In simplest terms, the harp is a plucked string instrument where the plane of the strings is perpendicular to the soundboard.
Category: History
What Are Strings Made Of? The Basics of Orchestral String Construction
As a string musician, part of understanding your instrument and the sound you want to create includes understanding the strings you put on that instrument. From gut strings to steel core to synthetics, the composition of orchestral strings have changed through the centuries — and will continue to change as long as technology is used […]
The Cello Suites: J. S. Bach, Pablo Casals, and the Search for a Baroque Masterpiece
One fateful evening, journalist and pop-music critic Eric Siblin attended a recital of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cello Suites—an experience that set him on an epic quest to uncover the mysterious history of the entrancing compositions and their miraculous reemergence nearly 200 years later. In pursuit of his musicological obsession, Siblin would unravel three centuries of […]
Piano History: What are the different types of pianos?
The piano was invented around 1700 in Italy by harpsichord maker Bartolomeo di Francesco Cristofori, who worked with the Florentine Court of the Grand Prince Ferdinando de’ Medici. Cristofori named his invention gravicèmbalo col piano e forte, which means “harpsichord with loud and soft.” It was later shortened to “fortepiano” and finally to just “piano.” […]
Banjos, Banjos and More Banjos!
A brief history of banjos The banjo derives from various African instruments that arrived here via the West Indies in slavery days. The original five-string banjo had no frets, the horizontal position markers that tell the player where to place his/her left hand fingers. There are reports of slaves playing banjos on Thomas Jefferson’s plantation, […]
The Most Famous Banjo Tune Ever — “Dueling Banjos”
Do you know the history of this song, made famous by the movie Deliverance? “Dueling banjos,” (the banjo tune from the movie Deliverance) is probably the most famous and definitely one of the most popular instrumental banjo tunes ever written. It is also the most requested banjo tune by students to learn how to play. […]
The ‘Ukulele: A History
Since its introduction to Hawai‘i in 1879, the ‘ukulele has been many things: a symbol of an island paradise; a tool of political protest; an instrument central to a rich musical culture; a musical joke; a highly sought-after collectible; a cheap airport souvenir; a lucrative industry; and the product of a remarkable synthesis of western […]
Where Did the Banjo Come From? Here’s a Timeline of Its History
The banjo has evolved from its African roots, first as a minstrel instrument, and later as a jazz, bluegrass, and folk staple. At the American Banjo Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, you can see more than 300 banjos – the largest public display in the world. The timeline below includes just a few.
History of Drums Timeline
Here we look at a brief history of drums, starting back in 1876 with “double drumming,” through the first drum kits of the 1930s to today’s modern drums.