For Thanksgiving 2017, I pitched (and the family agreed!) to get together in Sedona. All of us flew into Phoenix from the various cities we live in (Portland, LA, Bay Area, Chicago) and so we had some time in Phoenix bookending our time in Sedona. One of the ways we passed the time was the new to us Musical Instrument Museum, aka MIM. There are not many music instrument museums, and most are in Europe. MIM further prides itself on being representative of global music. It’s definitely worth a visit – let me show you why!
Built in 2010, MIM offers 15,000 musical instruments and associated objects from nearly 200 countries around the world. After purchasing your admission ticket ($20 1-day or a discounted $30 2-day that you must use the second visit within a week), you will also receive a headphone with volume control unit for each person in your group. Most exhibits features a TV with multiple videos cycling for a minute or so. The videos vary from showing local musicians of a county performing their native music, often in native dress, sometimes including native dance, to just demonstrating how the instrument was made or how it works. The headphones automatically sync with each of those TVs when you are in proximity to it.
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