Every so often, a band or artist’s performance in a live show goes down in history. We can’t all be there but we can own the live concert CD of the event. Not many western performers played in Japan in 1978 but Bob Dylan at the Budokan was a commercial and critical success. The recording [...]

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Getting known in the music business these days is easier in some ways and harder in others. Hot new bands can make use of internet sites such as My Space and Facebook and have their own web sites. Anyone interested can log on and listen to tracks and find out where the band is playing. [...]

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Since the 1950s, pop music has featured electric bass guitars, largely replacing the upright, acoustic version. Many jazz players also play with electric instruments. The bass is an essential part of any rhythm section and players must practice to improve, as well as any other instrument. There are many tuition aids to learning and advancing [...]

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There’s no doubt that lyrics are huge part of a song, excluding instrumentals. They’re the script of the song, they’re the words that get stuck in your head, and they’re the message that the song conveys. The quality of the lyrics of songs can vary. Some lyrics are the product of musicians spending hours putting [...]

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There doesn’t seem to be a clear definition of what “indie music” is. Most people think of it as music performed by musicians signed on to obscure labels, and it refers to artists that are “independent.” Whether it’s an accurate description of the word or not, “indie” is often casually used to describe anything that’s [...]

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In today’s world, with economies failing everywhere, when men and women are being startled out of their comfort zones and awakened to a world fraught with peril, the importance of music education would seem diminished, even a foolish indulgence to some. How can we justify spending money on music teachers and music supplies when we [...]

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Nobody I know buys CDs anymore. We all have iPods or other MP3 players, so we need all our songs in digital format. We get all of them online, and no longer have to pay gobs of money for 14 songs we don’t want just to gain access to the one we do like. Obviously, [...]

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Famous classical music brings to mind names like Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Handel, Brahms, Vivaldi, Haydn, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, and others. There were many composers back in the day, but only some of them got to be famous. The famous composers are the ones whose tunes everyone recognizes, whose works are regularly assigned and practiced during music [...]

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At one time it was a fad to expose your children to classical music so that they became smarter. The craze isn’t as widespread as it used to be, but the idea still exists and circulates, kind of like an old wives’ tale. Maybe it’s something about the elegance and aristocracy associated with classical music [...]

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When the iPod came on the scene, all and sundry looked on it as the biggest and best thing since sliced bread, and so digital on the go music was born. When those lovely game designers decided to go ahead and make playing air guitar a thing you could do in groups on your computer, [...]

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