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.

No hokey pokey, but maybe a little spikey salsa music

This little melocactus may have sleepy eyes, but he’s not entirely mellow! Check out those spines and muscular maraca-weilding arms! Carefully crafted in LEGO form, Jens Orndorf has shown how a part with seemingly few build possibilities could be transformed into something fun. What better way to use a marbled green sphere (2 11×11 hemispheres) than to wrap it in stem-covered ridged hose and make it a cactus? Even better: give it a mustache and the expression of a mariachi singer. 

And now for some fun facts! The “melo” in melocactus refers to the melon shape of this cacti family. But the latin root of melo also means music, so this is meant to be! Another fun coincidence is that this type of cactus can be found in Cuba, the birthplace of salsa music!

If you would like to see more from Jens, check out these tiny elephants! Or maybe you’ll love this colorful little train!

LEGO and Universal Music Group to create music-based toys [News]

LEGO and Universal Music Group (UMG) have announced a partnership to create a new lineup of music-based sets that seek to inspire children to express themselves musically and explore their creativity through interactivity. The music sets will be revealed later this year and are scheduled for launch in 2021.

Universal Music Group is separate from Universal Pictures which announced a five-year agreement to produce and distribute LEGO movies earlier this week. We also don’t know if the recent LEGO Ideas “Music to Our Ears” competition is at all related to this announcement, though LEGO is evaluating bringing some of the submissions to market as sets.

The full press release and a LEGO music equalizer announcement video are included after the jump.

Click to see the press release and announcement video.

Winter, spring, summer, or fall

Vivaldi’s Le quattro stagioni is one of the most renowned pieces of music in the world, and served as newcomer ArmoredBricks’ inspiration for this moving (and moving!) LEGO model.

The Four Seasons

What sets this rendered model apart to me is not only the masterful instrument recreations but the titular seasons represented by small vignettes each crafted in their own clean, colorful way. Each one is such a clear personification of a season of the year. My favorite season vignette is the crooked, budding tree representing the spring season:

The Four Seasons | Spring

Check out the video below to see the full model in action accompanied by a sampling of the Spring concerti.

The master of smooth moves

King of Pop, Michael Jackson, is known all over the world for his unique style. From his outfits to his dancing to his unmistakable voice and catchy tunes. He was and still is an icon of popular culture. Today you’ll continue to find him all over the place, even in LEGO models. Taiwanese builder Vakaisme has paid tribute to the musician with one of his most famous dance moves. That moonwalk mechanism is indeed smooth!

Michael Jackson

Click here to see more…

A marvelous music machine [Video]

This music box, built by Peter Carmichael, is currently one of my favorite LEGO creations. Its smooth edges, customizable cylinder, and colorful “comb” are all gravitating. As my very tactile partner would say, it’s one of those things you want to “see with your hands.”

Lego Music Box

Click to see a video of the mechanism!

All that jazz

Improvisational jazz — taking basic structures and guidelines and playing with them to make something beautiful. Exactly what LEGO 7 has done with the bricks in this fabulous Jazz Quartet. The instruments are brilliantly done — check out the shaping and details on the piano and the double-bass, and I love that pearl gold trumpet. However, it’s the figures which make this something particularly special. The poses are striking in their expressiveness, perfectly capturing the look and feel of the band taking their cues from the trumpet player’s solo. The natty styling of the musician’s clothing is the icing on the cake, with little details making the difference, like the white band on the drummer’s hat, and the slight angle to the trumpet player’s necktie. When this kind of virtuoso LEGO building performance is coupled with clean stylish photography, the result is simply stunning. It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing. But this? This is fully syncopated and super-cool.

LEGO musicians band jazz

Musical Social Distancing How-To

The musically-inclined among us are probably struggling with the restrictions of social distancing. I have zero skill in that area, but I know that even the best internet streaming suffers from audio latency and lag. It’s got to be tough to make sweet music with your friends when everything is a half-beat out of sync or worse. But all is not lost! Adam Dodge offers a possible solution to harmonizing with their LEGO creation, One-Man Band.

Built for the Music to our ears! contest on LEGO Ideas, this peppy fellow has everything he needs to record that hot new demo track. The arms, neck, harmonica, and drum mallet are all articulated. Apparently so is the mustache. Because of important reasons, I’m sure.

One-man Band

I enjoy this character’s expressive face, and, yes, that includes the croissant mustache. I also like the use of quarter-circle tiles for ears and the 1×2 plate with pin for the nose. I do worry about how much money he’s going to be able to make from busking in today’s world. He might do better starting his own YouTube channel or something.

How to build the baby-est of baby grand pianos [Instructions]

Back in January, we featured a tiny LEGO upright piano with instructions, built by Tiago Catarino. Now he brings us another mini masterpiece: a baby grand! While they’re both adorable, I have to say, this one is my favorite. He captures the shape perfectly.

LEGO Grand Piano Instructions

Click to watch the tutorial video

A bust-y composition

Ludwig van Beethoven is known across the world as one of the greatest composers who ever lived. He ranks among the most famous and influential musicians of all time. So naturally, there are plenty of busts of his form in colleges, museums, and concert halls all over the globe. But how many are made with LEGO? Steven Howard has expertly rendered one, complete with note-studded parchment.

Ludwig van Beethoven

The stern face, flowing locks, large collar, and ascot make Ludwig instantly recognizable. But one of the best aspects of this creation are the expressive eyebrows, shaped using Wampa horns.

Ludwig van Beethoven

There are a lot of musical builds coming together for a LEGO Ideas contest right now. You might want to try your hand! If you’d just like to see other musical masterpieces, keep an eye out for more cool content, or visit our music archives.

Back in brick

Forty years old this July, and AC/DC’s Back In Black remains the greatest rock album of all time. I’m happy to fight you if you say otherwise. Whatever your opinion on the album, I hope you agree this is a pretty damn good LEGO sculpture of the band’s iconic guitarist Angus Young, captured here in his trademark school uniform by Pedro Vezini. The cap, the skewed tie, the shorts, the socks, the duck-walk stance — all spot-on. But my favorite touch is the face, perfectly capturing Angus’ over-the-top on-stage grimaces. If you’re not hearing hefty riffs in your head right now, then there’s something wrong with you. I prescribe an hour of AC/DC listening as a little pick-me-up.

Angus Young

Surrounded by a rainbow of sound

Each year, talented LEGO builder City Son reveals a new focal creation. This time he was inspired by something special to so many: music. Not just music, but the inherent emotional beauty of it. It’s something that many can relate to. Personally, ever since I was a child, my dad would play all kinds of different music and quiz me on the titles and artists until I had them memorized. As I grew, I learned to play a few different instruments, and when I hit high school, the saying, “music breathes the words we cannot speak,” was my mantra. Indeed, it got me through tough times, and I still cherish it every day. And it’s true; music does speak. It speaks a language so powerful that it’s universal across all ages and races, no matter their tastes or connection to it. This colorful piece embodies the emotion of music. The dimension, liveliness and expertly crafted instruments speak for themselves. But I am most impressed with the expression of pure bliss upon the face of the headphone-clad woman. It takes a truly brilliant builder to bring LEGO to life in this way, and he couldn’t have done it better.

Music! (2020)

If you’re on a music kick, take a look at our music archive. You can also check out City Son’s animal inspired creation from last year.

Tinkle the tiny ivories with this teeny piano [Instructions]

Already built an awesome LEGO pool table with yesterday’s instructions? If you are now looking for the next perfect addition to your LEGO pool hall model, or just want to add a touch of class to any interior scene, why not build this adorable upright piano along with Tiago Catarino?

LEGO Piano

Watch the video instructions to find out how to build your own.