How to Make Music Reactive Light Stand in a Simple Way

Hello friends Holiday season is around the corner and there will be lots of celebrations why not make it more interesting with this Music reactive Light stand or also you can call it sound reactive light that blinks to the rhythm of music or the sounds.

This is a very useful project because as we all know most of them love listening to the music, If you have some device that follows the rhythm of music it is soo cool to watch! Right?

For those who don't know let me quickly explain to you guys what this device is all about.

Have you seen a soundbar with lights? In modern soundbar system the lights glow according to the beats of music, I have seen in many places and i wanted to make a smaller version of it that can be placed on desktop.

This music reactive light is portable, powered by USB and gives out decent response even for low volume music, I usually place this around my mini speaker and you can see the output which i get from this.

If you have a 3d printer and arduino along with few sensors you can make this under a day and take it to the parties and make this as your desktop gadget.

I have given all the instructions including a working video given in the below steps, happy building and have a great day.

The materials required to build this project are available in hobby electronic shops

Arduino Nano from amazon

Sound sensor(with adjustable pot)

ARGB led strip/ WS2812B Led strip

Soldering Iron

Jumper Cables

Breadboard(small)

Hot glue

Arduino IDE

Programming Cable

3D Printer

PLA Filament

Super Glue

The most challenging part in making such projects is making the design, I used tinkercad to design the parts for this model.

It took me a while to come up with this design, Since the components are of standard size you can directly use my designs if you are making this project.

There are total 3 parts in this model, The base which holds most of the electronics and this part holds the arduino board and the sensor.

The parallel shaped LED strip holder, Here the LEDS will be inserted and i chose to print this in white filament because it acts as a diffuser and gives that good shade of colors.

Note that none of the parts needs rafts or supports at the time of printing by this way we can save lots of time since there is no post processing work.

The front panel is just a cover that covers the sound sensor and the last part is the half circle that goes on top of the strip holder to cover the joins of the LED STRIP.

If you are a newbie to electronics you don't need to worry if you can't read circuit diagram, I have made easier for you by explaining the circuit connections componentwise.

Sound Sensor Module

VCC is Connected to the 5V pin on the Arduino Nano, GND is connected to the GND pin on the Arduino Nano.

OUT pin is connected to Digital Pin D2 on the Arduino Nano.

Arduino Nano

The Arduino Nano is powered by the 5V and GND pins connected to an external 5V power source, which also powers the sound sensor and the ARGB LED strip.

Signal Pin for LED Strip

A wire from Digital Pin D3 on the Arduino Nano connects to the DIN (Data In) pin of the ARGB LED strip. This pin sends data signals to control the colors and patterns of the LEDs.

ARGB LED Strip

Make sure to check the direction of arrow before making connection to the LED strip

DIN is Connected to Digital Pin D3 on the Arduino Nano to receive control signals.

VCC (+5V) is Connected to the 5V power line and GND is connected to the GND pin on the Arduino Nano, grounding the LED strip.

After this is complete, Connect board to computer, Open ide and paste the below code.

One change have to be made in the code, select the number of LED you are using, in my case i was using 10 LED so i changed the numbers

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I Made the prototyping on breadboard, Here the circuit occupied more space so I wanted to shrink the circuit by trimming off the excess cables.

Here you can follow the method i used, you have another option also, Using the PCB.

The other simple way is to solder the cables directly to the component, I soldered the wires to the ARGB strip and made a measurement, This way i was sure that there would be no shortage of cables when the circuit is placed inside the casing.

Repeat the same for the sound sensor also, After you make all the soldering jobs connect arduino nano to USB and check the circuit.

You can also try talking to the sound sensor and if everything is right the LED strip should glow.

Double check if there is any soldered joints touching each other, if yes fix it before connecting the board to USB power.

There is one small step we need to take while we are connecting the RGB strip to the 3D printed part, Measure the length of strip that you will need and cut the LED strip.

Drop hot glue to the base and place the nano, Alternatively use double sided adhesive.

The WS2812b Light that I'm using here can be soldered on the given points(you can see cut marks marked on the strip)

Solder the points after checking the direction of signal flow twice, Insert the second half to the slot and now solder the left over slots.

Now you have the LED strip ready, Connect the nano board and if all the LED lights on the strip glow you are good to go, if the other half is not glowing check the soldered points.

If needed add a small amount of hot glue to insulate the joints.

Now use hot glue to secure the top half circle on the top, This will cover the joins and make the overall project look beautiful.

I have made a small rectangular thing that hides the sound sensor hardware to some extent, This will also allow you to adjust the pot incase you need to change the sensitivity.

Testing this device is so much fun, Simply connect the Nano board to USB and the other end to power bank or any USB power source.

There is a welcome light! When the device is connected to power source in the starting for a second all the LED light glows and now the device is ready to use.

Play your favourite music on your phone or speaker, Bring it close to this sound sensor and watch the LED strip showing different shades of colors.

Not only for this there are multiple areas where you can use this device for example if you are a player, you can place this near your gaming setup.

You will be amazed to see it working, I have a clip of that in the below step.

If you think you missed something consider watching this video, There is a complete video tutorial and also the working of this project.

I recommend you to make this project, since all the details are given on this instructables and secondly the process and end result is so much fun.

Dont miss to check my other projects too, You will definitely find it useful.

Thank you for showing interest, Have a great build