Give a kid something new and he'll spend hours exploring the same. Growing up kids will get excited about a whole lot of things because they find something new to learn from it. And you know what gets kids excited like crazy? Musical instruments. Think about it. For one, it creates sound, and two, they are in charge of producing that sound. It is fact number 2 that will drive them to want a musical instrument. Most will love the image that a guitar creates - a simple strumming of the strings and a beautiful melody follows. So, what if the kid starts demanding that a guitar be bought because he/she wants one? We know that buying a guitar is neither a feasible option, nor a practical one. So then what is one to do? The simplest option that can appease both these cases is to make a guitar. And don't worry, a guitar can be made out of simple everyday items in the house like plastic cartons and rubber bands. But how? In the article that is to follow, we will tell you exactly how to make a rubber band guitar and give your kids what they want. Rubber Band Guitar Instructions Making a guitar using rubber bands is a fairly simple exercise that is definitely not rocket science. For one, it does not require very high-end products to make, and it can be easily brought through with simple things that are usually found around the house; and two, it can be turned into a crafts project that you can sit with your kids and carry through together. This will appeal to them just as much as having their own guitar will. So what exactly does it require? The following are the steps involved in making a rubber band guitar. Step 1- Collect the Items Lucky for you, all it takes to make a homemade guitar are very simple items that can be easily collected from around the house. Make a note of these items:

• A shoe box
• 6 rubber bands of varying thickness
• 6 Push pins (optional)
• 1 Coffee cup
• Items to decorate the box
• Tape
• Scissors/Cutter
• Tissue roll rack

Collect all these items and start out with making the guitar with the help of the following simple steps. Step 2 - Trace the Box Take a shoe box which has its lid intact. Next, take a coffee cup that has a round rim and place it on the lid. Trace the circle of the cup with the help of a pencil above the lid. Make sure that the circle is traced about two inches away from the edge of one side of the lid. Step 3 - Cut the Box Now, take a cutter or a scissor and cut the traced circle out. Try and cut the circle as smoothly as possible without leading to any jagged rims. The smoother the cut out circle, the better sound it will produce. You might want to consider doing this yourself. Do not let a small kid handle a cutter or scissor without your supervision. Step 4 - Push the Pins Take the 6 pins and insert them into the shoe box. These should be placed about 2 inches away from the end of the hole that you have cut out. Maintain an equal distance between each of these pins. On the opposite side of the inserted pins, make 6 small holes so that the loose ends of the band can be inserted in. Step 5 - Wind the Rubber Bands Take 6 rubber bands of varying degrees of thickness and cut them so that they become one long rubber string. Wind the thickest rubber band from one end of the lid and continue to wind them in a descending order of thickness. After you're done winding one band around a pin, finish it off by tying the band onto the pin. This is one end taken care of. Take the loose end of the rubber band and push it into the corresponding hole on the opposite side. Push the band in, then turn the lid over and tie a knot on the other side so that the string is tightened. You might even want to tape it to make it more secure and tight. Do this with all 6 rubber bands. You now have the skeleton ready. This is one way of doing it, the other way is to simply take the whole rubber band (without cutting it) and placing it all the way over the box so that it runs over the hole. But this is a very crude way of going about it and it will fail to produce a good quality sound and melody. Step 6 - Inserting a Pencil and Sealing the Box Take a pencil or a piece of wood and slide it under the rubber bands from the side of the small holes (the ones opposite the side where the pins were inserted). This will keep the strings from touching the hole and will add to the sound quality further. After this is done, place the lid firmly on the box and run a tape from the top of the lid to the underside so that the shoe box is completely compact and secure. Step 7 - Decorating the Box Decorate the box in any way you want. This can be done by sticking different types of material on it or by painting it or in the way the child wants to do it. Many children prefer to decorate the box before starting out on making the guitar. This we leave to you. Step 8 - Make the Neck The neck of the guitar is what will allow you to hold it in your hands for strumming. Take a tissue paper rack and calculating the center of the same, hold it firmly in place. Then take some glue or tape and stick it on the top of the box. Make sure it is secure. This is the finishing touch to your guitar. And there you go, a complete step by step guide on how to make a rubber band guitar. Can you just picture the joy on your child's face when he takes the guitar in his hands and starts doing his thing? Just for that then, give it all and make him that guitar.