Percussion Ensemble

Percussion instruments are so much fun! This collection features two timpani, a snare drum, chimes, and a marimba, along with their respective drumsticks, mallets, and music stands. The total parts amounts to exactly 1,922 pieces.

Timpani are known for producing grand deep sounds in orchestras, but are also very flexible in terms of pitch. A player can use the pedals to change how tight the drum head is to adjust the pitch and visually confirm it using the side gauges.

For the build itself, the two timpani are each built on a circular base that serve as the foundation with 4 legs that extend out to the sides. The heart of each drum are several Lego Technic axles surrounded by 2x2 cylinder plates. Each drum shell is actually built upside down, while the drum heads are built directly up, with the Technic axle and cylinder plates allowing for both components to coexist while maintaining structural integrity. The pedals, pitch gauges, and sidings are cosmetic and are the final touch to the timpani.

Snare drums sound crisp and sharp and are iconic in marches. Whenever the drum is struck, tight twisted wires known as snares on the underside vibrate to create the sound. A player can optionally use the lever to detach the snares and create a regular drum sound (similar to a tom-tom).

The snare drum features a "cross" base with four legs with a cylindrical drum. The underside is clear with two bars representing snares. The drum shell consists of dark blue round bricks with the head featuring flat white round tiles. The sidings and the lever for switching on and off the snares stem off the shell and are connected via bars. Stability is enforced by connecting each siding both above and below the shell.

Also known as Tubular Bells, this instrument is iconic for producing grand, clock-tower-esque tones. It's typically played with a hammer-like mallet and struck at the top rim of each tube. The pedal slightly moves the tubes when pressed so that the tubes can ring for longer.

The chimes are a simpler build, featuring two talls sides that serves as the structural foundation connected crosswise thrice (four times if the top two are counted separately). Using technic connectors, 1x1 bricks with studs and technic holes on the side, cylinders, and bars, the pipes are firmly connected to the build. The pedal is purely cosmetic since on a real instrument, pressing the pedal only shifts each tube a few millimeters.

The marimba is a melodic percussion instrument that is versatile in its range and can be simple to play. The main structure of the marimba comes from the black frame, with the crossbeams connected with the the hinging plates and bars and cylinders at the bottom for stability. The marimba bars are placed above to get their shape, and the tubes below (in a real instrument, they help the sound resonate) are built under each bar, again with technic bars, connectors, and cylinders.

The stands are stable with a small square base. While the height is not adjustable, the stand can be rotated both left and right or up and down. For sticks and mallets, I made soft felt mallets for the timpani, drumsticks for the snare drum, typical hammer mallets for the chimes, and soft rubber mallets for the marimba.

I've really enjoyed playing percussion instruments, and I also love Lego! I thought it would be really fun to take some of my favorite instruments to play and build it in Lego form.

Percussion instruments not only sounds great, but they look great too! I wanted to create something that captures the fun of percussion and music in general in miniature form, and this model would make for a nice desk piece. In addition, since each instrument is separate, the actual layout is fully customizable. It may even inspire others to go down their own percussion or music journey as well!

Thus, whether its deep, majestic sounding timpani or the sharp, rhythmic snare drum, the grand tones of the chimes, or the melodic notes of the marimba, these percussion instruments look and sound beautiful in their own unique ways, and they would make for a great display on any desk or shelf. Hope you enjoy! Sound effects not included :-)