Making musical instruments from scrap metal
In my Child’s Play Music early childhood education incursion programs I tell children that they can make music from practically anything that makes a sound – and it’s true! And if you are looking for metal to make your own musical instruments you can’t beat a real old-fashioned ‘scrappie’, a scrap yard piled high with with all sort of interesting metal bits carefully sorted by type of metal.
Metal + imagination = musical instruments
I design my instruments to be simple, safe and tough, because I work with very young children in all kinds of early childhood education and care settings here in Perth. Wherever possible I use recycled materials; I get a real kick out of upcycling scrap metal to make great sounding instruments that children love to play, and I love to spread that message of sustainability.
In this post I’ll be sharing with you:
- What kind of scrap metal dealer to look for
- The best scrappie in Perth, WA!
- The kinds of instruments you can make from scrap metal
- Types of scrap metal, and what instruments they are best-suited to
- How to test the scrap metal for its sonic qualities
- My most recent scrap yard score 🙂