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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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

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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!

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