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How to fold an origami music room

Fold a black upright piano with a white keyboard, a bass drum, a cymbal and a snare, a guitar on a stand, two music stands, music notes and a trumpeter, then stand it up.

You need: 26 pieces: light-blue A4; green, black, wood, red, gold, dark-gold, tan, orange, dark-blue, brown, skin paper (sizes in steps). Scissors, glue, pens.. Challenge, 123 steps, about 110 minutes.

Steps

  1. Wall: crease the middle. Start with the wall: a light-blue A4 sheet lying long. Fold it in half, short edges together, and open it. It bends on this crease to stand.
  2. Floor: new sheet. Set the wall aside. For the carpet, take a 29.7 × 10 cm green strip, white side up, long side across.
  3. Floor: fold in half. Fold the bottom edge up to the top edge. The fold is the front edge of the room.
  4. Music note: new sheet. Set the carpet aside. For a music note on the wall, take a 10.7 × 1.2 cm piece of black paper, white side up.
  5. Music note: in half. White side up, long edges at the top and bottom. Fold the bottom edge up to the top edge: a long thin black strip.
  6. Music note: bend the stems down. Fold each end of the strip straight down on a slanted line, a little way from the middle. The middle part is the beam, the ends are the stems.
  7. Music note: turn left. Near the bottom of each stem, fold the end out to the left on a slanted line.
  8. Music note: turn up. Fold each end straight up again, right next to its stem. The bottoms make two fat note heads.
  9. Music note: flat bottoms. Fold the pointed bottoms of both heads behind in one straight line, so the heads sit flat.
  10. Music note: tilt it. Tilt it a little to the left.
  11. Second note: new sheet. Set it aside. Fold a second note the same way.
  12. Second note: in half. White side up, long edges at the top and bottom. Fold the bottom edge up to the top edge: a long thin black strip.
  13. Second note: bend the stems down. Fold each end of the strip straight down on a slanted line, a little way from the middle. The middle part is the beam, the ends are the stems.
  14. Second note: turn left. Near the bottom of each stem, fold the end out to the left on a slanted line.
  15. Second note: turn up. Fold each end straight up again, right next to its stem. The bottoms make two fat note heads.
  16. Second note: flat bottoms. Fold the pointed bottoms of both heads behind in one straight line, so the heads sit flat.
  17. Third note: new sheet. Set it aside. Fold a third note and tilt it a little to the right.
  18. Third note: in half. White side up, long edges at the top and bottom. Fold the bottom edge up to the top edge: a long thin black strip.
  19. Third note: bend the stems down. Fold each end of the strip straight down on a slanted line, a little way from the middle. The middle part is the beam, the ends are the stems.
  20. Third note: turn left. Near the bottom of each stem, fold the end out to the left on a slanted line.
  21. Third note: turn up. Fold each end straight up again, right next to its stem. The bottoms make two fat note heads.
  22. Third note: flat bottoms. Fold the pointed bottoms of both heads behind in one straight line, so the heads sit flat.
  23. Third note: tilt it. Tilt it a little to the right.
  24. Piano: new sheet. Set the floor aside. For the upright piano, take a 8 × 14.6 cm piece of black paper, white side up, standing tall.
  25. Piano: top down. Fold the top edge down 3.4000000000000004 cm, so it lands 3.4000000000000004 cm below the fold. Black on top: the piano's upper case.
  26. Piano: bottom up. Fold the bottom edge up 3.4000000000000004 cm. A white band 1 cm tall stays between the two black parts: the keyboard.
  27. Piano: key cheeks. Fold the left and right edges in 5 mm. Black blocks close both ends of the keyboard.
  28. Piano: soft top. Fold the two top corners behind, 5 mm along each edge, for a neat rounded lid.
  29. Stand legs: new sheet. Set the piano aside. For a music stand's legs, take a 1 × 4.2 cm piece of black paper, black side up.
  30. Stand legs: narrow it. Fold the long edges behind to meet in the middle at the back: a stiff strip, coloured on both sides.
  31. Stand legs: second leg. Fold the top half down to the left on a slant through the middle, so it hangs beside the bottom half: two legs joined at a point.
  32. Stand legs: stand it. Turn it a little so the point is at the top and the legs splay evenly.
  33. Music stand: new sheet. Set the legs aside. For the stand itself, take a 4.4 × 8.9 cm piece of black paper, white side up, standing tall.
  34. Music stand: crease the desk. Fold the top edge down on a line 3.1 cm below it.
  35. Music stand: open it. Unfold it again.
  36. Music stand: free the pole. Cut along the crease from each side, stopping 3 mm short of the centre, so the bottom part hangs from a narrow neck.
  37. Music stand: narrow the pole. Fold the sides of the bottom part in to meet in the middle. Black shows.
  38. Music stand: narrow it again. Fold its sides in to the middle again, and then once more: a thin black pole.
  39. Music stand: thin pole. Fold the sides in to the middle a third time.
  40. Music stand: desk sides. Fold the sides of the top part in 6 mm. A white middle stays between black edges: the music sheet.
  41. Music stand: desk top. Fold the top edge down 5 mm, through all layers. A black frame holds the white music.
  42. Guitar stand: new sheet. Set the stand aside. For the guitar stand, take a 1.2 × 17.5 cm piece of black paper, black side up.
  43. Guitar stand: narrow it. Fold the long edges behind to meet in the middle.
  44. Guitar stand: second leg. Fold the top half down to the left on a slant through the middle.
  45. Guitar stand: stand it. Turn it a little so the point is at the top and the legs splay evenly.
  46. Guitar: new sheet. Set the guitar stand aside. For the guitar, take a 11.7 cm square of wood-coloured paper, white side up.
  47. Guitar: crease the middle. Fold the left edge to the right edge and open it again.
  48. Guitar: fold in half. Fold the top edge down to the bottom edge. The top half will be the neck.
  49. Guitar: open it. Unfold the top half again.
  50. Guitar: find the waist. Fold the bottom edge up to the middle crease. This crease is the guitar's waist.
  51. Guitar: open it again. Unfold the bottom edge.
  52. Guitar: free the neck. Cut along the middle crease from each side, stopping 8 mm short of the centre, so the neck hangs from a narrow strip.
  53. Guitar: body sides in. Fold the left and right edges of the bottom half in to the centre crease. The body is now wood coloured.
  54. Guitar: narrow the neck. Fold the sides of the top half behind, edges to the centre crease, keeping the white side in front.
  55. Guitar: narrow it again. Fold the neck's sides behind again, halving its width to a quarter of the paper's.
  56. Guitar: headstock pleat. Fold the top of the neck down, creasing 2 cm below its top edge.
  57. Guitar: snip the fold. Snip 8 mm into the top fold from each side, so the neck can get thinner below the headstock.
  58. Guitar: fold it back up. Fold the flap back up on a crease 4 mm below the first, so the headstock stands above a little ledge.
  59. Guitar: slim the neck. Below the ledge, fold the neck's sides behind once more to 1.6 cm wide. The headstock stays wide.
  60. Guitar: shape the top bout. Snip in along the waist crease from each side. Round the body's top half, narrower than the bottom, and cut the headstock's corners off.
  61. Guitar: shape the bottom bout. Round the bottom half into a big bout, but leave the side folds uncut for 1.2 cm where it's widest, so the front flaps stay on.
  62. Second stand legs: new sheet. Set the guitar aside. Fold legs for a second music stand the same way.
  63. Second stand legs: narrow it. Fold the long edges behind to meet in the middle.
  64. Second stand legs: second leg. Fold the top half down to the left on a slant through the middle.
  65. Second stand legs: stand it. Turn it a little so the point is at the top and the legs splay evenly.
  66. Second stand: new sheet. Set the legs aside. Fold the second music stand the same way.
  67. Second stand: crease the desk. Fold the top edge down on a line 3.1 cm below it.
  68. Second stand: open it. Unfold it again.
  69. Second stand: free the pole. Cut along the crease from each side, stopping 3 mm short of the centre.
  70. Second stand: narrow the pole. Fold the sides of the bottom part in to meet in the middle. Black shows.
  71. Second stand: narrow it again. Fold its sides in to the middle twice more.
  72. Second stand: thin pole. Fold the sides in to the middle a third time.
  73. Second stand: desk sides. Fold the sides of the top part in 6 mm. A white middle stays between black edges: the music sheet.
  74. Second stand: desk top. Fold the top edge down 5 mm, through all layers. A black frame holds the white music.
  75. Child's hair: new sheet. Set the stand aside. Now the young trumpeter. Start with the hair: a 3.9 × 3.4 cm piece of brown paper.
  76. Child's hair: round it. Fold all four corners behind, 10 mm along each edge.
  77. Child's legs: new sheet. Set the hair aside. For the legs, take a 2 × 11.3 cm piece of dark-blue paper, coloured side up.
  78. Child's legs: narrow it. Fold the long edges behind to meet in the middle at the back: a stiff strip, coloured on both sides.
  79. Child's legs: second leg. Fold the top half down to the left on a slant through the middle, so it hangs beside the bottom half: two legs joined at a point.
  80. Child's legs: stand it. Turn it a little so the point is at the top and the legs splay evenly.
  81. Child's jacket: new sheet. Set the legs aside. For the jacket, take a 7.2 × 4.2 cm piece of orange paper, white side up.
  82. Child's jacket: sides in. Fold the left and right edges in to meet in the middle: the two fronts.
  83. Child's jacket: collar. Fold the top middle corners out on slants, 1 cm down. Their white backs make a neat collar.
  84. Child's jacket: shoulders. Fold the top outer corners behind, 8 mm along each edge, for round shoulders.
  85. Child's head: new sheet. Set the jacket aside. For the head, take a 2.7 cm square of skin-tone paper.
  86. Child's head: round it. Fold all four corners behind, 6 mm along each edge: a round face.
  87. Valves: new sheet. Set the head aside. For the trumpet's valves, take a 1.1 × 4.1 cm piece of dark-gold paper.
  88. Valves: in half. Fold the top half behind to make a tall block.
  89. Valves: tilt it. Turn it so the bell points up and to the right.
  90. Mouthpiece: new sheet. Set the valves aside. For the mouthpiece, take a 1.1 cm square of dark-gold paper.
  91. Mouthpiece: a cone. Fold the two slanted edges at the right corner behind to meet along the middle, then fold the left corner behind where it is widest.
  92. Mouthpiece: tilt it. Turn it so the bell points up and to the right.
  93. Bell: new sheet. Set the mouthpiece aside. For the trumpet's bell, take a 3.3 cm square of gold paper, gold side up.
  94. Bell: a cone. Fold the two slanted edges at the left corner behind so they meet along the middle.
  95. Bell: the mouth. Fold the right corner behind, straight up and down where the cone is widest. That flat edge is the bell's open end.
  96. Bell: tilt it. Turn it so the bell points up and to the right.
  97. Tube: new sheet. Set the bell aside. For the tube, take a 7.9 × 1.2 cm piece of gold paper, white side up.
  98. Tube: edges in. Fold both long edges in to meet in the middle.
  99. Tube: in half. Fold the bottom edge up to the top edge: a thin gold tube.
  100. Tube: bend down. Fold the right end of the tube straight down on a slanted line, a little way left of the end.
  101. Tube: bend left. A short way down, fold the end to point left on a slanted line.
  102. Tube: bend up. Then fold the end up again, so it comes back under the tube: that's the trumpet's loop.
  103. Tube: tilt it. Turn it so the bell points up and to the right.
  104. Cymbal stand: new sheet. Set the tube aside. For the cymbal stand, take a 6 mm × 8.4 cm black strip, standing tall.
  105. Cymbal stand: narrow it. Fold the long edges behind to meet in the middle: a thin pole.
  106. Cymbal: new sheet. Set the pole aside. For the cymbal, take a 4.4 × 1.4 cm gold piece, gold side up, long side across.
  107. Cymbal: slope the top. Fold the top corners behind on long slants, from 3.5 mm each side of the middle down to 3 mm above each end. A low, wide hat.
  108. Cymbal: thin rim. Fold the bottom edge behind 3 mm, for a thin, crisp rim.
  109. Bass drum: new sheet. Set the cymbal aside. For the big bass drum, take a 6.6 cm red square, white side up.
  110. Bass drum: corners in. Fold each corner in on a slant, 1.8 cm along each edge. Four red triangles.
  111. Bass drum: top and bottom rim. Fold the top and bottom edges in 5 mm.
  112. Bass drum: side rim. Fold the sides in 5 mm too. A red rim runs round a white drumhead.
  113. Bass drum: round it. Fold each corner behind, 2.7 cm along each edge. The red triangles' tips stay as rim: a round drum with eight sides.
  114. Drumstick: new sheet. Set the bass drum aside. For a drumstick, take a 0.4 × 3.6 cm piece of tan paper.
  115. Drumstick: in half. Fold the strip in half the long way, folding behind, to make a thin drumstick.
  116. Second stick: new sheet. Set it aside. Fold a second stick the same way.
  117. Second stick: in half. Fold it in half the long way behind, just like the first one.
  118. Snare drum: new sheet. Set the stick aside. Last, the snare drum: a 4.5 cm square of red paper, red side up.
  119. Snare drum: rims. Fold the top edge down a wide strip and the bottom edge up a narrow strip, so white rims show.
  120. Snare drum: sides. Fold the left and right edges a little way behind.
  121. Snare drum: round it. Fold the four corners behind, the bottom ones a bit more, so the drum looks round.
  122. Build the scene. Glue the carpet and notes on the wall, then the piano, stands, guitar and trumpeter in a row, the trumpet at the child's lips, and the drum kit on the right.
  123. Stand it up. Bend the wall gently towards you on the middle crease and stand the whole music room up on the table.

Strike up the band!

Draw the piano's keys, sheet music on the stands, the guitar's strings, the drum's lugs and zigzag, the trumpet's valves and the child's face.

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