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Found 50 Stories
Patent drawings of a pointe shoe from the side and front.
Blog

A Better Pointe Shoe Is Sorely Needed

Ballet is an art form steeped in tradition, but pointe shoes need not be out of step with the times.

Spark!Lab

Full Color Sound

Can you hear color?

Places of Invention

Saying Goodbye to Columbia House

Columbia House introduced me to some of my favorite bands. Now, the music distribution innovator is no more.

Little Benny and the Masters (Rory "DC" Felton on saxophone and MeShell Ndegeocello on bass) at the Metro Club, 1986. Photograph by Thomas Sayers Ellis, used with permission.
Places of Invention

Go-Go, the Funky, Percussive Music Invented in Washington, D.C.

Go-go music--known for its syncopated beats and pioneered by Chuck Brown--was born in D.C. in the 1970s. Here's its story.

Invention Stories

Send Me a Kiss by Wireless

In exchanging emoji's with my daughter, I'm part of a long history of communicating by wireless.

Invention Stories

The Electric Guitar’s Long, Strange Trip

From its gentle 16th-century acoustic origins to the souped-up "Frankenstein"

Invention Stories

The Invention of the Electric Guitar

The electric guitar may be the most important and popular instrument of the last half-century in American music. Certainly its introduction brought a major change to American musical technology and has shaped the sound and direction of modern musical styles.

DO Try This at Home!

Create Your Own Cardboard Gramophone

The Gramophone is an early device created to reproduce sound recordings and was invented by a German-born American inventor named Emil Berliner. Learn how you can make your very own gramophone using objects from around your home with this great Spark!Lab activity!

Bob Casey's dual turntable
Beyond Words

Podcast: Bob Casey Spins Double Disks

DJ Bob Casey talks about introducing the dual turntable into the music scene in 1958.

DJ set up in a school gymnasium
Invention Stories

Bob Casey: Beyond the Podcast

I recently interviewed inventor Bob Casey for the Lemelson Center’s podcast series. As with many people I’ve interviewed, Bob had many interesting stories to share—far more than can be contained in a 20-minute podcast.

Legendary vibraphone virtuoso and bandleader Lionel Hampton graces the 2013 Jazz Appreciation Month poster.
Research Opportunities

Perks of the Job: Up Close and Personal with the Jazz Collections

April is Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM), and we do it in style here at the National Museum of American History, with a full schedule of donation ceremonies by jazz legends, talks on jazz history, and several live performances.

Boys, possibly from Herron Hill School, playing brass instruments on steps, circa 1938-€“1945. - See more at: http://blog.invention.smithsonian.org/2013/04/04/innovating-jazz-the-pittsburgh-sound/#sthash.bObbx9Ss.dpuf
Places of Invention

Innovating Jazz: The Pittsburgh Sound

Our Affiliate partner in Pittsburgh is investigating how the city's geography, community, and networks shaped their distinctive jazz sound for the "Places of Invention" project.

Invention Stories

Michael Jackson, Patented Inventor?

While the moonwalk is not actually a patented dance move, musician Michael Jackson does indeed hold a patent.

Places of Invention

Revolutionary Invention: Hip-Hop and the PC

What do hip-hop music and personal computers have in common? They were both children of the turbulent 1970s, born to innovative people who, building on inventive skills and technologies, nurtured them through creativity, collaboration, risk taking, problem solving, flexibility, and hard work.

Rendering of the Bronx section of Places of Invention
Places of Invention

Academic Hip-Hop

Both insiders and outsiders contribute valuable perspective to courses on hip-hop music taught at colleges and universities.

Mixer donated by Grandmaster Flash.
Places of Invention

My Trip Behind the Scenes of NMAH's Hip-Hop Collection

It’s always exciting going into the vaults of a museum’s collection. Ok, so actually they’re rarely “vaults,” but it’s still exciting to open collection cabinets and discover what objects may lie inside.

Jim Dooley
Beyond Words

Podcast: Innovation of Sound in Video Games

Jim Dooley talks about his process in composing music for modern video games. Also interviewed is Peter Berkman, lead songwriter from Anamanaguchi.

Musical group 8 Bit Weapon
Beyond Words

Podcast: Extra: GameFest!

Watch musical group 8 Bit Weapon demonstrate their skills in using video game chips and systems to make live music.

Breakdancing in the Bronx
Places of Invention

Invention Hot Spot: Birth of Hip-Hop in the Bronx, New York, in the 1970s

Hip-hop artists and their fans pursued joy and self-expression despite the dire realities of their surroundings.

Remo Belli speaks at an Innovative Lives program in 2009
Beyond Words

Podcast: Remo Belli, Father of the Modern Drumhead

Drummer and entrepreneur Remo Belli changed the face (and head) of an industry.

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