Art and Vibration

Art and Vibration

Let’s Make Castanets!  

Castanets are considered a percussion instrument used in many forms of music, most recognized in Spanish music.  The instrument is made of a pair of concave objects such as shells, wood or plastic, which is joined on one side by a string or in the photos below a simple fold.

Steps:

1. Cut a strip of cardboard to your required measurements (ours is just over 13cm by 4cm or just over 5 inches by 1.5 inches)

2. Fold the cardboard strip in half. If desired, you can decorate the cardboard: draw on it, paint it or do whatever you latest craft-crush dictates.(Alternatively, you can leave this step for after the castanets have been completed.)

3. Now you want to glue the bottle caps onto the cardboard.If your little crafters are very little, make sure they are gluing them on the inside of the folded cardboard piece. Put glue on the jagged edge of one bottle cap and place it on the edge of one end of the cardboard strip. If your cardboard is the thick kind you can press the bottle cap into the cardboard for a better grip.Let it dry.

4. Glue the second bottle cap on the other end of the cardboard strip, in the same manner. Make sure that it is aligned with the first bottle cap. You want them to click together when you're done, so they have to be positioned to correspond.Let the glue dry.If you've left the decorating-your-castanets part for last, now is the time to play some music and have fun with it.