Concerts and music festivals around the world may be canceled for the foreseeable future, but that doesn’t mean the world itself has gone quiet – between artists live-streaming performances and DJs keeping the party going from their balconies, there’s more than enough joyful noise to go around. Now the Grammy Museum is adding to the commotion, introducing a slate of educational and entertaining programming designed to provide fans and aspiring artists with industry insight.
The Museum at Home initiative launched 18 March with a digital series of sit-down interviews from the archives, and so far, chats with Scarypoolparty, Yola, Bob Newhart, Larkin Poe, X Ambassadors, Brandi Carlile, and Billie Eilish and Finneas have been released, with Greta Van Fleet, Kool and the Gang, Andrea Bocelli, Tanya Tucker, Brandi Carlile, Common, Los Tigres del Norte, Richard Marx, Courtney Barnett, Ben Platt, and more still to come.
For those curious about the ins and outs of production, the educational programs may inspire a click. An intro to electronic music teaches students from sixth grade to college age about creating new projects, loops, and drum beats, and help them understand how a Digital Audio Workstation’s interface works, while the follow-up lesson provides hands-on experience with MIDI, as students create the bass, synth, and loops for their own compositions and play their songs for their peers to review.
On the visual side, the intro to video production class offers an overview of DSLR photography, professional shooting techniques, and frame rates and resolutions, with opportunities to practice shooting; the second instalment goes a bit deeper, covering camera settings, angles, and shots.
For history buffs, virtual exhibits into some fascinating topics are released each Friday, along with photos of installations and artefacts and media, text, and playlists from the exhibitions. So far, deep dives on the music of the Civil Rights Movement and the seminal Los Angeles punk band X are available, but Jenni Rivera, Whitney Houston, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald are set to follow in April.
“The Grammy Museum’s doors may be closed, but our mission isn’t. This is about our community, nationwide, even globally,” museum president Michael Sticka said in a press release. “We believe that music has the power to bring us together, strengthen our sense of community and drive us forward – especially in times when it feels like we are being pulled apart. We believe at its core, everything that we do is to better our community through music.”
For more information, visit grammymuseum.org.
