LEGO music by esteban cardona uses plastic toy bricks to construct a DIY keyboard

LEGO music by esteban cardona uses plastic toy bricks to construct a DIY keyboard
(above) the ‘LEGO music’ keyboard
all images courtesy of esteban cardona

‘LEGO music’ is a DIY keyboard that uses plastic toy construction bricks to create musical notes. the instrument invented by esteban cardona, along with benson rong and andrew kim, was awarded winner of the silver pencil at the one show’s advertising competition and was shortlisted for future lions 2016 (part of the lion cannes festival). the mechanism consists of a basic circuit board, a speaker, enough wires for each note and can be adapted to any size, from individual platforms to large-scale installations. 

‘LEGO music’ video courtesy of estaban cardona 

the unique device uses capacitive sensing which can detect and measure anything that is conductive. the bricks and baseplate are coated in conductive ink, making it possible to change the resistance in a circuit by simply adding and removing lego bricks. by changing the shape of the brick you alter the sound of the note which allows users to enjoy an interactive music experience by creating their own personalised console. 

 
‘lego music’ uses a modified baseplate

the instrument allows kids to build their own interactive music pad

changing the shape of the brick changes the sound

playing the keyboard

the beatboard consists of a basic circuit board, a speaker, and enough wires for each note

the lego baseplate is coated with conductive ink 

‘lego music’ 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: hollie smith | designboom