Museum of Imaginary Musical Instruments
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A01=Deirdre Loughridge
A01=Thomas Patteson
artificial intelligence
arts
Author_Deirdre Loughridge
Author_Thomas Patteson
Category=AVC
creativity
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eq_bestseller
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eq_isMigrated=2
eq_music
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history
imaginary instruments
imagination
invention
media
museums
science fiction
sound
technology
Product details
- ISBN 9781836391852
- Dimensions: 156 x 208mm
- Publication Date: 13 Apr 2026
- Publisher: Reaktion Books
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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The Museum of Imaginary Musical Instruments is a guided tour through centuries of instruments that never existed. From ancient myths to futuristic media, these imagined devices appear in literature, theory, video games and art, at times echoing real instruments, other times pushing far beyond the bounds of technology. This book presents a wide-ranging collection of such creations, showing how they reflect changing ideas about sound, invention and the limits of the possible. At once a cultural history and a study of creative thought, it uncovers unexpected links between music, design and the human urge to make meaning through sound. These are not just fictional artefacts – they are windows into what music might mean, even when it cannot be played.
Deirdre Loughridge (Author)
Deirdre Loughridge is Professor of Music at Northeastern University, Boston. Her previous books include Sounding Human: Music and Machines, 1740/2020 (2023).
Thomas Patteson (Author)
Thomas Patteson is a teacher, writer and musician based in Philadelphia. He is the author of Instruments for New Music (2016), lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania and co-founder of People’s Music Supply.
Deirdre Loughridge is Professor of Music at Northeastern University, Boston. Her previous books include Sounding Human: Music and Machines, 1740/2020 (2023).
Thomas Patteson (Author)
Thomas Patteson is a teacher, writer and musician based in Philadelphia. He is the author of Instruments for New Music (2016), lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania and co-founder of People’s Music Supply.
