The tambourine is probably one of the easiest and most fun musical instruments to play anywhere in the world. If you have any rhythm at all, and sometimes even if you don’t, you, too, can play a ...

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 ...

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.

When the world of the moving picture arrived in the early part of the 20th century, it was a revolution. What is often referred to as the silent years from around 1910 to 1927 marked a turning point ...

French composer Claude Debussy did not align himself with the movement that became known as Impressionism. Understandably, Debussy resisted this classification as with it could come restrictions, ...

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 ...

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 ...

When it comes to accurately measuring the impact Ludwig van Beethoven had on the musical world, numerous academic tomes deal with this in an appropriate level of detail. In a nutshell, Beethoven’s ...

In a recent article, I gave a broad account of the evolution of the violin with a particular focus on the work of the Cremona luthiers. At the head of this revolutionary group of innovators was the ...

To appreciate the extensive influence Italian opera has had on Classical music we need to take a good look into its past. One claim is that Italian opera began in the Renaissance Era. It was ...

I am going to begin this article with a small confession. When I saw this title, it made me reflect on my musical education. What it shamefully highlighted was the fact that during most of my many ...

The two words in the title of this article are no exception and, in my experience, have been at the center of many an animated discussion regarding just how they should be played as well as when they ...