Music Education

Learn about instruments and compositional techniques.

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Learn about instruments and compositional techniques.

Vibrato

Audio

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...
Violin Family I | A Minute with Miles
Episode 1

Audio

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...
The Clarinet | A Minute with Miles

Audio

The clarinet was the last of the principal woodwind instruments to join the orchestra. The modern clarinet evolved from earlier forms in the early 1700's—later than the modern oboe, bassoon, and flute...
Serenade | A Minute with Miles

Audio

Serenade is one of those musical terms that has meant many different things at many different times. The term itself comes from the Italian sereno, which is from the Latin serenus, which means “serene...
The Development of the Piano | A Minute with Miles

Audio

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...
Abraham Lincoln | A Minute with Miles

Audio

President's Day is observed in the United States on the third Monday of February. February 12 is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, and I wonder if you knew that our sixteenth president was a great music...