Note Magnets

Magnetic Grooves is a teaching aid and an Etsy shop concept developed in early 2023. The idea emerged from a desire to improve visual music teaching tools. I noticed that musical flashcards and magnets typically display notes center-aligned, which can be less intuitive. By aligning rhythm flashcards to the left, I thought it would be easier to see relative note values in a vertical row. Additionally, using indexed bricks similar to LEGO could help students construct correctly notated rhythms more effectively.

The project featured a "base plate" with indexed magnets that lock bricks onto a sixteenth-note grid, aiding in rhythm construction. All components were 3D-printed on my Elegoo Saturn 2 using white resin, with raised features (notes and staff lines) to facilitate easier painting.

Despite the Etsy site not achieving significant traction, the development and manufacturing phases were highly successful. I went through multiple design iterations, explored various painting techniques, and identified many practical applications for this tool in my private teaching practice.