Sketch Piston - Playing Music

teamLab, 2015-

Sketch Piston - Playing Music

teamLab, 2015-

This instrument lets people play music by drawing lines on the screen with their fingers and then tapping the screen to place various stamps.


The canvas is the world, and the lines and stamps drawn affect the world, which is created as sounds are played and characters bounce around.

The musical scale played on a line depends on the height where it is drawn.

People play music together by drawing lines and tapping the screen to place stamps.

Contexto de la Obra.

The Three Laws of Mechanics

The movement of things in this world can be explained based upon three laws.

  • The law of inertia

    As long as a separate external force is not exerted upon something, it will remain as it is.

  • For example, if you are on a stationary train and it suddenly starts to move, you try to remain stationary, so you are pulled backwards in relation to the direction in which the train is moving. If a moving train stops suddenly, you try to keep moving in the direction in which the train was moving, so you are pulled in the direction in which the train was moving.

  • The law of motion

    When a separate external force is exerted upon something, it starts to move in the direction of that new force. The amount of movement changes depending on the strength of the force applied and the weight of the thing. For example, strong force is necessary to push and try to move something heavy. If you try to bounce a heavy ball and a light ball, the light ball will bounce back more quickly even with the same amount of force.

  • The law of action and reaction

    When force is exerted upon something, the same amount of force is always returned in the opposite direction. For example, if you push a wall, the same amount of force as you exerted when you pushed it is returned by the wall.

Cómo interactuar con la obra

  • 1

    Select the flowers and stars on the display by touching them.

  • 2

    Play by drawing on the screen with your finger.

  • 3

    Choose from the stamps shown on the display, and place it into the world of the canvas. When balls hit the stamps, a note plays, and music is created.

Habilidades Cultas

  • Interest in Music and Sound