BudgetFriendly Music

Dr Liz Stafford explores low-cost options for making music in your classroom

With school budgets under constant pressure, it can be a real challenge to effectively resource practical subjects like music. This can result in the curriculum narrowing down to be just singing and listening to music, or even not being taught altogether. But it doesn’t have to be this way! Instead of waiting for that halcyon day in the future when schools are funded adequately for all the things they have to do (I believe a pig-based fly-past is scheduled for that day!) you can still get stuck into music with these budget-friendly tips.

Use everyday objects:

Plastic bottles filled with rice, pasta, or lentils make excellent shakers.

Buckets, bins, and even table tops can serve as drums. Wooden spoons can be tapped together like claves. Mugs and teaspoons can simulate the sound of metallic instruments.

Use your bodies & voices:

Clapping, snapping, stomping, and patting different body parts can give you a palette of percussion sounds to rival any instrument collection.

Voices can make all kinds of sounds, not just ‘singing’ - add these to your body percussion sounds and you can create a piece of music with rich and varied timbres.

Use free online resources:

BBC Ten Pieces offers lesson plans, videos, and music tracks to introduce classical music in an engaging way.

Chrome Music Lab provides interactive tools for teaching musical concepts.

YouTube features countless rhythm play-along videos and tutorials for classroom-friendly songs.

BBC Sounds offers a wide selection of music, including classical, world music, and educational programmes.

Spotify Free provides access to curated playlists for different moods and themes.

Classic FM has lots of great recordings and information about classical music.

Musopen offers free classical music recordings and sheet music for educational use

Other ideas:

Organise instrument swaps with nearby schools, so you can all benefit from each others’ resources.

Seek funding opportunities from local community groups and arts organisations.

If you’re based in England, find out what your Music Hub are doing with their new capital grant funding - they may have plans for supporting schools with access to instruments