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What is Classical Music?

The classical music period was 1750 to 1820. The term ‘classical music’ originated from the Latin term ‘classicus’, meaning taxpayer of the highest class. After the term made its way through the French, German and English languages, one of the earliest definitions of the word meant ‘classical, formal’. The term ‘classical music’ did not appear until the early 19th century, its earliest reference recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from about 1836.

There are many styles of music that exist within the classical music; these are symphony, opera, choral works and chamber music.

Among its musical characteristics are the use of dynamics and orchestral colour in a thematic way; the use of rhythm, including periodic structure and harmonic rhythm, to give definition to large-scale forms, along with the use of modulation to build longer spans of tension and release.

Classical music is often distinguished by its wide use of instruments of varying tones and pitches used to create a deep, rich sound. Classical music was hugely affected by the invention and modification of instruments throughout time. There are no set instruments that had to be used for classical music, composers wrote for orchestras, wind ensembles or various combinations of instruments for chamber music. Instruments like the piano, violins, flutes and trumpets were used. The human voice was also used, which invented its own series of classical music, the Opera. Composers also wrote solo pieces for a specific instrument, accompanied by piano. Read the rest of this entry »

1. Some of you may think of someone playing the electronic keyboard as a “pianist”. Well you’d be wrong. They would actually be referred to (by someone who knows what they are talking about) as a “keyboardist”. Sounds clumsy, but it’s true.

2. The term “electronic keyboard” is used to mainly describe the cheap end portable home sequencing keyboards, but is also commonly used to include many variants such as the digital piano, the synthesizer, the electric organ and the arranger keyboard.

3. Many electronic keyboards commonly use MIDI signals to send and receive musical data. MIDI is essentially a sequence of instructions that identify the sound used, the note pressed, the duration of that press, although the complexity of the MIDI system will vary with each keyboard. Some cheaper end models of electric keyboard (such as keyboard toys) simply will not output that data.

4. Many keyboards have the ability to add a “foot switch” or “sustain pedal” as it is commonly referred to. The application of the foot switch enables a pressed note to “ring” for longer and better replicate the sounds of many keyboard based instruments including the organ and the piano.

5. Electronic keyboards across the world have been commonly built by instrument manufacturers such as Alesis, Casio, Ensoniq, E-mu, Kawai, Ketron, Korg, Kurzweil Music Systems, M-Audio, Moog Music, Ne-Ko, Roland, Technics, Yamaha and Sonic to name but a few!

6. Features that keyboardists would be interested in when choosing a keyboard include touch response, after touch, polyphony (the number of notes that can be played at the same time), multi-timbre (playing more than one instrument at the same time), tempo, split point (the ability to split the playing area into different instruments), style, synchronisation, auto harmony, wheels and knobs (to control and vary different features on the keyboard) and response (weighted or spring loaded).

7. Synthesizers are actually slightly different from the standard electronic keyboard in that they can produce a variety of sounds by generating, combining and distorting signals of different frequencies. Unlike the keyboard, the synthesizer produces an electric signal (rather than an acoustic signal) which can then be played through an amplifier of some kind. Synthesizers are most commonly controlled by a keyboard device, although this is often integrated into the machinery.

8. Perhaps the most infamous synthesizer is the Moog Synthesizer, famous for its role in many 1970s and 1980s pop hits and popularly used by artists such as Jean Michelle Jarre and Duran Duran.

9. The earliest incarnations of the non-electric keyboard are the pipe organ, the hurdy gurdy and the harpsichord. The organ is the oldest of these from perhaps as early as the third century AD.

10. The first keyboard to be powered by electricity is said to be the “Ondes Martenot” which appeared in the early 20th century (approx. 1928). It is actually still played today in some French conservatoires thanks to some compositions written specifically for the Ondes Martenot. It produces eerie wavering notes and was produced by “varying the frequency of oscillation in thermionic valves”. Whatever than means…

Author Bio: This article was written by Chappell of Bond Street’s Yamaha keyboards department.

1. How many strings does a guitar have?
Traditionally, a guitar – such as an acoustic, classical or electric guitar has 6 strings, but it is not uncommon to find guitars with four, eight or twelve strings.

2. How does the sound get created in the guitar?
Normally sound from a guitar happens in two ways; acoustically or electrically. With an acoustic sound, the tone is created through the vibrations of the string resonating around the hollow body of the guitar. With an electric guitar, the strings resonate into an electric “pickup” which is essentially a small microphone. Other guitars may generate sound acoustically, which is then amplified using pickups or microphones afterwards. The sound is then amplified electronically which can then be used to manipulate the tone.

3. What is a Luthier?
A Luthier is the master craftsman traditionally responsible for manufacturing (and repairing) guitars and other stringed instruments. Famous guitar Luthiers include Antonio Torres Jurado (the Spanish luthier credited with developing the classical guitar), Paul Bigsby (the tremolo arm) and Leo Fender (Stratocaster electric guitar).

4. What’s different about a left handed guitar?
You play it with your left hand, silly! In all seriousness, guitars can simply be re-strung to be left handed (to put the strings in the right order), or artists can play a normal guitar left handed (as did Jimmy Hendrix). Modern ‘left handed guitars’ are purpose designed for those 13% of the population that are left handed, and are strung differently, often with opposite shaping than those of right handed guitars.

5. What components make a guitar?
We’re not going to go individually into what each one of these components are, but the components of most electric, acoustic and classical guitars are typically the following; headstock, nut, fretboard, frets, truss rod, inlays, neck, heel (acoustic), neck joint (electric), strings, body, pickups, electronics, lining, binding, purfling, bridge, pickguard, vibrato arm and guitar strap.

6. What is a guitar made of?
In terms of the materials used, the non electrical parts of a guitar are traditionally made of wood (such as cedar and spruce for the sound board) and animal gut. In more contemporary guitar designs, more synthetic materials are used such as metal (particularly the string nuts and on resonator guitars), plastic, aluminium alloys and carbon composites.

7. Who makes guitars now?
There are literally hundreds of modern guitar manufacturers in the 21st century, but arguably the most popular. Mass market guitars available to consumers are Fender, Yamaha, Dean, Epiphone, Ibanez, Ovation and Stagg amongst others.

8. How old is the guitar?
Well instruments similar to the guitar have been popular for at least the last 5,000 years probably stemming in ancient times from central Asia and India. The oldest known depiction of a guitar being played is from a 3,300 year old carving of a Hittite bard. The word ‘guitar’ comes directly from the Spanish word ‘guitarra’, which itself probably comes from the Moorish (muslim) introduction into Spain in around 8th century from the Arabic word ‘qitara’ and the Roman introduction of the ‘cithara’ eight centuries earlier.

9. What types of guitars are there?
In truth, there has historically been too many types of guitars to list. With a history of 5,000 years, most are probably lost in the sands of time. Those we know of any commonly use today include electric guitars, normally of a fairly similar construction, and acoustic guitars such as renaissance, baroque, classical, ten string, flat-top, archtop, resonator, 12 string, Russian, acoustic bass, tenor, harp guitar, extended range guitars and battente’s.

10. What was the first electric guitar?
In the early twentieth century, the Electro String company experimented with adding electric pickups to guitar using a solid body. They released their ‘Rickenbacker’ guitar in 1932, which was the first of its kind. Now The Rickenbacker International Corporation, it is now the largest guitar company to manufacture all of it’s guitars within the USA.

Author Bio: This article was written by Charles Oliver Blacksmith in association with Chappell of Bond Street’s left handed guitars, and guitar sheet music shop.