Music

These Bells Play Seismic Shifts

Watch as UC Berkeley’s bells play the earth’s “natural frequencies”

What is the Most Important Innovation in the History of Rock 'n' Roll?

Musicians, historians and critics tell us what they consider to be the greatest game changers for the industry

Eddie Van Halen, 1985

The Electric Guitar's Long (And Louder), Strange Trip

From its gentle 16th-century acoustic origins to the souped-up ‘Frankenstein,’ a Smithsonian scholar strums the historic chords of the guitar

This personal robot can listen, talk, take photos and even feel temperature.

Five Wild Ideas That Just Got Funded: From an Automated Home Brewery to a Personal (Robot) Assistant

Two other quirky inventions teach music in novel ways

Zsanett Szirmay draws on traditional Hungarian embroidery and cross-stitch patterns in "Soundweaving."

This Music Is Made of Embroidery

Here’s what happens when you feed historical cross-stitch through a music box

Bearing witness to the historic march and the freedom songs sung along the way, Carl Benkert carried a large tape recorder hidden from the police and angry whites.

Listen to the Freedom Songs Recorded During the March From Selma to Montgomery

When MLK called for people to come to Selma, Detroit's Carl Benkert arrived with his tape recorder, making the indelible album "Freedom Songs"

Marian Anderson as Ulrica in the Verdi opera Un ballo in maschera

60 Years Ago, the First African-American Soloist Sang at the Met Opera

Marian Anderson performed as the fortuneteller Ulrica in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera

Our Answers to the Most Burning Questions of 2014

Here are the ten most popular installments of "Ask Smithsonian" this year

Repeat a Bit of Regular Speech, And It'll Turn Into a Song

Throw it in a loop, and listen to the music

Irving Berlin and wife Ellen MacKay

"White Christmas" Is Actually the Saddest Christmas Song

The season would have reminded composer Irving Berlin of his young son who died Christmas Day in 1928

Vinyl Producers Can’t Keep Up With Hipsters’ Demands

Vinyl is cool again, but will it last?

Though playing music is common in operating rooms, sleeping is not.

What’s Your Surgeon’s Jam? Probably Classical or Soft Rock

British doctors make the case for playing music during an operation

This 1897 calendar is brought to you by parading cats.

After 12/13/14, What Are the Next Fun Dates for Math Lovers?

Sequential integers are a bit boring, anyhow. Here are some more exciting sequences to celebrate over the next 89 years

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Norwegian Nobel Winners Release Their Inner Avant-Garde Musicians

Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine repurposed a Norse folk tune for a science lecture

Candy Crush Soda Saga brings classical music to tablets, smartphones and computers around the world.

Why the Composer of Candy Crush Soda Saga is the New King of Video Game Music

You may have never heard of Johan Holmstrom, but millions listen to his music every day

Artist Yoshi Sodeoka envisions musical instruments carried in satellites orbiting the Earth that would be able to “neutralize nations at war."

How Will We Make Music in 200 Years?

A group of innovators were asked to imagine what music will be like in 2214. If they're right, it could be pretty bizarre

One of the original Regency TR-1 models resides in the Smithsonian collections.

How the Transistor Radio with Music for Your Pocket Fueled a Teenage Social Revolution

In a burst of post World War II innovation, the Regency TR-1 transistor radio became the new "It" gift for the holiday season

Can’t Clap to the Beat? You Might be Beat-Deaf

For some people, tapping their foot to the beat is a challenge at a fundamental level

A hermit thrush perches on a branch in the Pennsylvania woods. Its songs have long been compared to human musical scales.

This Bird’s Songs Share Mathematical Hallmarks With Human Music

The hermit thrush prefers to sing in harmonic series, a fundamental component of human music

This Awesome Synthesizer Turns the Weather Into Song

Hear the pitter-patter of rain in a new way

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