MASON — Flip-flops, plumbing pipes, bike parts and a blender were among the ordinary objects kindergartners turned into musical instruments Tuesday.

Sculptor and musician Michael Bashaw taught 700 students at the Mason Early Childhood Center that they could use anything — from household objects to scraps from junkyards — to make music. The Dayton-based artist had 20-minute “jam sessions” with the students' music classes.

Sound sculptor Michael Bashaw entertains children at the Mason Early Childhood Center Tuesday. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

“I want you to look in your kitchens and in your garage and find all kinds of things that make wild sounds, and then get together with your friends and make music,” Mr. Bashaw told one class Tuesday. “You don't need me to do it. You can make a sound out of anything.”

Many kindergartners responded enthusiastically to the suggestion.

“Yeah, you can take paint cans and a spoon and hit it,” 6-year-old Jacob Liddic shouted.

Mr. Bashaw started each class by playing a metal sculpture, made with a large brake disk from a truck and the nose from an airplane that was filled with water. Then the students joined in with various objects — including cowbells and parts from an old fan — that were spread out on the purple area rug the kids sat on.

He never gave specific directions on what to do, just let the students play as they wanted.

“What's amazing to me is that when he plays loud, they play loud and when he plays soft, they play soft,” unified arts teacher Jennifer Schimpf said. “Without even discussing the dynamics of music, they're following it.”

When students were not playing, they were dancing or clapping to the musical instruments from around the world, including flutes from China, India and Japan, which Mr. Bashaw played to demonstrate different sounds.

“It sounds like kind of like a piano that's out of tune,” one student commented to the buzz noise from a Tanzanian lembe.

Three unified arts teachers won a $1,000 grant through the Greater Cincinnati Foundation to have Mr. Bashaw come into the classrooms and work with students. The project was one of 177 funded through the foundation's Learning Links mini-grant program this year.

The grant program gives teachers up to $1,000 for special projects that encourage creative activities and have a positive impact on the classroom, said Beth Reiter, foundation spokeswoman.

Mr. Bashaw was at the school Monday and Tuesday, and will return Nov. 11. Besides giving workshops for students and adults, he performs using the sound sculptures he makes in the musical trio, Puzzle of Light, at venues across the country.

“I want to instill a sense of magic about music,” he said between two of the 11 classes he led Tuesday. “I try to get them excited about it, so they learn that they can have music in their lives, no matter how much talent they have or how much they practice.”

E-mail esolvig@enquirer.com

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