Music in the Home


 Kids Music Day - In the Home


At the end of this week, people will be celebrating Kids Music Day on October 2nd. In recognition of this, I have made 5 posts which I will upload each day this week in order to encourage and advertise music with children. Kids Music Day is all about encouraging and celebrating the use of music with children. Each year, music is being less valued in schools and taught to less students each year. In fact, 60% said the Ebacc introduction directly affected music provision in their school and recent findings from the Education Policy Institute showed that arts entries at GCSE were declining. Enough of the statistics and facts because I’m not here to bore you. Instead, in this article I aim to show to you some of the ways that you can bring music into your home. The first step of encouraging music with children in schools is getting children interested into music in the first place!!!!


So what can you do to bring music to home (this could be handy if we enter a second Lockdown but hopefully we don’t)...


  1. Create Homemade instruments with household items!


This is an easy step that can take nearly no time and all the time that you want. And it's all mostly free… 


Some ideas for what you can make include:

  • Mini tin can drums

  • Popsicle Stick Harmonica

  • Paper plate tambourine

  • Jingle bell bracelet

  • Cymbals

  • Cardboard Guitar

  • Rain stick

  • Singing Straws

  • Castanets

  • Pringles Can Drums

  • Sound Jars

  • Kitchen Xylophone


And these are just the start!! Here’s a link to find so many more creative ideas to bring music instruments into the home: https://feltmagnet.com/crafts/Music-Instruments-for-Kids-to-Make

This link also has the websites for the instructions on how to make these instruments.


  1. Use the sounds of daily life!


The whole world is full of sounds that can make music and you don’t even need to go anywhere (however there is also a version for non-Lockdown days). Get the children to write down a list of things they would normally hear when they’re outside. Then simply just get them to recreate these sounds in whatever pattern or tune they want. Help them out and even take a sound yourself. 


Through this you can recreate your normal everyday life without taking a step outside. 


OR if you can go outside, think about your journey… are you going to the park? If so, what can you hear? Are there birds chirping? Are there people talking? Can you hear cars? Is it complete silence?

Are you on a train? Are you in school? Are you in a supermarket? Listen out for all of these sounds on your journey and then simply recreate it at home.


You can even use your phones and record each sound and play it on top of each other!


  1. Start Drawing….


This task combines drawing with music in order to create a visual piece. All you need for this is paper, pens (or paint) and a piece of music.


Play the piece of music and just tell the child to draw what they feel or what they think of. Make a note of how their drawing changes with each new section or sound. Do they use blue colours for the sad parts? 


This task can also take as long as you would like as well. Experiment with different types of music? Are they inspired to create more with a certain genre? Did they prefer to draw with a certain song?


Turn this activity into family time and join your child in this activity. See if your drawings match up at any point? Did you both use the same colours? Did you respond to the music in the same way? Talk about the music and how you felt about each piece?


  1. Look online!!


There’s so many online activities that you can give to your child if you have to do some work or need to go on the phone. All you need is google and a working WIFI signal.


Here’s a link to a couple of websites that can bring music to your home…..


There’s so many more games online that you can use! Simply just search online “Music Games online” and the list is endless :)


  1. Instruments in the Home


The house is full of fun things that can make music and you wouldn’t even think of it! Just find an object and see what sound it makes. Is it high pitched? Low? Does it ring? Is it solid?


Some ideas that spring to mind which can be used to make music include:

  • Saucepans


  • Spoons

  • Boxes

  • Folders

  • Tables

  • Radiators


Pick an object and just see what comes to mind. Make your own music using these random objects and see which one you prefer.


These are only 5 ideas of how you can bring music to the home and make Lockdown (or simply just the weekend) an exciting and fun time. Having music in your home can help motivate and encourage children to play as they get older. 


Have fun and post comments of the music activities that you did at home!! I look forward to hearing all about it! :)





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