Chapter 1
The Met's sonic time machine
Chapter 2
Seoul's futuristic neon pulse
Chapter 3
Lagos's polyrhythmic afrobeat fire
Chapter 4
Mexico City's deep Mesoamerican bass
Chapter 5
The ultimate digital showdown
Ch 1 · The Met's sonic time machine
themet The Met's Instruments Collection
Drop a fresh beat on the world's oldest piano and watch the whole room vibe
themet Mary Elizabeth Adams Brown's historic collection preserves rare musical instruments.
BETA
themet Mix ancient instrument samples to discover how historic sounds become modern beats.
themet Sound engineers record rare historic instruments at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
themet The Met holds the oldest surviving piano in existence, built in 1720 by Bartolomeo Cristofori in Italy.
Fun Fact
Stradivarius secret: Antonio Stradivari used ground-up minerals and volcanic ash in his varnish to protect the wood and enhance the violin's acoustic resonance.
themet Antonio Stradivari's 1721 violin, known as 'The Antonius', is one of the prized gems of the Met's collection.
Glossary
sample (verb)
To record a portion of an existing sound for reuse in a new musical composition. Producers from Seoul, Lagos, and Mexico City sampled the museum's historic 1721 Stradivarius into modern beats.
To record a portion of an existing sound for reuse in a new musical composition. Producers from Seoul, Lagos, and Mexico City sampled the museum's historic 1721 Stradivarius into modern beats.
Quiz
Who invented the world's first piano, with the oldest surviving model from 1720 now housed at the Met?
Quiz
What unique feature made Bartolomeo Cristofori's 1720 piano a revolutionary upgrade over older harpsichords?
Quiz
How many musical instruments are currently in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's total collection?
Quiz
In what year did the Metropolitan Museum of Art begin building its massive musical instruments collection?
Quiz
Which famous Italian violin maker crafted the 1721 instrument known as 'The Antonius' kept at the Met?
Quiz
Who was the donor who grew the Met's musical instrument collection to over 3,600 pieces by her death in 1918?
Quiz
What type of microphone is typically used by sound engineers to capture the detailed acoustic sounds of fragile museum instruments?