The MUSICPOLE

Juniper Foo | Jul 14, 2005

Who would have thought that a 2ft-long, 2-inch diameter plastic tubing can make beautiful music? Well, veteran keyboardist Rags Tuttle's done just that, wrapping a piano keyboard around an acrylic pole. Rather than strike the keys like you would on your ivories, special "Thumbletz" worn on your thumbs and made of conductive fabric slide over the keys--like a slide guitar. To reach another key, the player rotates the MUSICPOLE to another of the 12 keys labeled at the top of the pole. If it all sounds too confusing to master, just keep in mind all that attention-getting you'll soon be scoring with the opposite gender.

Click to see: Close-up | Thumbletz | full set

Price: Instrument: US$395; case: US$75; 8 adjustable thumblets: US$20; conductive fabric strips for 40 Thumbletz: US$5
Availability: Check out the Web site
Device: Music instrument
Basic specs: Acrylic, spans three octaves, polyphonic

Filed under: Gadgets
Leave a comment | Bookmark | Share