Falling Marbles Music Machine

The artist Martin Molin, a member of Swedish musical act Wintergatan, designed and crafted by hand the stunning Musical Marble Machine that uses 2,000 metal balls to play a tune. What’s also impressive is that the entire machine is made out of 3,000 components. It took the artist over two years to finish crafting it.

So, how does this amazing machine works? By turning the machine’s main crank, you set the wheels in motion and move marbles at the top of the machine. As marbles fall, they hit different parts of the machine to make a unique sound. The melody is composed beforehand but the user can choose what type of sound to play.

The melody will start by first turning the Music Marble Machine’s main crank.

There are several levers that when pulled alter the path that the marbles go through and change the sound. For example, the marbles can fall on vibraphone bars, bass guitar strings, electronic percussion pads. After the marble makes a sound, it bounces off into collectors and goes back to the top of the machine.

Different levers determine where marbles fall and make what kind of sound.

Marbles can fall on the vibraphone, bass strings or drum pads ( snare, kick and hi-hat).

Check out this video and see how does the Musical Marble Machine work.