Since the first humans stood upright, people have been compelled to make sounds and compose them into rhythm and song. Humanity progresses, societies evolve, and expressions, representations, and tastes shift wildly, but the drive to make tools that produce music has, and will always, permeate all cultures. Once instrument builders first began to harness electronic technologies into new possibilities for instrument design, the door opened to radical innovations in performance, expression, and control. From the first synthesizers to the ‘smart’ instruments of today that interpret and enhance the music played on them, meet the instrument designers that create the aesthetics and customs of future music.