Zefiro: Tiny Electronic Wind Instrument

Wind instruments, such as flutes, trumpets, recorders and the like have been filling humanity’s ears with music for centuries – millennia even. However, one could argue that they haven’t transitioned into electronic music as smoothly as, say, the piano or guitar, and remain in the niche instrument category.

So where do you start if you’d like to get into playing the “electric flute?” Or what if you want an ultra-portable, use-anywhere wind instrument that presents a wide range of musical capabilities? If either of those possibilities sounds interesting, Zefiro, now crowdfunding on Kickstarter, could be an excellent solution.

This musical device, upon first glance, looks nearly identical to a USB thumb drive, with a USB-C plug on one side and a cuboid-ish plastic body. Opposite the USB plug, though, the device has a rectangular hole in the center that acts as a mouthpiece for musical breath interfacing. Just plug it into your smartphone or tablet to use it as a musical interface.

The companion app gives you access to a library of sounds, and provides on-screen buttons that can be customized to your playing style. The device can also act as a MIDI controller, allowing it to play nicely with other professional music equipment.

Zefiro is available at pledge levels of around $31, and the pro version–which adds a MEMS accelerometer – is available for roughly $42. Several add-ons are also offered, including a headset holder, which would be nice if you’re jamming away at a MIDI keyboard setup while using breath control at the same time.