There is a children’s story from Russia about a boy called Peter, his grandfather, a cat, a bird, a duck, a wolf and some hunters. The story is special because it is told not just in words but in music, too. Each character is matched to an instrument of the orchestra. Whenever you hear the instrument, you picture the character it represents. Three of the characters are played by reed instruments — the clarinet, the oboe and the bassoon. These are the three main reed instruments in the orchestra. (More…)

dodoBrass, Music Box, Music Equipments, Music Genres, Music Software, Musical Instruments, Woodwinds5 Nov, 20082 Comments

Jazz is a mixture of many different kinds of music. Although jazz is now played nearly all over the world, its true ‘home’ is the United States of America. This is where jazz began almost 100 years ago. Early jazz was created by black-American people, the descendants of slaves who were brought from Africa. Their jazz was a combination of a kind of sad folk music called blues, mixed with melodies and rhythms from African music, church music, brass band music and from popular dances. (More…)

dodoBlues, Brass, Folk Music, Jazz, Saxophone1 Nov, 20082 Comments

Take a close look at the instrument in the picture above. It is called a mouth organ, or harmonica. This kind of instrument was invented in Europe about 150 years ago. Can you think how the mouth organ makes a musical sound? Each tiny hole has two metal reeds next to it, one short and one longer. When you blow into the holes, the reeds vibrate. Short reeds make high notes, longer ones make lower notes. These are called ‘free reeds‘ because they are free to vibrate up and down. (More…)

dodoBlues, Guitar1 Nov, 20082 Comments

Electric organ

The American inventor Laurens Hammond invented the electric organ in the 1930s. The electric organ looks just like an ordinary pipe organ, but doesn’t work unless it’s switched on. When the keys are pressed, electric signals are made. The signals go to a pre-amplifier, where they are made stronger, then to an amplifier and then come out of the loudspeaker as musical notes. It sounds just like the real thing! (More…)

dodoAmplifier, Jazz, Music Box, Piano, Woodwinds21 Oct, 20082 Comments

Going to any kind of musical concert is exciting. But concerts vary according to the type of music that will be played. So when you buy your ticket, how will you know what to expect?

A classical concert

If you are lucky enough to be able to listen to a well-known orchestra playing in a large concert hall, your ticket might be expensive. You might even have to dress up for the occasion! It’s a good idea to listen to a recording of the music beforehand. Then you will know about the music and be able to appreciate it. (More…)

dodoFolk Music, Jazz, Microphone16 Oct, 20082 Comments

The Human Voice-How it Works, how it used?

Man’s oldest means of musical expression is the human voice. Many people consider it the most beautiful and sensitive of all musical instruments. This instrument is so personal that it is with you wherever you go, lets you make music whenever you want, can be used to make music without taking music lessons, and identifies you even when you can’t be seen.

Just as no two people look exactly alike, no two voices sound exactly the same. Try calling one of your best friends on the telephone and don’t identify yourself. It won’t take long for him to recognize you by the sound of your voice. Although we all use the same kind of instrument to produce vocal sounds, the instrument is a part of our body and is very special. (More…)

dodoHip Hop Music, Music Box, Music Equipments, Music Software, Musical Instruments12 Oct, 20082 Comments

A similar, but more complicated instrument is the zither. This is a folk instrument from northern Europe that has thirty to forty strings stretched across a flat, hollow sound box. The four top strings are used for playing the melody, while the rest of the strings are plucked and strummed to provide the accompaniment. The right hand plucks and strums, and the left hand stops the melody strings against the frets of a guitarlike fingerboard.

When Johann Strauss composed his famous waltz Tales from the Vienna Woods, he included a charming solo for the zither in the orchestral score. (More…)

dodoFolk Music, Guitar, Jazz, Music Box, Popular Music10 Oct, 20082 Comments

Folk music is music of the common people. Created by someone who has a story to tell rather than composed by a trained musician, it is simple and easy to understand. Folk songs have easy, singable melodies, use simple harmonies, and (unless the song tells a sad story) have rhythms that are fun for dancing. The instruments of folk music are the instruments people happened to have around at the time. Sometimes inventive people built their own instruments if no others were available. (More…)

dodoDrums, Electric Guitar, Folk Music, Guitar, String Instruments, Violin10 Oct, 20082 Comments

In addition to the notes of the four “open” strings, the players make many other notes by stopping the string with the fingers of their left hands. When a string is pressed against the fingerboard, its length is shortened, and a higher sound is produced. The closer to the sound box the finger is pressed, the higher the note. There is nothing on the fingerboard to tell a player exactly where to place his fingers (that is, unlike a guitar, a violin has no frets); he must listen very carefully and practise hard to learn where the right spots are for each note. (More…)

dodoBrass, Guitar, Jazz, Music Box, Percussion Instruments, Popular Music, Violin, Woodwinds7 Oct, 20082 Comments

Even though the tone of the trumpet is very brilliant, it is capable of playing beautiful melodies. When its sound is blended with that of other instruments, new and exciting sounds are created. As with all brass instruments, the tone of the trumpet can be altered by placing a mute in the bell. This is a cone-shaped device usually made of metal or fibreboard. A muted trumpet has a soft, faraway sound and is often used to represent an echo of the sounds of other instruments. (More…)

dodoBrass, Jazz, Music Equipments, Trumpet3 Oct, 20082 Comments