An Interactive Experience at LA’s GRAMMY Museum

Located in downtown Los Angeles, the GRAMMY Museum is dedicated to Grammy Award winners, offering visitors the opportunity to learn about various genres of music by means of interactive touch-screens, recording booths, videos and other hi-tech multimedia. The museum is also home to an extensive collection of items related to the GRAMMYs, including musical instruments, records, costumes, hand-written lyrics and audio/video recordings. Since opening in 2008, the GRAMMY Museum has presented more than 300 public programs where, by means of its carefully constructed educational programs, thousands of local school students have enjoyed learning about music, with many being inspired to develop their musical creativity.

The stated mission of the GRAMMY Museum is to explore and celebrate “the enduring legacies of all forms of music; the creative process; the art and technology of the recording process; and the history of the GRAMMY Awards, the premier recognition of recorded music accomplishment.” Covering an area of 30,000 square feet, the four floors of the museum feature both permanent and traveling exhibits, offering fascinating insight into the music industry, as well as a 200 seat state-of-the-art theater and areas for public and private functions.

After viewing a host of exciting interactive multimedia displays in the first floor lobby, visitors to the GRAMMY Museum should take the elevator to the fourth floor to begin a unique GRAMMY experience. One of the main features of this floor of the museum is the innovative ‘Crossroads’ table inviting visitors to explore more than one-hundred and fifty music genres. Choose a genre and gain access to photos, songs, history and stories about the impact that particular style of music has had on music history. Each genre connects to other genres, taking the viewer through a process of how one genre relates to another. Find out more about your favorite genres, and expand your knowledge by exploring genres you likely didn’t even know exist. Also on the fourth floor is the ‘Songwriters Hall of Fame Gallery’ complete with interactive songwriting kiosks, and four ‘Enduring Traditions’ pods exploring the history of pop, folk, classical, blues, jazz and gospel.

The third floor of the museum is dedicated to the ‘History of the GRAMMY Awards’ and ‘GRAMMY Legends’ which honors Miles Davis, Elvis Presley and Neil Diamond. This floor also features an interactive display of a huge variety of Roland electronic instruments which visitors can use to participate in the process of making music. Other displays on the third floor include ‘Studio Profiles’, ‘Revolutions of Recorded Sound’, ‘Recording Art and Technology’, and ‘Everything GRAMMY’.

The GRAMMY Museum’s second floor is home to the 200-seat Clive Davis Theater, where visitors can view a film of behind-the-scenes moments in the 50th Annual GRAMMY Celebration. Also on this floor is the display area for temporary themed exhibits. Current exhibits include ‘Barry White, Unlimited Love’, ‘Blue Note Records: The Finest in Jazz’, ‘California Dreamin’, ‘The Sounds of Laurel Canyon’, and ‘Pepe Aguilar… La Leyenda Continúa’. Certainly the GRAMMY Museum is an experience that music lovers will enjoy – time and again.