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Nadaswaram
Krithi lyrics in Tyagaraja's songs defined South Indian classic tradition of the 18th century

Tyagaraja was a South Indian poet, musician, and composer whose devotional and philosophical songs—written mainly in…

December 4, 2019
Film
The drama of The Chain kept alive on the big screen

The Chain, included on Fleetwood Mac’s classic 1977 Rumours album, has retained that particular brand of culturally…

August 16, 2018
Violin
Zigeunerweisen: folk tunes meet the Csardas dance in Pablo de Sarasate's most popular work

Zigeunerweisen is one of the best-known violin works based on Hungarian folk melodies and Romani music motifs as…

July 30, 20201 comment
Sarod
Vasant Rai's fretless guitar arrangements for Indian classical

Vasant Rai (1942-1985) was one of the world's most acclaimed masters of Indian music. Born in Unjha, in the province of…

September 22, 2018
Piano
Fantasiestucke: three famous piano opuses by Robert Schumann

The influential German composer Robert Schumann repeatedly used the title Fantasiestüske as a thematic description of a…

March 4, 2020
Guitar
The irony of Cuban love song in the work of trova-musician Compay Segundo

Chan Chan was written in 1987 by Cuban singer Máximo Francisco Repilado Muñoz Telles, known as Compay Segundo. The song…

April 9, 20181 comment
Composer
Venetian architecture sparked a new musical era in Europe

Giovanni Gabrieli was one of the most influential musicians of his time, representing the culmination of the Venetian…

August 25, 2018
Songwriter
Shaman's Blues: quintessential The Doors song refined their most controversial album

Shaman's Blues was written by Jim Morrison for The Soft Parade, The Doors' fourth studio album released in the summer…

September 27, 2020
Songwriter
La Mordidita: meaning behind the three-chord Latin hit

La Mordidita is a notable Latin dance hit released by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin in 2015. The song was written by…

January 20, 2022
Songwriter
Harry Hippie: Bobby Womack's recollection of his brother tragic death

Harry Hippie is one of the best-known songs released by Bobby Womack who, throughout his sixty-year long career, has…

July 17, 2021
Songwriter
Reelin' In the Years: the tandem of effective lyrics and one of the best guitar solos of all time

Reelin' In the Years is one of the most successful tracks of the American jazz-rock band Steely Dan who are known for…

June 16, 2021
Sarod
Malkauns night music was composed to tame Shiva's dance

Malkauns is one of the oldest music pieces in North Indian tradition that equivalent to Hindolam raga of Carnatic…

September 5, 2018
Music Theory
Dorian mode in Pink Floyd songs

It is no secret that accurately applying classical theory in songwriting contributes to easy song memorization as well…

August 18, 2023
Piano
Estampes: the world cultures of Debussy's imagination

Estampes, conceived as a three-piece piano suite by the French Impressionist Claude Debussy, is rightfully recognized…

February 17, 2022
Piano
Mussorgsky's pictures redrawn for the prog rock exhibition

Piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition written by the Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in 1874 retains its innovative…

March 5, 2019
Synthesizer
Progressive rock adaptation of Alberto Ginastera's piano concerto features innovative electronic drums

One of the works of the iconic Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera went far beyond the attention of the classical…

April 12, 20204 comments
Film
The unique music garden of Toru Takemitsu

Widely considered to be the greatest composer in the classical music tradition in modern Japan, Toru Takemitsu merged…

October 7, 2018
Film
Ave Satani: diabolic essence of The Omen theme song

Ave Satani is a choral work written by the prolific American composer Jerry Goldsmith for the 1976 supernatural horror…

June 12, 2022
Music Theory
Mixolydian mode in Pink Floyd songs

The Western music theory as we know it traditionally uses three major diatonic scales. Each scale's harmonic structure…

April 29, 2022
Harpsichord
Isabella Leonarda: convent star of the Baroque era

Isabella Leonarda’s works include examples of nearly every sacred genre: motets and sacred concertos for one to four…

March 9, 2018
Songwriter
Minnie the Moocher: essential step in the history of scat singing by Cab Calloway

Minnie the Moocher is an iconic jazz composition showcasing essential examples of scat singing—a vocal technique for…

November 15, 2020
Big band
Take 'A' train jazz standard originated from Duke Ellington's letter

Take the 'A' Train is a Billy Strayhorn composition that became a signature tune of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and is…

May 8, 2018
Meditation
Navkar Mantra: meaning and concept behind the most essential Jains chant

Chanting or reciting of the Navkar Mantra is a fundamental spiritual practice of Jainism, an ancient Dharmic religion…

June 21, 2020
Songwriter
Seven Nation Army riff conquers sport and classical music

It seems that since the initial release of the White Stripes' Seven Nation Army in 2003, the crowds at sporting events…

June 4, 2018
Nature Sounds
4 best stereo techniques to record nature sounds

The best time to record woodland sounds of crickets is at the very beginning of autumn when birdsongs have gone mostly…

February 15, 20211 comment
Meditation
Mrityunjaya Mantra: meaning and lyrics of the oldest Shiva chant

The Mahamrityunjaya Mantra lyrics first appeared as a verse in the Rigveda—a collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns…

March 28, 2021
Orchestra
Gabriel Faure's Pavane as the key to modern revival of early genre

The pavane—a slow processional dance of Italian origin—was quite common in Europe during the transition period from the…

November 3, 2020
Songwriter
I Wanna Be Sedated: pure classical harmony cementing the Ramones' hit in punk rock history

Released in 1978 on the Ramones' fourth studio album Road to Ruin, I Wanna Be Sedated remains to be one of the most…

October 25, 2020
Orchestra
The Skaters' Waltz: subtle harmonies of romantic dance music by Emile Waldteufel

Les Patineurs Valse or the Skaters' Waltz is arguably the most famous of Émile Waldteufel's works. A late Romantic…

November 24, 2019
Nature Sounds
Crickets choir: musical examples imitating rhythmic patterns of chorusing insects

One of the most mesmerizing sounds in nature is the bizarre rhythmic patterns generated by chorusing insects. While…

February 9, 20201 comment