Articles

Door Harps

Door Harps

Door harps are a type of zither, which are designed to produce pleasant sounds upon entry to a room. When the door harp is affixed to a door that swings...

Door Harps

Door harps are a type of zither, which are designed to produce pleasant sounds upon entry to a room. When the door harp is affixed to a door that swings...

"Billy has 7 guitars. He just bought 2 more. What does he have now? Happiness. Billy has Happiness."

The Musical Hormone

There are now several studies, mainly within the last five years or so, that have addressed the issue of whether music itself actually changes the amount of release of our...

The Musical Hormone

There are now several studies, mainly within the last five years or so, that have addressed the issue of whether music itself actually changes the amount of release of our...

Saz

Middle Eastern Long-neck Lutes: Saz, Tambur, Etc.

by David Brown History One of the most ancient forms of lute is the family of long-neck lutes, which today includes the Greek (and Irish) Bouzouki, the Arab Buzuk, the...

Middle Eastern Long-neck Lutes: Saz, Tambur, Etc.

by David Brown History One of the most ancient forms of lute is the family of long-neck lutes, which today includes the Greek (and Irish) Bouzouki, the Arab Buzuk, the...

The Oud: The Arabic Lute

The Oud: The Arabic Lute

Ouds by David Brown   Originally ouds were strung with gut strings (although it is possible for silk to have been employed near the Persian-Chinese border) but today nylon has...

2 comments

The Oud: The Arabic Lute

Ouds by David Brown   Originally ouds were strung with gut strings (although it is possible for silk to have been employed near the Persian-Chinese border) but today nylon has...

2 comments
Woman playing a bass shawm (Tobias Stimmer c. 1500)

Oriental Oboes: Zurna Fantasies and Secrets

The ancestor of the modern oboe is the baroque oboe; it is descended from the Renaissance shawm. All of these double-reed woodwinds share several characteristics; a conical bore, double reed,...

Oriental Oboes: Zurna Fantasies and Secrets

The ancestor of the modern oboe is the baroque oboe; it is descended from the Renaissance shawm. All of these double-reed woodwinds share several characteristics; a conical bore, double reed,...

This ney from Russian Turkestan, about 1872, was a transverse flute (Source: Wikipedia)

The Ney: The Middle Eastern Flute

One of the oldest forms of flute is the ney, the endblown flute played in slightly varying forms from Morocco to Pakistan. The word is Farsi for reed, and indeed...

The Ney: The Middle Eastern Flute

One of the oldest forms of flute is the ney, the endblown flute played in slightly varying forms from Morocco to Pakistan. The word is Farsi for reed, and indeed...