Music Education
6 Reasons Why Aspiring Musicians Should Learn Classical Guitar
Explore the reasons why aspiring musicians should learn classical guitar first before progressing to acoustic or electric guitars.
Latest
Know Your Composer
Handel’s Messiah Premiere: The Dramatic and Almost Failed First Performance in Dublin
Handel’s Messiah almost never saw the light of day. Its 1742 Dublin premiere was a risky bet that turned into a musical triumph, rescuing Handel’s career and transforming the choral repertoire forever.
Music Education
Beyond the Score: Ear Training, Improvisation, and New Approaches in Modern Music Education
Modern music education is shifting beyond traditional score reading to embrace ear training, improvisation, and diverse music-making. This inclusive approach values creativity, aural skills, and cultural diversity, preparing students for a vibrant musical future.
Features
Alfred Brendel: Playing the Human Game with Wit and Wisdom
A tribute to pianist Alfred Brendel (1931–2025), celebrating not only his legendary musical legacy but also his incisive, absurdist poetry that skewered concert etiquette, musical dogma, and the human condition with equal flair.
Music Education
Not Just for Halftime: Marching Bands as Entertainment Powerhouses
Marching bands have evolved far beyond their traditional role of providing intermission entertainment at football games. These musical ensembles now command massive audiences and compete for national recognition on the same scale as major performance organizations. The transformation began during the 1970s when bands started incorporating complex choreography, elaborate props,
Features
How Squid Game Uses Classical Music to Unsettling Effect
In Squid Game, classical music becomes a chilling soundtrack to violence and control. From Haydn to Strauss, explore how the show redefines beauty and power through its ironic and psychologically charged musical choices.
Interviews
Maria Badstue: At the Crossroads of Cultures, Craft, and Collaboration
India-born Danish conductor Maria Badstue reflects on her international career, her passion for cross-cultural collaboration, and her mission to empower the next generation of musicians through education, diplomacy, and meaningful artistic exchange.
Features
Literary Inspirations in Classical Composition
From Beethoven’s 'Egmont' to Britten’s 'Peter Grimes', composers have long drawn on poets, novelists and dramatists to shape melody, form and emotion—proving that literature’s narrative power can be transmuted into the language of sound.
Know Your Composer
The Life and Works of Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky transformed twentieth-century music through rhythmic innovation and stylistic reinvention. From 'The Rite of Spring' to neoclassicism and serialism, his evolving voice continues to influence composers and captivate audiences today.
Music Technology
How to Record Vocals Like a Professional – Essential Techniques
Learn how to record vocals like a professional with expert tips on microphone placement, room acoustics, and post-processing. Achieve studio-quality results at home by mastering the art of clean, expressive vocal recordings.
Music Education
How to Appreciate 12-Tone Serialism – A Guide for the Curious Listener
Often misunderstood or dismissed as academic, 12-tone serialism remains one of the most radical innovations in Western classical music. This guide introduces its principles and helps listeners unlock its unique beauty and expressive power.
Music Education
The Development of the Classical Concerto – From Baroque to Beethoven
Explore the evolution of the classical concerto, from Baroque beginnings to the refined works of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven, tracing how form, style and soloistic expression transformed Western classical music.