Create musical instruments from trash

Learn how to build and play a musical instrument you repurpose from trash, and join others at an international virtual Make Music Day with Bash the Trash Environmental Arts.

Typically, Make Music Day features 5,000 events in 1,000 cities worldwide.  But this year due to COVID-19, all events are virtual.

So, gather your trash and learn how to reuse and repurpose it into your favorite instrument, and enjoy these activities on Sunday, June 21. Participants can get tips from expert Bash The Trash instrument builders, share their creations, and play them with others. If you want to show off your instruments, ask questions and participate with other musicians, register on Zoom. Everyone else can watch live on YouTube.

Here are some highlights of Make Music Day (MMD):

• 25×12: Live Online Lessons – Music teachers in the U.S. and worldwide will offer 12 hours of free, online group lessons for 25 different instruments, from beginning to advanced levels.
• Bash the Trash – Bash the Trash Environmental Arts educators will teach participants how to make instruments from found objects so they can play “Ode To Joy” and “Baby Shark.”
• Bedroom Studios – For the past several years, open-air recording studios called “Street Studios” have popped up on city sidewalks to celebrate MMD. This year, producers are pivoting to make music at home – in “Bedroom Studios” – using sounds that people send to them in the moment, while livestreaming so everyone can take part in the production process.
• Flowerpot Music – Written by award-winning composer Elliott Cole and directed by percussionist Peter Perry, “Flowerpot Music” is a composition for an unlikely instrument: the flowerpot.
• Global Livestream – The Make Music Alliance is organizing an all-day video stream showcasing the rich diversity of music making events globally.
• Live From Home – Record a musical performance from home on MMD, and tag three friends to challenge them to do the same.
• Mass Appeal – People will gather online to make music in large, single-instrument groups. Mass Appeals being offered this year are The Heart Chant, Bucket Drumming and Mass Appeal Harmonicas.
• #MySongIsYourSong – Musicians will join in a global song swap where they’ll learn a song by another artist, and hear theirs covered in return. Performers should use the hashtag #MySongIsYourSong.
• Track Meet – Teams of four musicians will race against the clock to create brand new original tracks in a creative relay. Using the virtual audio workstation SoundTrap, each musician will get 90 minutes to add their contribution before the next teammate takes over. At day’s end, each team’s track will be published online for everyone to hear.

All Make Music Day events are free and open to the public. Participants who wish to perform or see the full schedule of events, can visit Make Music Day.

Photo: Central Park Conservancy