Handmade instruments with plastic bottles: try making flutes, percussion, and traditional ethnic instruments.
Plastic bottles really come in handy when you’re making DIY projects, like those for summer vacation.
Kendama and pinwheels are classics, but you can actually make impressive musical instruments using plastic bottles, too!
In this article, we’ll introduce instruments that use the bottle itself, as well as ones that use the caps.
By combining them with items like straws and paper plates, you can create flutes, percussion instruments, and even unique folk instruments—so take inspiration from the ideas we’re about to share and try making them yourself!
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Handmade instruments with plastic bottles: Try making flutes, percussion, and traditional instruments (1–10)
Air cork
This is an introduction to making a musical instrument called an “air coke” using a plastic bottle and items from a 100-yen shop.
Attach a garden mist sprayer or a pressure spray pump sold at 100-yen shops to a large plastic bottle—like a 1.5- or 2-liter bottle—to pump air into the bottle.
When the bottle is inflated with air, tapping it with something like a chopstick produces a high, amusing sound.
Then, as you gradually release the air through the sprayer, the sound becomes lower, letting you enjoy a musical scale.
drum
Let’s make a small, cute, handheld drum! All you need are things you probably already have at home, like a plastic bottle, balloons, chopsticks, and aluminum foil.
First, cut out the bottom of the plastic bottle with a utility knife and cover the cut edge with vinyl tape.
Next, cut off the narrow neck of a balloon, stretch the balloon over the bottle so it’s flat, and secure it tightly with tape.
For the drumsticks, just wrap aluminum foil around a pair of chopsticks—done! If you draw on the bottle or decorate it with washi tape, you’ll have even more fun and end up with a unique musical instrument of your very own.
10 Musical Instruments You Can Make with Plastic Bottles
@kajiijapn We’re introducing 10 types of instruments you can make with plastic bottles!Plastic bottle#Summer vacation homeworkSummer Vacation CraftIndependent Research
Original Song – Everyday-Item Instrument Unit kajii – kajii / Future Instruments Lab
Plastic bottles are often used as materials for crafts.
So this time, how about making musical instruments with plastic bottles? Empty bottles can become drums, flutes, or maracas… With a bit of creativity, they can transform into instruments you can actually play! Bottle caps can also be turned into instruments by combining them with other materials, so don’t throw them away—save them.
It’s also a great idea to keep notes on how the sound changes depending on where you make holes and what you put inside.
Rainstick
The instrument called a rainstick got its name because its tone resembles the sound of falling rain.
It’s a traditional African instrument made by driving cactus spines into a hollow piece of wood and placing dried nuts or seeds inside.
Let’s try making a modern version of the rainstick using a plastic bottle! Connect empty plastic bottles, wrap tape around them in a spiral, and insert toothpicks along the spiral.
Open a bottle cap and pour beads inside to finish.
It’s also fun that the sound changes depending on the size of the beads.
Whistle
This is a craft idea for making a whistle using plastic bottle caps.
All the materials are common household items: two plastic bottle caps, a milk (or similar) paper carton, a straw, and duct tape.
Cut the paper carton into a piece 7 cm wide and 3.3 cm long, then roll it up.
Fit this rolled piece into the grooves of the two bottle caps and secure it with duct tape, making sure not to cover any holes.
Next, cut a 5 cm length of straw and slice off half of one end.
Attach that end next to the hole in the paper carton, and you’re done.
The sound depends on the angle of the straw, so experiment to find the best position and make it whistle!