Rock Band, An Amazing MIDI Controlled Mechanical Xylophone That Makes Music With Actual Rocks

Robotics artist Neil Mendoza, the creative mind behind the Electric Knife Orchestra and the Hamster Drawing Machine, has outdone himself with Rock Band, an amazing MIDI controlled mechanical xylophone that makes music with rocks. Rock Band was created as part of the Autodesk Artist In Residence program and instructions are readily available online.

The rock band is composed of electromechanical instruments that make music with rocks by throwing them through the air, slapping them and making them vibrate. The song that they’re playing, Here Comes the Sun, is biographical, describing the daily experience of a rock sitting on the ground.