paper Piano
Use ordinary scrapbooking paper to craft a paper piano that looks like the
inside cover of the book
Piano Wants to Play!
Materials
One large piece of paper with a musical background
Colorful scrapbooking paper
Black scrapbooking paper
Scissors (not included)
Glue stick
Instructions
Cut the colorful scrapbooking paper into 1"x6" strips. You will have more strips than you need!
Glue 7 strips onto the music-themed paper so they are touching but not overlapping. You can create a third “color” by flipping some of the strips over and using the blank side of the colorful paper.
Cut the black paper into 1/2"x3" strips.
*Hint: Cut one of your extra colorful strips in half both ways to make a template for tracing!*Glue the black strips of paper onto your patterned paper, making sure to follow the pattern of black keys on a piano!
String the Guitar
Cut six the six rubber bands in half so they are long like “strings.”
Tie a knot at the end of each string that is thick enough to stop the string from going through the holes you poked into the guitar body.
Thread a rubber band from the INSIDE of the cereal box, out one of the holes you made and across the sound hole, to the opposite hole and back INSIDE the box. Secure the rubber band by knotting the other end. You can reinforce the rubber bands by placing a strip of tape over the knots on the inside of the box and/or gluing with hot glue. Please find a grown-up to help you if you decide to use hot glue!
Play the Guitar
Which rubber bands make high pitches? Thin or thick ones?
Which rubber bands make low pitches? Thin or thick ones?
How does the amount of stretch affect the sound of the rubber bands?
Try playing your box guitar with the box open. Does it change the sound?
If you have a paperclip nearby, use it to pluck the guitar like a pick. Does it sound differently from when you play the guitar with your finger?
Show us your guitar! Tag @musiclibrarybox in your Facebook posts, Instagram reels or TikTok’s
and show us how you rock out on your box guitar!