Past Exhibitions

The Museum of Making Music is proud to announce its latest spotlight exhibition, MusicUnity: Connecting Communities Through Music; on display from December 15, 2024, through April 30, 2025. This thought-provoking and inspiring exhibition explores the transformative power of music in bridging communities and empowering individuals through innovation, healing, and lifelong learning. MusicUnity highlights how the world of music making,…

Created in collaboration with the MIDI Association, MIDI@40 celebrates the incredible possibilities enabled by MIDI in the 40 years since its public introduction. Through a collection of stories and media from manufacturers, musicians, and engineers, visitors will learn about the myriad ways MIDI has impacted music: new sonic and performance capabilities, far-reaching real-time collaboration, nearly limitless…

Chances are you’ve got some ideas about what “good music” is. But what about the good of music? What is music good for? What good does music do? What good is it for you, for us, and for the world? Guests are invited to discover an interactive exhibition that explores and asks them to consider these questions. Add your voice to the conversation about the good of music…

Les Paul Thru the Lens explores the life of pioneering musician and innovator Les Paul. Through a series of 24 photographs, visitors will see a chronicle of Paul’s life, career, and achievements: his early performances as Red Hot Red, his marriage to and work with Mary Ford, his explorations in the recording studio and with…

The need to express ourselves through sound is primal.  The drive to create tools that magnify this expression is fundamental. The people and stories told in the Museum of Making Music are all part of an enduring and unflappable lineage.  For many centuries, and in fact before the tracking of time, this long line of…

As the world became increasingly electrified in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, musicians and scientists began laying the foundations of “synthesis”—an entirely new way of building sound through electrical current. This also opened the door for the development of entirely new instruments. Although early instruments were limited to only a handful of sounds,…

Just over 60 years ago, accordions were at the forefront of our musical landscape. With annual sales topping a quarter of a million instruments, they were seen and heard on stages, in stores, and in classrooms across the country.  But musical tastes shifted dramatically by the end of the 1950s, and, within 10 years of…

Can photographs capture music? Can they become part of the music? And is it possible to capture musical photographs? If you’ve never thought about these questions before, the photography of Henry Diltz can help you come up with a few answers. A musician himself, Diltz’s images shape the way we see—and hear—musical icons like Neil…