Boomwhacker

What are boomwhackers?

Boomwhackers are tuned sound tubes made of durable plastic and are percussion instruments. The word "boom" refers to the sound that is produced when the instrument is struck and "whackers" is derived from the verb "to whack" and refers to the method of sound production. The coloured sound tubes make it very easy to play different tones by striking them on any surface. Different tones are produced depending on the colour and length of the tube: the shorter the tube, the brighter the tone. If the Boomwhackers are struck on different materials, the colour of the sound will change, but the sound will remain the same. Boomwhackers are available in diatonic, pentatonic and chromatic sets. As no previous musical knowledge is required, boomwhackers are perfect for making music in kindergarten and primary school with the whole class during lessons. You can use signalling devices such as our singing bowls or sound sticks to start or end the music-making process, which is easy on your voice!

Boomwhackers in nursery and primary school

The colourful sound tubes are very popular in kindergarten and primary school. Because they are easy to play and have a beautiful sound, they are ideal for use in early music education and in lessons from Year 1. Kindergarten children and pupils love the bright colours and can therefore grasp rhythmic and musical relationships more quickly. Boomwhackers are also ideal for combining music and movement directly with each other. Our 45-piece class set of Boomwhackers is ideal for making music together at nursery or with the whole class at primary school.

There are several ideas to familiarise children in nursery and primary school with boomwhackers. To get to know them, the colourful tubes can first be sorted by length. The children can then try out how the boomwhackers sound when they are hit in the hand, on the thighs, on the floor or against another material. In this way, they will quickly discover that each colour can be assigned a certain tone and that a boomwhacker sounds slightly different depending on what you hit it on. And then the first small rhythm exercises can follow, in which a simple rhythm is given and the children play it with the tubes. The little musicians will be thrilled by the sound experience! In Year 1, the level of difficulty of the rhythm can be increased more quickly and the accompaniment to a song can be practised after a short time.

In kindergarten, the Boomwhackers can also be used to greet children in the morning circle. This is how the game works: The teacher greets each child by name, e.g. "Hello Alina". Then everyone calls out together: "Hello Alina". The boomwhackers are hit twice in the hand during "Hello". For the name, they are hit on the floor depending on the number of syllables in the name, i.e. three times for Alina. Then the next child is greeted. This game not only promotes a sense of rhythm, but also concentration and attention as well as phonological awareness. Once the children are familiar with the boomwhackers, the little musicians can try their hand at accompanying simple songs.

Andreas von Hoff has published several volumes with great ideas for games and songs to accompany with boomwhackers, which can be used in kindergarten and primary school music lessons and will quickly lead to musical success.

Instruments that work wonderfully with boomwhackers are mallet instruments and all percussion instruments. They can be used to accompany songs or simply to make music together. This is not only a lot of fun and a very special sound experience, but also promotes a sense of togetherness!