Making music is child's play with Roli's new Blocks controllers, which let you create music with the tap, press, or swipe of a finger.

The UK-based music-gear maker this week unveiled the first three devices in its modular creation system. With its glowing, pressure-responsive surface, the 4-inch, $179.95 Lightpad Block is the heart of the operation. It features 225 surface LEDs and lasts for up to four hours.

It works with iPhone 6 and up and iPad Air, provided they're running iOS 9+, as well as desktop apps that support multidimensional polyphonic expression (MPE), including Equator, GarageBand, Logic, and Max.

Music is "a universal language that everyone understands, but only a few can speak," Roli CEO Roland Lamb said in a statement. "Blocks will change that, and enable people around the world to experience the joy of music-making for the first time."

The companion Live Control Block and Loop Blocks ($79.95 each) snap onto the Lightpad, bringing frequently used functions to your fingertips. Live Control makes volume, chord, scale, arp, sustain, and octave more accessible, while Loop presents functions for capturing, looping, and layering sound.

"Roli Blocks will democratize music production," Canadian musician Grimes said in a statement. "I'm always on the go, and Blocks is the most powerful mobile production tool I've ever used."

Powered by Roli's free Noise app, iOS users can wirelessly connect their controllers via Bluetooth to turn their device into a portable sound engine.

The Blocks system is available now via Roli's online shop. Music makers in the UK and US can also visit their local Apple Store in Covent Garden or Regent Street (London), Williamsburg or the World Trade Center (New York City), and Menlo Park or Union Square (San Francisco) to get a hands-on look.