Watch: Found sounds in the kitchen
You can use everyday objects to make your own sounds. These are called found sounds. You can even reuse things that people no longer need to create found sounds.
YolanDa is exploring her kitchen. What sounds do you think she might be able to make out of objects there?
YolanDa: Hello everybody.
I've been thinking about where you can find sounds around the house. The kitchen is a great place to find sounds, but before you start exploring, always ask for permission first.
Now I must take the recycling out for collection.
I love recycling all the packaging I use every week. There's plastics that make a sound, paper and cardboard and glass.
Oh, and I usually wash all of my recycling before taking it out. What kind of sounds do you think we can make with the recycling?
Nice! Oh, this makes an interesting sound. I wonder what interesting sounds the Mighty Music Makers will make with their recycling? Over to you, Mighty Music Makers.
Children: YolanDa, we made a jam jar liquid xylophone!
YolanDa: Wow! Jam jar, liquid xylophone. Did you eat all that jam first? I love the different colours and the way that the pitch of the sound changes in the jars. Once you've made all your musical instruments, we can meet up and play with the band!
YolanDa found different recycling materials in her kitchen to make her found sounds.
What did YolanDa find?
YolanDa found some glass jars. The Mighty Music Makers can use these to make a jam jar liquid xylophone.
When you tap a jar with a wooden spoon or pencil, it vibrates making a clinking sound.
Did you know?
The faster something vibrates, the higher the pitch of the sound it makes.
Adding water to the jar makes the jar vibrate more slowly, lowering the pitch of the sound.
Which instrument has lots of notes that could be played with your fingers to make different sounds?
Yes, that's right! The keyboard has lots of keys that you press to make different notes. This is a little bit like the different sounds you can make on your found sound jam jar xylophone .
What sounds might you find in your kitchen?
Watch: YolanDa explores a garden
YolanDa is exploring an allotment to see what objects and sounds she can find. An allotment is a place where you can grow your own fruit, vegetables and flowers.
YolanDa finds lots of things that make really interesting sounds. Watch and listen and see which one you like the best.
YolanDa: Oh, hello everybody. Today I'm exploring an allotment and there are lots of amazing fruits and vegetables growing here and nice flowers too, but what sounds can we find? Let's go and have a look.
Oh Wow! Look at this! I’ve got an idea.
This would make an excellent bass drum. What else have we got? Oh. It's a brand new funnel. This could be a new type of trumpet.
I wonder what kind of sound this plastic board would make. I love that sound. I love it!
I wonder what sound we could make with this brand-new hose. Oh! I have an idea. I love the sound I can make with these sticks under my feet.
I've had so much fun here at the allotments, but I wonder what my Mighty Music Makers, will make out of all of these things that I found here.
Children: We made a hosepipe horn YolanDa!
YolanDa: Oh Mighty Music Makers! Your hose pipe horn sounds amazing! I'm so glad I came to the allotments today and I've got some delicious vegetables for my dinner. When you finished making all of your instruments, let's meet up and play them with the band.
The hosepipe horn is a type of musical instrument that you play by blowing.
This makes it a wind instrument.
Which instruments can be blown to make a sound?
That's right! You can blow lots of different instruments such as trumpets, flutes and saxophones to make a sound.
YolanDa is very skilful at playing the saxophone. She can make lots of different notes to create music.
Activities
Quiz
Make your own jam jar liquid xylophone
1 of 6
Each jar is a different sound on your xylophone - it’s easier to play if the sounds are in order.
Can you sort the jars in order from the lowest sound to the highest sound?
Download the jam jar liquid xylophone activity sheet.
Make your own hosepipe horn
Why not have a go at making your own hosepipe horn using an old hose and seeing what sounds you can make to add your own music.
Don't forget to clean your hose first!
1 of 6
Play your hosepipe horn by blowing into the mouthpiece with pursed lips.
You'll need to practice a ‘buzzing’ with your lips to create the note that you want.
The longer your pipe, the lower the pitch of the sound it will make.
Why not try two metres and experiment from there?
Download the hosepipe horn activity sheet.
Glossary
Here are the meanings to some important words.
Found sounds - Sounds which can be made using objects around us.
Pitch - How high or low a sound is.
Vibrates - Tiny backward and forward movements.
BBC Bitesize newsletter. External Link
Sign up to our BBC Bitesize newsletter to receive monthly news, stories and updates on latest Bitesize content.
More on Creating Music
Find out more by working through a topic
- count1 of 4
