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Songwriter
Aserejé: meaning behind The Ketchup Song

In 2002, the Spanish pop group Las Ketchup turned Aserejé, also known as The Ketchup Song, into a worldwide summer hit…

May 20, 2023
Classical Guitar
Dionisio Aguado's guitar method and tripodison guitar stand have been in use for 200 years

Dionisio Aguado y García was a Spanish composer who laid the foundations of modern performing techniques on classical…

November 10, 20194 comments
Songwriter
Porque Te Vas: meaning behind Jeanette's song of departure

Porque Te Vas is the best-known international song recorded by Jeanette Anne Dimech, professionally known as Jeanette…

September 15, 2021
Classical Guitar
4 collections of early guitar music by enigmatic Santiago de Murcia discovered on 3 Continents

Little is known about the life of the late Baroque composer Santiago de Murcia whose survived collections of works…

March 26, 2019
Music Theory
Things We Said Today: the only Beatles song featuring Phrygian mode

Things We Said Today is one of the tracks written by Paul McCartney for The Beatles's 1964 A Hard Day's Night, although…

June 4, 2021
Music Theory
6 songs combining harmonic minor and Aeolian mode

The polyphonic structure of Western classical music distinguishes it from other musical traditions such as Indian…

March 27, 2021
Music Theory
Locrian mode: music examples and harmonic structure

Music theory describes seven diatonic scales of which the major and minor scales are the most functional and therefore…

June 17, 2020
Violin
Devil's Trill Sonata: Giuseppe Tartini was unable to recreate Lucifer's music played in his dream

Despite its ominous title, the Devil's Trill Sonata is a gentle and peaceful Baroque piece for solo violin accompanied…

October 6, 2019
Synthesizer
Plainsong: The Cure's psychedelic liturgy on the edge of the world

Plainsong is the opening track of the album Disintegration released in 1989 by the English rock band The Cure. The…

July 19, 2020
Classical Guitar
The sorely short career of the Abreu brothers duo

The brothers Sérgio and Eduardo Abreu were active during the 60’s and the early 70’s and are considered by many the…

September 30, 20183 comments
Violin
The timeless sadness of Shigeru Umebayashi

One of the most distinguished and fruitful composers of our time, Shigeru Umebayashi is credited with more than 50…

March 22, 2018
Piano
Für Elise: 2 versions of Beethoven's best-known piano piece

Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor, commonly known as Für Elise, is undoubtedly Beethoven's best-known piano work as well as…

November 11, 2021
Songwriter
La Cucaracha: the song about a stoned legless cockroach as a ridicule against Mexican dictator

La Cucaracha is a fiery Mexican song in the corrido style, a poetic form of the ballad genre prevalent in Central…

April 23, 20211 comment
Piano
Ständchen from Schwanengesang serenade as Schubert's last testament

Originating in Europe in the Middle Ages, the serenade (ger. ständchen) is a love song composed for one vocal line and…

October 7, 2021
Music Theory
9 Beatles songs that combine harmonic major with Ionian mode

The polyphonic structure of Western classical music distinguishes it from other musical traditions such as Indian…

May 12, 2021
Classical Guitar
Farewell to Stromness: the protest tune that fell into national consciousness

One of the most respected composers of his generation, Peter Maxwell Davies (1934–2016) bridged medieval and…

March 15, 2018
Orchestra
Mozart and Tom Waits wrote music for the glass armonica which was rumored to cause mental health damage

The glass armonica is one of many curious instruments that came into use with small ensembles during the transition…

September 3, 20191 comment
Music Theory
Phrygian mode in Pink Floyd songs

It is widely accepted that the Western system of seven diatonic modes, as postulated by the tonal theory, provides one…

October 23, 20212 comments
Orchestra
Pachelbel's Canon: the harmonic sequence that flooded pop music

Pachelbel's Canon, also known as Canon and Gigue in D, is the best-known piece by German composer Johann Pachelbel…

July 30, 2021
Songwriter
I Put a Spell on You: the wild roots of the song's blackout drunk recording

I Put a Spell on You is a 1956 song written by Screamin' Jay Hawkins that became an instant classic and remained his…

July 23, 2018
Music Theory
Beatles songs composed with just three primary chords

The harmonic analysis of The Beatles' output reveals their particular devotion to the Ionian mode, which is found in…

February 1, 2022
Music Theory
Authentic cadence exemplified by The Beatles songs

In theory, a cadence refers to a harmonic turnaround that appears at the end of a musical phrase, and the role it plays…

November 29, 2020
Songwriter
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy: the reveille that defined a generation

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy is an iconic World War II tune written by Don Raye and Hughie Prince for the military musical…

December 2, 2020
Songwriter
A Dios le Pido: Juanes' Spanish lyrics behind the song success

A Dios le Pido or I beg to God is the best-known track of the Colombian songwriter and guitarist Juanes who made…

April 9, 2021
Nature Sounds
Why birds sing their songs: great maestros proving the musicality of nightingale, cuckoo, yellowhammer

It is no coincidence that the sounds emitted by birds are known in many languages as "songs", rather than simple animal…

June 23, 20191 comment
Classical Guitar
The major chapter of guitar history introduced by María Luisa Anido

The exceptional Argentine guitarist, composer and teacher María Luisa Anido played a crucial role in the expansion of…

April 28, 2019
Fiddle
The jig dance tradition: five centuries old and still counting

Jig is a folk dance that became popular in Scotland and northern England in the 16th century and in Ireland in the 18th…

May 1, 2018
Classical Guitar
Flow, My Tears found popularity after John Dowland gave it lyrics

Originally composed as an instrumental theme, the lute song Flow, My Tears was created by the English Renaissance…

April 28, 2018
Music Theory
Microtonality: the variety of approaches to microtonal music in world cultures

In theory, microtonal music describes a piece that contains one or more intervals measuring below a semitone. Although…

February 19, 2020
Orchestra
Abdelazer: Purcell's suite for the failed play gained popularity thanks to Britten's arrangement for children

Abdelazer, or The Moor's Revenge, is a 1676 play by Aphra Behn who is considered to be one of the first known English…

October 27, 2019