You can now use LEGO to automatically play the drums

An enterprising fan has built a LEGO model that can interface with an electronic drum kit.

Long-time readers of Brick Fanatics will be well-acquainted with LEGO’s potential, but this project by Brick Technology still takes things in exciting new directions. It’s a model that works in conjunction with parts of an electronic drum kit, allowing you to automatically play songs on one.

The basic principles of an electronic drum kit are simple enough. Tapping on an electrical component called a piezo pickup transmits an electric signal to a sound module, which in turn generates the sound of a drum beat. From that perspective, building a LEGO model to automate that process is certainly possible, although – as Brick Technology makes clear – it’s highly involved in practice. 

The mechanism of the drum player relies upon Technic pins depressing a series of levers, which – when released – strike a series of piezo pickups and play sounds. These pins are attached to a circular assembly, which means that by spinning it with pins in the right place, you can automatically play a sequence of notes.

Since a circular assembly can’t accommodate that many notes, however, the final build eventually employs a belt mechanism instead. This takes up a lot more space, but it also allows a longer sequence of notes to be played in one sitting. Motorising the build lets it maintain a consistent tempo while a song is being performed. 

In short, it’s an impressive piece of engineering – although it’s not actually the first time this idea has been explored. Wintergatan’s Marble Machine (which you can see in action below) also employs LEGO Technic elements to ‘program’ a piece of music. That said, the LEGO elements are a relatively small part of that design – so from our perspective, Brick Technology’s project is a welcome evolution of the concept.

While Brick Technology hasn’t posted instructions for their creation, it should prove a fitting inspiration for your own musical builds. If you’d like to see what’s being done with LEGO Technic via official channels, check out all of the new LEGO Technic sets for 2023.

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