On one of the 300 days per year of sunshine in the Valley of the Sun, I made my way to the Musical Instrument Museum in North Phoenix, Arizona. Greeted by two Atingtings (slit drums) on the front sidewalk, it was a fitting welcome to an international experience based on musical instruments. Art begins before entering the lobby, and the universal language is music.
The Atingting breadfruit wood slit drums from the island nation of Vanuatu are played for ceremonial dancing and communication between villages. The carved faces represent ancestral spirits.
The Musical Instrument Museum is rated Phoenix's #1 attraction and is ranked in the top 15 museums in the United States. Opened in April 2010, the museum has the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of musical instruments. The vision of founder Robert J. Ulrich, the former CEO of Target Corporation, was to enable visitors to experience instruments from every country.
A large flat screen displays what to see at the MIM directly across from the entry doors. After watching for a few minutes and getting my bearings, I proceeded to the Reception desk, where I checked in with the tickets I purchased online.
Afterward, I went to the headset desk and got a wireless audio device. While getting a headset is optional, you want to take advantage of it.
The headsets automatically connect to video screens around the museum. As you approach each display, the recording starts, allowing you to hear and see the instruments being played as you view them. This immersive experience helped me understand the cultural significance of each instrument and hear its unique sound.
Tours start at the Reception Desk. While watching the tour, the guide kept the group moving, with only brief stops at each exhibit. I enjoyed taking my time through the museum but would have liked the extra information the guide provided.
Instruments, concert footage, and performance outfits linked to world-renowned musicians and innovators are displayed. The lavender custom-finished grand piano used by Prince during the Jam of the Year Tour in 1997-1998 was one of my favorites.
Visitors watch behind a large picture window as instruments are restored and preserved. When I visited, the technicians were working on restoring a violin.
It was fun to enter the Experience Gallery and try my hand at the instruments like those on display. I felt like a child banging away on a xylophone, only making sounds and certainly not music. Waving my hands around the theremin was an other-worldly experience.
This fascinating gallery displays instruments designed to play independently, including the 25-foot-wide "Apollonia" orchestrion.
When I visited in the spring, the special exhibit, Acoustic America, showcased iconic guitars, mandolins, and banjos. Ninety historic acoustic stringed instruments represented American music history before the Civil War.
As I walked up to each display, my headset automatically played videos of American folk music legends. It was instantly engaging and captured my attention immediately.
I was so inspired by this special exhibit that I decided to learn how to play the banjo. I've always admired Steve Martin's skill with the banjo, and I want to learn to play the theme song from Deliverance. I learned that you can't rent a banjo, so you must buy one immediately, which is a big commitment. That may be for another day.
The lighting on the stringed instruments was exciting. The shadows created by the strong directional lights behind them were fascinating.
Visitors can travel the world through music with MIM's display of over 4,300 instruments. Every country in the world is represented in the five Geographic Galleries on the Upper Level.
The multimedia presentations helped me hear, see, and feel the creative spirit of people as they played their instruments. Some instruments were so oddly shaped that it was hard to believe they could make a sound.
I am keenly interested in Mongolia and the whirling dance (Sufi whirling) in Turkey. Both exhibits gave me in-depth information, including the garb worn by the practitioners.
I was fascinated with the violin exhibit. Cremona, Italy, was home to important early violin, viola, and cello makers. Antonio Stradivari, the master violin maker who created the world-famous Stradivarius violins, refined the instrument's properties over his 70-year career in the 17th to 18th centuries.
I look forward to visiting the MIM and spending more time at this exhibit.
Also on the Upper Level, the STEM Gallery explores themes of sound creation, technological innovation, the human ear, and hearing safety.
The MIM Music Theater hosts live shows by world-renowned artists in a 300-seat concert hall. The hall is designed with great acoustics for high-quality sound.
You can purchase special exhibitions and concert tickets separately.
Beats Coffee Bar, Café Allegro, and the restrooms are on the Ground Level and have a large window onto the Main Courtyard. The Museum Store is directly across from the Main Entrance.
You could spend a whole day at the Musical Instrument Museum. I suggest starting on the Upper Level to see each country's displays, then moving down to the Ground Level, and finishing with the Special Exhibition.
The spacious galleries and timed entry prevented overcrowding, and it was a pleasure to walk through each exhibit without feeling rushed or impacting other visitors.
4725 E. Mayo Boulevard
Phoenix, AZ 85050
480-478-6000
Located at the corner of Tatum & Mayo Boulevards, just south of Loop 101, the best way to get to the MIM is by car.
Parking is free.
Transcripts for videos with English singing and narration, assistive listening devices, wheelchairs, walkers, and baby strollers are available at Guest Services.
Daily 9 am-5:00 pm
General $20
Teens $15
Children $10
Children (3 and under) free
Members visit free
For the latest updates and information on special exhibits, be sure to check the museum’s website and follow them on Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube.
The Musical Instrument Museum offers a unique experience that engages visitors through sight, sound, and touch. It brings people together through the universal language of music.
* * *
Julie Diebolt Price is an award-winning professional photographer, educator, author, and travel writer. She writes about photography, travel, food and beverage. Julie educates and mentors aspiring photographers. As a journalist who loves to travel, she creates memorable experiences and shares them with words and pictures.
Learn more at PhotoTravelWrite.com.
julie@jdpphotography.com