The musical heritage of Barcelona and Catalonia is immense, and one of the institutions that has done the most to conserve, study and disseminate it has been the Museu de la Música de Barcelona. Located on the second floor of the Auditorium, it has a collection of 2,000 musical instruments from all over the world and 10,000 sound documents received from legacies and donations. It is considered one of the most important music collections in Spain.

The permanent exhibition invites visitors to experience the world of music and to understand that instruments are the living documents of our past, full of meaning and information related to our musical heritage. On display along the route of the museum are more than 500 pieces, explained through audiovisual, sound and textual resources.

The itinerary for the exhibition enables the visitor to learn about the instruments through the history of music: from ancient civilisations, progressing on to the birth and diffusion of polyphony, Baroque, Classicism and Romanticism, until reaching the new colours and industry of sound in the 19th century and the new styles and new technologies of the 20th century.

String instruments are the most widely represented in the museum, with an outstanding collection of guitars and keyboard instruments. The museum also focuses, deservedly, on wind instruments, as they reflect the important Catalan construction tradition and its use in South American and Asian cultures.