Poly Beat Rhythm Exercises Toy

Press Kit

Unique Properties

PolyBeat is designed for children, aiming to help them learn music theory through a fun and interactive way. Geometric polygons have a strong correlation with music rhythm, which can visualize the sound of rhythm, help children understand the relationship between music genres and drum rhythm patterns, and figure out the rhythm pattern.

Dimensions & Packaging

The dimension of the product is 140mm*140mm*280mm, and the dimensions of each disc are 130mm*130mm*18mm

Tags

Music Interaction Tool, Multi-sensory, Children, Visualization, Rhythm Learning

Production Technology

The product is made of injection-moulded plastic and uses a camera on the top to identify the colour of the blocks that the child is building, so that the corresponding music can be played.

Design Challenge

PolyBeat offers children with a new multi-sensory way to learn rhythm and provides an easy-to-use tool for children to create music . However, the musical score also includes pitches and more complex advanced beats. We did not evaluate whether PolyBeat can have a long-term impact on children’s learning and interests. We will conduct a long-term follow-up study to further evaluate the practical effects of PolyBeat in music education. In the future, we could consider how to better integrate PolyBeat into real-world scenarios, such as home and school, to expand the possibilities of multi-player collaboration.

Research

Orff Schulwerk teaching method encourages that children should feel and express music with whole heart and improvisation. But understanding the abstract concept of musical notes is still very difficult. We propose PolyBeat, a toy that provides interactive rhythm practice and creation for children. The tool visualizes the abstract notes in a multi-sensory way to develop children’s musicality with a more interesting, gamified learning procedure. We designed 8 types of tangible blocks which can be stacked like a rainbow tower to represent basic notes, distinguished with different colors and block sizes. Children can play in two modes: a) learning mode and b) creation mode. We conducted a user study to evaluate children’s rhythmic control. The results show that PolyBeat significantly stimulated children’s interest in playing music, thus improving the efficiency of children’s rhythmic education and creativity in music.

Inspiration

For preschool children, they can try simple clapping and tapping exercises based on music. However, the current music education system requires learners to repeat the exercises many times, which is boring and tedious for them. Building blocks are always a favourite type of toy for children, so we wanted children to be able to learn and create music through the use of building blocks.

Project Duration

The project started in April 2023 in Zhejiang, China and finished in August 2023 in Zhejiang, China

Operation Flow

Children can assemble the blocks freely to create their own rhythms. The child inserts each music note block into the disc, and then puts the disc into the column base. After 4 discs are put into the column base, the child can press the "Play Music" button to play the corresponding rhythmic sound. When the child presses the "Switch Instrument" button, the rhythmic sound can be switched to different instruments, including drums, marimba, piano, guitar, and so on.

Image Credits

Haoye Dong
Kecheng Jin