A dulcimer is a stringed folk instrument which basically comes in two different varieties: the hammered dulcimer – which has strings stretched over a sounding board with a trapezoidal shape, generally ...

We could say that most indie music is alternative, but not all are indie. Let’s unpack this statement. Many alternative rock bands in the 1980s signed with independent labels, but later moved to one ...

When we think of an orchestra, we immediately think of a large number of violinists sitting in front of the stage, in an almost privileged place near the conductor, just like the cellos and violas.

Reggae music has had a profound influence on many aspects of Western culture from fashion to popular music. Across the United Kingdom, the USA and Africa, Reggae secured a strong foothold in the ...

Musical tradition is at times a rather odd element of this popular art. One of those traditions that still holds true for today is that of using Italian terms to instruct a performer in notated scores ...

Music is littered with vocabulary. Dictionaries of music list the numerous terms that you have the option to embed into your language if you wish. Many of these terms are Italian as that wonderful ...

Tracing the evolution of any instrument is rewarding, informative, and enlightening. It may be particularly so if you have ever played or are interested in learning to play this instrument. Of all the ...

Extraordinary as it may sound, there have been bagpipes in a vast array of forms for around 3,000 years. The instruments are known to have been used not only in Europe but in Asia too. These ...

The popular version of Gospel music that appears in movies and echoes in many a church hall in the US, in particular, has its roots in the early part of the 19 th Century. Both White and Black ...

Often preference and passion are given to the music of the past whilst the music of the times in which we live is ignored or overlooked. For some the demands and complexities that can accompany ...

I hesitate to describe any work by the famous and celebrated polish composer Frederik Chopin as easy, however, it is true to say that some of his piano works are not as challenging as others. What we ...

If we trace harmonic history back in time we discover that is was during Bach’s lifetime that the present system of keys and tonality was established. Before this, there were many other equally valid ...