Indian Music Experience, Bangalore - Timings, Entry Fee, History & Artifacts

At a distance of 13 km from Bangalore City Railway Station, the Indian Music Experience is an interactive music museum located in JP Nagar's 7th Phase, Bengaluru. Just opposite Wood Rose Club, it is the first interactive music museum in India, and among the top Bangalore tourist places.

Spread across 50,000 square feet, the Indian Music Experience is a great place to introduce your children to the world of music. The museum is an initiative of the Indian Music Trust and is the coinage of Mr. Jaishankar, Chairman and Managing Director of the Brigade Group. The site for the museum was allocated in 2008, and the building was completed in 2013. It took nearly a decade to be finally opened for the public in 2018 and is the fruit of the labor of some of India's best-known musicians, musicologists, and sound and design experts.

The museum is overall designed by Gallagher and Associates, who also helped create the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. The Sound Garden was co-created by Svaram, along with designer Michael Foley. The setting and interiors of the museum are designed along the lines of how Raga is constructed that reminds one of the musical ideas of depth, pitch, volume, texture, and scale. The entrance to the museum is through a musical plaza and it climbs downwards to an exhibition space that acts as a semi-formal performance space. Galleries are located on the first and the second levels while the learning center is at the uppermost level. The ground level serves as a lobby that houses a music store, café, and other administrative areas.

The Indian Music Experience is divided into three sections - the Sound Garden, the actual museum as well as a learning center. The Sound Garden is an open-air collection of musical sculptures flaunting the fascinating use of physics. It houses several mega-sized floors and wall-mounted xylophones, gong installations made of wood and stone, and blocks of granite called musical stones with special grooves and openings that produce distinct musical notes when you rub wet hands over them.

The museum exhibits everything about Indian music under a single roof, right from classical to folk, regional, and Bollywood in 8 internationally-designed exhibit galleries. The exhibition also traces back the journey of several contemporary music bands across genres and regions. It also showcases most delicately the gamete of exhibitions on famous musical personalities, musical instruments, techniques, and history that undoubtedly shaped the journey of Indian music. It also has a mock recording studio that creates tunes on touch-screen tablets and gives tourists the once-in-a-lifetime experience of karaoke-style singing.

One of the major attractions of this museum is a gallery that comprises the songs of the Indian freedom struggle. Having over 35 versions of Vande Mataram, this gallery will surely give you goosebumps. The Museum also boasts several other innovative music installations such as Sound Off, Find your 'Shruti', Background Score, and Mix the Music in collaboration with British Council.

Besides, Indian Music Experience also provides facilities like Sound Spa under the guidance of well-trained music therapists. The Museum also hosts musical events regularly that are graced by the presence of imminent music personalities from all over the world. It also serves as a learning center wherein curriculum-based regular classes, library space, and workshops are being conducted for all levels of music enthusiasts. There are also seminar halls, performance theatres, and terrace amphitheater that provides an ideal ambiance and customized setup for hosting events and parties.

Timings: 10 AM - 6 PM, Closed from Monday to Thursday

Entry: Rs. 250 for Adults, Rs. 150 for Children (5-12 years), Rs. 150 for Senior Citizens, & Rs. 500 for Foreigners