Musical Instruments

The ocarina is a simple wind instrument. Ocarinas can be made from wood, ceramic, glass or a number of other materials. They can have four holes, five holes or more. Ocarinas are keyed to produce...

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. ...

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...

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...

A slur in piano music is two notes or more played together, one right after the other, in a smooth fashion. A slur marking, indicated by a curved line that begins at the first note of the slur and...

Many talented musicians claim that they first learned to play piano by ear. "By ear" means that they listened to music and copied it on the piano without using sheet music. It certainly is...

This lesson teaches timing between the left hand and the right hand. During this lesson you will learn counting in 4 half notes and then 8th notes. The right hand will play the C chord as the left...

Chords are composed of multiple notes played simultaneously. Chords are built from notes within a scale, which is a series of notes related to one another by set intervals. Chords are built using...

Most musicians begin playing instruments at an early age and learning their instrument becomes a lifelong endeavor. For the adult who always wanted to play a clarinet, achieving proficiency on the...

The guitar is notated on the treble clef, an octave higher than it actually sounds. The actual pitch of the notes played on the guitar begin at the bass clef and extend to the lower reaches of the...

If your bassoon is off-key, has trouble hitting certain notes or is wobbling in pitch, the problem could lie in the reed. Bassoon reeds are made of two pieces of thin wood, and though they are...

Pianos are versatile instruments and can be easily learned due to their relatively simple mechanism. There is no special skill set required to play a note--you just hit a key--though proper...

Learning to play the piano at home involves practice, desire and an ability to catch and learn from your own mistakes. Learning to play an instrument does not require a teacher. Interest is the...

The Yamaha P90 and the Yamaha P140 are professional stage pianos. While the P90 has been discontinued, the P140 is one of the newer entries in Yamaha's piano lineup.

The recorder, a woodwind, whistle-like instrument, belongs to the same family as the ocarina. You blow into the recorder at an end into a plug made out of wood. Play the recorder with the holes...

Though the valve trombone has outlived its heyday and is becoming an increasingly rare or novelty instrument, it continues to have a use in situations where music calls for the subtle...

Chords are the foundation of music. Many piano teachers begin with a chord foundation, especially when teaching adults. Teaching chords on a piano can help students play songs sooner than teaching...

A guitar is a stringed instrument that can be electric or acoustic. A typical electric guitar has between 20 and 22 frets, with some models reaching 24 frets. A typical acoustic has between 15 and...

Although the bass guitar is typically played one note at a time, bassists can play chords the same way guitarists do. Playing chords on a bass can add depth to the music by creating a "fatter"...

The piano is a wonderfully versatile instrument with a rich tradition of use throughout the history of music. While it takes many years and intensive study to attain mastery of the instrument, the...

Many professional trumpet players are capable of playing stratospheric high notes, an impressive feat for an audience. Although ultra-high notes might seem like a nigh-impossible feat only...

The Irish tin whistle, also known as the penny whistle, is a fun and simple instrument capable of producing clear, loud sound. The tin whistle features six fingering holes on the front of the...

If you play piano or keyboard, you know how often one or two passages keep you from playing as well as you want. But there is a way to make those parts strong and secure. And it usually doesn't...

Boogie piano incorporates blues, rock 'n' roll, jazz and folk music, putting elements from many types of these musical genres (especially blues and rock) into a fast piano piece with a strong and...

The harmonica is a versatile instrument heard in musical styles ranging from rock to country, but no other musical genre is more suited to harmonica than the blues. Because the harmonica so...

Playing chords on the piano can be done in a number of ways to create different effects. A chord can be played on one or both clefs, certain notes can be altered to create specific sounds, and the...

Teaching children how to play the piano may seem more difficult than it really is. All you need is a bit of creativity and fun, and a child can be playing in no time. These exercises help you to...

A lot of drummers never learn to read drum music notation, preferring to play by ear. Some serious drummers opt to take their musical skills to another level by learning to read drum music. It...

Guitar playing is a skill that requires much practice and repetition. If you concentrate on the basics and work your way from that point, you can learn to play the guitar rather quickly. If you...

The guitar is a six-string fretted instrument that can be played electric or acoustic. The guitar is a versatile instrument found in every musical genre from classical to rock. Guitarists,...

A hammered dulcimer is an ancient, percussive stringed instrument. Its strings are strung horizontally across a wooden trapezoid box, most commonly across two vertical bridges. It sounds much like...

In order to play a country bass line, simply play dotted quarter notes that are followed by eighth notes. Discover how country music is rooted in American blues music with help from a professional...

Theory sheets serve primarily to increase a person's basic understanding of a particular instrument. For piano, the sheets typically present opportunities to practice rhythm, note value, chord...

Guitar chords are the foundation to guitar playing. A chord is two or more notes sounded together, or, in the case of an arpeggio, a chord played broken, with the notes following one another in...

Picking up a guitar for the first time is often a daunting experience. After all, you have to learn an entirely new alphabet--the musical alphabet. The good news is that to play the guitar, you...

There are 88 keys on a standard piano, presenting a range of seven octaves plus a minor third. The notes start on the left-hand side at A and follow the musical alphabet in a repeated pattern that...

A harmonica, known among players as a harp, is the most portable musical instrument in the world today. It's also one of the easiest to play. Beginners often get frustrated and get stuck after...

Examples of a musical keyboard include piano, organ and an electronic keyboard. The notes on these instruments are the same 12 notes of the musical scale, repeated in different octaves. The number...

You have always wanted to learn to play instrumental piano music, or perhaps your son or daughter wants to learn to play. Either way, with practice, learning to play the piano can be both fun and...

The bass guitar is typically coupled with a drum set to be used as a rhythm instrument, so it's important to understand how to read rhythm. Learn about reading quarter notes, half notes and more...

In standard tuning for bass guitar, the top, lowest-sounding string will be an E, with subsequent notes being A, D and G, respectively. Learn about the names of strings as open notes with help...

Playing the piano doesn't have to be as hard as it looks. Actually, it's not that hard at all. I have been playing for about seven years, and can't read from a staff. I learn by hearing or seeing.

Learning and practicing lip slurs may be one of the most important activities a trumpet player can do to strengthen the embouchure. Practicing lip slurs will give you more flexibility on your...

The piano is a musical instrument that has evolved from keyboard instruments such as the clavichord and harpsichord. Pressing keys of a keyboard in such instruments causes strings to be either...

If you want to play some holiday songs for you family or learn to play your favorite piece, you will have to gain some knowledge of the piano and practice. However, many people can learn to play...

A musical keyboard is an instrument with keys. This could be an acoustic piano, an organ or an electronic keyboard capable of digitally reproducing many different keyboard and other instrument...

Lead guitar refers to the guitar part in a song that plays lead fills over the rhythm guitar as well as the solo parts in a song. Lead guitar players employ a number of playing techniques, tricks...

The bass guitar usually is used to support the dominant vocal style typical of gospel music. This leads to a style with a very smooth, measured feel to it. Gospel bass does not generally employ...

Learning the recorder should be a fun experience. Learn it your own way, and discover your own perception of the instrument. Playing a recorder can bring memorable and rewarding experiences to...

A keyboard instrument can be an electronic keyboard, a piano or organ. A traditional piano has 88 keys and a range a little over seven octaves. Electronic keyboards come in all sizes, from two- or...