BLOG 10: Musical Instrument Museum Phoenix

On our journey further south into the land of the Saguaro cacti, we make a brief stop in Phoenix, not only to replenish our culinary supplies at "Trader Joe's," the American branch of Hofer or ALDI, but also to visit the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM).

It opened in April 2010 and is the largest museum of its kind in the world. The collection of over 15,000 musical instruments and related objects includes examples from nearly 200 countries and territories, representing every inhabited continent. Some larger countries, such as the USA, Mexico, India, China, and Brazil, have multiple exhibits with subdivisions for different types of ethnic, folk, and tribal music.

During our approximately two-hour visit, we can only focus on a few highlights.

Visitors are equipped with headphones that automatically play the corresponding music for the video clips shown on the screens as they approach the individual exhibit walls. It's a great feature!

The selection of “typical” music can sometimes be rather unconventional – for Austria, for example, they play Schrammel music, a piece from the ORF television series “Mei Liabste Weis’”, and the song “Brenna tuats guat” by Hubert von Goisern….

For Germany, by the way, there is also Bavarian brass band music in the beer tent.