" If not for music, the soul would have no language." And, so we found ourselves on another exciting adventure yesterday as we explored the Musical Instrument Museum outside of Phoenix.
It didn't take long before we realized that we were in for a real treat.
Upon entering the enormous building, we were each handed a headset, told explicitly NOT to touch the middle button (we behaved and listened), and were directed to the first room on the ground floor, which, as you can see, featured quite a number of guitars hanging on the wall. Being married to a guitar player, you can well imagine the excitement that ensued.
and the Silent Guitar which is actually an electric guitar from East Jakarta, Indonesia made by Yamaha.
The walls featured all kinds of instruments one might see in an performance on stage. Of course, there were some unusual items worth noting as well.
and this sweet, unusual looking harmonica.
Nigerian Ilu goblet drums
11th century Nigerian bells, which would have been worn around the neck,
as well as a bell from the Central African Republic.
A Tunisian goblet drum (loved all of those colors)
an arched harp from Egypt (this reminded me of a character in a Disney movie, although the particular film escapes me)
and a Saudi Arabian Bedoin Rababa
We then moved onto Turkey
Syria
with a plucked lute as well as a plucked zither.
Iran
and Ukongo (this is a footed drum)
as well as Urunda.
From the hall ceiling hung a Chinese slit drum
and a pair of alphorns from Switzerland. (they were VERY long!)
Here you see a tube zither from Madagascar painted with floral and animal motifs.
We were now in Tajikistan with a displayed skullcap worn by a Tajik bride during her wedding celebration.
Around the corner was Mongolia.
There was this lovely garment from Afghanistan
and an Armenian bowed lute.
Items from Maldives
and a Chinese zither shaped like a butterfly.
South Korea featured an intricate set of bells
with colorful figures that I found to be quite delightful.
Marty posed next to a very large drum from China.
and we moved into Cambodia, complete with costumes as well.
There were some interesting items from Burma, including a marionette puppet
and extremely ornate double headed barrel drums. The picture doesn't do the brilliant gold and sparkling inlays justice.
By this time, I had wondered if we should have allocated a time allowance to each continent, as it was quite obvious that Africa and Asia had captured a LOT of attention!
Let me share just some of the highlights (in my opinion):
Here you see a cleverly decorated Beatles themed Epiphone from the 1990s,
A Smooth talker electric acoustic guitar
an 1815 French Lyre guitar
We moseyed around the corner, and our eyes were immediately captured by this floor to ceiling Octobasse standing in the middle of a musical instrument room. It is actually a replica of an instrument made in 1850 in Italy which is tuned two octaves below the violoncello. This particular instrument was played by using a system of levers that activate a mechanism that pulls the strings against the frets. It is intended to play long sustained tones as a bass in an orchestra.
I spotted a concert zither that was made in 1908
as well as a gloria model piano accordion
Aren't they just delightful?
It was time to head out of the introduction rooms and into the real crux of this museum. But, not before passing this pipe organ standing in the exit hallway.
Little did we know that this was when the REAL adventure began!!
We headed upstairs, walked through the far doorway, and immediately found ourselves transported to the country of Africa. Sierra Leone greeted us, where we soon learned that music often involves masked dancers.
Our headsets featured such musical events, and I soon realized that these headsets were not meant to offer explanations regarding what we saw. We could read that information. Instead, they were designed to delight us with the traditional music connected by each country on display.
As I looked around I realized that I was immersed in a multipurpose experience. Not only was I viewing a wide array of unique musical instruments, but I was being exposed to a lesson on geography, as well as the culture of locations, some of which I would be hard press to identify.
Note the name of the country, and it's location highlighted on the map insert on the wall. Each country was represented this way.
To be quite honest, a few hours is just not sufficient to absorb the delights that surrounded us. But we set out to try to tackle as much as time would allow.
As I mentioned, the collection includes much more than just musical instruments. There are many select items interspersed among them. As you read along, you might note that I have highlighted some of those items that I found particular unique or interesting.
Are you ready for your tour? Ok, Let's go.
Here you see a royal stool from Ghana
This lithopone consists of marble slabs, dating back hundreds of years BC, and comes from China. It is known as a Bianqing, which translates "ordered stones" and was played in an orchestra for important occasions in the Chinese court. They are now considered to be very rare as only a few known sets exist from this ancient time period.
So, we strolled through the Caribbean and into South America
which included an ancient Aztec drum on display
You have to admit, that was quite the welcome!
An entertaining Alaskan mask seems worth featuring
as well as these local gourde rattles, ornately decorated.
Rounding the bend, I had to laugh when I spied the tribute to Alice Cooper. What a difference this country was making in comparison to all that we had just explored!
One of the five giant keyboard zithers built by Peter and Justice Blissing known to have survived, was on display.
along with an delicately decorated autoharp from 1896.
These musical glasses produced a melody quite pleasant to the ear, and were certainly quite a unique form of entertainment.
By this time, I decided to head to the European room, where I almost immediately spotted a Slovakian bagpipe.
I set out on a hunt for more Slovak instruments, and was rewarded with a full wall of them, featuring another bagpipe as well as the traditional Fujara, which offered such a beautiful solemn sound in my ears.
Across the way, I spied this delightful horn from Luxembourg,
as well as some salvaged Carillion bells from an English cathedral.
The display from Ireland brought back pleasant memories from this past summer's trip,
and it included this stunning harp from 1820.
Here you see a Norwegian lute (I loved the intricate mother of pearl detail)
Icelandic drums
and a religious frame drum that had once belonged to a religious community.
Italy rewarded us with this stunning instrument
as well as a harp guitar
There was a German zither
and two ornate German accordions as well.
There was a tribute to Ragtime
acrylic drums played by Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer,
and a personal collection of harmonicas once owned by Leroy "Bluesdog" Falconi, Jr.
I absolutely adored these tiny Murano glass figurines representing an orchestra, each one hand blown in the town where they get their name.
and a serpent aerophone. (not quite sure how that works)
In Spain, we found a flamenco dancer,
Croatia offered an ornately carved double lute.
Bulgaria was certainly interesting. These costumes are actually worn by people and are intended to ward off evil spirits.
I don't know about you, but I'd say they'd ward off way more than that!
Obviously, I've just touched upon the enormity of what the Musical Instrument Museum has to offer. I can't begin to describe just how fascinating we found this adventure.
As one last treat, Marty was able to try his hand at playing the harp in the room that is designed for "hands on" play.
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He also had some fun with a Theremin, an electrophone invented by Leon Theremin which generates sound by electric currents.
Sorry...but the blog doesn't include sound.
On that note, it's time to wrap this up. I certainly hope you enjoyed traveling the world with me. I'm off for another adventure today.
Until next time....
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