Electromagnetic fields and dinosaur choir win international instrument contest

After narrowing the field to just 10 finalists last month, Georgia Tech’s 27th annual Guthman Musical Instrument Competition has officially announced this year’s winning melodic inventions. And to celebrate, the university has made each champion’s concert performance available to watch online. Noweveryone can experience the unique tunes influenced by modern instrumentation, prehistoric vocal cords, and invisible electromagnetic waves.

This year’s winners “are not just creating new sounds—they’re pioneering entirely new ways to think about music,” Interim Chair and Associate Professor at Georgia Tech School of Music Jeff Albert shared in a statement.

1st Place: Chromaplane

The first place prize went to a collaborative project from Italy and Germany. Chromaplane uses two analog pickup coils to interact with a surrounding cloud of electromagnetic fields across a flat surface. The results are a mix of warbling tonalities that sound ethereal while also remaining grounded in its overall physicality.

2nd Place: Mulatar

The competition’s second place recipient is the Mulatar from the UK, which blends multiple elements from a harp, slide guitar, and percussion instruments into a single design. While often minimalist in its sound, the Mulatar is a complex invention that combines acoustic and electroacoustic systems,resulting in a multifaceted playing experience.

3rd Place: Dinosaur Choir

Third place went to Dinosaur Choir, an invention capable of imitating the vocalizations of prehistoric animals. To accomplish this, Courtney Brown and Cezary Gajewski constructed 3D fabrications of a Late Cretaceous-era Parasaurolophus’ skull and nasal passages based on fossil CT scans. Dinosaur Choir may be the closest audiences will get to hearing what the extinct animal sounded like. Dinosaur Choir’s creators have also adapted those tonalities into modern musical performances.

A Judges’ Special Award was also given to the 3 Axis MIDI Guitar, which expands current MIDI guitar expressions through an additional pressure-sensitive “Z-axis.” Commendations were also awarded to a modular, ergonomic polychromatic MIDI keyboard called ModμMIDI, as well as Udderbot, a cow-inspired DIY slide vessel flute.

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