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Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids: Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Students will enjoy this interactive website. There are many musical topics to explore while having fun. Learning how to make your own instrument, playing games and listening to music are just a few of the things you can do here.
Other
The Virtual Museum of Music Inventions
The title is misleading, for a reason! The site consists of tips, ideas and plans about instruments and sound. The site also serves as a "museum" for photos and audio/video clips of kids' homemade instruments from around the nation.
Quia
Quia: World Music: Rags to Riches
Test your knowledge of music from around the world with this who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire-style game. Click on the correct answer to each multiple-choice question, and move closer to "winning" a million dollars!
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Music as a Language
Can learning to make music be as unstructured as learning to speak as a small child? Bassist Victor Wooton makes that argument in this TED Ed talk. Free registration is required to receive full access to the the complete lessons.
Other
Homemade Instruments
Do you want to make an egg shaker? Come to this website and find out how. Homemade instruments can be made from different household items. Don't miss out on all of the music that can be made at home or school.
Exploratorium
Exploratorium: Science Snacks: Make Your Own Rainstick
Create a traditional instrument called a rainstick in this activity.
John F. Kennedy Center
The Kennedy Center: Chinese Instruments
Help your students identify and classify Western instruments and traditional Chinese instruments.
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: How to Make a Piano Sing
The renowned pianist Vladimir Horowitz once said, "The most important thing is to transform the piano from a percussive instrument into a singing instrument." In this lab, you will learn about sympathetic vibrations, a method used to...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: How to Make a Guitar Sing
This is a great project for musicians interested in the physics of stringed instruments. If you have ever played an acoustic guitar, you may have noticed that picking a single string can make one or more of the other (unpicked) strings...
Illustrative Mathematics
Illustrative Mathematics: 8.sp.4 Music and Sports
This task looks at a possible relationship between playing a sport and playing a musical instrument. Students collect data from classmates, summarize the data into a two-way table, make some observations, and construct a bar graph of the...
Other
The Mudcat Cafe: Blocks, Bells, Box Drums and Mallets
Have you ever wondered how to make homemade musical instruments? Use this site to find out how to construct sandpaper blocks and mallets.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Simple Instruments
In this activity, students work with partners to create four different instruments to investigate the frequency of the sounds they make. Students may chose to make a shoebox guitar, water glass xylophone, straw panpipe or a soda bottle...
BBC
Bbc Schools: Gcse Bitesize: Music: Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East
A diverse range of musical styles can be found around the world. Music from Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East all have their own unique musical features and instruments. One of the most influential types of music-making in...
Family Education
Family Education: Music Making Activities
Bring music-making activities home or to school. Check out how to guess instruments by their sounds and learn how to make a rain stick at this resource. It gives great directions on what you'll need and what to do.
Curated OER
Eternal Egypt: Musical Instrument
This wooden musical instrument is in two parts. The main part is a kind of long curved stick to which strings might be attached. The second element of the instrument is a rounded wooden bow, that was used to make music on the strings.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids: Snare Drum
Use this resource to learn about the percussion family of instruments, especially the snare drum. Find out how it helps the orchestra make music. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to listen to the snare drum by itself and with the...
Other
Oddmusic
You will find many creative and imaginative musical instruments on this site. If you are creating your own instrument you'll be inspired by what others have invented.
E-learning for Kids
E Learning for Kids: Science: Egypt: What Is Pitch of Sound?
Ali really loves to make music. Help make Ali's dream come true. Together, answer questions about musical instruments.
Exploratorium
Exploratorium: Science Snacks: Water Bottle Membranophone
Try making this instrument that incorporates a stretched membrane. As air is blown into the attached bottle, sound vibrations are produced. With the addition of finger holes, different sounds can be made.
OpenStax
Open Stax: Catherine Schmidt Jones: Scoring Music: Write for Specific Instruments
If you are interested in arranging your own music, you should check out the tips offered at this website. Including a history of how music was arranged, this site also gives several good ideas of how to make your arrangements interesting.
Staten Island Children's Museum
Staten Island Children's Museum: Music Camp at Home
Enjoy doing these outdoor activities with your family such as making a Guiro or kazoo, or learning how to play the flute.
Other
Chord Studio
Have fun composing your own music with this easy to use online tool. Select the chords you want your song to have and choose the various instrument styles. You can sign up for a free account so you can save your songs and edit them later.
Other
Yamaha Music Pal: Flute Factory Tour
Take an online tour through the process of designing and manufacturing a flute. Helpful drawings and animations demonstrate the precision engineering that goes into the making of these musical instruments. (To access the Japanese version...
Other
The Mudcat Cafe: Gourd Rattlers
What is a calabash? Use this website and find out what it is but also how to make it. This gourd rattler can be constructed with the easy to follow directions.