Q&A for How to Make Musical Instruments with Recycled Materials

Get an empty tissue box, glue a toilet roll on the short side of the tissue box, then strap a bunch of rubber bands on there.

That would be incredibly hard, as pianos have a complex system of hammers and strings.

Take an empty plastic soda bottle and fill it with beans, rice, or lentils. Then, glue the top back onto the bottle, and you're done! Optional: Decorate the bottle with permanent markers or paint.

You can use plastic straws to make a pan-style wind pipe. Take several straws, tape them together, and cut them on the diagonal to produce varying tones.

Maracas. You can make them by getting an old tin can and an old sock. Put rice or beans in the can and put the sock over it and to secure it put a rubber band over the sock. Now it's ready for shaking!

Yes--put a sheet of rubber on a can so that it covers the hollow part, and put a rubber band around the sheet of rubber to keep it in place.

You can make a flute out of cardboard tubing, recycled PVC pipe, or bamboo. Check out articles on wikiHow, or search for "making flutes out of recycled materials" online.

You can make an improvised instrument anywhere. Find what materials are available and figure out a way to make musical instruments out of them. For example, cans can become a drum, you can make a flute out of empty bottles, etc.

You can use drinking straws to make a pan flute from household materials. The wikiHow article How to Make Pan Pipes has instructions ranging from making a playable drinking straw flute to making a bamboo pan pipe.