Why Do We Use 'Opus' in Composition Titles? An Explanation
I know that I'm not the only one who finds some weird pleasure in organizing records, books and thrifted Adidas sweatshirts. Even if your system all falls apart in a matter of days, organizing is...
View ArticleExplainer: Why Conductors Change Classical Music Scores
In April 1962, a 29-year-old pianist named Glenn Gould joined Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall for a performance of Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1. The interpretive...
View ArticleWhy Do Orchestras Tune to an A-Note Pitch at 440 Hz?
The sound of an orchestra tuning is instantly recognizable. As soon as you hear it, you know exactly what’s about to happen. But there is a simple reason why a whole lot of tuning orchestras sound...
View ArticleWhy Are There Ballets in the Middle of French Opera?
In 1861, Richard Wagner was ready to take his opera Tannhäuser to the Paris Opera. He knew that in order to please his Parisian audience, he had to revise it to include a ballet, which he managed to...
View ArticleWhat's the Difference Between a Soloist and a Concertmaster?
The concertmaster and soloist are not necessarily mutually exclusive positions, and this is especially evident when a violin is the featured instrument in question. If there’s a different instrument...
View ArticleWhy Do Orchestras Seem to Play Behind the Beat?
If someone ever criticizes you for being slightly off the mark or slow to react, tell them you’re modeling your actions after those in professional orchestras. Just look at this conducting: Now look...
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What Does Rosin Actually Do to Violin Bows?
When writing about violin players furiously bowing their strings, it has become a bit cliché to evoke the image of “rosin flying into the air” as a display of ecstatic music-making. It’s easy to find...
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Stereotyping Instruments: Why We Still Think Some Are For Boys, Others For...
Even though instruments themselves are genderless, we tend to assign gender stereotypes to many of them — an unfortunate habit of thinking that has been ingrained in our culture for centuries. If you...
View ArticleWhat Makes The French Horn Notoriously Difficult?
To the unfamiliar, the French horn can be a perplexing instrument. Its body looks like a meticulously-folded brass funnel cake. Its ring can blare alongside piercing trumpets, but it can also be soft,...
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