Homemade Instrument Contest - The Lesson Plan

I've had a few people asking about the "Homemade Instrument" contest rules/rubric/lesson plan.  I'm taking this opportunity to share it.

​Basic Idea - Summary

Students make homemade instruments and submit a 1 minute or less video of themselves demonstrating that instrument.  I was not more specific about the rules, but I did provide a basic rubric.

homemade_instrument_contest_rubric.docx
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Instructions to Students

I provided a video to my students and the following instructions on Google Classroom (where I also provided a google form for turning in projects):

This is an optional assignment that is a contest.
1. Make a homemade instrument. There are several links attached with examples.
2. Record a video, (less than one minute) of you introducing and performing on your instrument.
3. Submit the video using the form below by Thursday April 2nd.
4. Your performances will be shared in a YouTube concert scheduled for 7:00PM on Sunday April 5th.
5. A group of 3 judges will use the attached rubric to score and rank the submissions.
6. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will receive a prizes. (they will be gift cards to restaurants that are serving takeout / delivery)

​Why Optional?

I made this project optional for the benefit of my introverts.  I also didn't really want 79 submissions.  This is a crazy time and I wanted this to not be stressful for the students and myself.  I provided an alternative listening assignment and the vast majority decided to do that.  I'm honestly fine with that.  I did have a majority of my students watch the finished product and encourage their peers.

​Examples - links

I shared the following examples with my students:
https://redtri.com/homemade-instruments/slide/1
https://feltmagnet.com/crafts/Music-Instruments-for-Kids-to-Make
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8HtwVtmrWc

Guest Judges

I thought it would be really neat to have guest judges that could encourage my students.  I picked people of significance to the program - a former student teacher, our show writer, and a composer that we collaborated with (Grant Shane, Luke McMillan, and Willy Owens respectively).

I compiled and sent them these submissions ad had them send back a ranking and a short video encouragement.  There were amazing!

Winners and Prizes

Local businesses are very generous to our band boosters.  We thought it would be good to send just a little of that money back during this very rough time. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners received gift cards to some of those businesses.

I took the rankings and totaled them deciding winners based on lowest totals.

Trailer and Youtube Premieres

We did a Youtube Premiere.  Basically, it allows you to air a video on youtube as though it were a live event and people can tune in and comment live.  This made the whole contest seem like an event and it was so encouraging to see my students and community commenting live as surprise judges and winners were revealed.  I highly encourage you to check out this feature.

I also created a trailer with the time of the premiere and a link to where they could find the link (this blog!)

Editing and final product

I edit with Adobe Premiere Pro and I do a lot of fancy tricks that I've been learning to do for over a decade.  All of that "polish" is pretty unnecessary.  Just having the clips put together in order will get the job done and you can do that with any video editor.

I recorded introductions, titles, and put all of the clips in order.  This took a long time, prepare to edit for a long time, especially if this is new to you.

After I finished editing I send the link through text messages, Facebook, and Google Classroom.  At 7:00PM on April 5th we had a premiere.  It was very encouraging to see the students commenting and getting excited.

​Final Product

Have questions?  Email me at scox@eastland.esc14.net