The built Music Machine kit

Smartivity bonus

Music Machine bonus activities

4 missions and 3 tinker tests. Can you win all 7 stars?

Four new things to try with your Music Machine. None of them are in the instruction book. Pick one, or try them all this week.

0 of 7 done

Tap Done! on a mission to win its star.

Your missions

  1. Mission 1 of 4

    Rhythm copy

    • 2+ players

    One player claps a short rhythm. The next copies it and adds one clap. How long can the chain get?

  2. Mission 2 of 4

    Sound detectives

    • Wooden spoon
    • Pots + boxes

    Tap a pot, a plastic bowl, a cardboard box and a book gently with a wooden spoon. Which sound rings the longest? Why might metal ring longer?

  3. Mission 3 of 4

    Family band

    • 2+ players
    • Pot, spoon, rice

    One player turns the Music Machine while others keep the beat with a pot-and-spoon drum and a shaker (a closed bottle with dry rice).

  4. Mission 4 of 4

    Draw the music

    • Paper + pencil
    • 2+ players

    While a tune plays, draw a line that goes up for high notes and down for low notes. Can someone guess the song from your drawing?

Tinker it

Change one thing. Guess. Test 3 times. Write it down.

  1. Tinker test 1 of 3

    Hush the Bar

    • Tissue
    • Paper and pencil

    What you'll change: Lay a folded tissue on one end of the longest Sound Plate and see how long it rings.

    1. Put 1 Peg in the row of holes for the longest Sound Plate (SA/DO). Turn the handle slowly until its Mallet hits once.
    2. Count how long you hear it ring (one-Mississippi, two-Mississippi...). Do it 3 times and write down each count.
    3. Fold a tissue into a small square and lay it on one end of the same bar, away from where the Mallet hits. Predict: longer, shorter or the same?
    4. Hit the bar once again and count. Do it 3 times and write down each count. If the ring is too short to count, compare by ear: a clear "ding" or a dull "dunk"?
    5. Compare your two lists. Bonus: try it on the shortest bar. Which bar changes more?

    What's going on: A struck Sound Plate keeps ringing because it keeps vibrating. The soft tissue soaks up some of that shaking energy, so the vibration and the sound die away sooner. Drummers put soft pads on drums to do the same thing.

    Safety and undo: The tissue only rests on the bar, so there is no tape or glue. Keep it away from the Mallet and the Pegs. To undo, lift the tissue off and take the Peg out. Turn the handle gently.

  2. Tinker test 2 of 3

    Box Speaker

    • Cardboard box
    • Towel

    What you'll change: Whether the machine sits right on top of an empty cardboard box, or on a folded towel laid over the box.

    1. Turn an empty shoe box or shipping box upside down on the floor or in the middle of the table. It must be wider than the Base Plate. Lay a folded towel on top and stand the machine on the towel.
    2. Put 1 Peg in the row of holes for the longest Sound Plate (SA/DO). Turn the handle slowly until its Mallet hits once. Score how loud it sounds from 1 (soft) to 5 (loud). Do it 3 times and write down each score.
    3. Predict: louder, softer or the same with the towel gone? Slide the towel out and set the machine flat on the bare box. Stay in the same spot, turn at the same speed and score it 3 times.
    4. Compare your two lists. If you can't hear a difference, rest your fingertips on the box while the bar rings. Can you feel a buzz with the towel, and without it?
    5. Bonus: try the bare table. Which was loudest: the box, the towel or the table?

    What's going on: When a Mallet hits a Sound Plate, some of the shaking travels down into the Base Plate. A soft towel soaks it up. The thin sides of a hollow box shake along with it and push more air, so more sound reaches you. A guitar's hollow body works the same way.

    Safety and undo: Keep the box away from the table edge. Turn the handle gently, and steady the box with your other hand if it slides. To undo, lift the machine off the box and take the Peg out.

  3. Tinker test 3 of 3

    Tune a Bar Down

    • Non-drying modeling clay
    • Paper and pencil

    What you'll change: Press small balls of modeling clay onto the front end of one Sound Plate to make it heavier.

    1. Put 1 Peg in the row of holes for the longest Sound Plate (SA/DO) and 1 Peg in the next hole of the row for the second-longest Sound Plate (RE), so the two notes play one after the other. Turn the handle slowly and listen: RE should sound a little higher than DO. Play the pair 3 times.
    2. Predict: if you make the RE plate heavier, will its note go higher, lower or stay the same?
    3. Roll a pea-size ball of non-drying modeling clay. Press it lightly on top of the RE plate at its front end, the end nearest you, well past where the Mallet hits.
    4. Play the pair 3 times. Is RE now higher than DO, the same, or lower? Write it down. Add a second pea of clay on top of the first and test 3 more times, then a third.
    5. Record: how many peas did it take to make RE sound almost like DO? Was your guess right?

    What's going on: A Sound Plate makes its note by vibrating back and forth very fast. Extra weight at its end, where it moves the most, slows the vibration down, and slower vibrations make a lower note. A guitar's thick, heavy strings play its low notes for the same reason.

    Safety and undo: Use soft clay only, and press lightly. If the plate lifts or shifts, push it back in place as in Step 17. Keep the clay on top of the plate's front end, not touching the Mallet, the next plate or the Base Plate. Undo: peel the clay off, wipe the plate with a dry tissue and take the Pegs out. No kit part is changed. Keep clay bits away from little ones under 3.

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