Making Musical Instruments

Making Musical Instruments — page 1 — 4 Making More Than Music Making music is marvelous By banging strumming and blowing into instruments you can create sounds that blend together to form a tune There are four basic types of instruments percussion brass woodwind and string Percussion instruments are the type you hit with your hands or some other object to make a sound These include drums and xylophones Drums are one of the most common kinds of percussion instruments

Making Musical Instruments — page 2 — 5 Brass instruments are made of metal and need air to work You blow air into a mouthpiece This air travels through the instrument and makes sound Trombones trumpets and tubas are types of brass instruments Woodwinds also need air to work You blow air over a small piece of wood called a reed The reed vibrates and makes a sound Clarinets and oboes are woodwinds String instruments make sounds when you pluck strum or slide a bow across their strings String instruments include guitars violins and harps You can make a lot of beautiful music with these instruments But you can also make your own instruments and create your own unique tunes All it takes are some simple supplies Playing many kinds of instruments together can create rich interesting music

Making Musical Instruments — page 3 — 6 From the Beginning This traditional instrument is made of bamboo and a dried gourd Musical instruments have been around for as long as there have been people to play them Ancient people made the earliest instruments out of stones bones shells animal skins seeds and wood These were items they could ﬁnd easily in nature People played instruments for many reasons Music was often an important part of a community’s rituals or a way to worship gods Other times musical instruments had a more practical use People might use them to call animals in from a ﬁeld or to communicate with distant villages

Making Musical Instruments — page 4 — 7 People around the world developed different instruments and musical styles Africa was known for its variety of drums String instruments became very popular in Europe As people traveled beyond their borders and traded goods musical ideas traveled with them This led to the creation of even more types of instruments and musical styles Other inventions led to new instruments and ideas as well For example the discovery of electricity led to instruments such as keyboards and electric guitars New kinds of music continue to develop even today Now it’s time for you to create your own musical style Let’s make some instruments Keyboards and other electronic instruments cannot make sound unless they are plugged in or using batteries

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