Musical Chair

Musical Chair transforms a traditional Windsor spindle-back chair into a playable musical instrument. To perform, the user sits backwards, straddling the seat and facing the spindles back directly. This reversal of the chair's intended use transforms the backrest into the instrument's interface, inviting the player to tap across the spindles rather than simply lean against them. Each spindle functions as a capacitive touch sensor, triggering MIDI notes in real time. The instrument operates with a full chromatic or pentatonic mode with live looping, allowing players to change tones and build layered melodies through touch alone.

The sensing system is built from brass rod electrodes embedded within the spindles, connected to a MPR121 capacitive touch controller and a Raspberry Pi running custom Python software that translates touch into MIDI output. The chair was hand-built from woodworking plans by Bibbings & Hensby, modified to integrate the electronics while preserving its traditional construction. By embedding electronics within a familiar domestic object, this Musical Chair blurs the boundary between furniture and instrument, craft and computation.

4.120 Furniture Making Workshop

Spring 2026

Instructor / Chris Dewart