Use Solenoids to Build a MIDI-Controlled Percussion Bot | Make:

“Percusso” isn’t a real set of percussion instruments and it’s probably too noisy to accompany serious music. But it’s a ton of fun to play with, and can suggest some creative licks. Some sounds are recognizable — the snare drum (The Laptop by Rhythm Tech), the maraca, a triangle, and a shaken tambourine — but that’s about it. The other “instruments” — BBs in a tomato sauce can, a 4-sided block, popcorn in a Chobani yogurt container, a mallet and damper for the tambourine, Tic Tacs, and my editor’s favorite, a red mallet hammering on a 10″ pizza box — mostly just make interesting noises (Figure A).