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History of the Clarinet From the 19th Century
While composers had already begun to write music for the clarinet, such as Mozart with the Clarinet Concerto and Clarinet Quintet, it was the 19th century that saw an explosion of use of the clarinet in the music of most composers of the day. This was mainly due to two factors. Firstly, the further development of the clarinet by Iwan Műller in the first half of the century had resulted in a more reliable and agile instrument, which was later combined with the Boehm fingering system, adopted from the flute. Also, the tonal qualities suited the Romantic era, able to express a gamut of emotions as music moved from the formality of the Classical era to the Romantic. As with Mozart, many composers of the Romantic era were inspired to write their great clarinet music by virtuosic clarinetists of their day. Carl Maria von Weber wrote two concertos and a concertino for the great clarinet player Heinrich Baermann, including some of the most technically difficult passages yet written for the clarinet. Brahms wrote some sublime chamber music for the clarinet when inspired by another great clarinetist, Richard Muhlfield, who is credited with inspiring Brahms to compose again when he had claimed to have retired. Other composers who used the clarinet to great effect were Berlioz and Rossini. The 20th century continued the popularity of the clarinet, which was now used in jazz as well as 'art' music. One of the most famous orchestral pieces of the 20th century, Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin, begins with a memorable clarinet glissandos, perhaps the most well known instance of a clarinet used in orchestral music. Written by Marc Hofkens - if you are interested in finding hundreds of articles about the clarinet go and find it at 1st-clarinet-music. Lots of sheet music for the clarinet to download!
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Solid-Bodied Gretsch Corvette Guitar The Solid-bodied Corvette (not to be confused with the Corvette hollow-body arch-top electric, produced from 1955-1959) was Gretsch's answer to the Les Paul Jr. by Gibson. Introduced in 1961, the Corvette Solid-body was a small, light-weight, comfortable electric guitar that was just right for the budding musician. Try Some New Music! Stuck in a music rut? How to Play Piano Using a Few Chords How many chords do you need to create a piece of music? Would you believe that it doesn't really matter and that whole pieces of music have been created using just one chord? For example, if you play a D minor 7 chord, you could use the bass note D to create a drone effect and anchor the whole improvisation. It could last for a few seconds or many minutes. Five Great Practice Ideas I Learned From My Piano Students! Sometimes the teacher learns more from the student than the student does from the teacher. Hopefully, not too often, but today I would like to share with you some great practicing ideas that have come from my piano students over the years: Learn To Play The Piano Better By Learning To Arrange Chords & Chord Progressions Piano arranging is the process by which you take a written piece of music and rework it with chords, adding new bass accompaniment, fills, or even slightly altering the song's structure. And while it's a process that takes years to truly master, anyone with a basic education in piano and a working knowledge of a few key techniques can create an inventive, satisfying arrangement. It all boils down to one thing: chord recognition. And anyone who plays a little piano can learn piano chords to add excitement to their piano playing. Reaching For The Soul Zone Every searching artist wants to get there. It's that magical place where something takes over, you know, when something bigger than you whispers in your ear and says "Relax - I'll take it from here!" Why You Cant Play Piano It's really not your fault. You see, you've been taught that in order to play piano you need to first learn how to read music, and second, play other peoples music. Health and Beauty Tips for Your Brass: Keep It Shiny! Did you know that the health and beauty of your brass instruments require extra special attention? It's true-their wellbeing and happiness depend upon it. While we're not talking about putting your tuba on a weight-loss program or taking your trumpet to the spa for a makeover, you do need to treat your brass instruments with care or they'll refuse to come out and play. So, grab that brass and get ready for a workout-it's time to clean! How to Stop Thinking and Start Playing Learning how to improvise is confusing for most. The sheer number of choices becomes a burden. Should I play this note? What chord next? Where do I go from here? All valid questions newbies (and oldbies) at improvisation sometimes ask themselves. How to Construct Chords and Improvise How To Construct Basic Chords on the Piano Beginner Guitar Tips: How to Get a Feel "I don't like to go into the studio with all the songs worked out and planned before hand?. You've got to give the band something to use its imagination on as well. That can make a very ordinary song come alive into something totally different?.. the X Factor ? so important in Rock And Roll - which is the feel" - Keith Richards. Learning How To Improvise Those of you who have been reading my articles for some time now know that I believe improvisation to be the cornerstone of musical creativity. Why? Because without the ability to just play, we become stifled and the "real" music that is within each of us withers and dies. Avoiding Injuries When Playing Guitar To avoid any sort of injuries when playing guitar a common sense approach is recommended. Just what do I mean by that? If Seals Can Sing, Why Cant You? It sounds like a side show, doesn't it? It does to me. But it's true; researchers have discovered that some varieties of seals really do sing. Indeed, male leopard seals have been heard singing complex melodies in their lonely search for a mate. Likewise, male Weddell seals, which are a very social creature, lure their mate by improvising original melodies the way a master musician would in front of an audience. Its Jewish Music, But Is The Music Jewish? A while back I was driving along the Jerusalem highway scanning the radio stations. On one frequency, a very intense dance beat was exploding out of the speakers. I was about to move the dial some more in search of a Jewish tune when the vocalist started in. Shock of shocks, he was a heavily Hassidic singer, complete with eastern European pronunciation. And what was he singing? "Kumee oy'ree ki va oy-reich.." from 16th century Rabbi Shlomo Alkavetz' classic Sabbath poem, L'cha Dodi. Before he had began his rendition I had been expecting something like "Oh baby, the way you move with me ..."! Would Chopin Have Passed A Music Quiz? Q. My children are very interested in playing music. Is there such a thing as a music quiz for kids? Chords or Melody First... Which is Best? There are basically two ways you can compose a piece of music. The first and most traditional way is to write out the melody and then harmonize it. Some call this working from the top (as opposed to the chords on the bottom.) The second approach is where you create some kind of rhythmic harmonic pattern and improvise (or compose) the melody on top. Now, which one is best for New Age music? Musical Improvisation Basics - Four Strategies For Playing Wrong Notes While it probably doesn't seem like this would help - let's face it - if you are unwilling to play a lot of wrong notes, you're never going to learn how to do anything hard. And improvising is hard! It isn't something that you can do safely, with the assurance that you will look good while trying to get good at it. You won't look good. You won't sound good -- and the sooner you realize this, the sooner you will be able to do something of real value. Say Something The music of Rush influences and inspires, at least that's what it's done for me over the past 25 years. Now, the question is, is the music that powerful, or am I just too easy to inspire? Both I guess. Music Practice Techniques for Learning Repertory These practice tips were written for fiddlers. I've used them in classical violin also. You will find they apply to any music learning goal you have set for yourself.
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