Musical Instrument Museum

This post is part of our At Home In Metro Phoenix series. Each month, we explore local businesses, attractions, events and people that call our wonderful community home.

—

It’s hard to imagine a world without music. Quite frankly, if there was such a place, we wouldn’t want to live in it. What would the tough days be like without bluesy ballads to remind us we’re not alone or catchy pop favorites to bring a smile to our faces?

Our love of music made the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) a worthy destination. This five-year-old Valley museum is touted as “the world’s only global instrument museum.” With 6,000 instruments on display from about 200 countries/territories around the world, there’s much to explore.

The museum itself is divided into several major sections including: an artist gallery, showcasing a handful of famous musicians and their one-of-a-kind instruments; an experience gallery, giving folks hands-on interactions with instruments; and a geographical gallery, offering a tour of instruments, both ancient and modern, from around the world.

The experience is quite interactive, capitalizing on audio and video to help tell the story. Individual audio headsets are included with admission to give you the chance to hear what the instruments on display sound like. (Good move, MIM. Can you imagine a roomful of visitors and chaotic noise?)A few hours at the MIM remind you — styles do differ dramatically around the globe, but music has a big presence across cultures. We left a bit in awe of the influence music has throughout such a diversity of times and places.

Beyond the museum and collection itself, the MIM also contains a world-class concert hall that hosts performers from around the world. We recently had the chance to enjoy a piano performance in the intimate venue and learned that there (a) wasn’t a bad seat in the house and (b) acoustics are, of course, impressive and taken very seriously in the concert hall.

Next time you’re looking for a weekend activity or chance to catch some inspiring live music, consider paying the MIM a visit.

Visit

MIM 

—

4725 E. Mayo Boulevard, Phoenix, AZ 85050 • 480.478.6000

[Photo Credit: MIM Website]