Instruments and Props for the traveling music facilitator

If you were my neighbor, these last couple of weeks you may have noticed me in my bright turquoise parka shuffling to and from my car with various collections of instruments. Guitars, pianos, drums, and the ECM kit (Early Childhood Musician's Kit). Start the car to warm up, pack the car, unpack the car, etc. It’s about 50 feet between the door and the car. If temperatures were above 0oC (it has been mostly -30oC), I would probably use my car as a storage locker instead of hauling gear in and out. However, guitars and electric pianos prefer not to freeze. Added to this is the unpredictability of my car’s door locks which have recently refused to unlock at extreme temperatures. Not a reliable place to store music instruments that are needed every day. So I haul gear in and I haul gear out. House to car to venue to car to house.
 
After 20+ Early Childhood Music classes in the last few months, having a KIT ready to go is a real time and brain saver. I always have the same props and instruments on hand – some of them I use every time, and others I pull out just when the circumstance calls for it.  Like today!  A curious kid saw my Bear Paw Creek stretchy band and wondered what it was.  The class happened to be the right size for the band, so I decided to use it. With the stretchy band, we all felt the song’s pulse together as we sang “She’ll be comin round the mountain.”
 
The items that I use nearly every time include shakers, sticks, scarves, and a box of assorted handheld instruments. I also use a Bluetooth speaker connected to my phone’s music list, a pitch pipe, and a guitar. Sometimes, I use the stretchy band, bean bags, the gathering drum and chime bars, but not always. 

I was fortunate to secure some business start-up funding to purchase most of these props and instruments.  Having this kit as a starting point is a real necessity to run classes of my own and be hired by organizations or dayhomes/daycares to provide musical enrichment.

Another aspect of the kit not to be overlooked is the ease of transport.  I use a rolling, foldable crate with strong handholds and my guitar case has backpack straps. Meeting other traveling music facilitators and seeing their kits and carriers really helped me find the supplies that work best! 

What do you have in your kit, I wonder?

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