Written for adults, this hands-on guide demonstrates how to make easy musical instruments with children. Detailed instructions are included for making more than 60 unique instruments that are suitable for children as young as five years. Serving as a resource in the classroom or home, this manual is extensively illustrated with drawings and photographs along with an audio sample of the instruments in lively solo and ensemble pieces. “This is entertainment at its finest: adventurous, occasionally familiar, warm, honest and thought-provoking.” —David Greenberger , Pulse , on Gravikords, Whirlies & Pyrophones “Bart Hopkin is a Harvard-educated ethnomusicologist who lives for whimsy. That’s why he began inventing his own instruments.” —James Sullivan, The San Francisco Chronicle “I love Experimental Musical Instruments.” —David Harrington of Kronos Quartet, Utne Reader Bart Hopkin is a former high school music teacher and a former editor at the quarterly journal Experimental Musical Instruments . He has written several books on instruments and their construction, including Musical Instrument Design , and has produced CDs featuring the work of innovative instrument makers including Gravikords, Whirlies & Pyrophones . He lives in Point Reyes Station, California. Making Musical Instruments With Kids 67 Easy Projects for Adults Working with Children By Bart Hopkin Bart Hopkin Copyright © 2019 Bart Hopkin All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-884365-48-5 Contents Introduction, Tools, Tin Cans, Flower Pot Bells, Box Zithers, Claves, Corrugaphones, Floating Bowls, Rasps, Percussion Glasses, Shakers, Bar Percussion Instruments, Bucket Drums, Whirled Strings, Balloonchords, Plosive Aerophones, Friction Drums, Balloon Drums, Mailing Tube Lute, Soda Straw Oboe, Blown Bottles, Lamellaphones, Panpipes, Packing Tape Drums, Musical Glasses, Membraerophones, Bucket Bass, Flutes, Fishing Line Zithers, Found-Object Percussion, Mallets & Beaters, Tuning, Putting the Instruments to Use, CHAPTER 1 TOOLS Many of the instruments in this book require no tools at all. Others require commonplace implements like scissors and rulers. A smaller number require common hand tools like a saw, screwdriver or hammer, and just a couple of the most advanced plans call for an electric drill (the least scary of power tools). Here are some suggestions. A lift-off can opener This can opener pops off can lids without leaving sharp edges. Lift-off can opener: There's a type of can opener that lifts the can lid off rather than cuts it out. It is safer and gives a more elegant-looking result than the old-fashioned kind. You can use the popped-off lids for various purposes, or even put the lid back on the can for neat temporary closure. The lift-off can opener is less widely available and more expensive than the ordinary type, but is worthwhile for projects with children. The Good Cook brand Monarch Series "safe cut technology" can opener from Bradshaw International is one model. Hacksaw and carpenter's saw The hacksaw (above) is easiest for children, and can handle most small jobs. Work table, vises and clamps: For instruments requiring cutting, having a vise to hold the work piece makes work with hand tools a lot easier and safer. For not too much money you can purchase a small vise which clamps to a table. Often a C-clamp can serve the same purpose. Saws: Hacksaws are the most kid friendly of saws. They're relatively small, light and sturdy. The small teeth are unlikely to accidentally cut anyone and the blade is less likely than those of larger saws to catch and bind mid-stroke. For most of the projects in this book that require a saw, a hacksaw will do. Securing the work with a clamp or vise will make sawing easier for children. Tubing cutter: Some instruments in this book use plastic or metal tubing. There is a type of tubing cutter that works by means of a cutting wheel, hand-operated in a rotary motion. It cuts plastic or metal tubing without creating dust or fumes. When it comes to making tubing instruments more manageable for kids, this easy-to-use tool is a great help. Once again, securing the work with a vise or clamp makes the cutting much easier. Tubing Cutter To cut tubing, place the tubing cutter around the tube at the cutting location, and gently tighten down the cutting wheel. Rotate the cutter around the tube, further tightening the wheel bit by bit, until the tube is cut. Adhesives: Common nontoxic household adhesives will do for the projects in this book. In addition to the familiar white glue (Elmer's Glue and other brands), I have found a product called Mod Podge, available at crafts stores, to be particularly effective for certain jobs. In cases where an adult can do the gluing, hot glue from a glue gun is often the quickest and easiest choice, because it's not messy and sets in just a couple of minutes. Hot glue guns are not expensive an