Museum - Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Arizona

Glimpse into the dramatic and lively masquerade traditions of Central Africa at MIM’s special exhibition Congo Masks and Music: Masterpieces from Central Africa, presented by U.S. Bank. Tickets and details at exhibition.MIM.org. #CongoMasksatMIM

Traditional to Mongolia, the Mongol bowed morin khuur, or horse-head fiddle, represents a high regard for the horse through its craftsmanship, distinctive sounds, and musical rhythms. Hear a demonstration of this unique instrument, played by M. Burgedbaatar. #MuseumFromHome

Attention teachers! Learn fun ways to make music tangible with object-based learning at MIM’s free online professional development sessions, Jan. 30 (grades pre-K2) and Feb. 13 (grades 312), presented by PNC Bank. Register today: https://bit.ly/3c5h5oK

Newly on display at the Norway exhibit, this exquisite hardingfele, or Hardanger fiddle, was made by Olaf G. Helland in 1907. Hardingfele are unique to Norway, and were first made in the Hardanger district in the seventeenth century. The Helland family was the foremost hardingfele maker for 150 years, and their instruments remain popular among the best Hardanger fiddle players today. Although it looks similar to a violin, the hardingfele is smaller and uses nine strings; four strings are played with a bow, while the other five vibrate sympathetically. Reserve your entry time and buy tickets at MIM.org to see more recent updates in the Europe Gallery and throughout the museum! #MuseumFromHome

There's so much to explore at MIM! Pick up a free Family Gallery Guide and discover exhibits, learn fun facts, and find hidden gems in our Geographic Galleries. Reserve your entry time and buy tickets online today at MIM.org!

MIM curator Rich Walter weighs in on Sam Cooke’s influence on American music in this Smithsonian Magazine article that explores the true story behind the film, One Night in Miami, the dramatized story of a 1964 meeting between Cooke, Cassius Clay, Malcolm X, and Jim Brown. https://bit.ly/2LYOt5W

Yesterday’s Celebrate Local performances showed us distinct musical styles from local artists Yellow Bird Productions and Run Boy Run! Join us today at MIM and experience more of Arizona's diverse music with a performance of Latin jazz music by Carmela y Más, a bolo tie craft, and more: https://bit.ly/2LFUJiC

Need a gift for a kid in your life this holiday season? Check out the Museum Store's unique selection of instruments for kids! Museum admission is not required to shop and curbside pickup is available. Visit theMIMstore.org to browse more fun instruments, books, toys, and more. Order online by midnight on Tuesday, December 15 to receive your gifts by Christmas!

Celebrate musical traditions around the world with us on December 19 & 20 at 'Tis the Season: Holidays at MIM! Enjoy festive outdoor performances, a holiday sleigh bells craft, mini gallery talks, storytelling, and more. All activities are included with paid museum admission and free for members. To buy tickets visit https://bit.ly/3mXrtlm. To support social distancing, we are limiting the number of guests at each activity. Visit MIM.org for more details about our safety precautions.

Happy Thanksgiving! MIM is open tomorrow, November 27, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Reserve your entry time and buy tickets online today at MIM.org! Wishing you a happy holiday. #MIMphx

New concerts on sale now at the MIM Music Theater! Enjoy festive live music by local artists Renee Patrick, Suzanne Lansford, and Nicole Pesce in A We3 Christmas on Dec. 12; classic blues riffs with Lee Perreira on Dec. 16; and soulful performances by best-selling solo pianist Jim Brickman Music on Dec. 30 & 31 and Jan. 1 & 2. See all of our safety precautions and get your tickets here https://bit.ly/2ITJWhM

Happy Hanukkah from all of us at MIM! There’s still time to shop unique items from the Museum Store for children and adults. Every purchase supports MIM, and curbside pickup is available. Visit theMIMstore.org or shop in-person for gifts sure to delight everyone on your list!

See MIM conservator Rodrigo Correa-Salas restore an early twentieth-century goblet drum made by the Luba people in southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in MIM's Conservation Lab. This drum and more than 150 stunning and rare masks, instruments, and costumes from the late 1800s to early 1900s are on display at MIM's special exhibition Congo Masks and Music: Masterpieces from Central Africa, presented by U.S. Bank. Tickets and details at exhibition.MIM.org. #CongoMasksatMIM

MIM’s special exhibition Congo Masks and Music: Masterpieces from Central Africa, presented by U.S. Bank, places instruments alongside masks in their authentic performance contexts. Tickets and details at exhibition.MIM.org. This female Kifwebe mask was made by the Songye people in the Uruwa zone in the 1940s. Female mask examples are predominantly white (covered with white clay or kaolin) and devoid of the large crests found on male masks that bear black, red, and white st...ripes. This mask may be as powerful as its male counterpart in implementing Kifwebe association regulations. It also displays a kinder demeanor, given that it is a symbol of female prowess, beauty, and fertility. Large slit drums are among a few instruments, including iron bells, that accompany Kifwebe masqueraders as they arrive at villages. This early twentieth-century slit drum is carved and decorated with attention to detail, with fine adzing technique on its surface, a well-balanced and hollowed trapezoidal shape, decorative prestige upholstery tacks, and finely braided fiber belt with small antelope horns and bells. #CongoMasksatMIM

On display at the Democratic Republic of the Congo exhibit, this early 20th-century Mangbetu tulip-shaped slit drum was carved hollow from one piece of wood. Imported upholstery tacks are added to its surface to reflect prestige. The tacks also add texture to the drum's edges and introduce anthropomorphic figuresan ingenious play of materials and effective visual design. Slit drums and accompanying instruments are played during commemorative events for Mangbetu rulers. #MuseumFromHome

YouTube guitar sensation Rob Scallon discusses mechanical instruments with MIM curator Rich Walter. Check out this video to hear demos of some of the instruments in our Mechanical Music Gallery filmed early this year. https://youtu.be/oioTJLl6uJg

MIM will be closed tomorrow, November 26, for Thanksgiving. We're excited to welcome you back to explore our spacious galleries from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday during regular hours. Wishing you a wonderful holiday!

Plan your visit to MIM ahead of time! We’ve implemented timed ticket entry through the holidays to manage capacity limits and provide you with the safest possible guest experience. During peak times, MIM may sell out of same-day tickets or you may be given an entry time a few hours away. Reserve your entry time and buy tickets online today! MIM.org/museum-admission

In the 1890s, German and American manufacturers developed music boxes that used interchangeable metal discs, improving the accessibility of music at home. In this video, hear a demonstration of an early 1900s interchangeable-disc music box, currently on display in MIM’s Mechanical Music Gallery. #MuseumFromHome

New concert on sale now at the MIM Music Theater! Don’t miss master guitarist Esteban, who practiced under legendary classical guitarist Andrés Segovia, on Nov. 12 & 13. See all of our safety precautions and get your tickets here https://bit.ly/2ITJWhM

One week from today on December 1, people around the world will participate in #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving that harnesses the power of millions to celebrate generosity worldwide. At MIM, we believe music heals, inspires, and connects us all, wherever you are. We hope you’ll consider helping us make the world’s music accessible to everyone.

This holiday season, discover an outstanding selection of global gifts for the whole family at the MIM Museum Store, including festive decorations, musical instruments, home décor, toys, music-themed books, and more! Can’t decide? A MIM gift card or gift membership is sure to hit the right note. Museum admission is not required to shop, and every purchase supports MIM and its programs. Shop today at theMIMstore.org!

Born on this day in 1925, Celia Cruz, the Queen of Salsa, was already an internationally celebrated Cuban singer when she moved to the U.S. in 1961. Cruz became a leading figure in the modern era of Latin music and helped bridge well-established Cuban genres with New York City’s salsa movement. Her longstanding collaborations with major bandleaders, including Tito Puente, catapulted New York’s salsa to global popularity. A display dedicated to Cruz in MIM’s Artist Gallery includes a stage outfit and maracas owned by the singer. Loan and photo courtesy of the Celia Cruz Legacy Project.

Thanks The Discoverer for featuring MIM as Arizona’s coolest museum! See our safety precautions and plan your visit to explore the world’s music at MIM.org. https://bit.ly/2IYj6Hf

Reserve your spot for Wednesday’s online Mini Music Makers class! Sing, dance, and play with your little ones (ages 05) on Zoom with MIM’s curator of education. Music making aids in young children’s development and helps foster a sense of well-beingall while having fun! Tickets starting at $4: https://bit.ly/2BE6Xnu

Eliza really enjoyed today’s Mini Music Makers class! I have been looking for Zoom activities that click for hershe’s a tough sell! We both had a lot of fun dancing and playing our instruments. Looking forward to attending again next week!Marissa, MIMkids Mini Music Makers Parent Join MIM’s curator of education, Katie Palmer, tomorrow for an online Mini Music Makers class on Zoom and experience music from around the globe with your little ones (ages 05)! Can’t make it? Classes are every Wednesday! Tickets starting at $4: https://bit.ly/2BE6Xnu

On display at the Nigeria exhibit, this stunning early 20th-century drum made by the Yorùbá people is carved from a heavy tree trunk. Barely hollowed out to serve as a percussion instrument, the drum mostly functions as a symbolic altar object, with a surface heavily encrusted with substances applied as offerings, the remnants of libations. A number of figures are deeply carved on the drum’s outer body, including symbols of rank, figures playing drums, and a carving with feline ears playing a bell. More carvings include a thick-bodied snake that surrounds the area below the drum’s membrane, holding an antelope in its mouth while a bird bites its tail. The scene is probably a metaphor for the fragility of power. #MuseumFromHome

Experience the joys of the holiday season at MIM! Our holiday décor includes instrument snowflakes, a fifteen-foot Christmas tree with musical ornaments, and a beautiful menorah. Reserve your entry time and buy tickets online today! MIM.org/museum-admission

For us, music is the closest thing we have to magic. Like an emotional time machine, music can transport you and then meet you right where you are. Music doesn’t ask anything of you, yet it gives back everything you need plus a little more.Haley Gold & Spencer Bryant, 76th Street We have been so grateful to be able to safely welcome audiences back to the MIM Music Theater. For those at home, enjoy this video of local indie rock power duo 76th Street performing Close from their recent concert at MIM.

MIM’s Big Drum exhibit is located near the entrance to the United States / Canada Gallery and makes a striking impression. The term Big Drum implies the communal nature of how it is played in Native American cultures, with a group gathered around the drum. The Big Drum originated in the Plains, but has become a mainstay of intertribal social gatherings called powwows throughout North America. The drum is central to these ceremonies, providing a beat that symbolizes the hear...tbeat of Mother Earth, calling nations together through its sound and the dance it inspires. MIM’s exhibit features drums from both the Northern and Southern Plains peoples. The display’s vibrantly colored powwow dance regalia was owned by Juaquin Hamilton-Youngbird, a world-champion dancer from the Sac and Fox nation, and his wife Dyanni Hamilton-Youngbird (maker). The design features a sacred Water Bird (a symbol of renewal and wisdom) and flowers. #MuseumFromHome See more

See more than 150 stunning and rare masks and instruments on display at MIM’s special exhibition Congo Masks and Music: Masterpieces from Central Africa, presented by U.S. Bank. Tickets and details at exhibition.MIM.org. This early 20th-century kundi (harp) was made by the Zande people. Zande harps are very sophisticated instruments, manufactured with attention to material quality and detail in construction, as well as maintaining an elegant feel for aesthetically pleasing forms and shapes. This includes the beautifully shaped skin-covered resonators, well-crafted tuning pegs, and necks topped with finely carved figurative heads. The tonal sounds produced by these five-string harps match their material quality. Loan courtesy of the Africa Museum, Tervuren, Belgium. #CongoMasksatMIM

Join Kawambe-Omowale African Drum & Dance Theatre as they take students on a tour of West Africa in this clip of Bamaya from MIM’s virtual Artist Residency. Bamaya means the valley has become cool and everything is wet, and this traditional performance, originating in Ghana, represents the gift of rain and life. MIM’s virtual Artist Residency package includes a prerecorded 30-minute educational concert, pre- and post-video educational materials, and an optional LIVE Zoom session with the artists. Available now through December 4, 2020. Learn more: MIM.org/virtual-education-programs

Accompany the kids on an outing to the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, no matter where you live. Check out MIM’s virtual field trips for grades K12 featured in The New York Times! https://nyti.ms/3jTf2Fx

Automatons, or mechanical devices that imitate a living being, have been used all over the world since as early as the third century BCE. Often, automatons are added as a visual element to musical boxes. In this video, enjoy a demonstration of a musical doll automaton, currently on display in MIM’s Mechanical Music Gallery. #MuseumFromHome

Fall concerts are on sale now at the MIM Music Theater! Enjoy live music featuring Phoenix guitarist Hans Olson on Oct. 23; the indie rock harmonies of local duo 76th Street on Oct. 29; virtuoso guitar playing by Arizona artists Mike Breen, Bill Dutcher - Acoustic Guitarist, and Pete Pancrazi in Extreme Acoustic Guitar on Nov. 19; as well as classical pianist Alpin Hong on Nov. 6 & 7. See all of our safety precautions and get your tickets here https://bit.ly/2ITJWhM

Classical music is good for the heart! Enjoy this performance of Mozart’s Symphony No. 6 in F Major Allegro by The Phoenix Symphony at the MIM Music Theater in January 2019.

"You drum, and you drum, and you drum, and you stop . . . freeze!" Make music with us this fall in an online Mini Music Makers class for little ones (ages 05). We'll explore music from around the globe through song, dance, and play. Tickets starting at $4: https://bit.ly/2BE6Xnu