your decoration, add your filling to the drum and see how it sounds.  The sound will change when you add more or less of what you’ve chosen to use, so adjust the contents until you’ve found the perfect sound for you.

Last, seal up with clear tape – packing tape works the best to keep all the tiny objects secure inside the box.

Check out the Real Thing… And A Sturdier Craft Version

Love this drum?  Here’s a short video of a real ocean drum demonstration.  And below is a link to a step-by-step tutorial for a sturdier version made with a packing box.  The larger size and the stronger cardboard make for a more resilient version of this enjoyable musical craft.

Special Kids and Adults And the Ocean Drum

This is one of our favorite crafts for creating with kids and adults of all abilities.  There are dozens of ways to personalize and play it, so these crafty oceans drums have been a bit hit when we are asked to do workshops with our special friends!

polka dot ocean drum kimbertonWe hope you love them, too!

Links and Resources

Ocean Drum Tutorial From The TeachersPayTeachers Site: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ocean-Drum-Craft-1567951

Earth Day Craft E-Book With 10 Green Crafts (Including The Ocean Drum)  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Reduce-Reuse-Recycle-Rock-Out-E-Book-With-10-Musical-Activities-653502

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Playing Music… And Learning Shapes!

washboard and tambourineHave you ever noticed that many simple musical instruments are also perfect for teaching shapes?

This week, while doing a preschool program, one of the quieter young boys became very excited about naming the shapes of the instruments we were making and playing.  He noticed the washboard he loved to play was in the shape of a rectangle.  And his sister had a tambourine that was shaped like the moon!  The other kids enjoyed the idea and pretty soon, we had gone through an entire basket of instruments finding all types of shapes in all kinds of different ways.

circle instrumentsFor instance, how many circles can you find in the instruments to the right?  We counted 12!

And what shapes are here in the tambourines and triangle below?

What a fun way to combine music and some of the basic skills that will help a child excel in school or in their homeschool learning.

triangle instrumentsDon’t have a basket of instruments around your home?

No worries, here are some simple musical crafts that will have you not only putting a circle in the square – but playing one, too!

 

SQUARES AND RECTANGLES

Make a Cajón Box Drum
Free from DARIA’s website
http://www.dariamusic.com/docs/MYO%20Cajon.pdf
Free from TPT
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Cajon-Make-And-Play-Your-Own-Box-Drum-1236616

Square Ocean Drum http://www.dariamusic.com/docs/Ocean%20Drum%20Instructions.pdf

CIRCLE

Bongo Drums
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Make-And-Play-Your-Own-Bongo-Drums-1430615

click-and-clack-the-castanetsButton Castanets
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Make-Your-Own-Button-Castanets-1439711

Chinese Gong
http://www.dariamusic.com/docs/chinesegong.pdf
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Make-Your-Own-Chinese-Gong-From-Recycled-Materials-486935

Triangle

wooden sistrumEgyptian Rattle  http://www.dariamusic.com/docs/naturalsistrum.pdf

Explore More

Can you think of more simple shapes that are found in instruments? Let us know and we’ll feature them here!

Find lots more DIY/MYO Crafts on Daria’s website craft and activity page:
http://www.dariamusic.com/crafts.php

Or her TeachersPayTeachers Store:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Daria-Marmaluk-Hajioannou