Musical Instruments

Nearly all banjo heads now are made of Mylar plastic and often painted white. Painting your banjo head can be a great way to make your instrument stand out. You can use a solid color or a design....

There are many types of mallets that percussionists need for the variety of instruments they play in a band or an orchestra. Much of the time, each type of mallet is relegated to one specific...

Playing saxophone is a wonderful hobby and a lot of fun. The more you play the better you get and the more fun you can have. Getting better requires disciplined practice and patience.

A correct embouchure, or the way you hold your lips when playing a musical instrument, is key to your success as a flute player. Many people make critical errors in this phase of learning. An...

MIDI Clock should be distinguished from MIDI Time Code (MTC). MTC is a type of time code, similar to SMPTE. MIDI Time Code is sent in packets of exclusive system data and identifies the location...

Moving a piano from one home to another is no easy task, as demonstrated by Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in a 1930s movie short that, unsurprisingly, ended in disaster. It is essential to remove...

Improvised instruments are the heart of a bluegrass jug band. Along with a washboard, a set of spoons and a jug, a pie pan banjo provides the metallic twang that gives the band character. You...

Recovering from surgery is no fun, especially when you can't do the things you love (or can't do them without pain). Rotator cuff surgery is a major procedure with a months-long recovery process....

A great way to make new songs is to get away from the chords that are normal on the guitar. This is how I usually make some new songs that sound different from other peoples songs. I put on a a...

There are many tonal advantages of using metal finger picks when playing the guitar. Compared to your fingertips, metal picks produce a brighter, louder, punchier sound, and less force will be...

Reading piano notes and sheet music are tasks that takes some time and effort to accomplish. Some people play piano "by ear" meaning that they listen to a song and imitate it on the piano without...

"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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Proper neck relief is critical to the intonation of your guitar. Too much relief, and your guitar will go sharp toward the middle of the neck. Too little relief, and you strings may "buzz...

Pan flutes, or pan pipes, are one of the oldest and simplest pitched instruments. While a pan flute can be made from any tube-shaped material, fashioning your own from bamboo is a great way to...

Learning an instrument is one of the most fulfilling things a person can do, but not everyone has the time or resources to learn the ins and outs of music theory and notation. For guitar players,...

Hide glue for guitar making is a traditional luthier's glue. Made from rendered animal hide in powdered or block form, the glue is heat-set, allowing for a strong, acoustically transparent bond....

Adding warmth to guitar tone is one of the most elusive aspects of playing the instrument. Often it is a case of which electric guitar is purchased, whether that be Fender (whose guitars typically...

Getting a good performance from a singer in a home recording studio is generally based upon making the singer feel comfortable and relaxed. Creating a vocal isolation booth, in addition to...

Learning how to play the electric or acoustic guitar for free is quite possibly the most self-fulfilling and rewarding way to learn the guitar because it requires that you both motivate and teach...

This How-To will teach you the things you need to be successful to learn guitar!

Building your own bass cabinets can help you have the sound you are after and save some money in the process. By using high-quality components, you can get the sound of an expensive professional...

The first thing that must be developed when learning to play an instrument is a pleasing sound. It doesn’t matter how good the technique is or anything else: If one plays with a bad sound, no one...

With a little patience and the right materials, you can paint distinctive ghost flames on your guitar, giving it the look of a professionally customized guitar for very little money.

To learn how to play the Tex-Mex Accordion, it will help you to understand the mechanics of the instrument. It has three rows of buttons (the melody-side buttons). Each row plays a major scale....

The saw bow is a an instrument out of the American past. While not often heard regularly, the saw bow provides a unique sound. Playing the saw bow is guaranteed to be a hit at parties. It can be a...

Musical instruments can be extremely expensive, especially if you are investing in something you are not sure whether you will pursue in the long run. Building your own instruments, such as a...

If you've ever played Guitar Hero 3, or if you're a fan of bombastic progressive arena rock, you're probably familiar with the music of Dragonforce. Dragonforce features some of the most dazzling...

Learning simple chords on a piano is a useful skill, but it can sound empty without some sort of melody line. The melody is another word for the "tune" or a song. It's what you sing, hum or...

"Ode to Joy" is a popular tune that Ludwig Van Beethoven wrote as a part of his Symphony No. Nine. You can play this song on the violin fairly simply (compared to other violin pieces). It uses...

If you are like many guitar players, your first guitar may have been a cheaper Fender Stratocaster. Refinishing your Strat is a project that will bring new life to the guitar. Whether you are...

First Act is a manufacturer of musical instruments based in Massachusetts. The company makes guitars for players of every skill level, from small children to professionals such as Adam Levine of...

A tongue drum is a percussion instrument for use in recording or in a drum circle. The box is made of a soft maple and the top from a hard wood. It is played with a mallet on the sound fingers on...

People building a custom guitar for the first time will often begin simply--by purchasing the separate parts of the body already shaped and painted. These individuals focus on the electronics to...

Some tips for setting up a teaching business I've tried to share a bit of my own experience concisely - if you want to find out more about me and see my website, it's at...

Super Mario Brothers is the best selling video game franchise in history. As a result, the Super Mario Theme song is one of the most recognizable songs ever created. Since its inception this...