Musikmesse looking for ‘the most unusual musical instrument of the year’
photo by Petra Velzel
Calling the creative musical-instrument and handicrafts scene: Musikmesse is looking for ‘the most unusual musical instrument of the year’ – an expert jury will select the three most original instruments. The awards will be presented during Musikmesse 2019 in Frankfurt am Main (2 to 5 April 2019).
It need not always be guitar, drums and piano. Music can also be made with other – extraordinary – instruments. Indeed, every new kind of instrument expands the sound cosmos. And this is the reason why, for some time now, the creative music scene has been honoured annually on 31 July every year by the ‘Uncommon Musical Instrument Day’.
Now, Musikmesse in Frankfurt am Main is taking up this idea. Together with its media partners, Europe’s biggest trade fair for the music business is looking for the ‘the most unusual musical instrument of the year’. An expert jury will judge all entries. The three most original instruments will be exhibited prominently at the coming Musikmesse in April 2019 – and honoured with awards.
Much has already been planned and there will be lots to see, which is hardly surprising given that imaginative instruments have been enriching the musical landscape for centuries: from spherical salad bowls, via a drum made out of a cheese wheel and the five-neck Hamer guitar of Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen, to ‘Raijin’, a Yamaha design study for a percussion instrument comprising a variety of different drum kits set inside a globular framework and played from the middle.
Michael Biwer, Group Show Director of the ‘Entertainment, Media & Creative Industries’ Business Unit of Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH: “No matter how crazy, every idea for a new instrument not only enriches the music scene but also underscores its creativity and inventiveness. Naturally, having fun is also an important factor.”
The competition is open to all manufacturers, tinkerers and inventors. The closing date for entries via www.musikmesse.com/instrumente is 20 March 2019
