Musical Museum, Brentford facts for kids
The Musical Museum is a special place in Brentford, London, where you can explore the amazing history of how music has been played and recorded. It's a museum, a concert hall, and a charity all rolled into one! Just a short walk from Kew Bridge railway station, it's home to one of the world's biggest collections of self-playing musical instruments.
Imagine pianos that play themselves, or huge organs that sound like a whole orchestra! The museum has many rare instruments that still work, like player pianos, orchestrions (machines that sound like a small band), and special reed organs. One of the most exciting exhibits is a fully restored Wurlitzer theatre organ. This giant organ can even play itself and is connected to a Steinway grand piano! There's also a large pipe organ that plays music from rolls.
The museum has four main areas, called galleries, where these instruments are displayed. It also has a concert hall that can seat up to 240 people. This hall is also used as a cinema. After exploring, you can grab a snack at the museum's cafe.
Many friendly volunteers help run the museum. It's open on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Bank Holidays. You can take a guided tour to see the instruments in action. The museum also hosts concerts, dances, and movie screenings. They often show silent films with live music played on their Wurlitzer Cinema Organ. You can even watch many of their events live on their YouTube channel: Musical Museum Live.
Discovering the Museum's Past
The Musical Museum was started in 1963 by a man named Frank Holland. He believed that self-playing musical instruments were important and should be saved and played for everyone to enjoy. At first, it was called The British Piano Museum.
Frank Holland found an old church in Brentford, called St. George's, to house his growing collection. He later wrote a book about his experiences. In 2009, the museum moved to a brand-new building nearby, designed specifically for its unique collection.
In September 2024, the museum opened an exciting new area called the Korg Gallery. This gallery showcases cool synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments.
Exploring the Korg Gallery
One of the museum's four galleries is dedicated to electronic musical instruments. This special room is known as the Korg Gallery. It features a collection of synthesizers made by the Japanese company, Korg. You can see instruments from the 1970s all the way to today.
Some of the cool items include a miniKORG 700 and a rare, wall-mounted Korg MS-20 Blackboard synthesizer.
When you take a guided tour of the Korg Gallery, you'll often get to hear some of these vintage synthesizers played. Sometimes, visitors even get a chance to play some of the synthesizers themselves!
See Also
- Wurlitzers in the United Kingdom
- List of music museums
