With the progress that’s been made in the digital world in terms of selling music, as well as the up and coming independent music without major record labels, you really have to have something unique to make it in the industry. That’s why so many musicians are looking into new musical instruments that are not widely known or used.

The Benefit of Uniqueness

Part of the problem many musicians have with latching onto these new instruments is that they’ve spent years perfecting their musical talent at something else – guitar, piano, drums, etc. They don’t want to spend the time trying to learn another new instrument, especially one that doesn’t have the number of experienced players to learn from. However, this creates an advantage for you when selling music, since you would be one of few, if not the only one, laying down tracks with one of those new instruments.

Revamped and Space-Age

The keyboard and piano have been long time staples in the music industry. But what about those unique qualities between notes that the keys provide? Enter into the market the Continuum Fingerboard, which replaces keys with pressure-sensitive magnets and covers them with neoprene and fabric to make what is essentially a keyless keyboard, providing notes you’ve never heard from standard black and white bones.

Have you ever wondered what you could do with a guitar that had a greater range? Or if you could use your piano skills to play the guitar? Check out the Stick Guitar, created by Emmett Chapman. This electric instrument looks like a regular wide fretboard but has up to 12 strings, depending on the model, and employs a tapping technique to create music.

Again, uniqueness is part of selling music. Take the Hapi Drum and create a sound that blends the regular intonations and beat of a standard drum and the ringing of Buddhist meditation bells. These drums are made of steel and have such an inspiring sound that they’ve been used for music therapy for children and used in productions such as The Lion King in Las Vegas. These are relatively inexpensive to start, and having drumming experience can be a plus so you don’t have to relearn the instrument.

Technology and Software

In terms of technology, Apple arguably has the market on this once again. They took a physical instrument based off blocks of various shapes placed on a round table with sensors that created sounds, developed by researchers at Pompeu Fabra University in 2005 and termed the Reactable, and turned it into a mobile app for the iPad. This makes it available on the go and without hardware, while also allowing you to master unique musical sounds.

Of course, there’s also the MO, which has the distinction of winning the 2011 Georgia Tech Margaret Guthman Musical Instrument Competition. It’s just software, right? No, it’s software that turns everyday items into unique sounds. Take a wireless motion sensor, attach it to a kitchen whisk, a toothbrush, or anything you can gesture with, and learn to create amazing sounds.

With instruments like these, you’d have a new sound that’s not duplicated on the market, giving you an extra boost in gathering listeners and, ultimately, selling music. With a little research and dedication, as well as the willingness to try something new, you can learn a new instrument that’s going to eventually be common on the market and be ahead of your time and at the front of the race to sell music independently on the internet.