Music Tech Monday: 3D-printed keyboard enables easy guitar learning

The Finger Friendly Guitar Company Keyboard makes picking up guitar easier and less strenuous. Developed by self-proclaimed “failed guitarist” Don Bacon, this apparatus helps people become more proficient musicians without getting frustrated while learning. Guitar rookies will experience less finger soreness when beginning to play and will receive help from the keyboard when learning various types of chord formations. Bacon knows that this technology will help people achieve their musical goals while playing guitar, and thus dissuade users from quitting earlier on in their musical ventures.

Made from a 3D-printed plastic ABS device, the prototype of this contraption is attached to the guitar’s neck with Velcro. This manual gadget is compatible with 6-string acoustic and electric guitars and is not yet available for 12-string guitars. The keyboard sits atop the guitar's fretboard, acting as a cushion between the user’s fingers and the strings to teach players how to play clean-sounding chords. Each key takes the place of the “wasted space above the fret.” The keys are stacked up to play the strings, so one, three, and five strings take up that “wasted space,” in order for the keys to play the strings and produce nonmuffled sounds. The tip of the key then places itself on the guitar’s string to generate clear-sounding notes and chords.

The Finger Friendly Guitar Company Keyboard is crowdfunding on Kickstarter, specifically looking for donations to fund the very expensive injection molds to enable mass production of the 3D-printed devices. Soon, accessories like a capo will be added to the production of this gear for varied experiences while playing. The company has already raised $1,440 of its $15,000 goal, with 54 more days left in the campaign.

Story via Kickstarter