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When a percussionist says, “I’m playing bells in this piece,” he means he’s playing the glockenspiel. Glocke is the German word for bell, and Glockenspiel literally means “bell-play.” The modern...
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The double bass is the one member of the modern violin family whose roots are in the viola da gamba, or viol family. The next time you see a double bass, notice that its back is flat, like a viol’s...
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The Trumpet is the highest pitched and most brilliant member of the brass family. Miles Hoffman discusses the history of the trumpet.
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When the dance known as the waltz first became popular in Europe in the late 1700's and early 1800's, it was considered by many to be the ultimate in lewdness and licentiousness.
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Here's a little secret: harpist don't use their pinkies even though they have 47 strings to play. In today's episode, Miles Hoffman describes how the Harp is played.
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Yesterday I talked about vibrato, the technique that string players use—rocking the fingers of their left hands back and forth to create small oscillations in pitch that result in a warmer, more...
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Have you ever wondered how the violin came to play such an important role in the history of classical music? Well, it starts with singing. The invention of opera, in late 16th century Florence, marks...
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When violinists play, their left hands always seem to shake. But it’s not because they’re nervous. Violinists, violists, cellists, and double bass players all use a technique called vibrato.
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I’ve been talking this week about vibrato, the vibrato that string players use to warm up their sounds, and the vocal vibrato that’s the natural product of healthy singing. All vibrato consists of...
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The harpsichord, the keyboard workhorse of the Baroque period, is an instrument with a problem: varying the touch on the keys has absolutely no effect on volume or tone quality. Depress a key gently...
