Create a cover song without any instruments

In this activity you'll learn how to make a song without any instruments!

This activity with BBC Introducing is inspired by Gemma Bradley’s BBC Radio 1 show, in which she challenges guests to create music without the use of any instruments!

You can hear a short sample from Nia Wyn’s version of The Temptations’ soul classic 'My Girl', recorded for the show, below.

Try recreating a classic track of your choice with your children today, using just things you find around the home.

Music can come from the most unlikely of sources!

Here are the instructions for you and your child.

Let's get started

Step one

Decide on the track you want to create – this can be anything you like, from ‘Happy Birthday’ to a current chart-topper!

Step two

Nia Wyn started off her creation by working out the tune, so you might want to do the same. She used glasses of water and a teaspoon to create the backing track, drinking or pouring out the right amounts until she got to the notes she wanted. You can try using jars, cups, pans, hosepipes, combs or even boxes and a washing line – anything that can make a tuned sound.

Step three

Experiment with different percussive sounds. Nia says: “I tried doing stuff with shoes, blocks of ice, hitting my chair…”

She even got her cats involved by recording their purrs and using that as a bass!

Step four

Record your different sounds one by one and put them together into a track. There's a range of free recording and music production software readily available on the internet or that come with devices including smartphones, tablets and computers.

Or you can simply get together as a family in the front room and play through the song together using your homemade instruments!

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