Musical Instruments

This is often referred to as the Keith Richards tuning, since he made it so popular. Others just call it one of the easiest ways to learn how to play guitar. The reason is that in open G tuning,...

Learning to restring an electric guitar can be daunting, but with a bit of experience can be easily accomplished. Restringing on your own will save time and money, and will help you become...

Timpani have been a part of the European classical orchestra since the late 1600s, but they originated in the Middle East. Timpani are a pair of large drums that are played by striking them with...

Profile is a popular brand of value-priced tuners for electronic guitar and bass. Included in the Profile line are several clip-on tuners, a surface mount stick-on unit and a higher-end foot-pedal...

The Planet Waves Pro-Winder Tuner is a five-in-one guitarist's tool, featuring a string winder, bridge pin puller, string stretcher, string cutter, and chromatic tuner. The unit is designed to...

Tuning is somewhat of an art, and is obviously among the most important skills to perfect. Whether you own a Gibson or other guitar brand, tuning procedures are identical. Electronic tuners are...

A Les Paul style guitar is one of the easier versions to restring. Unlike the Stratocaster, the Les Paul has everything you need easily accessible on the top of the guitar. Changing the strings is...

Changing a single guitar string on an acoustic guitar is not big deal. However, changing out all six strings is another matter. If the method employed to remove and replace a set of strings is...

Changing strings on an Epiphone Firebird is not terribly different from most guitars. It does have a few distinct features that are important to know. New strings on a guitar give new life to it's...

When tuning a guitar to D flat, you'll want to tune it two half steps below E. Play your guitar in D flat tuning with help from a guitarist in this free video on guitar tuning.

Most guitars are played in the tune of E, also known as standard tuning. Make sure your guitar is in tune with tips from a guitarist in this free video on guitar tuning.

To tune a guitar in B, you must tune it two and a half steps lower than the standard E tuning. Find out how to tune your guitar to B with help from a guitarist in this free video on guitar tuning.

Changing your acoustic guitar strings regularly is one of the most important things you can do to ensure you're always getting the best sound out of your guitar. Your guitar will not only sound...

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,...

First Act makes several high-quality beginner's guitars that feature string-through-body construction, which adds sustain to the notes and makes for a strong anchoring point for the string itself....

Hello avid musician! So you want to learn to play the Guitar. These blogs will give you the basic know how of how to do just that. This is Part 1, here we will learn the basics of a guitar...

The smallest member of the ukulele family, the soprano ukulele is a versatile instrument. Like other stringed instruments, it requires tuning before each playing session. This four-stringed...

The mountain dulcimer is an instrument that has been used primarily in the Appalachian area of the United States for many years. This instrument, which belongs in the zither family, consists of a...

Drum tuning can be one of the more frustrating aspects of being a drummer. Even the most seasoned drummer can have trouble getting the right sound. The Drum Dial will not automatically perfect...

The tabla is an Indian drum used a variety of musical genres. Musicians play the instrument with the palms and fingers to create many different musical sounds. You can change the pitch of the...

You love to strum the guitar, but when it's out of tune, yikes, does it sound bad! Here you will learn how to tune your guitar by heart. Enjoy!

Seven-string guitars are thought to have been invented in Russia in the 19th century. They weren't very popular in the United States until jazz guitarist George Van Eps had one built for him in...

Tuning forks are most commonly used to tune musical instruments, such as guitars, basses or pianos. Each tuning fork is designed to precisely play a specific pitch. This note is used as a...

Guitarists looking to break out of a playing rut or find a new sound can do so by changing tuning. One of the most common alternate guitar tunings is Drop-D, where the low-E string is lowered one...

Many homeowners have an old piano gathering dust somewhere in the house without anyone interested in playing it. There are a variety of things you can do with your old piano, from restoring it...

Dobro guitar has two meanings in common usage. Officially, Dobro refers only to the Dobro brand of resonator guitars manufactured by Gibson. More commonly, the term Dobro guitar refers to any...

Playing a steel guitar in tune is extremely important to its overall sound quality. There are many factors that can make steel guitars detune, such as bar pressure and temperature and humidity...

Drop C is most commonly used by metal bands such as Children of Bodom, Rammstein, and Cradle of Filth. Most bands only use this tuning for a few songs rather than their entire set list. The string...

Guitar locking tuners serve to stabilize tuning by incorporating additional mechanical instruments to hold the string in place, thus minimizing its inclination to stretch. Many locking tuners...

Tuning a piano may seem like a difficult task, but with the right equipment you can do it by yourself. Learning how to do it can only help you take care of your piano, and save you the money of...

Besides playing music, one of the concerns many musicians face is care and maintenance of their respective instruments. For string players, a proper setup is required for getting the best tone,...

The hammer dulcimer is a wooden instrument strung with metal strings struck with "hammers." The name dulcimer comes from two words: "dulce" for sweet and "melos" for tune. At some point, you are...

No matter what instrument you choose to play, in order for it to sound right, it must be tuned properly. Fortunately electric instruments are quite a bit easier to deal with than acoustic...

An acoustic-electric guitar's neck is divided by raised metal bars called frets. "Holding down a fret" is depressing a string just behind a particular fret. "Playing an open string" is plucking...

A lap harp is a Celtic instrument resembling a full-sized orchestral harp, but sized to be held on a sitting player's knees. Like all stringed instruments, the strings of a lap harp will...

The Casino is Epiphone's version of the Gibson ES-330. Both guitars models were released about the same time. The Epiphone Casino over the years has been slightly more popular than the Gibson...

Each string on a guitar is tuned to a specific note, typically beginning at low E on the top string and continuing as follows: A, D, G, B and E. Changing the initial tuning of one or more of these...

Each string of a guitar is tuned to a different note. Changing what notes a guitar is tuned to changes how the strings are fretted to play scales and chords. Guitarists use different tunings to...

Music very well could have been invented by cavemen beating on rocks, but since then, humans have created a variety of instruments to blow through, pluck, hit and press that have allowed for the...

While Dobro is a brand name, it is often used to reference any resonator-style guitar. Resonator guitars, commonly used in bluegrass and blues music genres, come in two basic types: roundneck and...

One of the quickest ways to improve the sound of your guitar is to replace old strings with a new set. As strings age, they become dirty and their sound becomes dull and lifeless. New strings will...

Tuning forks have uses in multiple genres including music and sound therapy. Not only can they provide a tuning process for musical instruments, but they can tune your body as well. Doctors,...

When you learn how to play a guitar, you are often taught two very important skills; how to tune the guitar and how to change the strings. In the end many guitarists develop their own style that...

Broken electric guitar strings are a common occurrence. The strings on an electric guitar are thinner than the strings on an acoustic guitar, which makes them more likely to break after extended...

If you are a beginner guitar player and wonder how some professional bands get such a low and clean tone out of their sound, they are probably using baritone guitars. Similar to a standard guitar,...

The modern piano has been through a number of systematic changes during its evolution over the centuries. One system that has been through many transitions is the intonation setup of the piano...

If you've just purchased a piano, questions arise--when should you have your instrument tuned and repaired? Maintaining your piano properly involves three elements of service--proper tuning,...

Tuning a guitar to drop C requires tuning the sixth string down two whole steps to C, while all of the other strings should be tuned down one whole step. Discover reference points when tuning a...

The vihuela is a five-stringed instrument with origins in Spain. The vihuela is used similar to a rhythm guitar and most commonly used to make Spanish-style music. Tuning a vihuela is not hard,...

A properly tuned drum kit is important for getting a good drum tone. Tuning a drum can be a difficult, time-consuming process. The process and goal are quite straight-forward. The level of ear...