‘Orange feel immensely proud,’ says CEO Cliff Cooper, ‘that our Orange Pics Only amplifier and cabinets are now on permanent display at NAMM’s beautiful Museum of Making Music – a place that is dedicated to tracing and displaying musical instruments and associated sound equipment which have influenced the development and history of music.’

The NAMM Museum of Making Music is situated in Carlsbad just north of San Diego in California.

And by neat coincidence, the Orange Pics Only amplifier and 4×12 cabinets have gone on display there during the Museum’s tenth anniversary.

Curator of Collections, Tatiana Sizonenko, below explains more about the Museum’s wide-ranging remit and also gives details about a fascinating exhibition which opens on October 11^th 2008 called  The Magic and Mystery of Slide Guitar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE MUSEUM,  ITS HISTORY & MISSION

 

 

‘Founded in 1998 under NAMM’s organizational umbrella and with its sponsorship, the Museum of Making Music explores the multifaceted history of the American music products industry from its beginnings in the 1890s to today.’

Housed at NAMM Headquarters in Carlsbad, California (north San Diego county home to the International Music Products Association, one of the oldest trade associations in America, created in 1901), the Museum tells stories of hard work, challenge, inspiration and pioneering innovation, and reveals the profound relationship between the industry, popular music, and global culture.
At the Museum of Making Music, a division of the NAMM Foundation, we are passionate about our mission to celebrate the rich history and encourage the future of music making. The Museum serves as a resource for the community of NAMM members through the preservation, interpretation and sharing of the industry’s collective history in a public museum context.’

 In addition, it reveals the unique and often unknown story of the music products industry to the general public.

 

 

MUSEUM’S PROGRAMS
 

‘We curate world-class special exhibitions that spotlight the history of a particular family of musical instruments, music innovations, music genres and styles, and the people that devote their lives to furthering the cause of music making as a form of personal and cultural expression. We also present intimate concerts, hands-on music-making workshops, and programs for youth with the goal of helping people of all ages to develop personal connections with the world of music.
The Museum of Making Music presents an array of public programming. A concert series celebrating a particular instrument accompanies every special exhibition. In addition, the Museum hosts programs for families including Family Activity Days, Community Drum Circles, and a Film Series. For area schools, the Museum has created the MusicVentures program that brings thousands of students to the Museum each year to experience hands-on music making and an interactive journey through music history. The MusicVentures program is offered free to schools that serve the economically disadvantaged.’

 

 

 

UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS

 

‘Our upcoming exhibition “The Magic and Mystery of Slide Guitar” opening October 11 2008, will explore why and how the guitar became widely used with the slide, often outselling the traditional Spanish-style guitar from the early 1920s up until the emergence of rock in the 1960s. Tracing the development and use of musical instruments around the world that were played by dragging objects across strings to create tonal effects, the exhibition will put the development of the lap steel guitar into a global perspective.

The exhibition will bring together a cornucopia of musical instruments produced in India, China, Japan, Hawaii, and the mainland U.S.

The development and rising popularity of the lap steel guitar was connected with other major twentieth century experiments which aimed to enhance the tonal qualities of the guitar and later led to the invention of sound effects pedals and whammy bars or tremolo devices. These devices profoundly expanded the sound palette with an expressiveness comparable to the violin or human voice unreachable by the traditional guitar with its tonal limitations. The Hawaiian lap steel guitar holds a historic place in this evolution and the contribution made by Hawaiian indigenous musicians, who creatively adapted the classical guitar to a new style of playing with the slide, cannot be overstated. These innovations led to the lap steels becoming used in a wide range of musical styles from early blues, jazz, and rock ‘n’ roll, to folk and country music.’

 

For more information please visit  www.museumofmakingmusic.org

 

 

With many thanks to Executive Director, Carolyn Grant, Curator, Tatiana Sizonenko, and Photographer, Benjamin Morgan, at the Museum for their help in producing this feature.