Epic Makey-makey Water Piano

This is a how-to make a makey-makey water piano. You will enjoy this fun and easy way to make music! Let me show you what a makey-makey is.

Sounds interesting? Then let’s begin!

•Makey Makey w/USB cable

•laptop computer with browser running Scratch website (or standalone program)

•9 x alligator clips (more may be necessary depending on length)

•1 x roll conductive tape (you don’t absolutely need this!)

•8 x color coded buckets (if you want!)

•Something to use as a splash barrier (we used an upturned table)

•Color coded sheet music (we encoded Chopsticks or The Celebrated Chop Waltz by Euphemia Allen)

•Piano program designed for Makey Makey (we used MK-1)

•(Optional: aluminum pie plate to act as an interactive ground)

Run conductive tape from the inside bottom of each bucket to a fold-over tab above the bucket. The tabs will be alligator clipped to individual parts on the Makey Makey. It is important that the tabs are located at the top part of the bucket. You do not want the alligator clips to come in contact with the puddles that will inevitably form outside the buckets.

Run a conductive tape strip the length of the area in front of the water bucket piano with a fold-over tab at one end. This is the grounding strip that will be alligator clipped to “Earth” on the Makey Makey to complete the circuit. An alternative method of grounding would be to alligator clip to an aluminum pie pan that one person holds to play (or others can play as long as they are touching the grounding individual). Once all the conductive tape has been set up, you can fill each bucket (about 2/3 full) with water and lay them out in line for the piano.

Using the piano program as your guide, use your alligator clips to wire each color-coded bucket. Make sure that you run the wires so that the splash shield protects the Makey Makey from getting wet.

Hook the Makey Makey up to your laptop using the included USB cable and launch into the piano program.

Guests really enjoyed this interactive and fun experience. Using the pie plate as ground made for some great communal fun. At one point we had 6 people, young and old, in an unbroken chain touching hand to shoulder playing the piano together! Running a conductive strip on the ground was more convenient as people could use both hands to play, but I felt that the pie pan led to much more fun human interaction.