Makey Makey Floor Piano





Introduction: Makey Makey Floor Piano

Who doesn't want to dance around on a giant floor piano like Tom Hanks in Big?

There are many great Makey Makey piano tutorials on the web. We wanted to make a version that really looked like a piano and that worked without participants having to hold on to a wire to ground themselves. This is what we came up with!

Step 1: Gather Supplies

You will need the following supplies:

  • 4 Foam exercise tiles
  • Makey Makey
  • Aluminum foil
  • Duct tape
  • White tarp
  • Wire
  • Raspberry Pi, keyboard, mouse, and speaker OR laptop

You will need the following tools:

  • Wire stripper
  • Scissors
  • Level
  • Measuring tape

Step 2: Prepare the Piano Overlay

Lay your exercise tiles on the floor and measure the dimensions. Measure and cut the appropriate amount of white tarp. Be sure to leave some extra on the sides to fold under the tiles.

Create the piano keys by adding black duct tape to the tarp. Use a ruler and a level to make sure that the keys are evenly spaced and straight. You can have up to 12 keys per Makey Makey.

Step 3: Prepare the Software

We used the free, Open Source software program Scratch. It's super easy to use and gave us the ability to customize our sounds. For example, we made our last piano key play a cat's meow!

To get organized, you might want to make a diagram of piano keys and decide where each key will be wired to the Makey Makey. Then, it will be easy to make the program in Scratch.

For example, based on our diagram, we coded when left arrow key pressed, play note 60 (C) for .5 beats and so on for each note.

Step 4: Wire It Up!

First, prepare the wire.

We used network cable wire, so we had to strip it first. Strip the wires so that you have 2 inches of wire on one side and 6 inches of wire on the other side. Make sure the wires are 2-3 feet long so that you have space to run them from the keyboard to the Makey Makey. You will need 2 wires for each key--one wire to ground the key and one trigger wire.

Second, attach wires to the keys.

Using the tarp as a location guide, wire your first key. To do this, lay down the side with the 6 inches of wire on the exercise tile. Cover it completely with a layer of tin foil. Cover the tin foil completely with a layer of duct tape.

Lay another wire on top of the duct tape. Cover it completely with tin foil. Secure the tin foil to the tile with duct tape. This layer of duct tape does not need to cover the tin foil completely.

One of these wires is your trigger wire and one is your ground wire. It does not matter which wire goes to ground and which is the trigger.

Repeat these steps until you have the right number of keys on your exercise tiles.

Third, attach your wires to the Makey Makey.

Using your diagram as a guide, attach the wires to the Makey Makey.

For example, using our diagram as a guide, we started with the far left key and attached one wire to the left arrow and the other wire to the Earth on the Makey Makey. The next key, we attached one wire to the up arrow and the other wire to the Earth, and so on.

Finally, attach the Makey Makey to the computer.

We used a Raspberry Pi and a speaker because we left our piano out in a public space and didn't want to worry about securing a laptop. You can use a Raspberry Pi or a laptop--whatever works for you!

Step 5: Put It All Together and Play!

Move the tarp on top of the tiles and wires. Fold three sides of the tarp under the tiles. Duct tape the ends of the tarp to the ground.

You're done! Play some tunes on your awesome Makey Makey floor piano!



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    I followed your instructions. After I programmed on Scratch, I connected to the Makey Makey board but there is no sound when I pressed the floor piano. What is the correct way of connecting the Alligator clips to the cable wires? What did I do wrong? Please help. Thank you


    So, if I'm understanding right, there is duct tape between the layers of foil, which is a buffer that keeps them from completing the circuit until it's stepped on. Is that right? How does pressure all of a sudden turn duct tape into a conductor? Am I misunderstanding something? How well did it work?

    Nice idea,I really want to know the sensor you used is the touch sensor or pressure sensor?If you put bare foot on the tin foil mat may trigger the sound.but the foil is covered by duct tape,not to say you trigger the sound with your shoes on,so it looks like you used pressure sensor.

    We did not use a sensor. I'm sorry. I wish I understood more about WHY this works, but I don't. I just know that it works.

    Could you be more specific about the wiring,So you just put 'trigger wire with a layer of tin foil at one end in between the duct tape and the exercise mat' right?

    Here's how one key is layered out from bottom to top: exercise mat-wire-tinfoil-duct tape-wire-tinfoil (secure edges with duct tape)-tarp.

    Big Thankssssssssssssssssss.

    I think by "Arduino" you mean "Raspberry Pi", right? Arduino is a pretty bare-bones microcontroller, but the device you have looks like it runs Scratch on the web. Could you clarify?

    You're absolutely right! Thanks for catching that. I'm making corrections now.

    Where's the ground position between piano;s key and board? suggest me please..

    There is no separate ground wire for people to hold in this design. The ground wire is attached to the board and separated from the trigger wire with a layer of tin foil and duct tape.