Located just off of Interstate 5 in Carlsbad, California, 30 miles north of San Diego, the Museum of Making Music describes itself as the only museum worldwide that focuses on the ecosystem of music-making from 1890 to the present by presenting the storied history of music instruments and products—from invention to creation to market—and demonstrating how musical instruments impact popular culture and connect lives.
The Museum is housed in the headquarters of NAMM, the International Music Products Association that serves the $17-billion global music products industry. Opened in 2000, it is the brainchild of retired NAMM president/CEO Larry Linkin, who devoted his 40-year career to the promotion of music education and music-making advocacy.
Linkin saw the Museum as an opportunity to celebrate the history and impact of the music products industry and to connect visitors to live music and music-making opportunities. “By focusing on the story of what influences people to play music, we are exploring the connections between people, instruments and the music they make,” he recalled. The first president of the Museum was Henry Z. Steinway, great-grandson of Heinrich Engelhard Steinweig, who started building instruments in the kitchen of his home in Germany and founded the piano company, Steinway & Sons.
Visitors traverse a series of galleries to view an extensive collect
