My wife, Natalie, and I think music makes nearly everything more fun and interesting; it’s a big part of our lives. Annually, Spotify reminds us just how big (though some people listen to a ridiculous amount of music):
My minutes listened (first) vs. Nat’s minutes listened (second) — Spotify Wrapped
We also enjoy going to art museums every now and then for a change of scenery, the often-thought-provoking/imposing architecture, and, of course, to see art. In our first year in Detroit, we made a trip to the DIA — the Detroit Institute of Arts Museum. For the uninitiated, it’s an astoundingly world-class museum just two miles north of downtown Detroit. And it’s completely free for us city residents.
In the last few weeks, we started going more often, which got me thinking: music typically accompanies a lot of daily living (work around the house, work work, getting ready) — what would it be like if it could accompany how we experience art in-person? What would it be like to build a playlist for the art we see, as we see it?
So, we spent a few hours at the DIA, tried it out, and...wow. The paired music made the experience much more interactive, allowing us to sneak shared smiles and laughs, made the memory of each piece much more vivid, and exposed how differently we approached the same things.
Here’s how we did it:
We brought our phones and our AirPods (we’re an iOS household). It’s important you bring headphones and even better if they’re wireless.
Like most museums, the DIA is split into rooms that often lead to more rooms. We picked up a map and a pencil so we could jot down our path for future use.
We chose our first room. We both brought up Spotify, put our AirPods in, and then spent the next 5 - 10 minutes walking through the room individually. I’d go one direction, she might go in a different direction (but not always), we’d take in the art, think about what song might pair best, and gradually build a playlist for the room.
This was totally free form. There was a lot of trial and error, a lot of playing and pausing, queuing and skipping. For some pieces, I’d look and listen to a song for 30 seconds, while for others it’d be several minutes (almost the whole song). We found that we’d choose songs that either accentuated the desired effect of the painting or sculpture, or just made it more intriguing to look at, independent of the artist’s intent. Any genre, any era — it was about the combined listening + viewing experience.
Once we both finished our individual first passes, we swapped AirPods (i.e., I’d listen to hers; she’d listen to mine), and then go around the room again. This time, I went the way she wanted me to go, and she went the way I wanted her to go. I’d control her musical experience from my phone, and she’d control my musical experience from her phone.
We didn’t anticipate doing this, but this made the experience so much more fun. It became really interactive and insightful. I got to listen to how she interpreted each piece, which song she liked the best, and the mood she injected into each piece of art. Have you ever gazed at a Blue Period Picasso while listening to 2 Chainz “It’s A Vibe?” I didn’t think so.
After we finished, we talked through song selections, and decided who nailed the experience the most on a song-by-song, artwork-by-artwork basis. Although we have a decent amount of music genre overlap, we surprised each other by our diverse selections and even once picked the same song for the same series of paintings.
We then made a master playlist of the best song selections and noted the duration of each song, by number of paintings or sculptures. For example, listen to Song A for 2 paintings + 1 sculpture.
I’m so glad we tried this out because I think it has permanently altered the way I approach museums. Museums engage visitors through audio guides, immersive exhibits, and even AR experiences (lots of startups playing around here, but AR is just inherently limited by tech at the moment), but for me this experience stood out. I was in full control and could layer on my tastes to what I saw, transforming my interpretation, the mood, and my memory of the work.
I think this type of (unconventional?) approach has a lot of applicability outside of just museums/art. Nat and I often talk about how to engage our future kids in subjects that many think are boring, uninteresting, or tedious, but are actually fascinating. (History and math, I’m looking at you two.)
If you end up trying this out, I’d love to hear how it goes and what you think. If you live in Detroit, here’s our route through the four rooms (it’s time-consuming to put together, but worth it!), and here’s the Spotify playlist. The beginning of the playlist starts with Room 1 and goes in order from there.
