What can you make from a plastic hose? Why, beautiful music, of course!
On my last trip to the Scrapstore they had some hospital resuscitation hoses there. Tristan and I thought they would be fun to use for setting up a hospital, running marbles through them, and we were sure we could find other uses for them as well! We’ve made some plastic hose shakers and a whirrer.
Here are two quick and easy musical instruments to make using a plastic tubing.
The first couldn’t be any easier if you tried. Simply cut a length of hose and grab it at the end and swing it around with your wrist in a circle and listen to the whirring noise it creates! Kids will love this, but perhaps it’s best done outdoors and with supervision to prevent accidents.
The second instrument we’ve constructed is a plastic hose shaker.
We cut a length of hose about 2 feet long. I cut a little round of paper and attached it to some duct tape which I fit over one end of the hose. This will prevent the stones falling through while loading it up The paper ensures nothing will stick to the tape.
Add some sand, pebbles, dried peas/beans into the tube. We also added some shiny sequins to give a little bling to our band.
We then secured the other end of the tube the same as the first. I had thought about leaving them open to allow the rocks to slide through but then I decided it was better to secure both ends in the event that the tube is pulled apart it will prevent the rocks and sequins from flying around the house.
I secured the ends of the tubes together into a circle with some more duct tape. Then to make it look a little nicer I put some fancy packing tape over the top of it.
If you really want to make waves, wrap some ribbon around the tube and tie it off leaving long tails to add some drama to the music.
Have your child shake and rattle away all day with these quick, easy, and frugal musical instruments!
If you would like to add to your band, see how to make some wrist and ankle bells, or link into another 10 musical instruments featured on a Red Ted Art Google+ Hangout here.
Boogie on over to our music page to see more musical ideas that will get your foot tapping.
Tess says
I could use this in our daycare. Very cute!
Crystal McClean says
Please do 🙂 It’s these simple things that kids come back to again and again!
Stephanie says
How fun!!!
Becca says
That looks like tons of fun!!! 🙂
Crystal McClean says
They are fun for the kids to hear the different sounds of the shakers depending on what is in them and how big they are. They’ve also been used as crowns, so they’re quite versatile 🙂
Nicole Copeland says
Very neat ideal
Crystal McClean says
Thank you. Simple and effective 🙂
Missy Homemaker says
That’s a pretty cute model you have there! Great ideas for using the hose. My son and I recently got in trouble at a home improvement store for making ‘music’ with some tubing like this lol
Crystal McClean says
Thank you for the giggle of the day- I could just picture it 🙂 Have a great week!