LOS ANGELES – Part musician, part inventor, William Close built the world’s longest stringed instrument he calls the Earth Harp.

“The first time I invented the Earth Harp I mounted a series of chambers on one side of a valley or canyon and I ran the strings clear across to the other side turning that canyon into a giant harp,” said Close.

The idea for the instrument came from some unlikely places. A lifelong sailor, Close says the strings are like the rigging on a sailboat, and the structure was inspired by architecture.

“There was a great quote actually from Frank Lloyd Wright, the architect,” said Close. “He used to say architecture is frozen music. I thought, what if you can unfreeze the music and turn the architecture itself into the instrument? And that’s what’s happening with the Earth Harp.”

Earlier this year Close became the Guinness world record holder for the longest stringed instrument, after attaching the Earth Harp’s strings to the top of a sky scraper in Singapore.

He builds his all instruments himself. His studio is filled with instruments he invented like what he calls a “drumbrella,” which is a series of drums attached to a drill. He plays it while it rotates.

He also created a large wall drum, which looks like a piece of art. He and his son jam on it while jumping on trampolines.

Close says that when he first started inventing all of these unique instruments in his youth, his parents didn’t quite know what to make of it, until he started gaining national attention.

“At first they were like, these are nice,” said Close. “But once I hit America’s Got Talent, they were like ok, this is good what you’re doing.”

Close received third place on season seven of the show and now he has mastered the art of taking his show on the road. In fact, he built his new earth harp specifically to fit in his suitcase.

With no plans of slowing down anytime soon, Close says there is no limit to where is imagination can take him next.