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How to fold an origami grand piano

Fold a square in half for a lid on top of a case, trim the lid to uncover a white keyboard, then fold strips under and cut them into three doubled legs. Cut the curved side, and the piano stands up and opens its lid.

You need: 1 square sheet (15 cm), black on one side, scissors, a black pen and a toothpick (optional). Hard, 15 steps, about 22 minutes.

Steps

  1. Fold in half. White side up, fold the left edge over to the right edge. The top layer is the lid, and the fold on the left is its hinge.
  2. Trim the lid. Cut the top layer only, snipping along the fold first: 3.5 cm off its bottom, 2.5 cm off its top and 2.5 cm off its right side.
  3. Right strip under. Fold the bottom layer's right strip behind, creasing along the lid's right edge.
  4. Bottom strip under. Fold the bottom strip behind, 2.5 cm up, leaving a 1 cm white strip in front of the lid. That's the keyboard.
  5. Top strip under. Fold the top strip behind too, creasing along the lid's top edge.
  6. Turn it over. Turn the piano over, so the three strips are on top.
  7. Cut the legs. Cut the strips off along their folds, but keep three 1.5 cm wide legs: one at each end of the hinge, and one on the side strip by the keyboard.
  8. Snip the leg bases. Go on snipping along each leg's fold, halfway across the leg, so one half of every leg comes loose.
  9. Double the legs. Fold the loose half of each leg over its other half, so every leg is doubled and black on the outside.
  10. Turn it back. Turn it back over, lid on top and the keyboard at the bottom.
  11. Fold in half. Fold the top edge down to the bottom edge, through every layer, tail leg and all.
  12. Open it. Unfold it again. The crease marks where the piano's curved side turns in.
  13. Curve the side. Snip 5 mm in along the crease from the right. Curve the side in to the snip from 2 cm above the lid's front edge, then on to the top edge, 1.5 cm from the hinge.
  14. Stand it up. Swing the three legs down until they stand straight, lifting the piano off the table.
  15. Open the lid. Lift the lid's curved side and let it rest open on its hinge. Prop it with a toothpick if it won't stay up.

Concert time!

Draw the black keys along the back of the white keyboard: short bars in twos and threes, like a real piano.

How to play

  1. Set it on a shelf with a tiny paper bench in front.
  2. Fold a guitar to go with it and start a band.
  3. Write a song title on a slip of paper and stand it on the lid as sheet music.

What to fold next