It is not always necessary to use instruments to teach music. Before letting a group of children have noisy musical instruments, it is a good idea to get them to practice with everyday items such as pens and rulers first. They can split into groups, and while one all tap their pens on a table, another group clap their hands while a third group tap their feet. You can vary the rhythm or change the dynamics and alternate between going louder – quieter or softer -- harder faster – slower.
When introducing instruments to preschoolers, a good way to start is to get them to sit in a circle. Next, tell them to pass around an ocean drum in silence. Of course they have no chance of success, but trying will be a lot of fun for them and it will get them to focus more on the sounds of the instrument.
Next, give them a tambourine (or any percussion instrument will do) and after showing them the various ways to make sounds with it, e.g., tap, scrape, bang, flick or jingle, get them to pass it around the circle. This time, the object is for each one to make a different sound than the one made by the previous child.
One thing about teaching music to young preschoolers is that it is noisy, which can make getting them to stop playing difficult at times. To save yourself a lot of sore throats in the future, it is a good idea to teach them some visual cues from the start.
To begin with, it can even be made into a game whereby the children are to stop playing the moment the teacher puts her hands on her head. They place their instruments in front of them and copy her actions. By doing this, the next step of getting them to stop playing every time they see a specific hand signal (e.g., hands touching the head), becomes an easy task.