Music Activities

Pick an activity to try at home!

Air Band

You will need: a way to play songs over speakers (CDs/computer/mp3 player/etc.)

Directions: Choose music you like to listen to. Pretend to play guitar, drums, or be a singer. Your siblings can join you and you can be a whole band together! Listen to your part in the music, and play what you hear. The game is to not make any noise and to only hear the song playing.

High and Low Sounds

Find things around your house that make a sound, and decide if they are a high or low sound.

Remember, high does not mean loud, and low does not mean soft!

A high sound is like a squeal, scream, or a recorder. A low sound is like a man’s deep voice, thunder, or a big drum.

Here are some ideas:

  • Dishwasher

  • Running water in the sink

  • The shower/bathtub

  • Banging pots with a wooden spoon

  • Hitting a pillow with your hand

  • Turning pages in a book

  • An instrument (if you have one laying around, or one you made!)

  • Anything else you can find!

Listen and Draw

You will need: a piece of paper, a pencil or other drawing tool, markers/crayons/colored pencils (if you want color on your picture,) and a song to listen to.

Directions: Choose a song from a movie that you like and listen to it. While you are listening, draw what you hear or what images you think of while you listen.

Find another song that sounds similar, and create another drawing. Compare and contrast the two songs and your creations!

Make a Kazoo

Materials: a cardboard tube (toilet paper or paper towel tubes work best,) a small piece of wax paper, parchment paper, or tissue paper (wax paper works best!) and a medium sized stretchy rubber band, and supplies to decorate

Directions: Make a 4 inch square of the paper you chose. Lay it across an open end of your tube and wrap the rubber band around the edges of the paper and the tube. The middle of the paper should be flat and tight across the open part of the tube. Now you can decorate!

Kazoos work when you hum into them and the sound vibrates through the tube and rattles the paper. If the paper is TOO tight, it wont have enough room to vibrate, and if it is too loose it won’t make a sound because the paper can’t rattle.

Make an Instrument

Using items around your house, make an instrument! Instruments are played in many different ways. They make sounds by being hit or tapped, scraped, shaken, or strummed. Sometimes, you can adjust an instrument by using different materials.

Here are some ideas to make a shaker:

You can use paper towel tubes with the ends closed, jugs with lids, small boxes, Easter eggs, water bottles, or other items you can close. Fill it with beans, rice, lentils, pebbles, beads, or any small items you can find. Try different combinations and see what sounds the best!

What can you use to make a drum? A guitar? A scraper (or guiro?)

Mirror

Directions: Sit or stand in front of your sibling. Try to look exactly the same. Pick a leader. The leader will move slowly and the follower will try to mimic them at the same time.

Notes: If someone were to watch, they wouldn’t know who the leader was! If you move quickly, it won’t work. Make sure you stay facing each other the whole time. If your back is turned, you won’t know what to do! Switch so there is a new leader.

Try moving around the room or listening to slow music while you move.



Name That Sound

You will need: Something to record sounds (iPad, camera, etc.) and someone to play with

Directions: One player searches for 5 items that make sounds, and records the sound. Play the sound back for someone else and see if they can guess. Switch so everyone gets a turn to be the guesser and the recorder.

(Ideas: Stapler, ice machine, opening a can, etc.)


Share a Song

Have an adult choose a song they liked to listen to when they were in school to share with you. Listen to the whole song at least once without talking. Have them tell you what they enjoy about this song, how it makes them feel, and/or what memories they think of when they hear the song.

Now your turn to pick a song! Tell them why you like the song, how it makes you feel, and what you think of when you hear it!

Silly Conversations

Everyone who will participate should choose a silly voice to use. Maybe you will use a high voice, a low voice, talk like an animal might talk, etc. Try to have a conversation with each other while keeping your voice in the same silly way. Set a timer for 5+ minutes and see what happens (hopefully lots of laughs!)

Here are some conversation ideas:

  1. What animal would you like to be and why?

  2. Do you think aliens exist on other planets? If they don’t, why? If they do, how do you think life is different?

  3. What kind of instrument is the coolest and why?

  4. What fictional animal do you think should be real and why?

  5. What is in your dream house?

Sing Me a Song

Ask a parent to sing you a song or teach you a rhyme from when they were a kid. Ask them how they used to use the song. Is it a lullaby? A hand clapping game? A jump rope song? Ask them to teach you how to play if it was a game.

Now you can teach your parent a song or rhyme you know! Maybe one you have learned in class, or one you know from somewhere else.

Sounds of Nature

You will need: paper, pen/pencil, somewhere to sit outside

Directions: Sit outside and close your eyes. Listen for as many sounds as you can. Write down what you hear. The longer you sit, the more you will hear!

If you are playing with a sibling or parent, see who can hear the most different sounds.

Do you hear more than one kind of bird? Can you name all the sounds, or are there some you aren’t sure of? Do different cars make different sounds? How far away are the sounds you hear?


Steady Beat

You will need: a song to listen to, a small toy/doll/stuffed animal (if you like)

Directions: Listen to your song. While you are listening, show the beat in various ways. You can use a toy/doll/stuffed animal to show the beat in more ways by tapping the object or using the object to tap in different places.

Try this again with a completely different song! Was the beat the same, faster, or slower?

Storytime

Have an adult choose a story they enjoy to share with you. As they read it to you, they should make different voices for each character. Once they have finished their story, you can choose one to read to them with different voices for each character. Try making your voice go high for some characters and low for others!

Whale Talk

In Finding Nemo, Dory can talk to whales. Have a conversation with your siblings with a whale voice. If you yawn while you’re talking, you’re doing it right! Open your mouth really wide and move your voice up and down.

Here are some ideas to talk about:

  1. What you like to do outside

  2. What colors you are wearing

  3. What your favorite story (book or movie) is about

  4. What your favorite toy or game is

  5. What you’d like to accomplish this week