The Sounds of Spring

Spring in Melbourne, a time of the weather getting warmer, the light beginning to change, the gardens coming to life as we shake off our winter hibernation, and the occasional “Spring of Deception” wind and rain!

That’s when spring sessions start feeling different. Windows open, a bit more noise in the room, clients coming in talking about what they saw on the way — a dog, beautiful flowers, even a magpie swooping someone.

I’ve always liked using spring as a theme, because so much of what our consumers deal with day to day is change — new supports, new staff, new routines. Spring is the season of things shifting and reorganising themselves, so it ends up being a pretty natural thing to talk (and play) about.

For our 2026 Spring resource, we’ve been building our own homemade instruments — rain sticks out of cardboard tubes and foil, container egg shakers painted up as ladybirds, tambourines made from paper plates with bottle caps threaded on for the jingle.

We love the opportunities for change, reflection and growth making your own instruments brings. It’s watching someone tip a rain stick they made themselves and hear the sound for the first time. There’s a real moment there — “I made that happen.” For a lot of clients who don’t get many chances to feel like they’re the one driving something, that’s a bigger deal than it looks.

We’ve been using our 2026 Spring playlists alongside it too, getting people to play their instrument along with the tracks, inspired by the themes of spring. 

Alternatively, you can encourage consumers to play their instruments inspired by the themes of spring:

What does the end of winter and the start of spring sound like?

What does it sound like when the days are lighter for longer?

What does a spring shower sound like?

What does a warm breeze sound like?

What does a flower blooming sound like?

What does a buzzing bee sound like?

How does spring make you feel?

Give these DIY instruments a go yourself this spring, and embrace the change!