Andrew McPherson

Researcher, composer, engineer and instrument designer

© 2026 Andrew McPherson

Magnetic Resonator Piano

Electromagnetically augmented grand piano

The magnetic resonator piano (MRP) is an augmented piano which uses electromagnets to elicit new sounds from the strings of a grand piano. The MRP extends the sonic vocabulary of the piano to include infinite sustain, crescendos from silence, harmonics, pitch bends and new timbres, all produced acoustically without the use of speakers.

The MRP is an electronic instrument, but the experience of playing it closely resembles the acoustic piano it inherits from. An optical scanner on the piano keyboard measures the continuous position of every key, enabling subtle, delicate gestures that would not produce sound on an ordinary piano, even as all the techniques of traditional piano playing remain available. The kit can be installed in any grand piano.

The Augmented Instruments Laboratory website features more details about the research and technology behind the MRP.

For information about hiring or commissioning an MRP kit, please contact me.

Compositions and Performances

Since its creation in 2009, the magnetic resonator piano has been used in over 40 classical compositions, including solo repertoire, chamber music and operas. It has also been used on jazz and rock albums, two major film scores (Christopher Robin, 2018 and L’Amour Ouf, 2024 by Jon Brion) and live shows by the electronic musician Arca. See the MRP page on the Augmented Instruments Lab website for a detailed list of pieces. Videos of several of these pieces can be found in the playlist at the top of this page.

The MRP has appeared in concerts and installations over 100 times across four continents in venues including Barbican Hall, Cadogan Hall and Cafe Oto (London); the Sydney Opera House; the Opera Theatre of Rome; the Bourse de Commerce (Paris); the Approximation Festival (Duesseldorf); the New Music Dublin and Sounds from a Safe Harbour Festivals (Ireland); the Okayama Art Summit (Japan); the Park Avenue Armory (New York) and the Tanglewood Music Festival (Massachusetts, USA). It has been featured on BBC Radio 3 and Radio Eins (Berlin), amongst other media.

Discography