Tension & Playability: Most bass players prefer a total set tension between 150–200 lbs for a standard 4-string. Higher tension gives more punch and sustain; lower tension is easier to play but may ...

Tension Formula: T = (UW × (2 × L × F)²) / 386.088 — where T = tension in lbs, UW = unit weight of string (lbs/in), L = scale length in inches, F = frequency in Hz. This is the industry-standard ...

The influence of W.A. Mozart across all areas of culture has been colossal, from the Baby Mozart Project through to contemporary song. You can hardly pass through a day without encountering the music ...

The tambourine is probably one of the easiest and most fun musical instruments to play anywhere in the world. If you have any rhythm at all, and sometimes even if you don’t, you, too, can play a ...

A dulcimer is a stringed folk instrument which basically comes in two different varieties: the hammered dulcimer – which has strings stretched over a sounding board with a trapezoidal shape, generally ...

French composer Claude Debussy did not align himself with the movement that became known as Impressionism. Understandably, Debussy resisted this classification as with it could come restrictions, ...

I hesitate to describe any work by the famous and celebrated polish composer Frederik Chopin as easy, however, it is true to say that some of his piano works are not as challenging as others. What we ...

We could say that most indie music is alternative, but not all are indie. Let’s unpack this statement. Many alternative rock bands in the 1980s signed with independent labels, but later moved to one ...

As a musical genre, Funk has its roots firmly embedded in jazz. Funk incorporates many elements of jazz alongside soul and earlier African-American styles of music. Following on from the immense ...

This article is dedicated to one of the unsung heroes of the French Baroque period of musical history. In his day, Rameau (1683-1764) was one of the most influential, well-respected, and important ...

To be completely clear from the outset of this article, the term ‘folk music’ covers an immensely broad and diverse selection of music from across the world. Quite frequently this term is used to ...

The music of Ireland, like so many other countries music, is a fascinating and complex one. It takes us on a journey stretching back in time to around 500 BC. This is the time scholars believe, would ...