We recently visited Phoenix’s MIM–Musical Instrument Museum.
Total joy!
I’ve been a musician since I received a piano for my fifth Christmas.
It’s still with us all these years later (my father insisted the piano was my dowry–my husband had to take it with him when we got married!).
But all musical instruments caught my interest and I’ve since added flute, percussion, clarinet, bassoon, alto saxophone, alto recorder and eventually, oboe, to my repertoire.
The same husband outlawed bagpipes.
(You can see how well I play a borrowed set here).
He and I both sing in the choir–a bass and a soprano.
The MIM was a natural choice for us on a free day.
MIM displays instruments from all over the globe
The exhibits are on the top floor and highlight musical instruments from all over the globe by hemisphere.
Divided into individual countries (and providing a map so we can pinpoint them), the musical instruments are both displayed and we can hear them played.
The MIM admittance fee provides visitors with a walkman-type set of headphones and a “tape”–which immediately begins when you step close enough to an exhibit.
A flat-screen shows people playing their native instruments–and you can hear the music through the headphones.
Often, the instruments on display are the very ones being played.
We began in Africa then moved to Asia
Drums and flutes seemed to make up the majority of instruments in most of the African nations, with bagpipes showing up from time to time.
As a former percussionist, I loved watching the folks playing their instruments and drawing such unique sounds from them.
We laughed at the happiness expressed by the drummers, singers, and watchers!
It’s a large room, but the headphones worked well and I could differentiate the music being played on the flat screens as I moved among the countries.
At the far end, we entered Asia–which, like all the countries, included flutes and drums. Asian nations seemed to have more sophisticated stringed instruments.
The hemisphere is large with many variations of sound.
Because I have a western-music-trained ear, much did not sound familiar to me.
Again, with the instruments in front of us and the demonstrations on the screen, we learned a lot as we slowly shifted from country to country.
Antarctica is the only continent without a musical tradition, though the whales sing and the penguins squawk.
The Western Hemisphere brings more familiar sounds to me
MIM collected musical traditions and instruments from everywhere, which was fascinating, but I began to dance and enjoy the music more when we reached Oceania.
Hawai’i turned up first and while Hawai’ian music sounded odd when we first moved to Hawai’i years ago, by the time we departed, I loved the sound of the ukelele, drums, conch shells, and haunting melodies.
“It’s time to go home to Hawai’i,” I told my husband.
He laughed and moved away from my hula hands.
The Latin countries of South America also called forth movement.
MIM divided them up well, but my Zumba classes don’t care what country the music comes from.
I couldn’t help myself! Forward, backward, turn!
My husband hurried away and several people laughed.
But how could anyone’s feet stay still when a salsa beckoned?
The USA
We walked through MIM exhibits demonstrating how manufacturers made saxophones. Fascinating.
We listened to Appalachian music, the Carter family with their autoharp, enormous drum sets, and the ever-popular collegiate marching bands.
(My husband rolled his eyes and hurried away while I watched the Ohio band scroll out OHIO in a 1936 video–the same scroll I watched from the sidelines in the 1976 Rose Bowl game. You can read about it here.)
Drum sets, the Beach Boys (with three middle-aged women giggling, “how could we not stop to
All sorts of guitar varieties were on display from the clever and beautiful harp guitar to your basic “
MIM also included an exhibit of the world’s most popular instrument: the air guitar.
Or, at least it’s “empty” case.
European instruments
I felt most at home in the European instrument settings.
Of course, bagpipes were displayed, but we also saw clever variations on other instruments, like the walking stick fiddle and the serpentine tuba–a predecessor, in the evolutionary sense, of the modern tuba.
Above the serpentine tuba, MIM provided the everpresent flat-screen to demonstrate how to play the instrument.
MIMs curators are clever and some of their descriptions invited smiles.
Here’s a
The caption noted:
The glasses were blown to pitch and played by rubbing their rims with moistened fingers.
Musical glasses saw a decline around 1860 with rumors that playing the instrument, and the ethereal sounds it produced, caused madness.
At the time, it was thought that the vibrations resulted in nervous system decline, but it may be that touching the glasses and their painted rims, both of which contained lead, contributed to lead poisoning over time.”
MIM ended with fun
Our final stop was an instrument room downstairs where you could play
I strummed a harp, clattered through various xylophone-like instruments, and pounded drums.
What a glorious visit to Phoenix’s Musical Instruments Museum!
I love MIM. Anyone who loves music would, too.
Tweetables
What’s MIM–Phoenix’s Musical Instrument Library? Click to Tweet
Learning about global musical instruments at Phoenix’s MIM; fun for musicians of every age! Click to Tweet
Does every country boast bagpipes, drums, and flutes? Click to Tweet
Very interesting!
I wrote this right after we returned from a whirlwind trip and made a mistake–for those who saw the original version, the museum is in PHOENIX, not Tucson. I’m humbled and have now corrected the error.