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Musical Instruments

David Gilmour's famed guitar was also auctioned in 2019, when it sold for just under $4 million.

This Iconic Pink Floyd Instrument Just Became the Most Expensive Guitar Ever Sold at Auction

David Gilmour’s 1969 Fender Stratocaster, used on “The Dark Side of the Moon” and other famous albums, sold for a record $14.55 million

Wolfram Weimer, the German culture minister; Peter Wollny, director of the Bach Archive in Leipzig; and Burkhard Jung, Leipzig's mayor pictured with the two compositions

Cool Finds

These Bach Compositions Were Lost to History. They Were Just Performed for the First Time in 300 Years—and You Can Listen to Them

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 17

A group of 374 bagpipers performed in Melbourne's Federation Square.

Hundreds of Australian Bagpipers Attempt to Set World Record While Playing AC/DC

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 decade

For more than four decades, the Athabascan Fiddle Festival has filled community halls in Fairbanks with a sound that is both global and distinctly Native.

How Old-Time Fiddle Music Took Root in Indigenous Alaska

In Fairbanks, fiddling thrives—bridging cultures, sustaining traditions and filling the dance floor with life

11,000 Strings at Park Avenue Armory

In an Experimental Composition, 50 Pianos Tuned to Slightly Different Frequencies Play Together

Audience members are surrounded by a ring of dozens of pianos in “11,000 Strings”

The guitar previously used by Keith Richards on display at Christie's in 2004

Former Rolling Stones Musician Mick Taylor Claims His Stolen Guitar Is at the Met

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 claims

Photos of the violin taken before it was stolen

Have Eagle-Eyed Experts Found This 316-Year-Old Stradivarius Violin That Was Looted During World War II?

Eight decades after the 1709 violin known as the “Small Mendelssohn” disappeared, experts think they’ve located it in Japan

A view of Jennie C. Jones' new installation at the Met's roof garden

Hear the Wind Play These Stunning Stringed Sculptures in the Met’s New Rooftop Art Installation

Created by artist Jennie C. Jones, the new exhibition features a trio of towering musical instruments made from concrete and aluminum

The reel-to-reel tape features four original Dylan compositions, including "Song to Woody."

You Can Buy a Reel-to-Reel Tape of a Young Bob Dylan Performing Six Songs at the Gaslight Cafe

Billed as “Bob Dylan’s first demo tape,” the recordings from September 1961 played an outsize role in launching the 20-year-old aspiring songwriter’s career

Audiences of all ages are flocking to Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo, California, for weekend sing-alongs, film shorts and features accompanied by the theater organ.

Eight Places to Experience a Movie Like It’s 1925

Theaters from Washington to Florida and Massachusetts to Arizona show silent films accompanied by live music played on elaborate theater organs

The violin was made in Italy in the early 18th century.

This Storied Stradivarius Violin Made in 1714 Just Sold for Over $11 Million at Auction

The instrument was owned by a notable 19th-century Hungarian violinist

Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, a new James Mangold film

Based on a True Story

The Real Story Behind ‘A Complete Unknown’ and Bob Dylan’s Early Career, From His Arrival in New York City to When He ‘Went Electric’

A new film starring Timothée Chalamet tracks Dylan’s evolution from an acoustic folk singer to a rock ‘n’ roll superstar

Known as the Joachim-Ma Stradivarius, the violin was once owned by the renowned Hungarian musician Joseph Joachim.

This 300-Year-Old Stradivarius Violin Could Become the Most Expensive Musical Instrument Ever Sold at Auction

Crafted by the renowned violin maker Antonio Stradivari in 1714, the rare instrument is expected to sell for between $12 million and $18 million

Could a private citizen get hold of a genome and use it to bring an extinct animal back to life? 

Could Anyone Bring an Extinct Animal Back to Life? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

To celebrate the guitar’s 70th birthday, Fender has released a Limited Edition 1954 Hardtail Deluxe Closet Classic, complete with gold hardware, for more opulent collectors. 

The Stratocaster Became Rock Music’s Most Iconic Guitar 70 Years Ago

The plucky design behind the legendary instrument that forever changed the look of rock ‘n’ roll

Few things personify cool like a shades-wearing instrumentalist masterfully commanding the saxophone.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

These 15 Groovy Photos Capture the Joy of Music

Musical instruments have existed for eons, and humans continue to create and enjoy them

Cypress Hill's Sen Dog and B-Real perform with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Cypress Hill Performs With the London Symphony Orchestra—Just as ‘The Simpsons’ Predicted 28 Years Ago

Originally a gag on the sitcom, the unexpected collaboration drew a packed house at the Royal Albert Hall in London

Look closely at Libba Cotten’s 1950 Martin guitar, part of the Sounding American Music exhibition at the National Museum of American History, and you may be able to see the unique grooves formed by her fingers on the body of the instrument as she played it upside down.

How This Self-Taught Guitarist Became a Music Legend

For decades, Libba Cotten was one of the most distinctive folk musicians in America

John Lennon plays the rediscovered 12-string Framus Hootenanny guitar.

Cool Finds

Man Finds John Lennon’s Forgotten Guitar in His Father’s Attic

The 12-string instrument, which is going to auction in late May, spent 50 years hidden away in the British countryside

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov performs a dance at his 35th birthday celebration in 2011.

Chechnya Bans Music That Isn’t Between 80 and 116 Beats Per Minute

Officials have given artists until June 1 to rewrite material that does not fall within the accepted range

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