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John & Val Smart looking good after a winter in the sun
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Patiently waiting for our new car audio . . .
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The New Musical Instrument Museum - a spectacular place
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No question - it's all about music
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A Gibson Harp Guitar from 1918
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A prototype double-neck with 6 strings on one, 12 on the other
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The very rare octobass stands about 11ft tall, and usually takes two people to play it
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The 19th century violin is porcelain, the 20th century trumpet is glass
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When Samurai were outlawed in Japan, many became wandering Komuso monks who played the shakuhachi flute for alms
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Very pretty, potentially very loud
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Tuned granite
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Many of the instruments are works of art
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Gourds are often used as resonators in many parts of the world
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Video displays showed many of the displayed instruments being played
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Variations on bowed strings are widespread
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A Tuvan (Southern Siberia) rattle made from a bull scrotum
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If you can bang it, blow it, pluck it, bow it, strum it or shake it, somebody somewhere will make music on it
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Some national collections are very complete
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Lots of xylophones are played sitting or kneeling
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Some instruments you practically have to live in
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Many are wonderfully decorated
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These drums you play from the inside
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Boat lutes are usually made from a single piece of wood
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Oriental instruments are often the most elaborate
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The palm leaves are the sound box for the plucked strings around the center pillar of the Sasandu from Tenggara (Indonesia)
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The sounds are spectacular as well
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The Paraguayan Harp is beautiful
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Tuned pieces of hollow reed make up these multi-pipe Peruvian flutes
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Some instruments are less portable than others
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When in need, any resonator will do
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The Berimbau is a musical bow, used in a martial arts dance form
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You wear the turtle shell, and play it with the antlers.
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The Marimba, in many forms, is very popular in Latin America
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Some are more ornate than others
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Western instruments introduced to Latin America were often localized
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In the Caribbean, you pretty much play what you have
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Including tuned tin cups
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The video shows Dizzy Gillespie and his distinctive (but not unique) trumpet
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Native American ceremonial drums are played by several drummers
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The Steinway folks show the innards of a grand piano
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As cultures blend, instruments are adapted
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Horns of every size . . .
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A 19th century American parlor . . .
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The Grand Harmonicon - tuned glasses, played with the fingers
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Never actually saw a double-bell euphonium before . . .
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A rare video of John Phillip Souza conducting one of his marches
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Another rare video of Leon Theremin playing his invention, one of the first electronic instruments
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One of the earliest portable music synthesizers
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A luthier's shop - for making guitars, the modern version of the lute
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The monochord - you bow the single string, and work the keys with your left hand
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The serpent, from 1820's England, is a predecessor to the tuba
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It's sad you can't see an alpenhorn without somebody saying "Ricola" . . .
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Most European instruments are variations on each other
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From Sweden, the Harjedalspipa or Nyckelharpe is a variation on the keyed violin
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The Lur was a 7th century Scandinavian signaling horn
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We like most balalaika music. They come in all sizes
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Comparing musical instruments illustrates cross-cultural influences
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In some cases, the instruments of a country are displayed in a single panel
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Some of the gourd xylophones are amazingly ingenious
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Judy has an African Kalimba, one of many variations on a Lamellaphone
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This one used hacksaw blades to make the sounds
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Tuned Kudo horns . . . side-blown trumpets
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More lamellaphones
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Early 20th century arched harps from the Congo
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Yet another reason to "Shake a leg" . . .
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The marvelous inlays on this Egyptian lute are actually plastic
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Bagpipes from the Black Sea region
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Very pretty - but how would you hold it?
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Moving on to dinner, and the magnificent Wurlitzer at the Organ Stop Pizza
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This obviously traumatized cactus was fascinating . . .
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First Presbyterian in Casa Grande is a church we like
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That's why most folks come to Tombstone . . .
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The former corral is filled with pseudo-historic exhibits
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"Doc Holliday" explains what's going to happen - in verse - imbibing all the while
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Nobody's wearing white hats, but it's Earps on the left, Clantons on the right
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Now it's Earps on their feet, Clantons on the ground
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We didn't take any of the rides
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We did tour the newspaper museum
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Al took printing in high school, and all this stuff is familiar
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In fact, all this historical gear is identical to what he used. Ergo, Al is historical?
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The rest of us just come on in . . . .
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OK, so that's not historical. What a way to make a living . . .
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The main drag thru Tombstone is closed to "modern" vehicles most of the time
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Tombstone was hosting a quick-draw competition - lots of machoness about
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Neat bench . . .
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Some streets are named after the old mines
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There were about 15 of us toured the mine
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We had to wear hard hats (from the rack by the wall) because of low clearances
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There was lots of old mining equipment scattered around
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That was the original mine entrance . . .
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The mine is still shored up with some of the original timbers after 100 years
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Rocks without silver content were often piled up in played-out tunnels
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Remnants of a burlap sack used to haul the ore to the surface. On a miner's back, usually
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For two bucks, we got to see "The Worlds Largest Rose Bush"
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It's actually quite pleasant in that yard under the bush
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The bush was very much in bloom, and the fragrance was delightful
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They say it covers about 8,000 sq ft on that trellis
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One of the prettiest caves we've ever toured . . .
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Internet photo, showing the curbed, accessible walkways thru the caves
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Internet photo - the formations are delicate and pristine
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We'll end on the Big Room - one of the most spectacular places in the caverns (internet photo)