Listening to the Sounds of China, Ghana and Hawaii in Phoenix
Story & photos by Richard Bauman
The world of music is on colorful display in northeast Phoenix.
The Musical Instrument Museum brings to visitors the music and people of the world via 10 galleries containing thousands of instruments of all shapes and sizes and dozens of intriguing video displays.
Visitors see examples of such large instruments as raft flutes from the Solomon Islands, so named because they are so big they look like bamboo rafts, and tiny ukuleles from Hawaii. Thousands of other out-of-the-ordinary music making devices from virtually every culture in the world are here too.
All visitors to the museum get the use of a small radio receiver and earphones. As I moved from exhibit to exhibit, the earphones came alive with the music of instruments displayed in that exhibit and in color videos viewed on large flat panel TV monitors.
Most of the museum’s galleries are on the second floor. Visitors can see them all or just the regions that fancy their interest.
Music is a part of all cultures. And often there are similarities in instruments even when great distances separate regions.
For example, in South Korea drums are used in rituals and ceremonies. In regions of Africa, similar hourglass-shaped drums are used. And in Columbia, the Marimba xylophone is made from wood and gourds, which is akin to the Gyil xylophone used by the Dagara people in Ghana.
The gallery covering the music of the United States and Canada is expansive and explores the many different styles of music of North America. There are regions where bluegrass and country music flourish. And in other parts of the U.S., polka dancing is the mainstay. But at the same time, musical styles aren’t confined to particular regions. You can hear country music in Los Angeles and symphonies in Nashville.
One of the largest exhibits in the U.S.-Canada gallery is dedicated to Steinway pianos. Visitors can see the care and craftsmanship and some of the 12,000 pieces that go into each Steinway.
PROLIFIC PIANO John Lennon purchased this Steinway upright in 1970.
A few months later, he composed the song Imagine on it. Before its recent
placement in the MIM, the piano toured the world in the name of peace.
There are two “must see” exhibit areas on MIM’s first level: the Experience Gallery and the Artist Gallery.
The Artist Gallery focuses on some well-known musicians and others who contributed in some way to the advancement of music. An upright Steinway owned by John Lennon is in the Artist Gallery. Lennon composed perhaps his most meaningful song, Imagine, on it. Some of the other artists and their instruments that are featured in the gallery include Eric Clapton, Paul Simon, Dick Dale, Carlos Santana and George Benson.
Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg built the first Steinway grand piano (the family name was later changed to Steinway) in the kitchen of his Seesen, Germany home in 1836. That beautiful instrument is in the Artist Gallery.
In most sections of the museum, it’s strictly hands off the instruments. The Experience Gallery, however, is the “touch me” section of the museum. Here there are dozens of musical instruments ranging from tiny ukuleles to a 7-foot- diameter Chinese gong. Visitors can pluck the strings of a harp, play drums from Africa and ring out a tune on a wooden xylophone–not to mention ringing the Chinese gong.
FUN FLUTES Pan flutes of the Solomon Islands are often called raft flutes due to their size
(up to five-feet tall) and their resemblance to native rafts. The flutes consist of varying lengths
of bamboo, placed side by side and bound together. The instrument is played by blowing
across the top of the pipes.
A lot of thought and planning went into the Musical Instrument Museum, and it shows. The exhibits are fascinating, the hallways are wide and the galleries are spacious. There’s an abundance of natural lighting that enhances the open feeling. Handicap access is excellent.
In addition to the galleries, the museum has a coffee shop and top-rated restaurant. There’s also a theater where concerts and other performances occur on a regular basis.
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