Balalaika – A Voice of Its Own
The Balalaika has a 3-sided body made from spruce or fir and usually only has 3 strings. From the front, the triangular shape makes it easily distinguished from other stringed musical instruments. The back of the instrument is rounded with…
ContinueBandura – Medieval Strings
The modern bandura sports 60 stings that are played with two hands. It is uncommon to find instrumentals using the bandura. However, there are a few musicians who enjoy playing just the music. The video below is one such duo…
ContinueBamboo Saxophones, Sugar Belly, and A Wandering Musician
As is true with most gifted musicians, their soul is inside the music that they present to the world. It doesn’t matter if they write the music or if they play another composer’s efforts, they bring the center of their…
ContinueGongs – Resonating Sounds from the Orient
The gong is a percussion instrument – most usually a metal disc – which is played by hitting it with a mallet or beater. The word gong originates in Malayasia and the gong is very much a part of the…
ContinueBig, Bold and Brassy – The Giant Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest pitched brass instrument in the modern orchestra and it really is quite big at almost four feet (1.22 meters) in height. Southwest Winds perform “PENSIVE GIANT” (listen for the tuba) (source) Zeu –…
ContinueWanamaker Organ – The World’s Largest Pipe Organ
Weighing in at 287 tons, the organ chamber is 67 feet long, 26 feet deep and 16 feet high. The Wanamaker Organ, the world’s largest pipe organ, boasts 28,482 pipes with the largest string section of any organ built. The…
ContinueClackamore – Mouth Resonated Percussion Instrument
Drums were probably the first sort of musical instruments; people must have found hitting things to be a pretty easy past time. And that’s probably how they discovered foot tapping rhythms, which they must have found good for dancing. Over…
ContinueHold Your Breath… It’s The Electronic Bagpipes
Electronic bagpipes are the latest version of a musical instrument – and genre – that has been around for centuries. Herdsmen, royalty, soldiers – all have a tradition of playing and enjoying some version of the bag-pipes. There is something…
ContinueAeolian Wind Harp Intrigue
The sound of the Aeolian Wind Harp is sometimes called creepy and other times, healing. They have been built in city squares, on the tops of hills, and near the water’s edge. Yet, it is also found hanging in the…
ContinueOvertone Singing Merges the Traditional With The Modern: Natascha Nikeprelevic
Natascha Nikeprevelic is a walking, breathing, and living art piece. She has a mysterious ability to produce cutting-edge theatrical pieces which incorporate many different artistic forms that she self-produces – expressions from her body and voice are combined with video…
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