# Light-Up Reactive Ukulele
## Overview
https://youtu.be/ATv95_tLlNA
Ukuleles are little joy machines. They're easy to play, portable, light, and really inexpensive - you can get a fairly good sounding one for around $40-$50.
This clear plastic ukulele from Kala simply begs to be upgraded with rainbow lights. Craft an over-the top tacky Tiki musical experience for your audience at your next luau.
This LED ukulele goes even further, with loads of customizable animations and a sound reactive mode. Match your animation playlist with your song repertoire, and bring the music to life as your uke pulses along with your strumming.
We've also used the FFT capabilities of our hardware to add note-sensing to this project. Change animation modes or turn sound reactive mode on or off just by plucking a particular note on your fretboard.
And just for giggles, we've added a Guitar-Hero-style "Rockstar tilt" mode -- tilt the neck of your ukulele up during your big finish to trigger a colorful lightning animation.
This ukulele is maika'i loa! (That's Hawaiian for awesome..)
## Difficulty
This is a fairly advanced project which took some tight soldering and some tricky maneuvering to get the LEDs in place. I built my ukulele "ship-in-a-bottle" style, placing my LEDs inside the instrument with needle nose pliers and a bent coat hanger. I didn't want to do too much damage to my ukulele by taking it apart, so I took my time and assembled it with care.
It helped a lot to have small hands and a lot of patience. It may be easier for some makers to disassemble the ukulele, put the lights inside and then glue it back together. But my careful method worked! It took me all afternoon.. but it only took me one afternoon.
## Adafruit Parts Needed
### Adafruit Feather nRF52840 Sense
[Adafruit Feather nRF52840 Sense](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4516)
The **Adafruit Feather Bluefruit Sense** takes our popular [Feather nRF52840 Express](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4062) and adds a smorgasbord of sensors to make a great wireless sensor platform. This Feather microcontroller comes with Bluetooth® Low Energy and...
Out of Stock
[Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4516)
[Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/4516/guides)
### Assembled Adafruit Prop-Maker FeatherWing
[Assembled Adafruit Prop-Maker FeatherWing](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4145)
The Adafruit Feather series gives you lots of options for a small, portable, rechargeable microcontroller board. Perfect for fitting into your next prop build! This FeatherWing will unlock the prop-maker inside all of us, with tons of stuff packed in to make sabers & swords, props, toys,...
In Stock
[Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4145)
[Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/4145/guides)
### Part: Battery
quantity: 1
Lithium Ion Battery - 3.7v 2000mAh
[Battery](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2011)
### Part: USB Female
quantity: 1
USB DIY Connector - MicroB Female Plug
[USB Female](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1829)
### Part: USB Male
quantity: 1
USB DIY Slim Connector Shell - MicroB Plug
[USB Male](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1826)
### Part: Side Light NeoPixels
quantity: 1
Adafruit NeoPixel LED Side Light Strip - Black 90 LED
[Side Light NeoPixels](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3635)
### Part: Skinny NeoPixels
quantity: 1
Adafruit Mini Skinny NeoPixel Digital RGB LED Strip - 144 LED/m
[Skinny NeoPixels](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2969)
### Part: NeoPixel Connector
quantity: 1
JST PH 4-Pin to Male Header Cable - I2C STEMMA Cable - 200mm
[NeoPixel Connector](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3955)
### Part: Ribbon Cable - 10 Wire
quantity: 1
Silicone Cover Stranded-Core Ribbon Cable - 10 Wire 1 Meter Long
[Ribbon Cable - 10 Wire](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3890)
### Part: Ribbon Cable - 4 Wire
quantity: 1
Silicone Cover Stranded-Core Ribbon Cable - 4 Wires 1 Meter Long
[Ribbon Cable - 4 Wire](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3889)
### Part: Thermoplastic
quantity: 1
Hand-Moldable Plastic - Low Temperature Thermoplastic
[Thermoplastic](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2504)
### Part: On/Off Switch
quantity: 1
Breadboard-friendly SPDT Slide Switch
[On/Off Switch](https://www.adafruit.com/product/805)
## Additonal Parts & Tools
- A transparent ukulele - Mine is from Kala, the [Transparent Ice Soprano Waterman](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TUMK0CM/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_0TcmFbW02AASV)
- Silicone Adhesive - my favorite is [Devcon Silicone Adhesive](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001005TX2/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_AUcmFbZBHSQJZ)
- Krazy glue / superglue
- A Power Drill with a long extension 3/8" spade bit and a few smaller bits
- Rotary tool or sandpaper for drill hole cleanup
- Soldering iron & accessories
- White Industrial velcro
- Needle nose pliers in various shapes and sizes
- Wire coat hanger or bendable 16g steel wire
- [Next Page](https://learn.adafruit.com/light-up-reactive-ukulele/circuit-diagram.md)
## Featured Products
### Adafruit Feather nRF52840 Sense
[Adafruit Feather nRF52840 Sense](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4516)
The **Adafruit Feather Bluefruit Sense** takes our popular [Feather nRF52840 Express](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4062) and adds a smorgasbord of sensors to make a great wireless sensor platform. This Feather microcontroller comes with Bluetooth® Low Energy and...
Out of Stock
[Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4516)
[Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/4516/guides)
### Assembled Adafruit Prop-Maker FeatherWing
[Assembled Adafruit Prop-Maker FeatherWing](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4145)
The Adafruit Feather series gives you lots of options for a small, portable, rechargeable microcontroller board. Perfect for fitting into your next prop build! This FeatherWing will unlock the prop-maker inside all of us, with tons of stuff packed in to make sabers & swords, props, toys,...
In Stock
[Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4145)
[Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/4145/guides)
### Lithium Ion Battery - 3.7V 2000mAh
[Lithium Ion Battery - 3.7V 2000mAh](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2011)
Lithium-ion polymer (also known as 'lipo' or 'lipoly') batteries are thin, light, and powerful. The output ranges from 4.2V when completely charged to 3.7V. This battery has a capacity of 2000mAh. If you need a larger (or smaller!) battery,
Out of Stock
[Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2011)
[Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2011/guides)
### USB DIY Connector - MicroB Female Plug
[USB DIY Connector - MicroB Female Plug](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1829)
As an addition to our other USB DIY shells, we have a 'micro B female' in a panel-mount-like connector. This isn't true panel mount but you could glue the black plastic shell into your project and then press-fit in the micro B connector. The 5-pins are much easier to solder than a...
In Stock
[Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1829)
[Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/1829/guides)
### USB DIY Slim Connector Shell - MicroB Plug
[USB DIY Slim Connector Shell - MicroB Plug](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1826)
Make your own USB connections without slicing apart a USB cable and soldering those thin wires inside. This is the 'slim' version of the DIY MicroB Male connector. It's a little more elegant because instead of snapping two pieces together the connector press-fits into the...
In Stock
[Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1826)
[Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/1826/guides)
### Adafruit NeoPixel LED Side Light Strip - Black 90 LED
[Adafruit NeoPixel LED Side Light Strip - Black 90 LED](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3635)
Fancy new _side light_ LED strips are a great alternative for folks who have loved and used Adafruit LED strips for a few years but want gorgeous, glowy light emitting at 90 degrees. They're very skinny so you can run them along a thin edge and curve them around shapes and...
Out of Stock
[Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3635)
[Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/3635/guides)
### Adafruit Mini Skinny NeoPixel Digital RGB LED Strip - 144 LED/m
[Adafruit Mini Skinny NeoPixel Digital RGB LED Strip - 144 LED/m](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2969)
So thin. So mini. So teeeeeeny-tiny. It's the 'skinny' version of our classic NeoPixel strips!
These NeoPixel strips have 144 digitally-addressable pixel Mini LEDs per meter and are very affordable and are only 7.5 mm wide (0.3") if you remove the strip from the...
In Stock
[Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2969)
[Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2969/guides)
### Silicone Cover Stranded-Core Ribbon Cable - 10 Wire 1 Meter Long
[Silicone Cover Stranded-Core Ribbon Cable - 10 Wire 1 Meter Long](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3890)
For those who are fans of our silicone-covered wires, but are always looking to _up their wiring game_. We now have **Silicone Cover Ribbon cables!** These may look _a lot_ like
In Stock
[Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3890)
[Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/3890/guides)
## Related Guides
- [Adafruit Feather nRF52840 Sense](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-feather-sense.md)
- [CircuitPython BLE Libraries on Any Computer](https://learn.adafruit.com/circuitpython-ble-libraries-on-any-computer.md)
- [Guardian Shield+ Zelda Breath of the Wild](https://learn.adafruit.com/guardian-shield-zelda-breath-of-the-wild.md)
- [Ever-Burning Flame Painting](https://learn.adafruit.com/ever-burning-flame-painting.md)
- [Bluetooth LE Sensor Nodes to Raspberry Pi WiFi Bridge](https://learn.adafruit.com/bluetooth-le-broadcastnet-sensor-node-raspberry-pi-wifi-bridge.md)
- [Adafruit LSM6DS33 6-DoF IMU Breakout](https://learn.adafruit.com/lsm6ds33-6-dof-imu-accelerometer-gyro.md)
- [CircuitPython BLE Controlled NeoPixel Hat](https://learn.adafruit.com/circuitpython-feather-ble-neopixel-hat.md)
- [Playa Festival Bike](https://learn.adafruit.com/playa-festival-bike.md)
- [LED Bullwhip with Motion & Sound Reactivity](https://learn.adafruit.com/led-bullwhip.md)
- [NeoPixel Mini VU Meter](https://learn.adafruit.com/neopixel-mini-vu-meter.md)
- [MicroPython Smart Holiday Lights](https://learn.adafruit.com/micropython-smart-holiday-lights.md)
- [BLE Vibration Bracelet](https://learn.adafruit.com/ble-vibration-bracelet.md)
- [Glowy Message Crown](https://learn.adafruit.com/glowy-message-crown.md)
- [3D Printed Frankenstein Monster with NeoPixel Eyes](https://learn.adafruit.com/neopixel-frankenstein.md)
- [LED Snowboard with Motion-Reactive Animation](https://learn.adafruit.com/led-snowboard-with-motion-reactive-animation.md)
- [NeoPixel Run LED Arcade Game](https://learn.adafruit.com/pixel-chase-game.md)