Independent Project Initial Ideas

When I began to think about what I should do for my independent project, my mind went to the guitar I've been working on with my dad. We're struggling to paint it and just make it nicer, which isn't really engineering, so I tried to think about something else. While thinking about instruments however, I was reminded about an instrument my brother had been talking about. The Whamola is a mix between a whammy bar and a viola, and is an upright instrument that you hit with a drum stick and use a lever to change the length of the string. Not very viola-like, but I'm sure the creator had some reason to name it that. I figured it would be easier to make a Whamola than a full string instrument, so that's how I decided on it. I like this idea because not only will it be a school project for a grade, it will also be something I can play with and enjoy for years.