Make A Lolly Stick Harmonica

DIY Harmonica!

Here’s a great way to spend a rainy day making your own lolly stick harmonica. In America, ice-lollies are called popsicles – they’re the same thing.

To build your own lolly stick harmonica, you’ll need:

•  Pair of scissors (preferably with rounded ends)
•  2 lolly sticks
•  2 strips of craft paper or thin card
•  1 large broad rubber band
•  2 small rubber bands
•  Sticky tape
•  Felt tip colouring pens

Top Tip
Before you start assembling your harmonica, why not use your colouring pens to create your own design on the lolly sticks?

Experiment
Now that you’ve built your lolly stick harmonica, try sliding the paper strips (or straw sections) closer together or further apart. How does this effect the sound pitch? How does this relate to the different reed pitches in your real harmonica?

Does the lolly stick harmonica work only if you blow? Or can you play it by drawing too? How does this relate to your real harmonica?

Now try blowing harder and softer. How does this effect the pitch? What is changing in the sandwich to make this happen?

Here are some key words to consider

•  Vibration
•  Compression
•  Oscillation
•  Pitch

And here are some every day uses for you to discuss

•  Punch & Judy
•  Kazoo
•  Vocal Chords