Making Music Together

Mrs. V has had this in mind for several years: wanting her 3rd and 4th grade music students to learn about musical notation with manipulatives, composing rhythms, and melodies.  We figured out a simple way to make that happen. The original notes may be quickly made using the shapes tools in Keynote, Pages, or Numbers.  These were created using the Numbers app on a MacBook Pro.
Take a screenshot or convert to a .jpg image file.  Now convert that image to an .svg file, which can be imported into most CAD programs. I used a free online converter.
Import the .svg image into your preferred CAD program.  I used Autodesk Fusion 360. I extruded the 2D image to 5mm in height.  You could easily go more or less. Export the file to your 3D printer program.  I had good luck with both PLA and ABS plastic for this project.
Students will build musical rhythms and melodies using the correct notation.      On the left or right side?      Does the stem point up or down?        What does the dot mean?      Perform the rhythm or melody.       Answers to these and other essential questions may be recorded using Keynote or Clips and posted to the students' SeeSaw accounts. We will have one of these sets printed for every student in class, with ample extras made for the runaway pieces and parts.