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Rock music
Jul. 18th, 2021 11:35 amYesterday afternoon I took the two remaining students to the Musical Instrument Museum. I'd heard good things about the museum, but had never managed a visit before.
The first floor was all right, although after a period of time I decided the room of mechanical musical instruments was diabolical. I think I just object to the fact that mechanical instruments can't be modulated in the way that human-played instruments are. They generally compensate for that problem by being too loud.
The room full of instruments that museum-goers can play was all right, although I think I would have enjoyed it more if there weren't any other people in there and I could mess around on my own for a while.
When we got to the second floor, though - that's when I really came to appreciate the place. The biggest reason was that the first room I walked into, for North America, started out with something like five or six different sections showcasing Native American music from different regions of the Americas. It was helpful to be able to listen to snippets of songs and see snippets of dances from different regions in order to start to be able to hear and identify distinctions in style. I was also pleased to see those sections placed front and center.
The whole second floor is laid out according to geographic regions, and showcases musical instruments in a global context. While there are things like a section all about piano construction, there are also sections highlighting types of music found on islands in the Pacific and so on (woah, humanity has invented so many kinds of drums!). The main feeling one is left with is, "Wow, making music is a fundamental part of being a human being, and there are incredibly diverse ways of doing so."
Shortly before leaving, I strolled past the section on Korean music, which featured a couple of instruments used for ceremonial purposes. This one in particular struck me:
I've always been a sucker for percussion. What you see here are pieces of jade stone that have been cut and shaped to hold different notes. I should add that as you walk around this museum, there are screens set up that play snippets of music to accompany the items on display, piped in to headphones.
I also watched a video clip of a group of Vanuatu women playing water music that was incredible.
Overall, the museum was on the large end of what I can tolerate, but worth a visit if you find yourself in the area.
The first floor was all right, although after a period of time I decided the room of mechanical musical instruments was diabolical. I think I just object to the fact that mechanical instruments can't be modulated in the way that human-played instruments are. They generally compensate for that problem by being too loud.
The room full of instruments that museum-goers can play was all right, although I think I would have enjoyed it more if there weren't any other people in there and I could mess around on my own for a while.
When we got to the second floor, though - that's when I really came to appreciate the place. The biggest reason was that the first room I walked into, for North America, started out with something like five or six different sections showcasing Native American music from different regions of the Americas. It was helpful to be able to listen to snippets of songs and see snippets of dances from different regions in order to start to be able to hear and identify distinctions in style. I was also pleased to see those sections placed front and center.
The whole second floor is laid out according to geographic regions, and showcases musical instruments in a global context. While there are things like a section all about piano construction, there are also sections highlighting types of music found on islands in the Pacific and so on (woah, humanity has invented so many kinds of drums!). The main feeling one is left with is, "Wow, making music is a fundamental part of being a human being, and there are incredibly diverse ways of doing so."
Shortly before leaving, I strolled past the section on Korean music, which featured a couple of instruments used for ceremonial purposes. This one in particular struck me:
I've always been a sucker for percussion. What you see here are pieces of jade stone that have been cut and shaped to hold different notes. I should add that as you walk around this museum, there are screens set up that play snippets of music to accompany the items on display, piped in to headphones.
I also watched a video clip of a group of Vanuatu women playing water music that was incredible.
Overall, the museum was on the large end of what I can tolerate, but worth a visit if you find yourself in the area.
