Tell Us About Your Instruments

[Meredith Pizzi]

What kind and brand of instruments are you using in your groups with children of this developmental level?

[Elyse Suhay]

Again, the youngest kids I work with are 3-year olds. I mainly use rhythm sticks and egg shakers that, unfortunately, don’t have brands on them, and they were provided to me by my employer. I also use LMI plastic tambourines, plastic maracas that have a crescent-shaped logo on them, and rhythm tech medium cabasas. I have some small djembes that I don’t use very often. However, it worked really well when I brought one to do a BINGO-style hello song when the students were learning to spell their names. I would be lost without my Ibanez guitar, and I have a Casio keyboard. I don’t use they keyboard often because I have to move around from classroom to classroom, and I don’t want to sacrifice time to set it up and take it apart for each session.

[Jennifer DeBedout]

I am not sure where I got them but I have some great mini maracas that seem to be the perfect size and weight for kids in this stage of development. I use several of the hand drums and small drum that Meredith and Beth were using in the video. I believe I got most of my drums through West Music. I also have small lummi sticks that are just the right size for little ones and they really enjoy playing..but I can’t remember where I got those either of the top of my head! I’ve had my instruments for awhile. 🙂 I don’t use many bells with this small age but I prefer to use the bells that are on a circle loop rather than a wood handle with the bells. I find the wood handled bells are too heavy or challenging to play with small ones. My little guys love my guitar and, as Meredith mentioned, will often come up and explore playing the strings during music. I also like to use instruments for the “surprise” that was discussed. For example, I have used a slide whistle (and I let the kiddos push the whistle piece up or pull it down).

[Caroline Gillott]

The youngest I work with are pre-teen age.
All of the instruments I use are supplied by my employer and most brands have been rubbed off. I am assuming most, if not all the drums that we have are remo brand. I think there are “egg head” egg shakers (if that is a brand). We have Yamaha and casio keyboards (I prefer Yamaha). We also have some Orff instruments–xylophone and bass bar. I would like to use more of my body and less instruments with younger age groups. When I did work with the younger kids, I found that sometimes the more stuff I had the less attention and focus I had. Whereas when we used our bodies, my kids were much more focused because of the authenticity of where the sound was coming from–AND–they didn’t have to figure out how to “use it (their body), or it didn’t take as long to figure it out. However, being someone who has been away from this age group for quite sometime, I’ve lost my confidence in the use of my body as an instrument. It has turned into a vulnerable experience that I do not always feel comfortable engaging in. I tend to hide behind instruments (piano/guitar).

[Katie Maurer]

Jennifer – the slide whistle can be so much fun! What a great musical surprise.

Since I’m not working in early childhood right now, I don’t have any direct answer to this question exactly.

I have some Basic Beat chiquitas that have a sound I really like and seem like they would be the perfect size for little hands. I’d like to get an idea of the size of the jumbo chiquitas talked about in the video.

I would definitely want some of those frame drums you demonstrated. They look like Remo to me. I also like the idea of small wooden sticks that Jennifer mentioned. Regular sticks seem like they would be too long for this group.

In my internship we used chiquitas, egg shakers, wooden sticks, lollipop drums, some Orff instruments, etc. I don’t remember any of the brands.

Thanks for the reminder about the “Wash Me” box. It was there in the back of my mind, but it’s always nice to have the reminder. I like the simple name.

[Dany Orozco]

I have LP shakers, most of my drums are Remo. I have one called “Kids Gethering Drum” that they love. Most of my smaller instruments don’t have brands on them and I’m not sure where I got them. My guitars right now are Taylor but I’m probably gonna get another one for “rough use” before starting these kinds of groups.

[Cassandra Mulcahy]

I have a ton of instruments to use, but for this group I use the Remo nesting drums and the basic beat chiquitas. The library I held groups at had basic egg shakers and bells, but I was always afraid of the bells coming off, and that little hands could not hold the width of the eggs!
Also- I love using a baby taylor for this group so I can move and grove around the room with them 🙂

[Kate St. John]

My favorite brand overall is Remo so most of my drums are Remo brand. I also like Basic Beat for plastic maracas or chiquitas. Not a fan of egg shakers since they’re too hard to hold. West Music has great plastic animal bells that have a perfect spot for gripping and are easy to clean since they’re plastic. I’m a big fan of plastic everything for young ones.

I haven’t done groups in years as I much much much prefer 1:1’s for therapy, but if I had been doing groups, I probably would have done something similar to the idea Meredith and Beth have of a “wash me” bin to put instruments in at the end of class. Great idea!

[Nancy Bair]

I have several ocean drums, two big djembe drums, and TONS of maracas! I also have several tambourines, rhythm sticks, scarves, thunder drums, and several sets of boomwackers. I can tell that I’m going to need to invest in some more user friendly and easier cleaning instruments!! Looking forward to that “kit” or list you mentioned in the video!!

[Sarah jane Mason]

Remo is my preferred brand for drums for sure. I have the same kids nesting drums that are perfect for little hands and light. I used to use the lollipop drums, but appreciate the tip that they may actually be too distracting. For older kids I like to use instruments with a variety of materials to create unique sounds like wood, metal, etc. With this age group I also try to keep everything plastic for easy cleaning except the wood rhythm sticks. I like the mini, colorful rain sticks, and mini maracas which I think are LP brand. Instead of a guitar I often use a tenor ukulele. It’s easier to handle during a group class and the tone of a tenor is more mellow and pleasing as opposed to say, the high pitch of a soprano ukulele.

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