Assembled A Playable Piano Key Tie

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“Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman.”
  --
Ludwig van Beethoven

A few months ago, my good friend Will Kendall made a suggestion for this project that involved wearing a keyboard necktie for an entire day.  So, with the intention of doing it, I bought a keyboard necktie.

Last month, I sent him a picture of the tie, and this was his response.
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Okay, so, not wanting to disappoint, I wanted to see if there was a way to make this tie playable.  Here’s what I ended up doing.

I bought a kid’s keyboard from
Tutti Frutti (you can also find this keyboard on Amazon, but it helped for me to see it in person).
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I unscrewed the back off the keyboard and popped it open.
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I realized after I popped everything apart that I’d have to come up with a solution for the batteries.  I ended up going to Radio Shack and picking up a AA Battery Holder.
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After a bit of electrical taping and a little reworking, I put the components inside the tie.  I had to fit the speaker, the keyboard and the battery pack inside.  It got a little crowded.
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It didn’t line up perfectly, but it worked out well enough for the effect.
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I gave it a test run.



This was a fun project for me.  I rarely take things apart and repurpose them.  Plus, it’s always satisfying when I’m able to take a suggestion and make it happen.  Tomorrow is Will’s
40th birthday, and it’s going to be awesome!


Related Items:
Mini Electric Piano
Piano Key Necktie
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