Making your own musical instruments can be fun and also something to share or make for a gift, and a fine example of this has been documented by Instructables user "artsyengineer". They have created a piano-like capacitive touch sensor key system that allows for eight different basic tones, and show how to make the finished product in either a basic and inexpensive cardboard enclosure - and supply the template to make a laser-cut case if you're more enthusiastic about the project. Furthermore they explain how to make a simple amplifier circuit in order to get some seriously loud sounds happening. A quick demonstration is shown in the following video:
That's a lot of fun and would be great to share with younger people - so visit the project page to find out more. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.
If you found the project above interesting - but not sure how to start with Arduino - then the best way to learn is with our Experimenter's Kit for Arduino:
The package includes a wide variety of parts, sensors and modules including: a servo motor, lights, buttons, switches, sound, sensors, breadboard, wires and more. Furthermore a Freetronics Eleven Arduino-compatible board is included to make this an extensive hobby experimenter, inventor and starter kit. However we don't leave you alone to figure it all out, included is a great project and instruction booklet, plus access to a supporting web page and software examples. In other words - this is everything you need to get started for a fun range of electronics and Arduino related projects!
So to get started or for more information and to order, check out the product page.
