One such opportunity came last week, where we managed to both have Monday completely off. Knowing this ahead of time, we planned to take the day for ourselves and get out to try new things in Phoenix. Traveling, discovering new places and finding new places to eat and things to do is a favorite hobby of ours, and we made an excellent find last Monday: Phoenix's Musical Instrument Museum.
I happened across the museum one night while working for Zingo, and when I pitched the idea to Brittany, she was very excited to go. Both Brittany and I greatly enjoy music and we both have participated in orchestral groups in the past, so this seemed to be something that we would both enjoy. This is the first museum of its kind in the States, and is a unique concept in the world at large, as it is exclusively devoted to music and its various implements from around the world (shockingly enough).
My initial thought about the place was "Oh man - that place has got to be loud," as the idea of packing that many items and artifacts into one place - items whose sole purpose is to make noise - seemed like a chaotic din waiting to happen. Fortunately, the designers and curators took this into account and came up with a very clever way to use technology to fully show off the museum's collection.
The museum is divided up into exhibits by continent, and each continent then has several smaller areas devoted to its countries and their musical and cultural styles. At each display, visitors find a collection of instruments, photographs and costumes which together provide a snapshot into each country. Most stations also include a video screen which shows off footage of the instruments in action along with dance or other cultural pieces, and this is where the technology comes into play:
At the entrance, each visitor is given a set of headphones connected to a small receiver. As the visitor approaches an exhibit, a wireless transmitter hidden in the exhibit plays the audio for that station's video footage, fading it in quickly so that the visitor is in sync with what is on the screen. As the listener walks away, the audio fades out gradually and seamlessly - no static, no abruptness, and no crossing of signals. In some of the closer-placed exhibits, I deliberately tried to get the audio from one showcase to play when I neared another, but the system simply would not do it. The exhibits are so strategically-placed and the transmitters' frequencies so excellently calibrated that the signals only extend a certain distance and will not cross each other.
This allows for a very personal feel in the museum, and it makes the rooms very quiet when everyone plays by the rules. As we sat on a bench between continents, we were both amazed at the silence of the place. There was one large group of senior citizens there at the same time we were, and while they had a live tour guide (also a senior citizen) talking about everything, the entire museum was otherwise dead silent. This leant a sophisticated, elegant air to the building and significantly added to the overall experience.
On the other end of that serene spectrum, however, comes this:
This, boys and girls, is part of the "Experience Room," as I believe it was called. Located in a presumably-soundproof room at the far end of the museum, this room is filled with drums, guitars, xylophones, harps, and yes, a huge gong. All of these are fair game and can be played to your heart's desire except the gong, which is annoyingly limited to one strike per guest. This is best taken in at the end of the day, perhaps to bribe any otherwise-rambunctious children into being good for a few hours. While hammering that gong was quite satisfying in an inner-child-pleasing sort of way, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor volunteer senior who had to watch over the room. There were no school groups there that day, but heaven only knows what sort of mayhem would ever be wrought if a busload of kindergarteners ever got their hands on that room. Time for grandpa to put the hearing aid on "Mute," I would imagine.
All in all, though some sections were a tad dry and repetitive (there are very few differences between the music of Niger and that of Nigeria, for example, and once you've seen one drum with feet, you've seen them all), if one has even a passing interest in music or culture, the Musical Instrument Museum is certainly worth a visit. If you enjoy nothing else about it, go to the Experience Room and let loose your inner Animal. Just please don't eat drums, though. Beat drums. Beat drums.
(Note: for pictures of some of the more bizarre pieces of MIM's collection, check out my photos on my Facebook page)
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