Make a homemade musical instrument

Stringed instruments are used to produce a wide variety of sounds used in music across the world. Can you construct a model of a single stringed instrument and explain how it works?

This fun STEM activity for kids will show you how to make a homemade musical instrument from card and can be done at home or at school!

Activity: Make a homemade musical instrument

This is one of a set of free resources developed to support the teaching of the primary national curriculum. They are designed to support the delivery of key topics within science and design and technology. This resource focuses on the construction, investigation and testing of a single stringed instrument.

In this activity learners will construct a card model of a single stringed instrument. They will test how it works, demonstrating how the tension of the string affects the pitch of the notes produced.

This could be used as a one-off activity or as part of a wider unit of work focusing on how sound is produced and heard by the human ear. It could also be used to develop modelling and prototyping skills.

Download our activity sheet below for a step-by-step guide on how to construct your homemade instrument.

As an optional extension students could evaluate the model they have built and suggest improvements that could be made to it. They could also make a manufactured prototype of a single stringed instrument using woods, metals and/or plastics. Alternatively, they could investigate and research the use of pivots and how these work in mechanical systems.

This activity will take approximately 40 – 60 minutes.

Tools/resources required

Parts and materials:

• Pieces of card
• Hollow card boxes
• Paper fasteners
• Elastic bands

Tools and equipment:

• Scissors
• Hole punches

The engineering context

Engineers need to be able to understand how sound is produced and heard by the human ear. This knowledge could be used when designing musical instruments or products that produce different sounds, such as games for children.

Suggested learning outcomes

By the end of this activity students will have an understanding of how sound is produced from a stringed instrument. They will also have an understanding of how changing the tightness/tension of a string alters the pitch of the notes produced. Finally, they will be able to construct and test a model of a single stringed instrument.

Download the free Make a homemade musical instrument activity sheet below!

All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable, so you can tailor them to your students’ and your schools’ needs.

The activity sheet includes teacher notes, guidance, useful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in each of the four devolved UK nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Please share your classroom learning highlights with us @IETeducation.