Musical Instruments

"Bella's Lullaby" is a song from the "Twilight" saga. This best-selling series of books recently has been made into a global film franchise phenomenon. In the first film this song jumps from the...

Broken guitar tuning pegs usually require replacement rather than fixing. Tuning pegs, also called machine heads, tuners, or tuning keys, can become damaged from accidental impact, or use of tools...

Riffs and leads are the building blocks of rock music. In order to have a great song, an artist needs to incorporate both of the elements and use them to their full potential. Although there are...

Mittenwald, Germany, is an important town in the history of violin production. The town was part of the Grafschaft Werdenfels (lands of the Counts of Werdenfels) until 1802, when it became a part...

Building a custom guitar online can be a great way to help you envision your perfect guitar. With the aid of the Internet, you can try out various colors and see what different pickup...

The modern flute, used in bands and orchestras, comes apart into three pieces for storage. When you are ready to play, you need to assemble the three pieces so that all of the keys are aligned...

Playing guitar quickly and well requires above average hand strength. It's not enough for your hands to have dexterity. They must also be strong enough to play fast. You'll also want the endurance...

The flute is a woodwind instrument that can produce sweet lilting melodies, warm soothing lullabies, or even the Chewbacca noise when played... differently. This is a beginner's introduction to...

Here is an easy way to play a C major chord on a standard six string guitar.

Here is how to play one of the most used rock chords on a standard six string guitar.

Besides the extensive cleaning that you should do yourself several times a year, you need to do a basic, quick cleaning of your piano every day. It should only take about two or three minutes.

A grand piano is a major investment, and it needs proper care to remain in good condition. It's a good idea to deeply clean your piano several times a year and do a brief spiffing once a day; the...

The soundpost in a string instrument is a spruce dowel that sits inside the instrument and connects the top of the instrument with the bottom so that the sound will resonate throughout the entire...

Professional and amateur musicians alike can gain important insight into instrumentation by making their own instruments. Hand making musical instruments instills a sense of pride in the maker and...

Monitoring the temperature and humidity of your guitar's environment is an important part of caring for your guitar. Keeping the humidity at a controlled level will prevent the guitar from...

Changing a violin string is a useful and necessary skill for every violinist, novice to expert. Even if a string isn't broken, replacing it can enhance the sound, playability and enjoyment of your...

An arpeggio, when executed correctly, gives a distinct sound to whichever chord this technique is being applied to. The word arpeggio means "broken chord" in Italian, and that's exactly what it...

One of the main challenges for hearing aid manufacturers is to create hearing aids that work well for both music and speech. Since it's more important for most people to hear speech than music,...

A music scale is a set of organized pitches used to construct a melody. In Western scales, pitches are organized into patterns of whole steps and half steps. Different patterns of pitches...

Fast double bass drumming doesn't have to be a secret. In fact, with the right technique and some practice, you can get your double bass speed to increase dramatically within a few weeks

The pan pipe comes from truly mythic origins: Pan, the ancient Greek half-goat half-human god of shepherds, flocks, mountains, hunting and, of course, rustic music, played these pipes in a...

Grindcore has been around for the last 25 years and hasn't declined in popularity. On the contrary, many musicians look to the classic sounds of Napalm Death, Sore Throat, and Fear of God for...

A talkbox is a kind of effects device used for guitars and keyboards. It is unique in that it takes the sound from the instrument and sends it through a small rubber tube, which the musician puts...

Making a wind instrument from items you probably have around your home is a fun project for kids and parents. Teachers also can guide students in making a homemade wind instrument in order to...

Playing guitar for a beginner is often painful because the fingers are soft. It takes time to build up callouses that allow new players to play guitar without feeling the irritation cause by the...

The only thing better than making music is making music on an instrument you built yourself. For the aspiring instrument maker, a flute is a good place to start. With little more than a piece of...

The alto saxophone is a reed instrument and member of the woodwind section. It is usually made of brass, and consists of the mouthpiece (which holds the reed), the neckpiece, and the body. Taking...

Creating your own music can be a fun, rewarding experience. Even if you've never played an instrument, you can still compose and play music electronically. The Nintendo Game Boy, for example, can...

Harmony is what makes music cool. A melody line is nice, but adding harmonies to it can take it from pleasing to an extremely emotional, uplifting swell of sound. Harmony is also the basis for...

One talent that can really boost self confidence and impress others is to learn to play acoustic guitar. Few talents prove to appeal more to all types of people than being able to pull out a...

Rosin is essential to the care and performance of violin bows. The sticky powder made from hardened pine sap allows the bow to "grab" the strings of a violin and make them vibrate. Choose the...

The shakuhachi flute is a Japanese flute made from bamboo. It is played vertically, like a recorder, as opposed to the traditional European flutes that are played horizontally. Shakuhachi flutes...

Laptops dominate DJ booths around the world. Many DJs perform without turntables and often without CD decks. The computer adds a new dimension to the art form, turning DJs into true musical...

Masters as well as learners of the saxophone spend a lot of time doing breathing exercises and practicing various breathing techniques. This helps them produce a better sound quality and regulate...

Learning to play a musical instrument is never easy. Each instrument has its own process for making sound. As a woodwind instrument, the alto saxophone sound is produced by a wooden reed that is...

The bamboo nose flute is a traditional instrument of the South Pacific. In Hawaii, it is known as "ohe hano ihu," and is made with a thin-walled length of bamboo. Played using air from either or...

The Floyd Rose Tremolo is affected by two opposite forces: string tension and spring tension. The strings create a force that will pull up on the floating bridge, while the bridge's springs...

As with any musical instrument, learning to play the guitar requires patience and a disciplined approach to practice. Although it's entirely possible for a beginner to learn to hold down a basic...

Making music should be a part of every child's life. However, musical instruments can be expensive and are not available to everybody. In fact, many types of music originated with homemade...

Playing an Eb (E flat) chord on the guitar can be a challenge to the beginner. But by referencing knowledge of other common chords, and a bit of music theory, playing Eb and other tricky chords...

Musical instrument cables fail for a number of reasons, but the most common failures occur when solder joints or wires become loose inside the connector. Improper wire pulling, faulty solder work,...

Rotary valves on a French horn have exceptionally narrow clearance between the rotor and the valve casing. Any sediment or build up of gummed lubricant or minerals, or warping of the rotor or...

Anyone who plays a keyboard or piano would like to play perfectly. While you may not always be perfect, you can certainly learn to play more accurately and make much better music! Here’s how:

Every soul is laced together with musical melody. Few discover a way to release this "music within". Matching the music with the right instrument of expression is often an illusive...

Making music, either by singing or playing an instrument, is a very rewarding and enjoyable experience. To expand variety of music you're able to perform, you'll need to learn to read music. ...

Creating your own musical instruments can be a very fun hobby and mind-expanding activity for kids. Musical instruments can be very expensive so by creating your own instrument you will save...

Walk into just about any music shop and you will quickly be confronted with a wall of guitar and bass amplifiers, each with different features and different sizes. It is no surprise that trying to...

Rosin is made from the simplest of substances, pine resin, but without it a violin would not be able to make the kind of beautiful music we are used to hearing. The use of rosin on a bow allows...

Guitar strings can be adjusted to improve two main factors, intonation and string action. Intonation is a string's ability to stay in tune over the length of the neck, while action refers to the...