Hi all, Kaitlyn here! As we are entering what feels like year 3 of being at home, I’ve been thinking about ways to make the most of time at home.  I know as a music therapist I am missing make music with my students and clients as well as providing opportunities to make music with drums, shakers, and other equipment.  I decided to start exploring the possibilities of making music even with “found” instruments you can make or find at home.  Look below for some ideas I’ve discovered in my tiny apartment or inspiration for making your own music at home! Let me know below in the comments what you come up with.

Something to tap:

You may not have a whole drum set at home but I bet you can still find something that makes a satisfying thump!

My favorite “found” drum is using game boxes of a piece of paper on soft flooring (like carpet) to make more resonance without getting too tinny!

Something to shake:

How cool is it if you have a maraca or egg shaker at home! If you are missing a fun handheld instrument at home try seeing what kinds of small objects you can put in a jar or tupperware to make some sound. My favorites are rice, legos and pennies!

Something to dance with:

Like we may be missing our instruments at home, we may also be missing scarves and parachutes. Fear not! There are some fun silly ways to still “wiggle your worries away” at home.

I like to use a soft light scarf, a pillowcase or a dish towel to still wave up and down or all around.

Easy hack: Any of these first three can also be achieved with just a piece of paper!

Something that rings high!

Bells, tambourines, and flutes oh my! Can you find something at home to tap, press, or play that makes a sound that is high?

Some of my favorites I found were:

My doorbell, small pots or pans, and jingling keys!

Something that hums LOW:

Now that we’ve found something that rings high! Can you find something that hums LOW? 

Our low sounds can be found where there is more room for vibrations to ring out. You might be able to make music with appliances in your house!

It might also be as easy as finding something that makes a low noise when you turn it on! Especially while it is hot in summer right now, my favorite low sound has been my fan.

Something that echoes:

Hello, hello, hello! Can you find something that you can make an echo in? Is there something in your house that makes a sound ring over and over? and Over, and over,  and over…

Some places I found some extra sounds can play in my house were:

In my fan when I talk or sing into it (can you tell it’s been a warm summer)

When I tap or shake instruments in a closed space like my bathroom things seem to ring out a little more.

Singing into any sort of container like a large jar, box or bin!

Extra credit!

Something to make a melody:

This one may be a little tricky but also really fun! Can you find a way to make different tones come together to make a song using just household objects?

Maybe you use glasses of water. Maybe you use different sized pots and pans, maybe you blow into soda bottles. Get creative for a little extra credit!

My favorite way to make melodies is using different sized paper rolls and tapping the hollow side on the ground in different orders to make some music!