Associate Professor Ken Murray describes two engagements for University of Melbourne guitar students at the Grainger Museum, undertaken in Semester 1 2023: “The Grainger Museum provides a unique opportunity to study archival materials and a broad range of historical and musical artifacts. Bachelor of Music guitar students loved studying the guitars and other plucked instruments from the Grainger collection which include examples from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries – a fertile period of instrumental development and dissemination. Grainger’s own scores are imaginative and creative, suggesting a new modern approach to the instrument.
Breath students from the subject Riffs enjoyed seeing Grainger’s experimental music machines and were delighted to see him using simple fingering positions and open tunings in his guitar works. Grainger museum staff guided the students through the museum and provided expert commentary on the many items on display. They brought the displays to life and gave valuable context to his life and times. This was a hugely popular and beneficial excursion for our music students.”