In this project you will be given one of
four different instrument types to make.
You will pick your instrument type out of a hat, but you may trade your
instrument with another class member.
You must also seek out three other students, and form a band with one of
each of the instrument types. You will
be asked to play a simple song by yourself and you will also be asked to play
as a group. The four instrument types are as follows:
instruments which produce their sound by using air as the principal vibrating
factor: air may be unconfined by the instrument or enclosed within a tube.
Examples would be flutes, trumpets, whistles and other air instruments.
Chordophones: Musical instruments which
produce sound by means of strings stretched from one point to another. An
example would be a guitar or a banjo.
Idiophones: Musical instruments which produce
sound from their own substance: can be struck, plucked, blown, or vibrated by
friction. Examples would be rattles, xylophones, and thumb pianos.
Musical instruments which produce sound from tightly stretched membranes,
either struck or 'singing'. The best examples of these are drums and
Some potentially helpful
web sites (Not an exhaustive list)
also have some plans and pictures for making a variety of instruments in hard
THINGS YOU NEED TO DO:
1. Procure one of the four instrument types. Trade if
2. Form a band, with three students with DIFFERENT
3. Decide specifically what it is you want to build
(RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH).
4. Create a bill of materials for your project (What
stuff do you need to make this object, be specific)
5. Make a DETAILED plan of procedure for your project.
This should be a step-by-step breakdown of how you will build your instrument.
6. Make the instrument.
REQUIREMENTS (RUBIC INCLUDED):
1. Bill of Materials
2. Plan of Procedure
3. Decorate and make your instrument Esthetically
pleasing (Pretty counts!)
4. Your instrument must be loud enough to hear
throughout the classroom.
5. Your instrument must play at least three different
pitches. In some cases, this means you must make a SET of instruments. For
instance, a single drum can not play different pitches, you need a set.
6. You must perform for the class a simple song,
something like Mary Had a Little Lamb, Hot Cross Buns, or Loose Yourself by Eminmen.