Music Basics

The Turkish March (or, more correctly, Turkish Rondo), composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), is actually the third movement of his Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331. This piece is...

There is a difference between playing the guitar for vocal backup and playing lead guitar, which I my cover in a future article. When you wish to provide the background musical rhythm from a...

Learning how to play jazz guitar can be somewhat intimidating. You should probably know a thing or two about scales and keys before you try to learn seven chords and how to syncopate properly. ...

There are many obstacles to learning to play the piano. Many of these obstacles involve our emotions and beliefs. Getting past these may be what finally gets you playing.

One of the most popular classical piano pieces ever written, Beethoven's "Moonlight" sonata is a must-play for many students. (Please be aware that this sonata has three movements; only...

Nearly everyone knows that music with no sharps or flats is in the key of C if it is major. But many people need to learn how to find the key in music in sharps. Every key signature represents...

Flamenco is a genre of Spanish guitar music. It is known for its fast, intricate passages, and dance rhythms. Flamenco players usually use classical guitars. The style is somewhat similar to...

Songbooks that feature melody lines, sometimes with chord symbols and sometimes without, are called fake books. The name fake book comes from the fact that many musicians with a strong musical...

If you want to play jazz chords on the keyboard or piano, you would probably like to really master those chords. A friend who is a true jazz artist taught me how to study and learn the chords...

There's nothing like playing the blues, and nothing drives a blues groove like a great bass line. Blues is all about rhythm, and bass creates the foundation of rhythm in any blues band. With some...

The acoustic guitar is oftentimes seen as the boring predecessor to the electric guitar. If taken full advantage of, the acoustic offers an entirely different and fulfilling musical experience. ...

The Moonlight Sonata is a well-known piece of piano music by Ludwig van Beethoven. The sonata's official name is Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, "Quasi una fantasia," Op. 27, No. 2. The...

The ability to arrange sheet music is an important skill for any musician or composer to possess. An arrangement could provide a new perspective on an old piece of music, or simply rework a song...

Memorizing music is essential when performing. It eliminates the needs to handle sheet music and allows you to concentrate on performance.

Fall is in the air, and Halloween is around the corner. A great way to make some money and have family fun is to have a fall hayride.

There are several methods available to learn how to play the piano, and how to approach learning chords. This is one method that will help get you started.

Tuning a violin/viola can be a difficult and trying task, especially for beginners. A good musical ear and patience are a necessity to tune the violin/viola successfully. Since the violin/viola...

Teaching yourself to play piano may seem like a difficult and time-consuming task at first. With a little bit of patience and practice each day, you can learn to play simple songs in less than one...

Piano classics are the tunes most readily accessible to piano students. Piano classics range from classical music compositions such as "Fur Elise" by Beethoven to the pop classic "Close to You" by...

The quintuplet grouping in music is a rhythm that's as interesting to hear as it is difficult to master. This uneven grouping of five notes into the space of one beat is a device used by composers...

Nitrocellulose lacquer is made from cotton treated with nitric and sulfuric acids. It turns into an acidic pulp and is strained to make a resin. The resin is then mixed with quick-drying solvents...

There's no substitute for regular piano lessons from a qualified teacher. But between sessions, or if for any reason (finances, distance, time) you simply can't work with a professional on a...

The piano is one of the most versatile musical instruments, essential to many styles of music. While mastery of the piano requires many years of study and practice, a beginner can learn the basics...

Even a prodigy can't just pick up a guitar for the first time and start playing a song without some initial training. If you want to play a song on the guitar, it stands to reason that you must...

The discipline of studying scales is great for developing the mind as well as for building the foundation of a well-rounded musical education. Scales form the basis of the composition of most...

DJs seamlessly control the sounds of a party, dance or performance by making clever use of mixers. The crossfader is the part of a mixer most responsible for the blending and transitioning between...

The punch line from that old joke about how a person can get to Carnegie Hall is probably the best answer to the title of this article. The answer to both is "practice, practice, practice."...

Musical notation is the universal language of musicians. No matter where you come from, you can communicate with your musical peers if you can read and write standard musical notation. Here's how...

Music keys, also known as key signatures, are noted at the beginning of a piece of music. The keys are written directly after the treble or bass clef sign and are used to designate sharp and flat...

Guitar tab is a type of musical notation specific to the guitar. Guitar tab is written on a graph that features six lines representing the strings of the guitar. Numbers are placed on the lines to...

The term "musical score" can be used as an alternative to the term "sheet music" or as a reference to a musical soundtrack. Typically, a musical score is printed sheet music featuring several...

You want to play piano by ear but you have been reading notes on paper so long you’ve convinced yourself it’s the only way you can play. You think trying to play the piano without music would be...

While listening to a great symphony or watching a conductor leading an orchestra, you might sometimes imagine yourself in front of the orchestra. Most of us don't have the background to undertake...

Tone quality, more often expressed as tone color or timbre, is the distinguishing characteristic of any one instrument or voice as opposed to another. With the proliferation of electronic musical...

Ever since Men At Work proudly proclaimed to "come from a land Down Under" in their '80s heyday, Australia has justifiably enjoyed a reputation as an exotic, show business destination. For...

Ever wanted to play piano by ear? It takes a lot of practice, but here are some basics to get you started!

Through the release of "An Inconvenient Truth," the 2006 documentary presented by former Vice President Al Gore, more people than ever have gotten acquainted with the implications of global...

For some people, counting music comes naturally. For the many others, this art form must be learned and practiced to be fully grasped and used to your advantage. Use the examples in this how-to...

Regardless of the genre, writing a music score takes the same types of skills. Such skills include focusing on the sort of music you want to write, instrumentation and effects, and idea...

To those that can't read sheet music, musical notations are like learning a foreign language or translating a secret code. Once a musician deciphers the signs, symbols and notes, he understands...

Can you play piano by ear? You’ve played piano for years. You are a great sight reader. But you were at a club the other night listening to a really great piano player. You sat down and talked to...

Have you ever thought you might have what it takes to be on American Idol but aren't quite sure of the audition process? Those who've tried out for this show are always willing to share a few...

By any measure, drummers are the unsung heroes in a band, because they must set the pace for everybody else. If drummers have a bad night, the audience knows immediately. This rule goes double for...

In this article I am going to show you how to read sheet music - music notes. Reading music is quite easy...like anything once you have the hang of it, and it is quite easy to learn to read music...

Once confined to a strict timekeeping role, the bass guitar has come a long way in contemporary music. For more than 40 years, bassists have pushed against those limitations to create riffs of...

Bass guitar is one of the fundamental instruments in music. Along with drums, bass comprises the rhythm section of most bands. Many people believe the bass, having only four strings as opposed to...

Okay, so you want to play a B major scale on the piano. Many piano students have trouble with this scale, because it involves a lot of sharps (the black keys), which can seem confusing.

Species Counterpoint has been used as the foundation for learning and composing music through most of the Common Practice Era in Western Music History as well as more advanced theoretical...

Species Counterpoint has been used as the foundation for learning and composing music through most of the Common Practice Era in Western Music History as well as more advanced theoretical...

Lets take a peak at a simplified relative of the Major Scale: The Major Pentatonic Scale.