Musical Instruments | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/musical-instruments/RSS feed for Musical InstrumentsenMon, 15 Jun 2026 21:13:43 +0000A Museum of American Music—Headlined by Bruce Springsteen—Opened in New Jersey With Instruments, Lyrics and Clothes From Rock Stars and Pop Legendshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-museum-of-american-music-headlined-by-bruce-springsteen-opens-in-new-jersey-with-instruments-lyrics-and-clothes-from-rock-stars-and-pop-legends-180988958/The Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music at Monmouth University, which houses the archives of its namesake Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, welcomed its first visitorsMon, 15 Jun 2026 21:13:43 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-museum-of-american-music-headlined-by-bruce-springsteen-opens-in-new-jersey-with-instruments-lyrics-and-clothes-from-rock-stars-and-pop-legends-180988958/See the Human Body Morph Into Musical Instruments From Around the World at a New Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Arthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-the-human-body-morph-into-musical-instruments-from-around-the-world-at-a-new-exhibition-at-the-metropolitan-museum-of-art-180988931/A belly turns into a drum, hands mold into percussion tools and a face adorns a brass bell in this anatomical art history showWed, 10 Jun 2026 19:41:08 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-the-human-body-morph-into-musical-instruments-from-around-the-world-at-a-new-exhibition-at-the-metropolitan-museum-of-art-180988931/Alan Lomax Spent Years Traveling the Country to Record the Sounds of America. The Legacy of His Obsession Will Live Foreverhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/alan-lomax-spent-years-traveling-country-record-sounds-america-legacy-obsession-live-forever-180988858/By letting Muddy Waters hear himself for the first time, he unlocked a new confidence that set the sharecropper on the path to superstardom. And that’s just the start of what he found in churches, prisons and even lumberjack campsWed, 10 Jun 2026 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/alan-lomax-spent-years-traveling-country-record-sounds-america-legacy-obsession-live-forever-180988858/This Iconic Pink Floyd Instrument Just Became the Most Expensive Guitar Ever Sold at Auctionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-iconic-pink-floyd-instrument-just-became-the-most-expensive-guitar-ever-sold-at-auction-180988364/David Gilmour's 1969 Fender Stratocaster, used on "The Dark Side of the Moon" and other famous albums, sold for a record $14.55 millionWed, 18 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-iconic-pink-floyd-instrument-just-became-the-most-expensive-guitar-ever-sold-at-auction-180988364/These Bach Compositions Were Lost to History. They Were Just Performed for the First Time in 300 Years—and You Can Listen to Themhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-bach-compositions-were-lost-to-history-they-were-just-performed-for-the-first-time-in-300-years-and-you-can-listen-to-them-180987727/After discovering the two pieces in the 1990s, researchers have finally concluded that they were created by the famous German composer. An organist performed them for audiences on November 17Fri, 21 Nov 2025 18:05:55 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-bach-compositions-were-lost-to-history-they-were-just-performed-for-the-first-time-in-300-years-and-you-can-listen-to-them-180987727/Hundreds of Australian Bagpipers Attempt to Set World Record While Playing AC/DChttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/hundreds-of-australian-bagpipers-attempt-to-set-world-record-while-playing-acdc-180987714/The performance of "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ’n’ Roll)" took place a few days before the band played its first show in Australia in a decadeThu, 20 Nov 2025 15:29:42 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/hundreds-of-australian-bagpipers-attempt-to-set-world-record-while-playing-acdc-180987714/How Old-Time Fiddle Music Took Root in Indigenous Alaskahttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/how-old-time-fiddle-music-took-root-in-indigenous-alaska-180987664/In Fairbanks, fiddling thrives—bridging cultures, sustaining traditions and filling the dance floor with lifeFri, 07 Nov 2025 20:03:37 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/how-old-time-fiddle-music-took-root-in-indigenous-alaska-180987664/In an Experimental Composition, 50 Pianos Tuned to Slightly Different Frequencies Play Togetherhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-an-experimental-composition-50-pianos-tuned-to-slightly-different-frequencies-play-together-180987442/Audience members are surrounded by a ring of dozens of pianos in "11,000 Strings"Fri, 03 Oct 2025 20:45:59 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-an-experimental-composition-50-pianos-tuned-to-slightly-different-frequencies-play-together-180987442/Former Rolling Stones Musician Mick Taylor Claims His Stolen Guitar Is at the Methttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/former-rolling-stones-musician-mick-taylor-claims-his-stolen-guitar-is-at-the-met-180987096/The guitarist’s team says he last saw the famous instrument when it vanished 54 years ago. The Met, which received the guitar as part of a recent donation, disputes these claimsMon, 04 Aug 2025 20:54:22 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/former-rolling-stones-musician-mick-taylor-claims-his-stolen-guitar-is-at-the-met-180987096/Have Eagle-Eyed Experts Found This 316-Year-Old Stradivarius Violin That Was Looted During World War II?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/have-eagle-eyed-experts-found-this-316-year-old-stradivarius-violin-that-was-looted-during-world-war-ii-180986962/Eight decades after the 1709 violin known as the "Small Mendelssohn" disappeared, experts think they've located it in JapanMon, 14 Jul 2025 20:14:12 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/have-eagle-eyed-experts-found-this-316-year-old-stradivarius-violin-that-was-looted-during-world-war-ii-180986962/