The Musical Instrument Museum is Quite Noteworthy

Yesterday I visited the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Scottsdale, Arizona. The MIM features every kind of musical instrument imaginable — the kind of instruments played every day by people worldwide. Although the exhibits share the rich diversity and history of many world cultures, music and instruments show us what we all have in common — that music is the language of the soul. ^[MIM]

In addition to showcasing over 8,000 instruments from around the world, this month featured a special exhibit highlighting the culture of the Congo.

The museum has rooms where the exhibits are organized by continent/country.

There's also a room dedicated to specific artists.

As someone who works for a design-and-make software company, I was thrilled to see some exhibits that show the parts or how the instruments are made.

Since Autodesk has technology centers where we work with customers on their design and make processes, the Conservation Lab at the MIM looked hauntingly familiar:

It was great to see an RKS guitar in the museum. We have two of those in our Autodesk gallery in San Francisco.

Many musical instruments are made with AutoCAD, Inventor, or Fusion 360.

Visitors can experience instruments for themselves in the Experience Gallery. I tried my hands at a Theremin. The theremin is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer, so this instrument is COVID-19 friendly. The theremin is named after its inventor, Leon Theremin, who patented the device in 1928. The instrument's controlling section consists of two metal antennas that sense the relative position of the performer's hands and control oscillators for frequency with one hand, and amplitude (volume) with the other. The electric signals from the theremin are amplified and sent to a loudspeaker. Many of us have heard the device on the Beach Boys' hit, "Good Vibrations." ^[wikipedia]

At Autodesk, we are inspired by a better world designed and made for all. Our mission is to empower innovators with design and make technology so they can achieve the new possible. We deliver customers intuitive, powerful, and accessible technology that provides automation and insight for their design and make processes, enabling them to achieve better outcomes for their products, their businesses, and the world. Whether hand-made or fashioned by the latest technology, musical instruments and the music that results from them are part of a better world.

Instrumentation is alive in the lab.