This is a quick academic writing about four important sites in the rise of classical and symphonic music popularity. It tells the rich history and societal significance of Mannheim, Esterhazy, London, and Paris, and some of the important composers and personalities that contributed to the world of music during the late 18th century. Enjoy the listening example from Johann Stamitz, and thanks for reading!

American music, with the addition of stringed instruments, has become one of the most vibrant, diverse, and culturally mixed groups of styles and genres. From harps, guitars, mandolins, charangos, and many more, the inclusion of stringed instruments has grown the already expansive list of wind and percussion to an impressive family. Read today about this, and listen to the amazing Choquehuillca family: experts in the harp, bandurria, and orquestín styles from the town of San Pablo in the Sicuani valley between Cusco and Lake Titicaca, Peru.

The music of South America encompasses a wide variety of instruments. The culture includes the historically significant form of record keeping called khipu, that uses strings as the worlds only known 3D form of writing. Somehow, these two concepts of writing and music never got together to birth a guitar. Stringed instruments are largely absent from America until the arrival of Europeans. Read about this incredible journey and enjoy the listening example of the charango!

The modern manufacture of instrument strings holds important keys to the sounds we listen to today. Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber is one of the most glorious representations of how this impactful sound has shaped the course of human musical expression. Take this journey through the history of string construction and use and enjoy the powerful performance of the Vienna Philharmonic.

Strings are annoying, right? How do we choose the right ones? Why do they always break at the wrong time? Why do they have to be such a nuisance? Well, today we look at the history and importance of strings. Their partnership with technological evolution and influence on not only sound, but instrument construction is amazing. Join me as I discuss this incredible human invention and enjoy the listening example of the E-bow from R.E.M.

Seeking identity and connection through heavy metal confronts us in ways that can be threatening, as much of the genre is about facing fears. Other aspects include virtuosity, expression, confidence, excitement, and survival. As the music has traveled the globe, various cultures have adapted to its stylings in nuanced ways, while North America and the UK continue to travel down the road of sub-genres and new styles. Controversy is no stranger to music, and society often looks to influences for cause and effect. Read today about Japan, Baby Metal, Industrial Metal, and finish it off with a tall cup o’ Tool. Thanks for reading!

Heavy Metal is an important genre that allows social classes of all nationalities an outlet of expression to subvert the forces of globalism and capitalism that seems unreconciliatory. In addition, its accessibility has given an avenue for the worst kind of racists infiltration, the neo-Nazi and white supremacist sub-genre’s of hatecore. We have the ability to recognize these false narratives for what they are through the power of investigation and opposition. Please read today’s blog, if for no other reason, then to get some insight on how today’s nationalist and fascist groups infiltrate those susceptible to their messages through the avenue of cultural appropriation. Don’t worry, there’s a Metalocalypse salve at the end. Have no fear.

Heavy Metal is a genre that is distinguished by its separation from territorial confines. Anywhere the reaches of exclusion from modernity exists, the cultural influence of heavy metal can take root. It is not tied to specific ideology, only that which expresses the frustration of class stratification and sinister clandestine forces of globalization. Basically, if you aren’t the 1%, there’s probably a headbanger’s ball somewhere with your name on it. Enjoy the listening example of the Iraqi group, Acrassicauda, and thanks for reading!

Heavy metal helps us focus in on an incredible feature of modern music transmission. The collective memory that we globally experience from shared cultures through media is a phenomenon that has changed the way we communicate, celebrate, and socially interact. I personally enjoy heavy metal a great deal, and I’ve made some fun discoveries while researching this style. Enjoy the listening example from Meshuggah, and thanks for reading!

Few original authors survive the record books of early music notation, and of them, Hildegard of Bingen wouldn’t be recognized for the full impact of her contributions until some 800 years after her death. Others are simply remembers as ‘anon’. These early songwriters set the stage for authorial voice, identity association, and the eventual star system that would accompany the advent of recorded sound. Come read about this final chapter in the beginiings of recorded music and enjoy the listening example of Guillaume IX d'Aquitaine : Farai un vers pos mi sonelh by the Ensemble Für Frühe Musik Augsburg.

The personalities and circumstances surrounding the invention modern Western notation are vital, but the logistics and technology are equally important in our journey. This reading reveals some of this basic ingredients to what music notation is and where it came from. Enjoy the listening example of enjoy the choral performances of Monks Of The Abbey Of Notre Dame, and thanks for reading!

Many think of Gregorian Chant as the origin of written music. While this is certainly where music begins to take shape into its modern written form, its genesis comes from much deeper roots. Pope Gregory I, a remarkable figure in world history may carry this music’s namesake, but his attachments to it are a bit more removed. Read about his contributions and the continuing journey of the origins of music notation in todays reading, and enjoy the listening example of Gregorian Chant from the Nuns of St. Cecilia's Abbey.

Converging civilizations and their complexities have brought about a wealth of technological developments. The cultural transmission of history has grown over the millennia to astounding detail. One of its great achievements is modern music notation. The origins of this practice lay in many facets of human progress, but one of its more significant roots can be found by studying Medieval Europe. Join me as we visit this topic in today’s blog, and enjoy the listening example of Ave Regina coelorum: Antiphona, Modus VI, from the album Lumières du Grégorien performed by Les moines du Monastère de Santo Domingo de Silos. Thanks for reading!

It is impossible to say why there is so much knowledge uncovered about Sumerian music, save one thing: the actual music. The reasons for this omission is up for debate, but some of the presumptions that seem likely are in today’s article. Read about them here, and enjoy the listening example from Dead Can Dance. Thanks for reading!

While scholars have made attempts to reproduce the music of the Sumerians and surrounding cultures, all are but approximations, some with greater depth then others. Read today about the inferences from which these musicians perform their visions in this writing about our knowledge of this early civilized culture. Enjoy the listening example of today’s youth making their mark on an ancient people, and thanks for reading!

The practice of writing language is as inextricably intertwined with the practice of music notation as is the ceremony and culture that music facilitates. The Sumerian culture has long been associated with our first understandings of early human documentation methods, centering on their technology of cuneiform. One of the many subjects that they first put into the record was their music. Join me this week as I explore this important part of human history and enjoy the listening example from Peter Pringle. Thanks for reading!

The subject of American music is a tale that has often been told through the public sphere from one side of its narrative. The music of bluegrass is a fine example of the opportunity that we have as Americans to tell this story in its entirety, and how much richer an experience this form of expression becomes when we do. From important iconic patriotic personalities, to the underrepresented and often forgotten cultural roots, bluegrass is a bold American music that has a compelling history to unearth. If the father of Bluegrass is Bill Monroe, then we surely deserve to know about its Godfather, Arnold Shultz. Enjoy the listening example today of DeFord Bailey’s “Evening Prayer Blues” performed by Bill Monroe, and thanks for reading!

I had the opportunity to speak with banjoist Dan Mazer recently. We discussed the incredible history and contributions of the banjo to American music, and its vital role in developing the bluegrass genre. Go visit his site at http://banjerdan.net/ and enjoy the listening example from Noam Pikelny in his Reverb.com interview from 2017. Thanks for reading!

The year of bluegrass’s origins are somewhat debated, but its instrumentation, technique, and structure is what makes it an impressive style of American born music. Read today about some of the important players, their contributions, and the history of flatpicking in this incredible journey of traditional American song. Enjoy the listening example from the Rose Valley Thorns, and thanks for reading!

Bluegrass is an important part of American music. Its story is deeper than just a folk tradition started by Bill Monroe. The instrumentation, its method of transmission, and the people groups affected by it have a rich history. Follow along with me as I thump out a note or two about this wonderful form of expression. Enjoy the listening example from the Carolina Chocolate Drops playing Cornbread and Butterbeans, and thanks for reading!

The journey of dynamics in music doesn’t start or end with this weeks’ blog entries, but part of its fascinating tale ties up in today’s trek towards the vinyl record. The end of the 1800s to the early 1900s was an amazing time for the evolution of artistic expression, and the birth of recorded sound follows quickly in its wake. Enjoy the listening example from the 1890 Coin Operated Polyphon Music Box- "O Come All Ye Faithful", and thanks for reading!

The expanded use of dynamics runs in parallel with several other factors in European classical music. The growing international conflicts, the appropriation of neighboring cultures, and the technical expansion of instrumental range not only changed capabilities of performance, but shaped the desire for specific vision in the creators written works. With a larger toolset, composers made greater efforts to achieve authentic reproductions of their artistic vision. The expansion of dynamic range is not a story limited to decibel levels. It transcends into compositional style and form, as well. Enjoy today’s listening example from Hector Berlioz, famous 19th century French composer, and thanks for reading!

What you say is often not nearly as important as how you say it. Composers in Europe during the 18th century expanded their vocabulary through the advances of the pianoforte in amazing ways. Much of how we understand and interpret their compositions come from the broadening expression in dynamic notation. Read today about how the piano (thanks to its inventor Bartolomeo Cristofori) follows this journey. Enjoy the listening example from György Ligeti written in 1966, and thanks for reading!

From the time when compositions first made it to the page in early notations known as numes, to the technological advents of todays advances, our method for story telling and cultural transmissions continue to evolve in fascinating ways. The vinyl record is one of the most impactful creations of the modern era, and its use in building our sense of identity has been a critical part of the world in which we now experience sound and song. Enjoy the early premonitions of pop stars of the early music video era, the Buggles in today’s listening example, and thanks for reading!

Some of the more famous composers of the late 1700s and early 1800s are not so well known today. George Onslow is one that is close to my heart, mostly because of his happenstance incident with the famous Domenico Dragonetti, double bass virtuoso that lead to the inclusion of the bass in quintets in his later compositions, and the popularization of the double bass in quintet compositions to follow. I honor him in today’s post, and hope that you enjoy the listening example from the St. George Quintet. Thanks for reading!

Many important contributions arrive as Joseph Haydn’s career developed to the shores of London. Johann Peter Salomon is a big reason any of it happened, and his influence to attracting Haydn was not his only act of recruitment. Salomon was also a great composer in his own right. Enjoy the listening example of his work today, and thanks for reading!

The transcendence of influence can travel many paths. From teacher to student, from virtuoso to audience, and from passion to practice, the innovations of those that remain in the record are often infused with more than just technical accomplishment. The story today tells of the passage of joy through the hands of several masters, some highly educated, and some self taught. Every field has their list of varied levels of study. This is one from the world of the double bass. Thanks for reading, and enjoy the listening example of Edouard Nanny’s concerto in E minor as played by Thierry Barbé in 2009.

This week we’ve been exploring the old masters and innovators that made much of the classical string family what it is today. For all the reverence for their craftmanship, it is important to recognize that their hard work is why we have such incredible instruments from modern luthiers. The bass has had a long, difficult road due to its size and technological necessities for its dimensions to match its auditory possibilities. Enjoy today’s listening example from the great jazz bassist Harvie S and his Upton bass as they help praise the modern day luthiers from Connecticut. Thanks for reading!