I recently tried my hand at the Ukulele, and being a guitarist myself, two things instantly came to mind. How difficult it is to wrap your head around the ukulele, especially since its string setup is different, but at the same how friendly it looks and sounds! Don’t underestimate its cuteness… the Ukulele can be a little confusing at first and there are two ways to go about it. A. Perseverance, and B. Creativity! Designers from Kaist University chose the latter and developed an attachment that reduces one’s effort to just simply pushing a button. The EasyKu won’t teach you how to play the Ukulele, but will have you performing in no time. The 3D printed contraption sits across the instrument’s fretboard, and comes with its set of buttons/keys that when pushed, press down on the Ukulele’s strings in a particular chord format.
What’s better is that the EasyKu isn’t a product more than it is an idea. Designers are encouraging people to take the CAD files and print the EasyKu for themselves, allowing you to use the Ukulele as a true accompaniment instrument without the hassle of having to learn it, so you can sing and perform your favorite music pieces without getting your fingers twisted in a knot!
Designers: Moojin Joh, Chanwook Kim, Hankyung Kim
