Tag Archives: Music

Just like many other artists, LEGO builders find inspiration in the music they listen to as they create the wonderful models you see here on The Brothers Brick. It’s no surprise, then, that music inspires many LEGO models more directly, from minifig musicians to album art recreated with bricks.

Rest in Bricks MF DOOM

Amusered‘s MF DOOM tribute is the latest creation to pay homage to the fallen rapper/producer. The image of Daniel “METAL FACE DOOM” Dumile’s chrome gladiator mask has been seared in the memories of fans worldwide since 1999. The mask and microphone pictured in amusered’s build are synonymous with DOOM’s persona of the mysterious figure who wielded the mic as his weapon of choice.

MF DOOM LEGO Tribute

DOOM’s boastful lyrics effortlessly extolled his prowess through a rogue’s gallery of alter egos (f.k.a. Zevlove X, King Geedorah, Viktor Vaughn). At first glance, the tilted angle of the mask resembled the silhouette of the Millennium Falcon. Amusered intended on making DOOM’s mask look like the Star Wars aircraft, according to his Reddit comment. Call it coincidence or fate, but Han Solo’s MF is the bruised and battered “hunk of junk” that is a crown jewel of starships in the same way DOOM’s mask is a treasured symbol of rap history. The scratches on the angled and sloped grey elements have seen some action from spitting rhymes like dimes. To build the black mic’s grille, amusered used the cylinder hemisphere (30208). The disco ball element caps off the build. And just remember, ALL CAPS when you spell the man’s name. RIP MF DOOM.

Is it time for a LEGO duet?

In late 2020, LEGO released a LEGO grand piano in the Ideas line of their products, but you know what would go great with a LEGO Piano? A LEGO violin of course, and CK Ho on flickr crafted a beautiful brick-built violin for music fans to enjoy.

VIOLIN

Unlike the piano, the violin is notably a curvy instrument, therefore the notion of a brick-built violin already presents a challenge in shaping the form of such an object with LEGO bricks. This builder smartly utilizes reddish brown brick arches in order to create the curving body of a violin with LEGO. The rest of the violin’s corpus is comprised of reddish-brown bricks, plates, and tiles arranged by way of the SNOT (studs not on top) technique.

Click to see more of this LEGO violin

Mix that funky music

I’m not going to pretend I know a lot about music, but I’m sure many are familiar with what an audio mixer looks like – lots of switches and lights, the functions of with I’m personally not familiar with at all. However, as a person who gravitates towards gadgets, these switchboards certainly do look cool to me, or maybe John Snyder’s LEGO model of one makes them look cooler than they are.

Heavy Metal Soundboard

The switchboard body uses some standard bricks, tiles, and slopes in black assembled via the SNOT (studs not on top) technique. This build is part of an Iron Builder challenge, the seed part is the modified 2×3 plate with bar in dark red, but there are many other interesting small elements utilized here such as the broad-brimmed castle helmets which serve as dials and the technic piston cups in yellow. Of course, I am a fan of trans-clear elements, and Snyder has thrown in a few of those like the minifigure heads at the far left and some light pieces that look exactly like LED lights. Snyder’s model certainly makes me want to learn more about these cool pieces of tech and how exactly they work.

Brickin’ out some tunes

Everyone loves a good throwback to the ’80s or ’90s, and these days people are opting for analog musical devices over digital. What better build encapsulates these trends than Jonas Kramm’s boom box LEGO model?

07 - The final track

All of the details on this build are done exactly right – from the dials to the tape deck. The speakers, as well as the switches, are composed mostly of yellow 9V track switches with black minifigure hands for extra detailing. The majority of the model comprises teal bricks and tiling; some yellow 1×2 slopes also form a stylish border around the box’s perimeter. Kramm even includes a couple of brick-built mix-tapes ready to be played. Overall this build really brings me back to the days before iPhones, iPods, and wireless internet, back when all we had was FM-AM radio and maybe some tapes to play around with.

Headphone masterpiece

Audio accessories made from LEGO sounds like music to my ears. It’s the best of both worlds wrapped up “neatly” thanks to Stefan a.k.a. Bricks by Stfn, a prominent member of Swebrick, Sweden’s RLUG. The original wired earphones are byStfn’s latest entry in the monthly Swebrick challenge. The key element is the flex tube (part 27965), also used to represent ropes in the Creator Pirate Ship and as the lead on the Dewback in the newly released LEGO Star Wars Mos Eisley Cantina. The contrast of the silver flex tube with gold-colored accents on the round 1×1 bricks make it look as flashy as a pair of trendy earbuds. Now, if we could just find a way to pump up the volume.

[MOC] Everyday Entanglement

This harp plucks at our heartstrings

Ten minutes ago if you would have told me a LEGO baroque harp would have been the best thing I’ve seen all day, I’d respond with “you must be hitting the nipperkin”, or some other clever 17th-century phrase denoting my disbelief. Now ten minutes have passed and here we are. This is pretty much the best thing I’ve seen all day. It comes from a builder aptly named Vincent’s LEGO Creation. I’m in awe of the intricate detailing, the filigree, which is nearly entirely monochromatic. To see this in person would certainly be a sight to behold. It conjures up images of fancy lords in pantaloons and powdered wigs, ladies in hoop skirts and heaving bosoms, and both with questionable grooming practices. No, it’s true! I’ve read books on the matter. You don’t want to know! Anyway, this is a thing of beauty.

Harp.

If only we had more photos, we’d feature multiple shots of this from every angle. But for now, we have but this one image and the hope that we’ll see more creations from this builder again soon.

A splash of colour to light up the dark ages

LEGO castle creations are often a brilliant display of how to build with gray bricks. And though I love big gray castles as much as the next LEGO fan (I’m even hoarding all kinds of gray bricks to build my own massive castle one day), I can also appreciate castle creations with a generous splash of colour, like Tobias Goldschalt has with his jester scene.

The trees are a brilliant adaptation of the one in front of the Bookshop modular building, and remind us in the real world that autumn I around the corner. If the bright colours aren’t enough, the jester is prancing along the road with his entourage in tow, bringing cheer to the local peasantry. Dancing to the sound of a drum and guitar, as he moves on to his next location along with his wagon full of props.

Facing the music: LEGO Ideas 21323 Grand Piano [Review]

They say there is nothing you can’t build with LEGO bricks. Most of the time, that is very true provided you have enough plastic bricks. But let’s get real; there are certain categories of real-world things that do not translate into LEGO-world particularly well, carrying form but not function. One example would be musical instruments. It looks like building a playable LEGO musical instrument is nearly impossible. It also looks like you have to have the skills of a magician to land a job as a LEGO Ideas designer. The work the LEGO design team did to turn fan Donny Chen’s idea into the official 3,662-piece 21323 Grand Piano set seems truly amazing. However, you never judge a set until you have built it, so let’s assemble, tune and play this majestic instrument, which can be purchased today for US $349.99 | CA $449.99 | UK £319.99.

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Imagine LEGO Gorillaz in a real world of the plastic beach

Music-inspired LEGO sets are getting a lot of attention right now. While the recent announcement of  this fall’s LEGO Art The Beatles set honors the Fab Four, Gorillaz are a more contemporary awesome foursome that is popular with LEGO fans. Legotruman designed Gorillaz as buildable figures. The British virtual band is one of legotruman’s latest virtual creations, following the stunning Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”.

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Let the beat build

For over 30 years, music producers have been devoted to building beats using audio hardware to sequence their signature drum loops, or sample elements from vinyl records. Yet, no matter how much music is digitized through virtual studio programs, beatmakers still craft timeless hits through tapping buttons, turning knobs, and sliding faders. One of the latest LEGO creations from Arran Hearn honors one of music’s most iconic tools of the trade, the E-mu SP-1200. 

Last week, Arran revealed the LP-1200 on Instagram, his biggest LEGO build yet, with over 2,000 parts. It includes the playable feature of a mini-floppy disk that can be inserted and ejected. The unit is well-branded through Hearn’s custom stickers representing the model LP-1200, the maker N-umo Systems, Inc., plus a sticker where machine’s digital screen displays data.  The original drum machine studio staple is still used by hip-hop super producers like Pete Rock and Madlib (mentioned in his post). Arran’s LP-1200 was teased back in October 2018 with a photo of the internal elements. Previous creations included the MPC 2000 XL, the L-447 Turntable Cartridge, and the Technics 1200 + mixer setup. Hip-hop, you don’t stop!

Here is a detail highlighting some of Arran’s custom sticker work.

An organ only the devil could love

Well, not really. We think this fiendish-looking organ is pretty cool. But it sure is scary! There are pipe organs found in churches and then there’s this. LEGO builder [VB] says that his inspiration came from the “Hellmouth” of the middle ages. The unfaithful would perish within its fiery maw. Organs, while beautiful, often have a creepy sound to them, and we can only imagine what this would sound like. Wondering if that face (faces?) is what people of the 1300s were having nightmares about? Yep, this matches the Google images. Sweet dreams.

Music of the Deep

While you’re here, check out [VB]’s other creepy creations.

Music for my babushka

Last weekend, Timofey Tkachev went to see his babushka. There is no place like a countryside cottage to spend long summer evenings, sipping hot tea, and enjoying a slice of a berry pie. But one doesn’t simply go to babushka empty-handed. Being a very talented LEGO builder, Timofey designed something exceptional: a full-sized replica of a traditional balalaika, a Russian stringed instrument. The brick-built design looks wonderful in its simplicity. The iconic triangular shape became possible thanks to the clever use of regular slope pieces. And thanks to the hues of LEGO colors, this balalaika looks almost exactly like a real one.

Kudos to Vera Senyuta for joining the tea party and taking her camera with her. We always love to see custom LEGO creations shot in beautiful settings. For a musical instrument like this one, there is no better background than a couple of birches in the evening sun.