Piano keys in one band around the widest partWhite, black on any coat. A white band cut into keys by thin lines; short black keys on it: two, a gap, three, a gap.
Keyboard ribbon waving around the pumpkin, notes flying offBlack, white, one bright color. The strip of keys rises and dips as it goes around; small notes lift from its crests.
Piano-key grin: a wide mouth with keys for teethBlack, white on bare orange. Two round eyes; a long curved mouth filled with white keys and short black ones.
Cat walking the keyboard, a note popping up at each pawWhite, black, gray. A key band around the middle; a gray cat mid-step on it; a note above each key it has pressed.
Every rib a white key, short black keys in the groovesWhite, black. White all over; a thin line down each groove; a black key from the shoulder halfway down some grooves.
Keyboard ribbon waving around the pumpkin, notes flying offBlack, white, one bright color. The strip of keys rises and dips as it goes around; small notes lift from its crests.
Keys around the base, notes drifting up the bare orangeWhite, black on bare orange. A key band at the bottom; a dozen notes rise from it, smaller toward the stem.
Keys spiraling from the stem down to the baseBlack, white. A strip of keys winds around the pumpkin twice like a staircase; the coat under it stays black.
One octave with the note names lettered on the keysBlack, white, red. Seven white keys and five black on the front; C D E F G A B lettered on the white ones.
Piano keys in one band around the widest partWhite, black on any coat. A white band cut into keys by thin lines; short black keys on it: two, a gap, three, a gap.
Piano-key grin: a wide mouth with keys for teethBlack, white on bare orange. Two round eyes; a long curved mouth filled with white keys and short black ones.
Rainbow keyboard: a color for each of the seven note namesSeven colors, black. The white keys painted red to violet from C to B, repeating; the black keys left black.
Recital pumpkin: the player's name above a row of keysCream, black, gold. A short row of keys low on the front; the name in gold above it, the piece's title under it.
Two hands at the keys, fingers pressing a chordWhite, black, any skin color. A key band across the front; two hands above it, three fingers of each on a key.
Upright piano: keys across the middle, sheet music aboveBrown, white, black, gold. A brown coat; a key band at the middle; a cream page of notes over it; gold pedals low.
Notes and clefs 12
A tall quarter rest on the pumpkin that sits this song outBlack on white or bare orange. One rest sign up the front and nothing else. Set it at the end of a musical row.
Birds on five wires, sitting where the notes of a tune goPale blue, black. Five thin lines around the pumpkin; small black birds perch on and between them like notes.
Circle of fifths from above, twelve keys around the stemCream, black, red. C at the front, then G, D, A, E, B going clockwise; F, B flat, E flat going the other way.
Confetti of notes in white on a black coatBlack, white. Single notes, joined pairs and rests of many sizes, tilted every way, spaced so none touch.
Do re mi on the ribs, each syllable a step higherWhite, black, one bright color. Do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do lettered on eight ribs, rising toward the stem.
Level meter: a column of colored blocks up every ribBlack, green, yellow, red. Stacked blocks of uneven height on each rib, green low, yellow next, red at the top.
One long beam around the shoulder, note stems hangingBlack on any pale coat. A thick line around the shoulder; a stem and a round note head drop from it on every rib.
The pumpkin as one black note, a flag curling off the stemBlack, white. Black all over, stem included; one white shine mark; a flag outlined in white curls down from the stem.
Pumpkin on its side: five grooves inked as the staffBlack on white. Lay it down; ink five neighboring grooves all the way around; set round notes on and between them.
Pumpkin-headed notes: each note on the staff a tiny pumpkinWhite, black, orange, green. A staff across the front; each note head a small orange pumpkin with a green stem.
Sheet-music pumpkin: staves ruled all the way aroundCream, black. Five-line staves in rows from shoulder to base; copy the opening bars of a piece you play.
Treble clef seen from above, its spiral around the stemBlack or gold on cream. Start the curl at the stem and wind outward; the tail drops down the front to the base.
Instruments 12
Accordion: the ribs striped as bellows, keys down one sideRed, black, white. Thin black and red pleats follow the ribs; a strip of piano keys at one side, buttons opposite.
Banjo: a pale drum head on the front, strings to the stemCream, silver gray, brown, black. A cream circle ringed with small silver ticks; strings run up from it to the stem.
Gramophone horn from above: a brass petal on every ribBrass, gold, brown. Each rib a petal of the horn, darker in the grooves; the stem painted dark as its throat.
Hand bell: gold all over, the stem painted as its handleGold, brown, white. A gold body with one white shine; a dark band under the stem; the stem brown as a wooden grip.
Kettle drum: a copper bowl under a cream drum headCopper, cream, black. Copper from the base to the shoulder; a cream circle over the top; tuning screws around its edge.
Music box: pastel sides, the stem gold as the winding keyPale pink, gold, white. A gold stem with two painted wings; a small dancer on the front; a row of dots as the tune.
Pan pipes: seven ribs as pipes cut on a slantTan, brown, red. Seven ribs across the front painted as tubes, tops stepping down; a red band tying them.
Saxophone bent around the side, its bell opening in frontTeal, gold, yellow, black. The neck near the stem; key dots down the body; the bell curls up at the widest part.
Steel pan from above: ovals of many sizes around the stemSilver gray, black, white. Gray on top; outlined ovals of several sizes ring the stem, a note name in each.
Trumpet across the front, its bell flaring to one sideNavy, gold, yellow, white. Tubing in one loop; three valve buttons on top; a wide bell; white shine lines.
Violin front: two f-holes, four strings over a bridgeBrown, black, cream. A wood-brown coat with darker grain strokes; an f-hole either side of the strings; a bridge.
Xylophone: rainbow bars from long to short, two malletsEight colors, brown. Upright bars side by side across the front, each shorter than the last; two crossed mallets.
A band of pumpkins 12
Conductor in a bow tie facing a half ring of minisBlack, white on bare orange. Tails and a bow tie on the big one, a baton line by it; a music stand on each mini.
Drum kit from five: the biggest on its side as the bass drumRed, white, gold, black. A white drum head on the big one's base; two mid drums; two flat ones gold as cymbals.
Four-part choir: S, A, T and B, mouths open in songBlack, white on four coats. A letter on each, soprano on the smallest, bass on the largest; four round mouths.
Marching band: red jackets, gold braid, stems as plumesRed, gold, white. Gold braid in rows across each front, a white cross belt; every stem painted white as a plume.
One octave: seven white pumpkins, five black minis behindWhite, black. The white ones in a row as keys C to B; black minis between them in a two and a three, set back.
One sound wave across the row, tallest on the biggestBlack, one bright color. A jagged line crosses every front at one height, spiking highest in the middle of the row.
Piano duet: one keyboard across two pumpkinsWhite, black, any skin color. A key band lines up from one to the next; a pair of hands painted on both.
Repeat signs: a bar line and two dots on each end pumpkinBlack on white. The first and last pumpkin of a row each get the sign, dots facing inward; plain ones between.
Scale of eight: C to C on eight pumpkins, big to smallEight colors, white. One note name on each, the biggest pumpkin for the lowest C, the smallest for the top C.
Sing-along row: LA on every pumpkin, a red ball over oneWhite, black, red. LA lettered on each front; a red ball painted above the syllable on one, with bounce marks.
Stage and audience: red curtains on one, a row of headsRed, gold, black. Swagged curtains drawn back on the big one; minis in front painted black as the watching heads.
Stereo pair: L and R, sound rings spreading from eachBlack, white, one bright color. L on one pumpkin, R on the other; rings spread from a small circle on each front.
How it works
These musical pumpkin painting ideas are 48 no-carve designs in four groups of 12, made for a music room, a recital table or a band hall. Twelve are piano keys; twelve are sets of several pumpkins.
Read the full guide
Piano pumpkin painting ideas
A keyboard has seven white keys to an octave and five black ones, set as a two and a three. Piano keys in one band around the widest part repeats that all the way around. Every rib a white key, short black keys in the grooves lets the pumpkin's own lines split the keys.
Notes that use the pumpkin
Pumpkin on its side: five grooves inked as the staff lets the pumpkin rule its own five lines. The pumpkin as one black note, a flag curling off the stem needs black and a little white. Circle of fifths from above, twelve keys around the stem is for a theory classroom.
Questions and answers
What is an easy musical pumpkin painting idea?
Confetti of notes in white on a black coat is one dark coat and a white paint pen, and no note has to sit on a line. A tall quarter rest on the pumpkin that sits this song out is one sign in black.
How do you paint piano keys on a pumpkin?
Paint a white band, rule thin black lines for the gaps, then add the short black keys: two, a gap, three, a gap. Keys around the base, notes drifting up the bare orange keeps the band low and leaves the rest unpainted.
What can a whole band or class paint together?
The last group is sets. One octave: seven white pumpkins, five black minis behind takes twelve pumpkins. Marching band: red jackets, gold braid, stems as plumes takes one for each player, and Four-part choir: S, A, T and B, mouths open in song takes four.
Which instruments can go on a pumpkin?
The Instruments group holds 12, from a kettle drum to a saxophone. Some use the stem: Hand bell: gold all over, the stem painted as its handle, or Music box: pastel sides, the stem gold as the winding key.