Musical Instruments

A Straplok is a device manufactured by the Jim Dunlop Company designed to fasten a guitar strap to a guitar securely. Straploks have two main components--a button that installs through the hole in...

A 10-hole harmonica is a diatonic harmonica that can be purchased in different keys. Regardless of the key the harmonica is pitched in, the playing techniques remain the same. While 10-hole...

Among the numerous methods for increasing lung capacity--from yoga to starting a swimming regimen -- taking up a musical instrument for daily practice can be one of the most effective and...

Whether it's a gorgeous grand or an antique upright, an old piano is a beautiful thing. But selling an old piano can be tough. It's hardly an impulse purchase, and there is much to figure out...

The baritone is a brass instrument whose appearance is sometimes described as a miniature tuba. Although some music arrangers write baritone music in treble clef so that trumpet players can play...

You can use any one of the three current Bass POD products in a live setting. Due to the products amazing flexibility, it can be used with any current gear you have. Whether you need it to...

Memorizing piano scales is one of the most effective ways to thoroughly learn and understand what it is you are playing. Scales form the basic parts of nearly all songs, and they are a major...

Playing slide guitar like the pros takes lots of practice, but getting started is pretty easy. First, you need a slide. Any glass, metal, or rigid plastic tube will do for starters--a bottle neck,...

The viola is a musical instrument that resembles the violin. It has a deeper timbre than the violin and is on average two inches longer. The viola gets its deeper sound from the extra length....

Having great tone is an important step to becoming a great flute player. It doesn't matter how fast you can move your fingers or master songs, because if you don't have great tone, you won't sound...

With this video, you can learn basic finger style guitar if you have a working knowledge of open chords. Finger picking is fun and easy! Give it a try.

In order to play your guitar standing up you need a guitar strap. Most guitar straps have an adjustable length. Many new guitar players are uncertain how long to make their guitar strap. These...

Once you’ve learned to tune your guitar, and learned to play it, you may discover that your guitar plays out of tune as you move up the neck, even if it is tune correctly. Assuming that you are...

Selecting an acoustic guitar for you child or yourself to begin guitar lessons can be a daunting task after seeing all of those guitars hanging on the walls of a music store! Where do you begin? ...

Here is an article to help you familiarize your self with the working parts of a guitar.Before you go out and get that "first lesson", spend some time learning all of the parts for...

Building your own Stratocaster can be an easy process, thanks to the availability of parts for this guitar model. Created by Leo Fender in the 1950s, the Fender Stratocaster was made popular by...

Double stops are just a fancy way of saying double notes. You play two notes together. Usually they are above or beneath one another. So instead of playing single notes, we double up on our...

The soprano saxophone was invented in 1840. It is one of the smallest of the saxophone family (only the sopranino and the new "soprillo" saxophone are smaller). Dave Koz and Kenny G are two...

Chords are the building blocks of music. A chord is a combination of two or more notes played together. Typically chords contain at least three notes to form what is called a triad. Chords on a...

If you change you guitar strings frequently or have several guitars, buying guitar strings in bulk can save you time and money. Not only do many retailers provide a discount for bulk purchases of...

Bass players these days enjoy the benefit of having custom gear made to their specs, and this includes more than just the instrument. Several top name companies like Mesa Engineering or Aguilar...

So you've got music dancing through your head do you? But you don't play an instrument? You can learn to do both simultaneously. Play the piano by writing songs. This is how I learned to play the...

Bows for stringed instruments such as violins, violas, cellos and basses vary in size, but all perform the same function. Bows are essentially sticks that the players rub against the instruments'...

Learning the major and minor scales are often the first steps a musician takes to become familiar with their instrument. Although many musicians learn by ear and know little theory, it is highly...

Surf guitar is a classic American art form that never went away. A number of specific techniques make up this distinctive rock idiom, but fortunately none of them are outside the grasp of the...

The Irish tin flute, also known as the "penny whistle," is an instrument that belongs to the wind family of instruments. It originated from the flageolet, a similar instrument that was popular in...

One of the more difficult aspects of picking up a guitar for the first time, especially a bass guitar, is tuning the instrument. While the instrument is certainly playable without it being tuned,...

Playing the banjo can be fun and exciting. Building your own banjo can make it that much more rewarding. You'll gain a better understanding of how your instrument works, and you'll have a better...

Finding the right bow is essential to producing beautiful music on a violin. Many factors determine the quality of a bow, such as its construction, hair type and general condition. Buying a violin...

Proper bowing technique is critical to the success of the performing violinist. Numerous elements factor into effectively using a violin bow, from the angle of your arm to the tightness of the bow...

The benefits of playing and practicing music are well documented. Scientifically, it can stimulate brain function at any age. Psychologically, it gives you an opportunity to express yourself, and...

The violin bow is a critical tool for the violinist. The quality of a bow is determined by a number of factors, including its construction, hair type, age and whether it is damaged. Likewise, the...

The violin is one of the most distinctive and adaptable instruments in the world of music. There is no musical genre the violin has not ventured into; the instrument regularly appears in...

Most Epiphone electric guitars are wired the same as a Gibson Les Paul or SG style guitar. They feature individual volume potentiometers linked to individual tone potentiometers connected to a...

Putting a whammy bar, or tremolo bar, on a guitar is a simple task that will allow you to bend notes. When a whammy bar is installed on a guitar you can pull the bar toward the neck, thus...

Whether the beat of a song is kept on a single snare drum or a full drum set, the sticks a drummer uses can make a lot of difference in the sound. Drummers can experiment to get just the right...

Vacuum tube amplifier electrical circuits (also known as "valve amplifier" circuits) have been used to amplify alternating current signals since the 1930s. These amplifier circuits are known for...

Building your own neck can be a very challenging, but rewarding experience. By customizing your neck to suit your playing needs, you can not only save money, but personalize your instrument like...

Bow rosin is a vital element of playing the violin. Made from processed pine tar and proprietary ingredients, which differ according to the manufacturer, rosin allows the smooth bow-hair to grip...

Well if your going to use that guitar, you're going to have to tune up first! This should make it pretty simple and quick to use a tuner to keep your guitar in standard tuning.

To learn how to play the guitar, you need to primarily, have the interest to learn how to actually play it and another thing, you need to own one so you can learn to play it at your own convenient...

Violin is an instrument associated with elegant classical music. Playing the violin is a talent which can be honed at an early age and could lead you to fame if developed properly. There are a...

The bassoon and contrabassoon are the lowest members of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Though some student-level bassoons are made out of polypropylene or ebonite, most bassoons are...

Fire bells, ship bells, cow bells, sleigh bells, dinner bells, and school bells--all of these and many other kinds of antique bells are made of brass. Whether people collect them for decorative or...

When performing guitar electronics repair, such as replacing pickups, components, or wiring, it will be necessary to remove solder from the volume or tone pots. The operation, called desoldering,...

Learning a musical instrument at a young age is something many people wish they had done, as it is a great way to express ourselves and be creative. Often associated with famous musicians, the...

Vacuum tubes are used in some guitar amplifiers, and these are preferred over transistor based amps by many musicians because of their "warm" sound. This sound is produced by the distortion...

The deceptively-named percussion "bells" are, in fact, a metal keyboard instrument resembling a xylophone. While the basic principles of playing percussion bells are as simple as striking the...

Piano keys on a baby grand piano, or any piano, can easily deteriorate over time. It most likely happens when a piano is stored away for many years, not so much when it sits in someone's living...

Learning to play piano takes patience, dedication and plenty of practice. Different people have different learning capabilities. Some do well with teachers, while other may excel working from...