Desert Harmony

The Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Phoenix was born out of a desire to look at music from a global perspective, in a city that has its own vibrant music scene and varied population. Housing over 8,000 instruments from all over the world, the MIM conveys music all the way down to its bones—from the piano key windows, to the rotunda shaped like a grand piano, the architect literally built in elements to visually mimic a worldwide soundscape. In the same way that the MIM immerses visitors into every sound, vibration, and beat, Crossover is excited to deliver a healthcare experience marching to its own drummer in behalf of each member. We feel a particular kinship to the way music brings the Phoenix community together, because getting to know—and care for—diverse groups of people is one of our specialties, too. We welcome you, and hope our celebration of these sights and sounds makes you feel right at home!

Lowebow
LOWEBOW
Handmade in Memphis by John Lowe, a self-taught stringed instrument craftsman, the Lowebow is an eccentric two-stick guitar originally created with just three simple materials—a cigar box, magnet wire, and sewing machine bobbins. Decades of iterations later, Lowe’s friend played the Lowebow in the International Blues Challenge—and won.
Heckelphone
HECKELPHONE
The heckelphone was created in Germany in 1904 by Wilhelm Heckle and his sons. Like a larger oboe, but with a deeper tone, this double woodwind instrument measures just over four feet long, and it’s bulbous end sits on the floor as it’s played, similar to a cello. Although it’s lower register adds depth to the wood section, it’s a rarity in the orchestral scene.
Dulcimer
DULCIMER
A member of the Zither family—instruments where multiple strings run the length of the soundboard—the dulcimer has 15th Century origins in Persia. The strings are either strummed with fingers, or rapidly beaten with small hammer-like instruments or quills to create the melody. In America, the Appalachian dulcimer resembles an elongated guitar.
Boomba
BOOM-BA
Thought to have originated in Germany, the boom-ba is a unique percussion instrument that is popular in the Pennsylvania Dutch community. Fitted with a rubber pogo stick at the bottom, and bells, cymbals, and a tambourine along the wooden center, the boom-ba is pounded on the ground by its player, which creates various sounds from every attachment.
OceanDrum
OCEAN DRUM
The ocean drum was first made to imitate the sounds of the ocean in the land-locked country of Nepal. Easily created for music lovers, be they school children or professionals, the drum is usually a narrow, round container filled with beans, seeds, or small, dried pasta. Tapping, shaking, and swirling the drum creates soothing sounds that are similar to crashing waves.
Hurdy-gurdy
HURDY-GURDY
Known worldwide by different names, the 1,000-year old hurdy-gurdy holds the distinction of being the only instrument that uses a crank to turn a wheel that rubs strings (like a violin bow) to make music. With over 80 parts, this unwieldy liturgical instrument, originally used in the Catholic Church, has been redesigned over into a still complex, hand-held version.
Boomwackers
BOOMWHACKERS
As seen in Vegas shows like Blue Man Group, these colorful, lightweight, plastic tubes are simple instruments that are often used in schools for kinesthetic learning. When the tubes are “whacked” against each other, they vibrate at their resonant frequency—shorter tubes are higher in pitch, and as the tubes get longer, they produce proportionately lower tones.
Clavichord
CLAVICHORD
The clavichord is a relatively quiet instrument, most popular from the Late Middle Ages through the Baroque period. Stringed like a piano, and played with keys, the sound is similar to that of a softly-strummed guitar. Both the clavichord and its electric cousin, the clavinet, have been played by contemporary artists including Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney.
Flexatone
FLEXATONE
Although not a particularly sophisticated instrument, the flexatone—part of the percussion family—creates a hard-to-imitate glissando, or sliding sound, making it great for films and cartoons that require a spooky tone, but less so for orchestras where precision is key. It’s “music” is made when two rubber or wooden balls tap against a bendable, metal strip.
Hydraulophone
HYDRAULOPHONE
A hydraulophone uses hydraulics to create sound. Water is continually pumped into a cylinder and forced out of multiple holes—as the player puts their fingers on different holes, the change in flow creates various sounds as the water resonates. The player can shape each note and create vibrato by varying the pressure level and position of their fingers.
Scabellum
SCABELLUM
Almost a medieval tap shoe of sorts, the scabellum is an instrument that was played by the right foot of the musician in ancient Rome and Greece. It was worn like a layered flip flop, with two thick blocks of wood hinged at the back creating the platform. Two cymbals were fastened to the wood pieces near the front of the foot, clashing together as the foot tapped.
Crumhorn
CRUMHORN
The crumhorn or “bent horn” is a double-wind instrument that when played, makes a sound resembling a more nasal saxophone mixed with a bagpipe. Long and thin, with an upturned end that is merely decorative and has no effect on the tone, the crumhorn was popular in the Renaissance period, and since the 1960s has been enjoying a second wave of interest.
Sousaphone
SOUSAPHONE
Similar to a tuba in both sound and structure, the sousaphone is designed to be “worn” over the left shoulder, rather than held in front of the body, making it far easier to use in a jazz or marching band, where play is prolonged. The sousaphone—with its flaring, forward-facing bell—was originally made from brass, but lightweight fiberglass versions exist today as well.
Zurna
ZURNA
Traditionally made from peach or apricot wood, this boisterous woodwind instrument originated in Turkey. Historically, the zurna was played in pairs and often with a large drum, which created a resounding trio at village celebrations. In fact, the zurna and drum (davul in Turkish) were so frequently played together that the term “davul-zurna” translates to “music.
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