InstrumentLIBRARY
Musical Fidget Generator, a 3D-printed music box
Image: still from kida's YouTube video
Mechanical · Music box

Musical Fidget Generator

Make your own playable song fidget, with 8 to 33 notes

Designed by kida, published on MakerWorld

MakerWorld Standard Digital File License No commercial use Build info 5/5

Licence verified on MakerWorld, 20 October 2026.

Get the files on MakerWorld ↗ Watch the video
Range
20 semitones (F up to C2, in the designer's notation)
Notes per tune
8 to 33
Made with
OpenSCAD, run in MakerWorld's Parametric Model Maker
Difficulty
Easy print; playing takes a bit of practice
On MakerWorld
17,793 likes · 64,705 downloads · 47,106 prints · 4,940 comments (as of 20 Oct 2026)

About the Musical Fidget Generator

This is a parametric generator, not a single model. You pick a melody of 8 to 33 notes from a range of 20 semitones, add your own text, and choose whether you want a keychain hole. MakerWorld's online Parametric Model Maker then builds the printable fidget for you. It's the latest version of the designer's earlier musical fidgets, rewritten in OpenSCAD so that anyone can make a new tune without CAD skills.

The finished fidget is a flat comb of printed tongues, one per note, laid out in the order of the song. You play it by flicking through the notes one at a time at the speed of the melody, so it helps a lot if you already know how the tune goes. It has no resonance chamber of its own, so it's quiet in the hand. Pressing it against a table or another hard surface makes it much louder, and a separate, community-made sound booster box exists for the same purpose.

Who it's for. Anyone who wants a quick, cheap, very shareable print: gifts, party favours, classroom demos, or a first musical print. The designer keeps a long list of ready-made song profiles, from video-game themes to classical pieces, and asks people who make a new tune to upload their print profile so the library keeps growing.

Licence note. The design uses MakerWorld's Standard Digital File licence, which is for personal use. The designer sells a separate commercial licence through a membership if you want to sell prints.

What you'll need

Printed parts

  • One flat fidget generated for your chosen melody
  • Optional: a separate sound booster box (a community design, linked from the page)

Bought parts

  • Nothing; it's a single printed part

Tools

  • A 3D printer and a MakerWorld account to run the generator
  • Stiff PLA at 0.2 mm is what our catalogue notes; check the generated profile for your printer

Build overview

  1. Pick a tune. Use one of the designer's ready-made song profiles, or enter your own sequence of notes in the generator.
  2. Personalise it. Add text and choose whether you want a keychain hole.
  3. Generate and print. Let the Parametric Model Maker build the model, then print it with the supplied profile.
  4. Play it. Flick each tongue in turn at the tempo of the song. Press the fidget against a hard surface to make it louder.

Videos

Play video: Hedwig's Theme on the fidget (loads YouTube)
Hedwig's Theme on the fidget, kida (the designer). Plays from youtube-nocookie.com after you click.
Play video: Super Mario Bros. on the fidget (loads YouTube)
Super Mario Bros. on the fidget, kida (the designer). Plays from youtube-nocookie.com after you click.

The videos don't load from YouTube until you press play. Video thumbnails are © their creators.

About 95 more song demos by the designer linked from the MakerWorld page

Photos

The MakerWorld licence (MakerWorld Standard Digital File License) doesn't allow rehosting, so the photos stay on MakerWorld. See them on MakerWorld ↗

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