Bob McNally

I am primarily a minimalist; I prefer essential shapes and minimal ornamentation. However, I understand that art thrives on a tension between the familiar and the strange or novel. Creating invented instruments with novel functions is inherently strange, which I balance by essential, simplistic shapes to provide comfortable familiarity. There is still a place for well chosen ornament or flair even within a minimalist approach. Minor ornamentation goes a long way in this context.

As a maker of fully functional instruments, my mission is to create access tools for non-players to engage with music on the one hand, while being musically versatile enough to enchant experienced musicians.
•Years of performing, recording, and teaching form the musical foundation of my design work.
•My passion for spreading the joy of creating music (especially to people who have not yet experienced that joy) is the driving energy.
•A lifelong curiosity of “what happens if we put this with this?” is where my creativity comes from.

I design instruments for beginners, but the instruments I create must also amuse and inspire me in my own music making as well. My work is owned and valued by beginners and Grammy winners alike. I take this as a validation that my design vision is well founded.

Bob McNally