English
Lala
18 January 2010
‘The instrument you don’t touch’
1 September 2009
The theremin is an instrument that you don’t touch. Really.
It’s an electic instrument, invented in 1920 by the Russian inventor Léon Theremin (born Лев Сергеевич Термен Lev Sergeyevich Termen) when he was twenty-four. He was a scientist, working on proximity sensors, when he got the idea for a musical instrument. A vertical antenna affects pitch—the closer an object is to it, the higher the pitch. A looped antenna affects volume—the closer an object is to it, the softer the volume. The only time you touch it is when you don’t want it to make a sound. […]
Uilleann pipes
17 August 2009
The uilleann pipes are traditional bagpipes from Ireland. Most people know about the Great Highland Bagpipes, the instrument used in the Scottish military and now in marching bands (the Irish equivalent of these are the Great Irish Warpipes). But the uilleann pipes are quite unlike the GHBs. The latter were used outdoors, with the player standing up or marching, and for martial purposes; the uilleann pipes are a social instrument—they are softer and are played indoors (such as in public houses) with the player sitting down. One can actually hear talking and other instruments when the uilleann pipes are being played! […]
Pandora
10 August 2009
Pandora is an Internet radio station that plays only music that you should like, based on your music profile. Based on a comprehensive analysis of music, Pandora accurately matches songs similar to the user’s taste.
Dvořák, Slavonic Dance No. 8
30 July 2009
Here’s another musical piece I love, this time an arrangement of Dvořák’s Slavonic Dance No. 8 in E minor. I have Kreisler’s arrangement of this for violin and piano, but I think that the dialogue between the violoncello and violin is beautiful in this arrangement. […]
Ennio Morricone
29 July 2009
One of the best film score composers is the Italian musician Ennio Morricone. Here is one of his compositions, written for The Mission, performed in 2007 at the UN headquarters: […]