From cigar-box guitars to washboard basses, American popular music has a long tradition of repurposing materials to build musical instruments. Middle School students in Dr. Jo Nardolillo’s Instrument Design Winter Term elective course carried on that time-honored tradition by designing and constructing their own real, working instruments in this fun, hands-on class. Nardolillo, our JK-12 Arts Department Chair, encouraged students to look beyond the obvious materials used to create traditional instruments. They scavenged their homes and their school to find unique parts and pieces, and set to creating their own ways to generate sound.
“I built an instrument that has the ability to trill notes on an oboe reed,” said Tess Thompson ’28. “I used a metal tube from an old shoe rack and a funnel. At first, I wanted to make an oboe because I play the oboe, but that didn’t work out. I realized that my instrument had the ability to trill different notes on an oboe reed (which can trill none) and I won Best Tone. This class was super fun and I wish it was longer. My favorite part of Instrumental Design was when I was the only brave one to use one of the tools—the Dremel—and I got to use tools that I have never used before.”
Dr. Nardolillo was so impressed with her students’ creativity that she conducted a photo shoot. Check out these amazing musicians and their home-made musical creations!
