Museum of Music

Museu de la Música de Barcelona

In March 2007, the Museu de la Música opened its doors to the public in the Auditori with a brand-new display of its instrument collections and musical documents.

The new permanent exhibition gathers nearly five-hundred instruments from various periods and cultures, a collection that is considered one of the most important in Spain. Structured into various fields and with audiovisual materials −music, images and text− the Museu de la Música invites visitors to acquaint themselves with the world of music in a direct and experiential way and to discover how throughout history, humankind has used music as a vehicle for communication and expression. The main tour path called Orpheus , begins with an introduction to the elements that constitute music and then continues with its evolution over time and space: it begins with ancient civilisation and covers the birth and diffusion of polyphony, Baroque, classicism, romanticism, new colours and the industry of sound in the 19th century as well as new styles and technologies from the 20th century. Key instruments and the guitar collection occupy a prominent place in the Museum as does the Catalan Musicians' Gallery. Running parallel to the collections is the exhibition «The Permanence of Sound» , which explains societies’ need to capture music using different supports that have changed over time − from the writing of music to the technological advances that have allowed for the recording and reproduction of sound. Finally, there is the Interactive Gallery, where visitors can handle objects, model instruments and real instruments to answer the question: “why does it make a sound?”».

The Museum offers visitors the chance to tour the permanent exhibition in a flexible manner guided by its various thematic itineraries. Orpheus is the name of the main itinerary and is designed for the general public. Little Orpheus is for school groups, families and other groups. Other monographs can be adapted to suit the specific requirements of different groups. These alternative audiovisual itineraries must be booked in advance and are offered in Catalan, Spanish and English.

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