Musical improvisation

The Great Lyre from Ur The Great Lyre with Bull’s Head is the oldest stringed instrument found by an archeologist Leonard Woolley in the 1920s. This valuable historical relic is now well-preserved in the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. The lyre was created between c. 2600 BCE and c. 2500 BCE during the Sumerian Period. It was discovered in a royal tomb from an ancient Mesopotamian city named Ur and its contemporary location is Muqaiyir, Iraq. The lyre looks…

As the conductor raised his baton, I hastily positioned myself to get ready; planting my bow in its place, I silently tapped the opening chords on my fingerboard as I eyed the conductor for the starting cue. His face glared at us with immense intensity as he pounded the tempo on his chest, and with a wave of his hand, the bombastic fanfare of the trumpets marked the beginning of the concert. Tapping my foot against the wooden floor, I followed the progression of the conductor’s energetic…

The piano, also called the pianoforte,was created by harpsichord maker Bartolomeo Christofori in 1709. There are a few instruments created before the piano with similarities. The first similar instrument was the zither. It was made in Africa and Southeast Asia. The zither was a stringed instrument that was found around 3,000 B.C. during the Bronze Age. The zither line included: the ground zither, the bar zither, and the board zither. These instruments were all plucked. It was used by…

Considering the era that they were producing this album, they used a significant amount of technologies in each song. In this song, 2 synthesisers; VCS3 (voltage controlled studio 3), and Synthi AKS, which came out just a year before this album was recorded, are being one of the key components in this song. Both synthesisers are produced by EMS (Electric Music Stuidio) based on London, formed in 1969. VCS3 which was their first commercial synthesiser, main features are 3 controllable…

powerfully at 00:17. Her voice seems to dominate at times, particularly towards the end of each chorus. During most of Holiday’s verse, the trumpet and alto saxophone are not as clearly noticeable as they are during the introduction or at times of improvisation in the second chorus. Another signal that the instrumental musicians follow Holiday’s lead is when they improvise and play louder notes during pauses and breaks in her vocals. The different melody Billie…

I was four years old when I went to see my first ballet. It was being performed by the New York City Ballet at the Lincoln Center. My Grandmother thought that by age four I could sit quietly. In her wisdom, she knew once the orchestra was introduced it wouldn't take long, and I would drop all interest in telling the person next to me all about my new red firetruck. I was mesmerized by the Nutcracker and barely blinked as the stage came to life with color and story. I can even remember the…

least interest in music has experienced the great effect of the piano in his favorite music. In the layman’s language, the piano is a musical instrument played through a keyboard. Apparently, this definition was wrong as I came to learn later in my first piano class. I remember the day as though it was yesterday. My piano teacher defined the piano as ‘the only musical instrument required creating magic in any rhythm’. When I recall it now that I am older, I tend to think that his definition was…

Personal Statement When I was twelve, I was a master on the piano. I was probably not on the level of Beethoven, but my fingers dazzled up and down keys effortlessly. Vividly, I remember the radiant faces, the slow dance and sway of the crowd that accompanied my blues style of playing. The drummer started to pick up the tempo as I looked at the singers for visual cues. The crowd began to dance vigorously to the increased tempo. In the controlled chaos, the musician next to me accidentally…

There are a lot of Irish traditional musical instruments, but there is one instrument that sticks out the most it is the Irish harp. The harp is one of the oldest musical instruments in the world, the earliest harps were developed from the hunting bow. The harp or Celtics harp has a big impact on the Irish musical culture. As music evolved it was also necessary for the harp, if it was to maintain its popularity, to move with the times. Instead of only being limited to eight major keys and five…

twins started the proclaimers they had both been in several punk rock bands. The Proclaimers are also activist for many different movements like the 500 miles movement to help disabled people in Africa. In summary Scotland has a rich and popular musical heritage which is not shown enough. Before one music class I had never heard of the Proclaimers who are some of Scotland’s best artists. Some of the stereotypes of Scotland help people understand what traditional Scottish Instruments look like…