Musical Instrument Museum

4725 E Mayo Blvd, Phoenix, AZ 85050, USA

Address:	4725 E Mayo Blvd, Phoenix, AZ 85050, USA
Phone:	+1 480-478-6000
Site:	mim.org
Rating:	4.9
Working:	9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 6

David Nelson

This is a great museum and definitely worth the visit. The exhibits are extensive and very interesting. Youll know more what to expect if you think of it as the "Museum of Musical Culture", since the bulk of the space is organized by region and country, rather than by type of instrument. This is still quite interesting, but it has a couple of problems. First, theres a lot of repetition (for example, most cultures use guitars) Second, an inordinate amount of space is given to very primitive instruments. It may be politically correct to pretend a crudely carved courd or discarded oil drum is equivalent to a violin, harpsichord, or saxophone, but it really isnt. That said, there was sometimes surprisingly beautiful sound coning out of very crude instruments - a particularly haunting Mongolian ensemble comes to mind - but this was frequently lost among minor variations on "drumming". Some areas were organized by type of instrument, and I personally found these the most enjoyable. For example, there was a room dedicated to mechanical music that included a fascinating machine for making player piano rolls - truly a technical marvel for its time. I even liked the extensive accordion exhibit. Since theyve chosen to focus on musical culture, I would have perhaps liked to see a little more "big picture" information about the migration and evolution of instruments as they spread around the world. Maybe Ill write them that as a suggestion. Still, these are minor criticisms. Theres no question that this is a unique and impressive museum. Also, as someone who lives in the area, I found it a pleasant surprise.

Heidi Richmond

When in the Musical Instrument Museum, one cannot help but feel. The music hits like waves of emotion – soon the beat of the music is indistinguishable from that of the heart. Compelled by this flood of excitement, people sway, tap their feet, maybe even dance. Within this treasure trove of culture, children, seniors, and everyone in-between learn about others in the most relatable way possible – through music – the language of the soul. Yeah...Ill be back! :D Seriously though, this place has it all. From the first time I entered, I was transformed by the magic that is the MIM. You dont just walk around looking at instruments. Sure you see amazing instruments – so many I had never heard of or seen before – but you also get to SEE and HEAR them played on through MIMs cutting edge technology. There is even a room full of instruments for people to play! I have easily spent hours wandering the galleries and have since purchased a membership. I HIGHLY recommend this place. The building is breathtakingly beautiful and flooded with natural light. The people are super friendly… like Disney Land happy and helpful... I LOVE the food in the cafe. Every show I have seen in the theater has been top notch. Even the bathrooms are sparkling clean and have two-ply TP! Haha! :D I cannot say enough about MIM. It is unlike any museum I have been to. Honestly, it is more of an experience than a museum. Simply incredible. Visit this "museum" and I guarantee youll leave with a song in your heart and a plan to return.

Nathan Morse

I thought this sounded like an interesting museum. Just. Wow. If youre the type of person who sees a musical instrument and wants to play it or see it played, or if you have any anthropologist in you, then you will not believe how quickly a day goes by. The cycle of performance excerpts at most exhibits is irresistible. The number of distinct instruments is mind blowing. The fantastic gift shop (only a portion of which is the kitschy kiddie bait — plenty of REAL instruments to buy) features a poster utterly full of a broad taxonomy of instruments. If Id seen it before visiting the MIM, Id have bought it in a heartbeat; after the museum, though, it just left me thinking, "But… what about all the others on display?" The MIM has made an effort to present instruments from every country, every culture — a concept that sounds like a noble but impossible goal — and by the end of the day, racing to sample ones I hadnt yet reached, I was thinking they actually may have succeeded. Of course, they host concerts, as well, and the cafe had an interesting, classy menu — not at all the usual youre-trapped-at-the-museum slop. The MIM is enough of a class act that you are welcome to leave and return brandishing your receipt, and of course there is a room in which you can play numerous [non-mouth] instruments yourself! Where else are you going to play a theremin, a harp, a nickelodeon, and a massive gong in the same day?

Cyrus Sabet

The museum was nice but my well behaved group of 14+ year old kids was not allowed in the gift shop, the employees working there told me that we needed 1 chaperone for every 2 kids, I told them we have 29 kids and 4 counsleors and they did not care, so we all had to take turns going inside. While waiting, one person in the group asked the front desk about this policy they said there was no such thing but they had no power over the employees in the store so she could do nothing. One girl in my group went inside without a chaperone and they did not bug her until someone else inside the store realized they were part of a group, so they were willing to let children inside unsupervised but them being part of a group somehow changed all that. One chaperone then asked an employee why such a stupid rule would exist, she claimed that no one would want to go inside a store with alot of kids despite the store being empty and our money spending just the same as anyone elses. Someone asked another employee who said that they could not control a store of 30 kids which is understandable, but why have such a slim ratio? Especially since kids are more likely to waste money. After all that the store was overpriced and no one wanted to go in after waiting outside of it for 20 minutes.

A Private User

Tonight I took my husband and two children to the MIM, a girl age 7, and boy age 2 (who is very active but also very well behaved). I was skeptical about the age appropriateness for the kids, but my husband and I have been dying to go for months now and couldnt wait any longer. We went prepared, both with a portable DVD player for the baby and some snacks. The tour is audio with very cool WiFi headsets that tune into the displays as you stand in front of them. To my amazement, not only did our daughter continually thank us for bringing her to "the coolest place ever!" but the baby even listened to his headset while buckled into his stroller for almost an entire hour before I had to get out the DVD player for him. The building itself is absolutely gorgeous and the exhibits are broken down by country, and is much more thorough than I would have imagined. We spent about 2 hours touring the different galleries and then another 40 minutes in the Experience Gallery, where there is a wide variety of cool instruments for you to try out for yourself. I would recommend, if you are taking small children, to save that for the end, otherwise they may never want to leave, and may not understand not being able to touch the ones in the exhibits. Overall, time and money well spent!

A Private User

First off, if you have children under 12, skip this museum. My children are ages 6 and 9 and very well-behaved and MIMs Natzi security guard accosted my children about 20 minutes into the museum reprimanding my Mom and I for not having them at arms length. They were within 10 feet of us during all times of our visit and this security guard ruined our first experience and probably the last trip. As a result we couldnt fully enjoy the museum because the guard literally paced back and forth by us for the next hour. Lame. The experience room was fun and the employee who worked there was as nice as could be. Too bad because our family fully appreciates music and enjoys trips to local concerts, symphonies, etc. Also, the audio tour didnt always come through in our headsets even when we were standing right in front of the locator box. Liked: the wide-varying musical instrument museum. I would start out in Europe and dedicate a smaller amount of time to Africa or you will get burned out on tribal music before hitting the better rooms.