Music of the Future

Stringed instruments like the lyre and the harp date all the way back to Old Testament times. Guitars first showed up over 600 years ago. We still love them. Might an instrument invented today become a beloved music-maker of the future?

The folks behind the Guthman Musical Instrument Competition in Atlanta, Georgia, think some will. The competition happens each spring. People submit musical innovations from all over the world. We list a few below. Which would get your vote for “best new instrument”?

Abacusynth (a-buh-cuh-SINTH). This instrument buzzes and whirs. The abacusynth teaches the idea of timbre (TAM-bur). Timbre is the way music sounds—but not its pitch or volume. Does a piano sound exactly like a saxophone? Nope—because they produce notes with differing timbres. As the abacusynth player moves spinning triangles, the timbre, or “tone color,” changes.

Zen flute. This soothing mouth-flute is kind of like a theremin, an electronic instrument controlled by (but not touched by!) waving hands. A Zen flute works a lot like whistling. The pitch is created by the shape you make with your mouth.

Grillophone. This is exactly what it sounds like . . . an instrument made from a grill! It has strings and bars. It connects to other digital instruments and an amplifier. It can make the sounds they make.

HiTAR (HIT-tar). Yep . . . it’s a guitar you hit. The HiTAR turns the guitar into a guitar plus drums . . . and more. It starts out as a regular guitar. But it has sensors embedded at its base. When a performer hits the base, the instrument makes sounds like metal or glass.

Judges evaluated all the new instruments. They picked . . . the Zen flute!