Folk and Roots Music & Musical Instrument Museums

Bolivia

Museo Nacional de Etnografía y Folklore. Dirección: Calle Ingavi N° 916, Casilla de Correos: 5817, La Paz,- Bolivia. Phones: 0591-2-358559, 0591-2-340791, 0591-2-392241.  

Canada

Virtal Museum of Canada. It's a high quality museum, with photographs and some videos that show performances on some of the instruments.

Chile

Museo de Arte Popular Americano. Address: Compañía # 2691, Santiago. Phone/Fax: 6821481 – 6822208. E-mail: museopop@uchile.cl.

Denmark

Musikhistorisk Museum. Copenhagen, Denmark. The Museum of Musical Instruments in Copenhagen is housed in three beautifully restored buildings from the 18^th century in the central part of the town. It features a collection of European historical instruments, a collection of traditional instruments from Europe, Asia, and Africa, and a library and archives. Address: Åbenrå 30, DK-1124 København K, Denmark. Phone: (+45) 33 11 27 26, Fax: (+45) 33 11 60 44. E-mail: musikhistorisk.museum@get2net.dk

Ecuador

Musical instruments Museum "Pedro Pablo Traversari"(Museo de Instrumentos Musicales "Pedro Pablo Traversari"). Quito, Ecuador. The museum is located inside the Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana "Benjamín Carrión"complex. Its holdings include over 2000 pieces of musical art collected by researcher Pedro Traversari in the Americas, Europe, Africa and the East. Address: Museo de Arte Moderno y Museo "Pedro Traversari,"Av. 12 de Octubre No. 555 y Patria, Quito - Ecuador. Phone: (593-2) 223-392.

Greece

Museum of Popular Instruments Research Center for Ethnomusicology, Hellenic (Greek) Ministry of Culture. Greece. The Museum of Popular Instruments - Research Centre for Ethnomusicology (MELMOKE) comprises the collection of about 1200 Greek popular musical instruments dating from the 18th century to the present day, the fruit of a half century of research and study by the musicologist Fivos Anoyanakis. The Museum is housed in the historical Lassanis Mansion, which was built in 1842 close to the Roman Agora. Address: 1-3, Diogenous Str., 105 56 Plaka, Athens, Greece. Phones: +30-1-3250198, 3254119, 3254129, Fax: +30-1-3250198. E-mail: ival@atlas.uoa.gr

Musical Workshop “Labyrinth”.  The Musical Workshop "Labyrinth" was founded in 1982 by Ross Daly in a tastefully restored old manor in the village of Houdetsi (20 km due south of Iraklion), where one can visit a permanent exhibition of rare musical instruments from all over the world.  Ross Daly, Aristic Director. Musical Workshop Labyrinth, Houdetsi 70100, Herakleion, Crete, Greece. Phone: +30 6977 283833. E-mail: rossdaly@otenet.gr.

Italy

Museo degli Strumenti Musicali di Tadasuni. The museum features a collection of popular folk instruments from Sardinia. Address:  Via Adua, 7 (casa parrocchiale), Tadasuni, Sardinia, Italy. Phone: +39 0785/50113.

Museo cultura e musica populare Villaggio Gesso - Messina, Sicily, Italy. Inaugurated in 1996, the museum focuses on the traditional music and culture of the Sicilian country folk. Phone: 090 - 53045 / 0338 - 85865063.

Ireland

Irish Music Hall of Fame, 57 Middle Abbey Street, Dublin, Ireland. Phone: +353 1 878 3345.

Mexico

Museo Universitario del Chopo, Mexico City, Mexico. The museum has space dedicated to music, dance and other art forms. It also programs activities such as workshops, conferences. concerts, etc. Address: Enrique González Martínez No.10. Col. Santa María la Ribera. Del. Cuauhtémoc. C.P. 06400. México D.F., Mexico. Phones: Tel: 546 54 84 y 546 84 90. Fax: 535 21 86. Hours of operation: Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Philippines

CCP Cultural Center of the Philippines - Museo Ng Kalinangang Filipino is a government-run museum that features Asian musical instruments as well as ethnographic collections, excavated pottery and jewelry, and visual art expressions of contemporary Filipino artists. Address: Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City, Philippines. Phone: (632) 832-1125 loc 1504 / 1505, Fax: (632) 832-3702. E-Mail: ccp@ccp.admu.edu.ph.

Russia

Glinka Museum of Musical culture. It is one of Russia's largest museums, an authoritative scientific institution and a major center of musicology and the history of music. Address: Fadeyev Street, Moscow 125047, Russia. Phone: 972 3237.

Senegal

Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire (IFAN) - Cheikh Anta Diop. The museum has a good collection of West African musical instruments. Place de Soweto, BP 206, Campus Universitaire Dakar, Senegal. Phone: +221 825 00 90 / (221) 825 98 90/ (221) 825 71 24, Fax: +221 24 49 18. E-mail : bifan@telecomplus.sn

Spain

Asturian People Ethnographic Museum. (Museo Etnográfico Pueblo de Asturias). An outdoor museum with permanent and temporary exhibits. Address: Ería del Piles, s/n. 33203 Gijón, Spain. Phone: +34 (98) 533 22 44.

Bagpipe Museum (Museo de la Gaita). Gijón, Asturias, Spain. Founded in 1965, it features bagpipes from Africa, Eastern and central Europe, France, Great Britain and the Iberian Peninsula (Asturias, Galicia, Aragón, and Mallorca in Spain and Tras-os-Montes in Portugal). The museum has an attractive light and sound show. Address: Ería del Piles, s/n. 33203 Gijón, Spain. Phone: +34 (98) 533 22 44. Hours of operation: July and August open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. During the rest of the year, it is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Fundación La Fontana has a collection of approximately 3.000 ethnographic musical instruments. There are pieces from mainly the following geographical regions: Asia-Africa-South America-Pacific Islands. Address: Finca La Fontana, 08569 Rupit, Barcelona, Spain. Fax: +34-93-201.73.20. E-mail: alemaluq@retemail.es

Museo de Arte Flamenco de La Cátedra de Flamencología (Museum of Flamenco Arts), Biblioteca Municipal, Plaza del General Primo de Rivera, 7-8, 2a plta, Jerez, Cádiz, Spain. Phone: +34-956-323300.

Museo de Instrumentos del Mundo (Museum of World Instruments). Opened July 5, 2002. The instruments belong to the large private collection of Spanish multi-instrumentalist Luis Delgado. It includes instruments from Spain India, the Middle East, psalteries, guitars, lutes and uds, reproductions of Medieval instruments and many more. The museum is located in the historical walled city of Urueña (Valladolid). Hours of operation: Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays from 12:00 to 14:00 and from 16:30 to 19:30.

Museu de la Música has a collection of musical instruments from Spain and the rest of Europe. Address: C F Zona Franca, 22, Barcelona, España. Phone: +34-932631349, Fax: +34-933364651.

Sweden

Musikmuseet. Stockholm, Sweden. The mainstay of the collections are close to 6,000 musical instruments. Western art music is especially well represented with the museum's instruments during the period 1600-1850. The collection of the 18th century woodwind is renowned in international organological circles. In addition, the museum has what is likely to be the largest number of Swedish folk instruments in the world plus a large number of folk instruments from elsewhere in Europe and outside, primarily from Africa and Asia. Address: Besöksadress: Sibyllegatan 2, Stockholm, Sweden. Phone: + 46 8 519 554 90, Fax: +46 8 663 9181.

Switzerland

Geneva Ethnographic Museum. Ethnomusicology Department. Address: 65, boulevard Carl-Vogt, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland. Phone: + 41 22- 418 45 50, Fax: + 41 22- 418 45 51. E-mail: musee.ethno@ville-ge.ch

The Museum's eight galleries are open to the public daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.  Address: University of South Dakota, 414 East Clark Street, Vermillion SD 57069. Museum Hours:  9:00-4:30  Monday through Friday; 10:00-4:30  Saturday; 2:00-4:30  Sunday.  No admission fee is charged; however, contributions are encouraged.

Visit the Museum's extensive website and take a virtual tour of some of its vast collections at www.usd.edu/smm.

Experience Music Project (EMP). Dedicated to exploring creativity and innovation in American popular music, EMP is a new kind of museum that strives to capture and reflect the essence of rock ‘n’ roll, its roots in jazz, soul, gospel, country and the blues, as well as rock music’s influence on hip-hop, punk and other recent genres. 

A total sensory experience awaits visitors inside EMP’s dynamic structure. Patrons can make their own music, see and learn about rare artifacts and memorabilia from EMP's collection of more than 80,000 items, explore various musical milestones within unique interpretive exhibits, and discover the power and joy of music in all its forms. 

Founded by investor and philanthropist Paul G. Allen, under the direction of co-founder Jody Patton and designed by architect Frank O. Gehry, the 140,000-square-foot multi-colored and "swoopy" museum rises up in the heart of the city at Seattle Center and provides visitors a musical experience unparalleled anywhere in the world. 

International Bluegrass Music Museum. It opened April 11, 2002. , 207 East Second Street, Owensboro, KY 42303, USA. Phone: +1-270-926-7891.

Motown Historical Museum. A museum dedicated to the label that produced some of the best black American music in the 20th century. It traces the roots of the Motown and its effect on 20th century popular music. Address: 2648 West Grand Boulevard, Detroit, MI 48208-1237, USA. Phone: +1-313-875-2264, Fax: +1-313-875-2267. E-mail: motownmuseum@aol.com. Hours of operation: Sunday and Monday, 12:00 until 5:00 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 until 5 p.m.

The Museum of Latin American Art (MoLAA) in Long Beach, California was founded by Dr. Robert Gumbiner in November 1996. It is the only museum in the Western United States that exclusively features contemporary Latin American art. A new 10,000 square foot Entertainment / Education / Special Event venue was completed in the summer of 2000, allowing the Museum to offer a broader variety of programming, including Lecture and Film Series, Music and Dance Concerts, Culinary Events, and Art Workshops for children and adults. Address: 628 Alamitos Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90802, USA. Phone: +1 -562-437-1689, Fax: +1-562-437-7043. E-mail: info@molaa.com

Navajo Nation Museum, P.O. Box 1840, Window Rock, AZ. 86515, USA. Fax: +1(928) 871-7941. E-mail: cb_winiann@yahoo.com

UK

Horniman Museum &Gardens. The museum is located in Dulwich, South London. It has a superb collection of old ethnographic musical instruments. The museum has just been remodeled and the musical collections is about to be opened to the public again. Address: 100 London Road, Forest Hill, London SE23 3PQ, in south London on the South Circular Road (A205). Entrance to the Museum and Gardens is free.

Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford, England, is an ethnographic museum of note with its musical instruments housed in a separate building from the main collections. Address: Pitt Rivers Museum, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PP, UK. Phone: +44 (0)1865 270927, Fax: +44 (0)1865 270943. E-mail: prm@prm.ox.ac.uk

Venezuela

Virtual Museum FUNDEF (Museo Virtual Colección FUNDEF), Venezuela. An online exhibition of some of the instruments that form part of FUNDEF's collection.

Last Updated 07/28/2007 11:04AM; 44,126 Hits