In April 2012, Tim Meeks was at a music product trade show in Anaheim, California when he received a tap on his shoulder. Stevie Wonder had heard about the instrument Meeks had invented – a guitar-piano hybrid called the harpejji – and expressed interest in trying it out. Wonder’s enthusiasm marked a turning point for Meeks, who had been crafting and selling harpejjis from his Maryland workshop since 2007. Initially, sales were slow, but the instrument’s exposure through performances by Stevie Wonder and support from other musicians have propelled its success. Marcodi Musical Products, Meeks’ company, has now sold nearly 1,500 harpejjis, making him one of the few successful instrument inventors.
The harpejji, a guitar-piano hybrid, has a full-size version about a meter long with a flat birch body containing 24 strings with frets beneath. It operates similar to a piano, with strings being pressed instead of keys, while magnetic pickups send sound to an amplifier. Meeks, who values the input of artists, designed the harpejji to complement piano playing skills rather than requiring a new learning curve for guitar. The instrument’s timbre is guitar-like, with a unique tonal arrangement across the strings and frets, offering fresh harmonic possibilities.
Although instrument design is a rapidly evolving field, new inventions often remain in the prototype stage due to challenges in popularizing them. Modern musicians can generate a vast array of sounds through computer technology, making it difficult to establish new instruments. Meeks believes many inventors are pursuing complex technologies rather than creating user-friendly instruments that musicians are eager to learn and perform with. Despite the obstacles, the harpejji’s popularity continues to rise, with sales projected to exceed $1 million in 2023.
