The Experience Music Project
December 13, 2008
I recently spent some time on the west coast in Vancouver and Seattle. When we were in Vancouver we caught “Cheech and Chong light up Canada”, but that is a story for another time. Today however, I would like to talk to you about my time in Seattle.
Seattle is a very musical town from its early jazz, to Hendrix, to the grunge movement in the 90’s; Seattle has a rich and diverse musical history. The city seams to continually musically reinvent itself. As you may or may not know, Hendrix has always been one of my biggest idols and I have been a huge Nirvana and grunge fan since I was a kid. This made the trip especially special for me.
While in Seattle we had the opportunity to check The Experience Music Project or EMP for short. It was a very fascinating place. One of my favorite exhibits was of course the guitar gallery. This display featured guitars as old as an Italian guitar from the 1770’s, a beautiful Martin from the late 1800’s, to some of the first eclectic guitars from the 1950’s up to some of rock’s most classic guitars from the 60’s and 70’s.
Another mind-blowing exhibit was called Jimi Hendrix: An Evolution of Sound. This exhibit had some of Hendrix’s first guitars, and even some hand written lyric sheets. You could learn about how Hendrix revolutionized the way a guitar can sound and even play around with the guitar pedal tones he was famous for using such as the wah-wah and octavia pedals. You could even “mix” some classic Hendrix tunes by turning up or down certain tracks in your headphones.
The Sound Lab was basically nothing more than a massive jamming area! Imagine my delight when I stumbled upon this place. There were guitar, bass, drums and even mixing and vocal stations. Within these stations you could learn a little about the instrument you are playing from the video tutorials, jam solo with adjustable tones or jam with others in the Sound Lab through your headphones.
Although you could tell The Experience Music Project was certainly geared towards beginner musicians, it was still an amazing place. I applaud the EMP for giving children or anyone who may not have had the opportunity otherwise the chance to learn about and experience music. If you are ever in the Seattle area I encourage you to go and check it out.
-Heavy
