Building Musical Instruments
Objectives:
Students will design instruments representative of traditional African instruments.
Students will explore how size and length affects pitch.
Students will discuss the significance of music in African culture.
Next Generation Science Standards Supported:
1-PS4-1. Plan and conduct investigations to provide evidence that vibrating materials can make sound and that sound can make materials vibrate.
Common Core Math Standards Supported:
CC.2.4.1. A.1. Order lengths and measure them both indirectly and by repeating length units
PA History Standards Supported:
8.4.1.C. Identify holidays and ceremonies of selected world cultures
Materials:
- 5 Bobby Pins
- Thin Piece of Wood or Mini Palette
- Empty Tissue Box
- 3-5 Rubber Bands (3 or more sizes)
- 5 Straws per student
- Tape
- Scissors
- Toilet Paper or Paper Towel Roll
- Empty Containers of different sizes (peanut butter, margarine, etc.)
- 3 Balloons (cut off end)
STEAM Activity Description:
This activity is split into 4 stations. If more stations are needed (to split students into smaller groups), extensions could include a writing prompt on musical instruments or a drawing station where students create their own new instrument to present to the group. Each station includes a picture (see attached instrument pictures) and materials for creating a version of that instrument. Students shouldn't be directly told how to create the instruments but rather discover this themselves based on the pictures and materials given.
Ask students to consider the following question throughout the stations: How does size change pitch? (Or does a smaller/larger instrument make a higher/lower sound?)
Station 1: Mbira (Finger Harp)
- Students will need the bobby pins and wood/mini palette
- Create the mbira by sliding bobby pins onto the wood. To play, pluck bobby pins. The tone is quiet so students may need to hold the instrument up to their ear to hear the pitch
- Encourage students to slide bobby pins in and out and explore how the pitch changes. (When less of the bobby pin is hitting the wood, it will create a higher sound)
How to Make a Bobby Pin Thumb Piano | ThriftyFun
Station 2: Kora (African Strings)
- Students will need a tissue box and various sizes of rubber bands
- Create the kora by stretching rubber bands around the center hole of the tissue box. To play, pluck the rubber bands.
- Smaller (more stretched out) rubber bands will make a higher pitch than larger (less stretched out) rubber bands
Free Online Jigsaw Puzzles (ourpastimes.com)
Station 3: Nyanga Pan Pipes
- Students will need straws, tape, and scissors. Each student should get their own materials since this instrument is played with the mouth.
- Pan pipes are created by cutting straws to different lengths, ordering them from shortest to longest, and taping them together.
- Shorter straws will make a higher sound than longer straws. If the end of the straw is closed up, the straw will create a lower sound than when the end is open.
- Ask students to measure and record the length of each of their straws to the nearest inch
Straw Pan Pipes — Saskatchewan Science Centre (sasksciencecentre.com)
Station 4: Djembe Drum
- Students will need containers of various sizes, empty toilet paper/paper towel rolls, and balloons
- The djembe is created by putting a balloon over the opening of a container and pulling it tight. (The mouth of the balloon may need to be cut off for it to stretch across the containers)
- A larger drum will make a lower sound.
Recycled Musical Instruments | United States | Bash the Trash
After stations are completed, come back together as a group to share. Review each station and give students information (see attached instrument information sheet) about each real-life instrument. Discuss the following questions:
- How did the size of materials at each station affect how high/low the sound they made was?
- Which instrument was your favorite to make? Were any harder to make than others?
- Give me 1 fact we learned about a real-life African instrument.