Music Box Exhibition

Did you know that making your own mechanical music is not as hard as you may think? Paper strips are one of the most common ways to program music for mechanical instruments and they are being used in many of the instruments you see at the museum – but you can also use them to bring your own music to a small DIY music box!

Inspired by Wintergatan’s Starmachine 2000, Tamara Schäfer built her own version of the music box by repurposing an old wooden drawer as a resonator. After lots of sanding and some structural adjustments, it turned into a surprisingly loud and resonant instrument that could also be played by visitors at the event. At the exhibition, you also had the chance to punch your own songs and learn how to turn sheet music and MIDI into a music box paper strip.

You can find a selection of Tamara's music box arrangements as well as other musical projects on her youtube channel PianoLink.