Music Mondays: Make Your Own Kazoo

Today we’re going to make our own kazoo out of household objects. Make sure you also check out our previous blog posts on how to make a bean tambourine and coffee can drums! 

Materials & Instructions

Cardboard tube (like a paper towel roll or toilet paper roll)
Wax paper
Rubber band
A pen
Markers 

STEP 1. Cut out a square of wax paper that is approximately 4×4 inches.
STEP 2. Cover the end of your cardboard tube with the wax paper square, then secure it with the rubber band.
STEP 3. Use your pen to poke three holes into the side of your cardboard tube.
STEP 4. Play your kazoo by blowing, humming, and singing through the uncovered end. Try making different sounds with your kazoo. Can you make a “do do do” sound? What about “Ti ti ti”? Now try playing your favorite song.

Discussion Questions

What do you hear?
Does the kazoo make different sounds when you make different sounds?
How do you think your kazoo makes a sound? (Hint: the answer is one of our vocabulary words.)
If you’d like to experiment with your kazoo, try poking more holes into the cardboard tube. How does that change the sound?

Try using different materials to make a new kazoo. What happens if you use a plastic bottle instead? What about if you use recycled paper, plastic, or some aluminum foil to cover your tube?

Vocab Words

Vibration: Vibrations occur when something moves up and down or back and forth very quickly. Sounds are vibrations that travel to our ears; vibrations are creating the sounds coming from your kazoo!
Kazoo: A simple instrument made out of a hollow pipe with a hole in it that is covered by a thin covering that vibrates or buzzes when a player makes noise into the pipe.
Mirliton: A kazoo is a type of mirliton, which is an instrument that takes sound waves from a player’s voice to vibrate a thin covering and produce a buzzing sound. Here’s how to pronounce mirliton.