Smithsonian Museum Tells the Story of America's Musical History - Entertainment - Music

Throughout our nation's history, music has united generations and cultures like no other medium. At the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC, visitors can see how the music genres of many cultures have blended to become part of American culture.

The museum contains more than 5,000 concert and folk instruments: from 17th century Stradivarius violins to Dizzy Gillespie's Bb trumpet to Prince's Yellow Cloud guitar.

Artifacts such as a manuscript by Duke Ellington, rare guitars, and costumes from the Walt Disney musical The Lion King are housed in the National Treasures of Popular Culture exhibit or interspersed throughout other museum exhibits.

The history of America's music is documented through the museum's vast archives that house thousands of colorful handbills, along with sheet music, scrapbooks, and photos of everything from small-town bands to such musical icons as Elvis Presley and Ella Fitzgerald.

Another fascinating exhibit there is a cello made in 1915 by luthier Luigi Rovatti, who produced about 1,000 violins, violas, cellos, and guitars. It was once owned by Ennio Bolognini, a highly gifted and flamboyant cellist, composer, and conductor, who was also a gifted singer, as well as a South American welterweight boxing champion and aviator. The top of the cello contains more than 50 autographs of famous musicians and entertainers whom Bolognini worked with or admired, making it a "who's who" of classical music and entertainment of the mid-twentieth century.

Music can also be heard at the museum, not only from a collection of recordings that includes the earliest Edison cylinders, rare blues 78s, rock and roll LPs, interviews, oral histories, and films, but also from live performances of the museum's own groups and guest artists. The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra () presents a broad jazz repertoire, while the resident ensembles of the Smithsonian Chamber Music Society () performs musical masterpieces on instruments from the museum's world-renowned collections.

The National Museum of American History is free and open every day (except Christmas) from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. There are extended hours during the winter holidays. Visit for more information and to plan your visit.

Griffbrett Gitarre