DIY Spinning Quarter Notes

Fidget spinners are/were quite the craze, although they do seem to have calmed down a bit. Love ’em or hate ’em, they were all over the place for awhile! Just take a look at YouTube for hauls, DIYs, and even tricks. So, of course I decided to put a musical spin (see what I did there?) on the idea.

Assign this as a homework project for your students, or have one in your pre-/post-lesson activity area or lending area. Use this as an opportunity to review quarter note duration, or even to introduce quarter note duration in different meters.

One important note: make sure your students know to be responsible and respectful with how/when they play with it!

Watch the video below, or read the written instructions below to see how you can make one!

Supplies:
printable pattern (you might want to make it a little smaller)
oven bake clay (something like Sculpey) & oven
knife (be careful!)
glitter/sand
clay glaze (or glue or Mod Podge)
strong glue
skewer
​5 gems
1) Roll out clay & cut around template (you might want to make the template a little smaller), then smooth edges.
2) Bake according to package instructions, making sure clay is in shape before baking.
3) Allow clay to cool, then coat a section at a time with glaze or glue & cover with sand and/or glitter. Repeat as needed, with a final coat of glaze or glue to seal. Let dry between coats.
4) Trim the skewer so that some sticks out on each side. You might have to trim it down again (mine is a little too long in the video). Glue a gem to one end & allow to dry.
5) Glue a gem to each note head to add weight.
6) Once the glue has dried, place the skewer through the middle of the clay & glue the other stone on the other side of the skewer.
7) Allow it to dry, then spin!
There you have it! What are your thoughts on fidget spinners? Be sure to show me your musical version with #Fischarper!

​-Barbara

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Barbara Fischer runs Fischarper, LLC and loves her job as a harpist and private music educator. She enjoys blogging about various aspects of the music field on fischarper.com/blog. For more music resources, check out her free ecourse, “Breezing Through Bass Clef,” the Fischarper Teachers Pay Teachers Store and Making Harp Lessons Exciting For Young Children, written by Bambi Fischer (Barbara’s mom!) and revised and edited by Barbara. You can connect with Barbara all over the interwebs on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube. And you can sign up to receive Fischarper updates by joining the email list.
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