Castanets, maracas and banjos: 8 DIY musical instruments

How to make musical instruments at home with your own hands?

The beauty of homemade musical instruments is that they cost pennies, and the process of making them will appeal not only to adults, but also to children. Just imagine how much delight a child will have when he independently makes maracas, a Chinese drum, castanets or a pipe! Of course, homemade instruments do not produce perfect sound, but that is not the main point. Such an experience cannot be compared with anything. Classes on making homemade musical instruments are very useful in that the child learns to distinguish between their types, understands the operating principle of each of them, and knows what parts they consist of. And most importantly, joint work brings people together, and this is useful for both parents and their children. So what musical instruments can you make with your own hands? Let's look at the most interesting and simple options.

Maracas

This is, perhaps, one of the tools that the baby gets acquainted with while still in diapers. Maracas are a noise instrument. Rattles and other noise toys for babies are the prototype of maracas. Making them at home is as easy as shelling pears, and there are countless options. So, maracas can be made from:

• plastic bottles;
• pumpkins;
• coffee cans;
• Kinder Surprise eggs;
• cardboard cylinders from parchment or paper towels, etc.

The scheme for making maracas is quite simple: you need to pour a small amount of filler in the form of beads, peas, buttons, beads, small pebbles, sand or shot into the prepared container. All holes in the container must be securely closed (if it is a cardboard cylinder, cover it on both sides with thick cardboard) so that the filler does not spill out and the tool makes a loud noise. The maracas themselves can be decorated by painting bright patterns on them with acrylic paints or by sticking cute stickers. Handles can be attached to round containers for convenient use of the tool. For example, if you used Kinder eggs for your maracas, place them between two plastic spoons and secure them with twine.

Preface

I spent a lot of effort on my first album (you can listen to it here), and along the way I stepped on a lot of mistakes. In my opinion, the album failed because I don't know how to promote music and I don't have a marketing strategy. One way or another, I’ve stepped on enough mistakes in writing music to tell you how to avoid them.

For starters: a free track from my first album.

After listening to my musical works, this is not the first time people ask questions like:

Oh cool, you graduated from the conservatory, perhaps? Do you have a musical background? Where did you learn this? You're probably good at music theory?

Oh no. I didn't study anywhere in particular. I have no musical education. It’s not that I don’t know music theory, I almost don’t even know solfeggio. Once I thought about learning solfeggio, but the sound engineer with whom I worked told me: “It’s too late for you to learn solfeggio.”

In general, I learned all this in two years. What's my secret? I just worked intensively on drafts and learned somehow. And that’s it, that’s the whole secret.

But you are more likely interested in other questions:

1. How to learn just as quickly?
2. What do you need to do to be able to do the same?

Here are my theses.

Tambourine

To make this tool you will need a wooden embroidery hoop, 10 metal lemonade caps, 5 metal rods 2-2.5 cm long, electrical tape and 5 plates of thick cardboard, wood or metal 2-5 mm thick and measuring 1.5x1.5 cm. Between the hoops we place the plates at the same distance and fix them with electrical tape - they will hold the circles of the hoop. We connect the lids two at a time with the flat part and pierce them in the center with metal rods. As a result, we should have 5 elements, which must be securely attached using electrical tape between the plates at the same distance. Once the last element is attached, the tool can be used for its intended purpose.

Sheet music for children piano

Sheet music and diagrams for children xylophone

Music notation and musical development of children

I can't sight read

Remember a simple thing: musical notation was invented at a time when humanity did not even have a hint of sound recording technology.

For great composers, all these hooks, dots and bars were the only way to capture the newly invented melody and convey it to the performers.

Even 10 years ago this was still a problem, but now you can record music even on an iPhone, and then put together something sane from the drafts.

However, knowledge of musical notation is also a very useful theoretical skill. Save it for later.

Pan flute (pan flute)

This musical instrument is very easy to make. For it you will need adhesive tape, 7 cocktail straws and 2 pieces of thick cardboard 3 cm wide, and the length will depend on the width of the tubes folded together.

Each of the tubes needs to be cut a little so that they produce a sound of different tones. The difference between them can be 1-1.5 cm. Let the longest tube be 15.5 cm, then the shortest - 5.5-6 cm. When the tubes are cut, lay them out on a strip of tape so that on one side they the ends remained at the same level. We fix this position of the tubes with tape, wrapping the row in 2 layers. Next, we attach cardboard to this tape to make the panflute look more presentable. The ends of the instrument must be sealed with plasticine so that it can make sounds while playing.

Why are such crafts needed?

It is difficult to say that music games will become a catalyst for the development of future musical geniuses, but at least some tastes can be cultivated. Many parents believe this.

One more tip. Do not make complex instruments for small children; they need them to play and quickly get bored. It is better to make simple, but new instruments at intervals of several weeks, than to study one for several days or weeks and then force the child to play with it for a long time. Children are not adults; they play only when they want to, and not when they have to according to a schedule.

Even the simplest instrument will be interesting to a child if family members took part in the manufacturing process

A musical instrument does not necessarily need to be made almost professional; children enjoy the process of producing sounds, not the melody. Of course, these are only general judgments, in each case there may be exceptions, each age has its own differences.

Chinese drum

For this musical instrument you will need a tin can (about 5 cm in height) without a lid or bottom. Instead, you can put plastic lids on the jar that fit tightly to its walls. Next, you need to take a ribbon or strong rope about 20 cm long. The walls of the jar need to be pierced between the lids at the same distance so that the imaginary line of diameter runs clearly through the center of the jar. Through the resulting two opposite holes you need to stretch the rope, leaving the ends of the same length on both sides, tying knots at the walls of the jar and stepping back a couple of centimeters from the edge of the rope. Thread a wooden bead onto the edges of the rope and secure them with a strong knot. The tool is ready.

Master class on making castanets

Larisa Katunyan
Master class on making castanets

GOAL: development of creative musical abilities in children.

- give an initial idea of ​​the wide possibilities of noise instruments;

— develop musical and rhythmic skills in preschoolers;

- teach how to creatively use the acquired skill in everyday life;

— to promote the independent use of acquired skills in the improvisation of the simplest rhythmic chains with the help of “sounding”

items;

- create conditions for children to enjoy the process of playing music using homemade musical instruments.

Necessary materials for making castanets :

Matchbox lids (4 pcs., self-adhesive paper, 4 pcs. walnut shells, instant glue, scissors.

Wind chime bells

If you have an old Chinese “wind chime” pendant lying around somewhere, it’s time to give it a new life. To do this, disassemble it into its component parts - for the bells we only need tubes. Attach these tubes to a piece of stick with a diameter of 0.5-1 cm, using a strong rope. Place the tubes at equal distances in order from the longest tube to the shortest. Now this instrument can be used as orchestral bells.

Drums of different heights and diameters

To make drums you will need several tin cans, for example, tea or biscuits. Instead of a lid, use strong paper, secured with rubber bands, foil or leather. It is better to play music on such an instrument with pencils, at one end of which there is an eraser. Keep in mind that the sound of the instrument depends on the size of the homemade drum. Therefore, with a little work together with your child, you can create an entire drum set.

DIY musical instruments: musical glasses (cups)

You can hear how musical glasses play here in the video “Lullabies and Games”

A few years ago I heard a virtuoso performance of classics on glasses - a musician played “Rondo”. It was amazing! Well, the kids and I can play simpler melodies, and most importantly, experiment with water and enjoy the sounds!

How to make musical cups (glasses):

Step 1. Take 5 or more glass jars or cups or glasses (a set of glasses will do) and pour water into them to different levels.

Step 2. Take a spoon or stick or hammer (plastic or wooden) and hit the glasses. You will get a sound - each glass has its own sound.

Ideas from experience:

Idea 1. If you take identical vessels (a set of cups) and pour different amounts of water into them, the sounds will be different in pitch:

- the highest sound will be from an empty glass,

- the lowest sound will be from a glass filled with water.

If the glasses are different, the one in which you poured more water will have a lower sound.

If you experiment with the amount of water, you can build a real instrument and play a melody on it. Try experimenting with your child and playing with water and glasses.

Idea 2. A very interesting and surprising fact - if you decide to take a walk or a nap and return to the glasses later - it may happen that the sound may disappear. Don't worry. For it to appear, you just need to stir the water in our musical vessels or pour it again.

Bells on a cardboard tube or beater

For this tool you will need:

• cardboard tube (for example, from foil or parchment);
• 12 bells (you can buy them at a craft store or tear them off from old toys);
• thick needle;
• dense threads.

In the paper roll, you need to pierce holes at one end according to the number of bells. It is important that these holes are at the same distance from each other, located in two rows along the entire diameter of the tube. We carefully but securely attach the bells to the tube using thread. As a result, the tool should look like this:

DIY musical instruments: playing on a comb

This is a homemade musical instrument that I have known since childhood. I was taught it in our yard. And we played on it together.

Making such a musical instrument - a comb - is very simple:

Step 1. Take a comb (a comb with large teeth on the handle). Cut off a strip of tracing paper. The strip should be slightly larger than the comb in size.

Step 2. Place the tracing paper on one side of the comb and bring it to your mouth.

Step 3. We sing with our mouth on the tracing paper. We sing - we draw out the words! The tracing paper will begin to vibrate, and you will not recognize your voice :). The kids really like it! The tracing paper will tickle your lips. This voice is very good for voicing fairy tales and homemade cartoons invented by a child.

Flute of Rain

For this tool you will need a long cardboard tube (for example, from food foil, but it is a bit short; it is better to look for a similar tube about 70 cm long in a hardware store). Inside this tube you need to insert a spiral made of foil. The spiral must match the length of the tube - this is important. Having tightly sealed one end of the tube, you need to pour a handful of beads, cereal or sand inside the structure. Next, you need to securely seal the second end of the tube. That's it, the rain flute is ready. Now, when you turn it over, you can hear the filler slowly descending through the tube, making the sound of rain.

With a little imagination, you can make guitars, whistles, bells, shakers, water xylophones, tambourines, cymbals and other musical instruments at home with your children. Such items will be especially loved by children, because they are made with their own hands. But the main benefit is that the child becomes several steps closer to the world of music.

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How to write music on a computer: a beginner's guide

You can not only read this article, but also listen to it:

Desktop computers and laptops that await us in our homes and workplaces can be used in different ways.

For some, they have become inevitable companions of the office routine. Others take their laptops to bed to spend the evening watching TV series. Still others click away with all their might on the mouse buttons when they enter the arena of fierce gaming battles. Still others combine all this, simultaneously reading news resources, clearing their mailboxes of spam, communicating with friends via video conference, and solving many problems. To each according to his abilities and needs. For aspiring artists, a computer is one of the shortest routes to music.

Recording a track or an entire album at home is no longer a fantasy. And even perfectionists have no reason to worry. With a competent attitude to the matter and the proper level of skill, the average listener will not guess where and on what basis your works were created. A gentleman's set of equipment and software to start with is as follows: computer/laptop, digital workstation (DAW), audio interface, headphones/monitors, or both.

These are the necessary elements to stop dreaming about revealing your serious talents, and finally start doing something about it. The computer is the main tool, the creative center, and, if necessary, a mentor ready to share knowledge. Those who have mastered musical literacy have a head start, it is easier for them to navigate the arrangement, it is more difficult to miss the right note, but no one has canceled following their intuition, inner call, and innate genius. History is replete with many great careers built by self-taught people. There are even more conservatory graduates who spent years becoming highly qualified professionals, and then remained unknown and out of work. This is not obscurantism - knowledge really frees your hands, but its absence should not stop you. You can compose a successful electronic track without theory, but if you don’t have racks of analog equipment, then you can’t do it without a computer.

What kind of computer do you need? At the initial stage, this issue is ignored. If you did not inherit a dilapidated Pentium from the nineties or zeros, then the immediate upgrade is postponed until better times. Modern machines confidently handle the load of software for producers, so-called digital workstations or DAWs. Software, active plugins of virtual instruments and effects access RAM and the central processor. The more tools are used, the longer the computer processes incoming information.

Speed ​​affects not only production rates, but also quality. Sound artifacts, which can appear at the mixing stage and then migrate to the .wav file, also depend on the power of the computer. It is difficult to name a universal configuration that suits everyone. A popular rule applies here: the more powerful, the better. The multi-core processor and the amount of RAM are the most obvious indicators that deserve attention. It is advisable to replace an outdated HDD with a solid-state SSD drive.

What definitely needs to be replaced is the built-in sound card. Typical chips that are integrated into motherboards are suitable for playing music in MP3 or streaming, but not for creating it. They consume hardware resources, which negatively affects the performance of the system, and we already know what this leads to. An external audio interface frees the processor and memory from the load associated with audio processing, its translation from an analog signal to a digital signal, into bits and bytes of information. This conversion is carried out by AD/DA converters. The higher the bit depth and sampling rate, the better quality your material will sound. Today, the most popular standard in the industry is 24 bit / 96 kHz.

The SNR characteristic (also known as S/N) determines the strength of the clean signal relative to background noise. On average, the range of values ​​is 75-90 dB on budget cards and 100-114 dB on professional devices.

Another argument that will dispel any remaining doubts about the new card is the connectors. Initially, the computer does not have the necessary inputs to connect audio equipment and instruments. An external audio interface is a hub between signal sources and the computer where sound is recorded. To connect tools, you cannot do without tool inputs. Electric guitars, bass guitars and other high impedance sound sources require a high impedance input labeled Hi-Z. For a microphone there is an XLR connector, and if it is a condenser connector, then there is also a built-in preamplifier with phantom power.

There will be no problems connecting the audio interface itself - all computers and laptops support USB, with the exception of some Macbook models. When buying a sound card, rely on the tools you have and keep in mind the technical parameters of high-quality sound.

Top audio interfaces for beginners:

• Audient iD4
• Roland Rubix24
• Behringer U-Phoria UMC202HD
• PreSonus AudioBox USB 96
• Focusrite Scarlett Solo 3rd Gen

No matter how developed the hearing, not a single musician or sound engineer can do without a high-quality monitoring system. In this context, monitoring is the process of acoustic control of a signal throughout the entire audio path and at each stage of production. For this task you need to get studio monitors and headphones. These are complementary means. Do not buy Hi-Fi speakers that color the sound and change the original frequency response. Listening to music as a professional and as an ordinary person are fundamentally different things. Use studio monitors with a flat amplitude-frequency response and a wide frequency spectrum.

Monitors are different: active and passive, near and far field, closed and open. The first criterion is determined by the peculiarity of working with the signal, the method of its amplification. Passive monitors require an external amplifier, active monitors do not. By proximity or range of field we mean the distance to the point where the sound pattern is optimally revealed. Far-field monitors are installed at a greater distance from the listener and require additional acoustic treatment of the room. Open monitors differ from closed monitors by the presence of a specially designed bass reflex, which expands the dynamic range due to resonance.

Closed monitors have denser bass, while open monitors are more capricious when placing them. You should not place a monitor with bass reflex ports on the back of the case near the wall, this will cause unwanted resonance that will distort the sound. When building a home studio on a limited budget, it makes more sense to choose active near-field monitors. The presence of a bass reflex is at the discretion of the user.

Studio headphones will help you do a significant part of the work in relative silence for others. The main requirement for them is a natural and pure sound, devoid of any harmonic distortion or embellishment. Among the technical parameters, it is important to take into account the frequency response (the range of frequencies that the speaker reproduces), sound pressure and harmonic distortion levels, as well as impedance. Headphones are usually classified according to various criteria, but speaking about those suitable for monitoring, we can distinguish two types - closed and open. Closed ones completely cover the ear and, accordingly, effectively isolate from external sources of noise. Open ones allow sound to pass in and out. It is believed that they solve different problems: the former are more suitable for recording, the latter for mixing. Musicians and studio engineers use both. Headphones should fit comfortably on your head and not cause fatigue during long sessions.

Top monitors for beginners:

• Behringer MONITOR SPEAKERS MS16
• Alesis Elevate 3 MKII
• JBL 305P MkII
• ADAM T5V

MIDI controller is a device that transmits commands and MIDI messages to a sound editor on a computer or equipment compatible with the protocol. You can also control the DAW using a regular keyboard and mouse: set notes, drag samples, change envelopes, in fact, manually draw a track in the program’s work area. In practice, this is extremely inconvenient and can discourage any desire to compose, so we put a MIDI controller on the short list of must-have purchases.

Controllers come in many different types, with the most common combining a keyboard with other controls, including pads, knobs, and sliders. They serve a common purpose - to optimize the time spent writing music. If your compositions are based on melodic lines, and you know how to play the piano, then multi-octave keyboard controllers with velocity sensitivity and aftertouch support are a priority. For beatmakers, a grid of pads is much more important for drumming and running samples. If your career has just begun, but entering the stage is in the near future, take a transport controller like Novation Launchpad or Ableton Push. Many devices are made by the same companies that make digital workstations. Despite the close relationship and specialization of controllers for specific software, most tools work with any software.

Top MIDI controllers for beginners:

• AKAI APC mini
• Native Instruments MASCHINE MIKRO MK3
• Novation Launchpad Mini MK3
• Novation Launchpad X
• AKAI Fire (Controller Only)

DAW is software and a producer's best friend. The list of popular DAWs looks like this: Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, FL Studio, Cubase, Studio One, Reason. The question “which is better?” - rhetorical. Although some programs are better suited for certain tasks (Ableton Live is widely used by solo electronic engineers, and Pro Tools' capabilities are fully revealed in the hands of sound engineers working with large projects and budgets), all of them are suitable for writing arrangements, recording, mixing and mastering. Genre gradation does not matter - you can write an armor-piercing techno number or meditative ambient in both FL Studio and Cubase.

Often, audio equipment, be it an audio interface or a controller, comes with a full-featured distribution. Download a few trial versions of different DAWs and try sketching in them. First impressions are important. If you immediately get your bearings in the interface and understand the location of the software components, then an in-depth study will not cause difficulties.

DAWs usually come in different versions. Starter ones are cheaper and have a smaller set of tools, the price of flagship ones reaches several hundred dollars, but the user gets a full arsenal at his disposal. Don’t go straight for the maximum package, stop at the basic edition first. If necessary, it can be expanded - all developers provide flexible pricing for existing users who are ready to move to the next level.

Top DAW for Beginners:

• Reason 11
• FL Studio 20 Producer Edition
• Ableton Live 10 Standard Edition
• Serato Studio

A DAW is a feature-rich workspace that contains the required tools with sound libraries, and is also expandable with additional plugins and samples. Plugins have transformed established ideas about how and what music is created on. Of course, the tactile sensations from communicating with hardware tools are difficult to replace, so it is unlikely that companies will completely refuse to release new hardware in the near future.

Another thing is that not every beginning artist is ready to afford expensive equipment. By using software, you save money and have more freedom to express your musical ambitions. In fact, this technology translates real equipment into the language of numbers. The plugins include accurate emulations of iconic synthesizers, drum machines, pianos, guitars, other instruments and effects of the past, as well as completely new and independent virtual devices that have no physical analogues.

In addition to built-in sounds, many plugins contain presets - sets of parameters that are set by developers to make life easier for inexperienced sound designers. You can “twist” the sound in your own way, load new samples and create a unique sound, and support for MIDI controllers will make it possible to control any number of instruments and effects of different types from one device.

Below is a list of current plugin formats, their features and DAWs that do NOT support them:

• VST (effects plugins) and VSTi (virtual instruments) - the most common format from Steinberg, not supported in Logic Pro, Pro Tools;
• AU - plugin format developed by Apple to run on macOS and iOS, not supported in FL Studio, Cubase, Nuendo;
• AAX is a plugin format written by Avid for the proprietary DAW - Pro Tools, and is not supported in third-party programs;
• DX (effects plugins) and DXi (virtual instruments) - a format created by Microsoft together with Cakewalk, is not supported in Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Studio One, Pro Tools.

The difference between them lies in the subtleties of development; there are no practical differences for the end user. VST3, AU and AAX plugins are almost always optimized for 64-bit operating systems. This allows you to use your computer's processing power more efficiently and increases the stability of the plugin.

To receive timely information about paid and free plugins that exist and appear on the market, we recommend that you follow the English-language resources pluginboutique.com and kvraudio.com. And in our news section we regularly talk about the most interesting new products.

When you decide to set up a small studio at home, you may feel confused. This is a natural state when you don’t know where to start and what to choose. Look at the technical characteristics of the equipment and follow your wishes, because you are the author of future hits.