instruments

All about musical instruments, their tunes, and the people that play them.

Nat Shapiro & Nat Hentoff's 'The Jazz Makers'
Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Billie Holliday, Fats Waller, Roy Eldridge, and Charlie Christian are a few of the jazz masters whose diverse and several talents, blossoming intensely over half a century like the dramatists of Elizabeth, Charles, and James, meet in The Jazz Makers a set of critics whose gift and moment it is to capture in prose, in virtually every essay herein, some of the most precise verbal pictures of the music these writers have heard.
By Rhonda Taylor9 years ago in Beat
Should I Force My Kid to Play an Instrument?
When children reach a teachable age, parents will often ask themselves “Should I force my kid to play an instrument?” While learning to play an instrument can be a great way for children to explore and cultivate a skill, it should be a conversation, not a one-way street. If they truly aren't interested, it can end up backfiring and causing thousands of dollars to be wasted. But we're not here to give parenting advice. If you are adamant about putting them into classes here are some things you should think about before you enroll them. By the end of this article, you will find the answer to the question “Should I force my kid to play an instrument?”
By Max Jones9 years ago in Beat
#HowEyeSeeIt with Casey Harris of the X Ambassadors
Casey Harris, the piano player for the X Ambassadors, has been legally blind his entire life. As part of the Foundation Fighting Blindness' recent digital campaign, #HowEyeSeeIt, we traveled to Seattle to meet with Casey and the rest of the X Ambassadors to hear his story. In his own words Casey describes his ability to see as 15% vision in good light and closer to 5-10% in bad light. Technically speaking Casey has 2200 vision with a 10% field in the middle.
By David Karp9 years ago in Beat
Arif Erdem Ocak: Turkey’s Breakout Musician of the Year
Moonlight on tight shorts and bikini tops… A secluded beach lapped by hot Aegean waves… The dark green of woods within which stalk predators hunting furry prey... And then— a rainbow of lights cross each other like sniper beads seeking targets as a boom of unnaturally amplified guitars disrupts the ambient airwaves.
By Matt Cates9 years ago in Beat
World's Weirdest Musical Instruments
Since the dawn of mankind, music has been a crucial part of our society, giving rise to a variety of music styles and customs - and also to some very strange instruments. The love of sublime melody has translated into ingenious musical concoctions ranging from nature-based instruments to innovative variations of more common instruments. Here is a list of our top picks of the weirdest instruments ever invented.
By Riley Bates9 years ago in Beat