"Henry Mercer, the museum's founder, was interested in collecting objects related to pre-industrial America, everyday life," says Cory Amsler, Vice President of Collections and Interpretation at the Mercer Museum.
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Amsler said Mercer also collected instruments from southwest Africa and Asia.
The exhibition explores how music can connect people across regions and cultures.
"The human voice only carries so far," says Amsler. "Instruments could function to connect people across distances."
And instruments, such as drums and bells, served various social purposes.
Amsler says some instruments were used as tools of communication, while others were used to accompany ritual, or to send signals. He says bells, especially, have been used to signal timekeeping.
There are 150 objects and artifacts on display, which includes a Calithumpian Rattle.
Amsler says the Calithumpian Rattle is a noisemaker or music maker.
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There's a section on instruments and the military, and another on the evolution of instruments, like the Pennsylvania German zither becoming the Appalachian dulcimer.
"Plus, there's an opportunity to actually hear some of the instruments," says Amsler.
Various sound stations can be found around the exhibition.
Some of the instruments, like the 19th-century parlor organ, were made in Bucks County.
Mercer, himself, played the fiddle.
"He was extremely interested in Irish dance music," says Amsler.
He says that Mercer often turned to music for comfort and refuge.
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"We all find the kinds of music that have meaning to us," he says.
Amsler says an exhibition like this is really about personal connections, and hopes that it expands the idea of "what music is" for museum visitors.
Everyday Rhythms: Music at the Mercer is on view through December 2023.
Everyday Rhythms: Music at the Mercer | Tickets
Mercer Museum
84 S. Pine Street, Doylestown, PA 18901