Music Mate
Originally a college assignment, the goal of this project was to create a unique instrument which could, by itself, teach a person how to play a one minute song with only having had a minute to learn it. Some approached it by creating a Bop-It like instrument. I however, wanted to try and truly teach someone a real song and the only way to do that was to teach them music. Thus, my goal for this instrument was to teach the fundamentals of music and rhythm in only a minute.
One of the hardest parts of learning music is keeping time. Metronomes accomplish this but their sound is simple and repetitive, not suited for full songs. When developing a solution I took inspiration from music boxes which employ a rotating wheel or barrel covered in fine teeth, each one a note as they pluck across a tiny metal comb.
These metal combs are mini musical scales which allow the music box to play melodies. However, in order to play rhythm the metal scale would have to be replaced with percussion instruments. The size of the wheel would also have to be adjusted, it would no longer play a short tune but would instead create the background loop for a full song. Making this beat customizable would increase the range and appeal of the instrument as well as providing a teachable moment.
Once the rhythm generation was set, an accompanying melodic instrument for the user to play had to be developed. Taking inspiration from player-pianos I decided to create a mini keyboard and use the beat-wheel to drive a roll of sheet music for the player to follow along to, similar to highly successful games like Guitar Hero.
Set-up, a quick how to:
1. Select a roll of music that suits your skill level; there are three basic levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Insert the roll of sheet-music and align it along the red line.
2. Open the peg box and insert the metal pegs into their corresponding slots along the Beat-wheel according to the instructions on the sheet-music.
3. Once all the pegs are inserted into the correct slots, realign the Beat-wheel along the red line, get ready and flip the switch to play.
This is only the first version, someday I hope to revisit this project in conjunction with an engineer to further refine the concept and eventually make it possible to mass produce. If this or any of my projects interest you please feel free to reach out. Thank you.
