Vienna (and most of Europe) is currently experiencing a heat wave. It is stuck around 40C and the heat is not letting up. It is hot. It is very hot. In order to escape the heat we snuck into the Haus der Musik in the morning. The museum displays and informs the public about different composers, how sound travels, and the different ideas of music. I wasn't expecting too much and was honestly looking forward to A/C more than anything. I have to say I was blown away by how amazing this museum is! Before you even get to the first exhibit you walk up the keyboard staircase. The inner-12-year-old me was so excited! I may have ran up and down several times. May have...
The museum starts off by describing the history of music in Vienna. I read some bits and skipped others. Once you read through the first hall you enter into a music shop, video room (just off the shop) and the starting of the interactive exhibit. The video room shows difference performances of different musicians playing in Vienna. It was nice to head in and sit for a bit to appreciate what was being played. The scene we watched was a piano player (he seemed to be well known to the audience in the video) play outside of the Schonbrunn Palace. Next we walked through the gift shop and took the time to listen to some CDs. They had some interesting remixes of the greats (Mozart, etc). Next we went to the first interactive exhibit where you can compose music using dice. You throw the dice and it creates your own waltz. Each side of the die has a different set of music ascribed to it. The computer reads where the dice landed and the screen in front will play the notes for you. There are the red and blue dice. They make up the treble and bass clefs. Once you are done the program will play your song for you. You can then purchase it if you wish from the gift shop for around 3 Euros. I really got into it and I made several compositions with my mother.
Next the exhibit takes you through different sounds and how the brain understands sounds. There is a sound library where you can stick your ear up to different sounds to hear them. There are also interactive exhibits where you can play with sounds on the computer with giant headphones on. Be careful, sometimes you may find yourself being the only one singing into the microphone attached to the headphones to be able to interact with the exhibit. Let go of yourself and just belt it out. It's fun I promise you.
Lastly you go through different rooms. Each room is dedicated to a different composer. The rooms are a lot of fun. You learn something new without being overwhelmed by what you are seeing. There are also interactive exhibits in the rooms as well. You end the experience in the museum with some virtual "games". You can see how movement affects music. You do this through changing how the music is played based on your movements. Another example is learning how to be a conductor. You pick up the baton stick and you conduct the orchestra in front of you. How fast you move will depend on how the musicians play. It is a lot of fun. This museum has something for everyone. Music is a huge part of life in Vienna and if you are here I suggest you come check out this museum. Everyone will learn something new here!