Articles

Rhythm is a seemingly simple matter – but how is it actually possible that something can move us almost automatically, as if we were puppets on strings? | Photo: Nicholas Jeffries (Unsplash)
Music is Not Rocket Science #4: Rhythm and Tempo
Steve Morse skilfully controls the volume of each note with his right pinky finger during his solos. | Photo: Mark Ellis
(Un)usual Guitar Techniques #2: Volume knob
Fans are the water of life and we couldn't do without them. But some of them can be a bit annoying. | Photo: Alberto Bigoni
TOP 5 Annoying Types of Fans
Milan aka Mulen Zelenka in the workshop. | Photo: author
Dreamstruments #28: Carpathian Guitars
Ron and Russell Mail from Sparks in Tokyo, 2017. | Photo: Takahiro Kyono via Flickr (Wikimedia CC 3.0)
Milestones in Music History #55: Sparks, An Artful Act
Isn't it actually liberating and, in fact, likeably egalitarian that if someone wants to, they can present their work publicly, regardless of how technically perfect it is or is not? | Photo: Daniel Chekalov (Unsplash)
TOP 5 Reasons Why We Like "Weird" Voices
It is a true folk classic, having crossed continents and recorded by countless artists, who have all left their mark on it. | Photo: Gilles Péris via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0 DEED)
Story of a Hit #20: "House of the Rising Sun"
Lowden guitars are different from the products from American manufacturers in the same price range. They have a more "wooden" and "round" look to them. | Photo: Lowden Guitars
Legendary and Mythical Guitars #3: Lowden Guitars
Every musician needs visibility and relevance in the scene. The easiest thing is always to shock or at least arouse passionate reactions. But what if millions of other people on social media are trying to do the same? | Photo: Georg Arthur Pflueger (Unsplash)
TOP 5 Negative Trends of the Contemporary Music Scene
The Hex bass has a hexagonal shape with a shorter lower bout for easier access to higher positions – a design that is certainly true to the name Brute, as it is remotely reminiscent of mid-twentieth century Brutalist architecture. | Photo: Instagram Brute Bass Guitars
Dreamstruments #27: Brute Bass Guitars
B. B. King je known for his melodic vibrato. | Photo: Foto: Heinrich Klaffs, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
(Un)usual Guitar Techniques #1: Vibrato
Nobody knows what exactly Frank does for a living, but he has a spare cable in his van just in case you find out that your guitar is making some weird noise just before a gig. | Photo: Adi Goldstein (Unsplash)
TOP 5 Friends You Will Need as a Band
Paul Simon wrote the song when he was only 21 years old, and it's early proof of his songwriting talent. | Photo: Bob Bogaerts (PDM 1.0 DEED)
Story of a Hit #19: "The Sound of Silence"
Lonnie Donegan riding on the Rock Island Line in 1956. | Photo: Public Domain via Wikimedia
Milestones in Music History #54: Lonnie Donegan, The Man Who Shaped Modern Music
A favourite target of criticism by all bass "professors" of merits – the thumb that is not neatly hidden behind the neck and is obnoxiously poking above the E string. | Photo: Artmaster
TOP 5 Bass Playing Techniques Forbidden by Academics
It's probably time to say that major chords are not "cheerful" and that minor keys can work well even in very positive compositions. | Photo: Bailey Zindel (Unsplash)
Music is Not Rocket Science #3: The Myth of Happy Major and Sad Minor