Ahoko (Ivory Coast rattle)

                                                         Ahoko is a traditional African musical instrument and it is used by  tribal people. The ahoko is a wooden rod with nutshells, each containing loose seeds, tied to strings which are then tightly wound around the end of the rod. The percussive sound can range from quiet to very loud.

World Music Day:

"Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy - Ludwig Von Beethoven

The World Music Day, also known as Fete de la Musique or Make Music Day, is an annual event celebrated on 21 June across the globe.

The World Music Day was kick started in 1982 in France and was made popular as Fete de la Musique (meaning festival of music in French) by then French Minister of Culture Jack Lang, according to the organisers of the international event, Make Music Day.

There is, however, another theory that credits American musician Joel Cohen for the idea, according to India Today. Nevertheless, today the event has turned into an international musical event.

In France, 21 June is now an official national holiday, and since the country shuts down for the summer solstice, an estimated 35 million people participate in the free music event.

On the World Music Day, musicians across the globe hold free concerts in parks, museums, and even train stations. The idea of the event is to promote peace and in the process make quality music available to all.

For World Music Day 2015, musicians and composers in over 700 cities in 120 countries will be holding free concerts.

Here we have complied a list of top quotes and sayings by musicians on what music really means to them:

Agung:

                 The agung is a set of two wide-rimmed, vertically suspended gongs used by the Maguindanao, Maranao, Sama-Bajau and Tausug people of the Philippines as a supportive instrument in kulintang ensembles. The agung is also ubiquitous among other groups found in Palawan, Panay, Mindoro, Mindanao, Sabah, Sulawesi, Sarawak and Kalimantan as an integral part of the agung orchestra.

The agung is a large, heavy, wide-rimmed gong shaped like a kettle gong. of the agung produces a bass sound in the kulintang orchestra and weighs between 13 and 16 pounds, but it is possible to find agungs weigh as low as 5 pounds or as high as 20 or 30 pounds each, depending on the metal (bronze, brass or iron) used to produce them.

They are hung vertically above the floor at or a bit below the waist line, suspended by ropes fastened to structures like strong tree limb, beam of a house, ceiling, or gong stand.

Though their diameters are smaller than the gandingan’s, at roughly 22 inches (560 mm) to 24 inches (610 mm) in length, they have a much deeper turned-in takilidan (rim) than the latter, with a width of 12 to 13 inches (330 mm) including the knob.

Agungs also play a major role in agung orchestras—ensembles composed of large hanging, suspended or held, knobbed gongs which act as drones without any accompanying melodic instrument like a kulintang. Such orchestras are prevalent among Indigenous Philippine groups (Bagobo, Bilaan, Bukidon, Hanunoo, Magsaka, Manabo, Mangyan, Palawan, Subanun, Suludnon, T’boli, Tagakaolu, Tagbanwa and the Tiruray), regions in Kalimantan and Indonesia (Iban, Modang, Murut) and Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia (Bidayuh, Iban, Kadazan-Dusun, Kajan, Kayan), places where agung orchestras take precedence over kulintang-like orchestras. The composition and tuning of these orchestras vary widely from one group to another. For instance, the Hanunoo of Mindoro have a small agung ensemble consisting of only two light gongs played by two musicians on the floor in a simple duple rhythm while the Manobo have an ensemble (called an ahong) consisting of 10 small agungs hung vertically on a triangular frame. It includes three musicians: one standing up, playing the melody, and the rest sitting. The ahong is divided by purpose, with the higher-pitched gongs (kaantuhan) carrying the melody, three to four lower-pitched gongs (gandingan) playing melodic ostinato figures, and the lowest-pitched gong (bandil) setting the tempo.

The Tiruray call their agung ensemble a kelo-agung, kalatong, or karatung. It is made up of five shallow bossed gongs of graduating size, each played by one person. The smallest, the segaron, is used as the lead instrument, providing a steady beat. The Manobo sagabong ensemble follows a similar format, consisting of five small gongs, each held by one musician playing a unique pattern with rubber mallets, interlocking with other parts. The T’boli and Palawan have similar agung ensembles: the T’boli ensemble is composed of three to four agungs with two to three of them collectively called semagi which play variations, and the other agung, tang, providing a steady beat. The Palawan call their ensemble, composed of four gongs, a basal. It includes one to two large humped, low-sounding agungs and a pair of smaller humped, higher-pitched sanangs which produce metallic sounds.The Subanon also have an agung ensemble similar to the Tiruray karatung, called a gagung sua.

Both the Bagabo and the B’laan refer to their agung ensemble as a tagunggo, a set of eight metal gongs suspended on a harness, which is played by two, three, or more people. Seven of the smaller-sized gongs produce a running melody with the eighth, largest gong playing syncopation with the other gongs to produce a particular rhythm. The Manabo also have an agung ensemble similar to the tagunggo, called a tagungguan.

The Kadazan-Dusun, located on the western coast of Sabah, refer to their agung ensemble as a tawag or bandil, which consists of six to seven large gongs in shoreline groups and 7–8 large gongs for those in interior valleys. In southwestern Sarawak, Bidayuh agung ensembles consist of nine large gongs divided into four groups (taway, puum, bandil, and sanang), while among the Iban of Sawarak, Brunei, Kalimantan, agung ensembles are smaller in comparison.

Slit Drum

     



     A slit drum is a hollow percussion instrument. In spite of the name, it is not a true drum but an idiophone, usually carved or constructed from bamboo or wood into a box with one or more slits in the top. Most slit drums have one slit, though two and three slits (cut into the shape of an "H") occur. If the resultant tongues are different width or thicknesses, the drum will produce two different pitches.

It is used throughout Africa, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. In Africa such drums, strategically situated for optimal acoustic transmission (e.g., along a river or valley), have been used for long-distance communication.

The people of Vanuatu cut a large log with 'totem' type carvings on the outer surface and hollow out the center leaving only a slit down the front. This hollowed out log gives the deep resonance of drums when hit on the outside with sticks.


The ends of a slit drum are closed so that the shell becomes the resonating chamber for the sound vibrations created when the tongues are struck, usually with a mallet. The resonating chamber increases the volume of the sound produced by the tongue and presents the sound through an open port. If the resonating chamber is the correct size for the pitch being produced by the tongue, which means it has the correct volume of airspace to complete one full sound wave for that particular pitch, the instrument will be more efficient and louder.

Aeolian harp:

The first known Aeolian harp was constructed by Athanasius Kircher and was described in his Musurgia Universalis (1650). The Aeolian harp was popular in Germany and England during the Romantic movement of the late 18th and 19th centuries. Two attempts to devise a keyboard version using a bellows were the anémocorde (1789), invented by Johann Jacob Schnell, and the piano éolien (1837), by M. Isouard. Aeolian harps are also found in China, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and Melanesia.


The quality of sound depends on many factors, including the lengths, gauges, and types of strings, the character of the wind, and the material of the resonating body. Metal-framed instruments with no sound board produce a music very different from that produced by wind harps with wooden sound boxes and sound boards. There is no percussive aspect to the sound like that produced by a wind chime; rather crescendos and decrescendos of harmonic frequencies are played in rhythm to the winds. Their vibrant timbres produce an ethereal, almost mystical, music that many people find alludes to higher realms.

The strings can be made of different materials (or thicknesses) and all be tuned to the same pitch, or identical strings can be tuned to different pitches. Besides being the only strung instrument played solely by the wind, the Aeolian harp is the only stringed instrument that plays solely harmonic frequencies.

The Aeolian harp - already known in the ancient world – was first described by Athanasius Kircher (1602–1680) in his book Phonurgia nova (1673). It became popular as a household instrument during the Romantic Era, and Aeolian harps are still hand-crafted today. Some are now made in the form of monumental metal sound sculptures located on the roof of a building or a windy hilltop.

The quality of sound depends on many factors, including the lengths, gauges, and types of strings, the character of the wind, and the material of the resonating body. Metal-framed instruments with no sound board produce a music very different from that produced by wind harps with wooden sound boxes and sound boards. There is no percussive aspect to the sound like that produced by a wind chime; rather crescendos and decrescendos of harmonic frequencies are played in rhythm to the winds. Their vibrant timbres produce an ethereal, almost mystical, music that many people find alludes to higher realms.


Aeolian harp, (from Aeolus, the Greek god of the winds), a type of box zither on which sounds are produced by the movement of wind over its strings. It is made of a wooden sound box about 1 metre by 13 cm by 8 cm (3 feet by 5 inches by 3 inches) that is loosely strung with 10 or 12 gut strings. These strings are all of the same length but vary in thickness and hence in elasticity. The strings are all tuned to the same pitch. In the wind they vibrate in aliquot parts (i.e., in halves, thirds, fourths…), so that the strings produce the natural overtones (harmonics) of the fundamental note: octave, 12th, second octave, and so on. For a more technical explanation of the phenomenon, see sound: Standing waves.

The principle of natural vibration of strings by the pressure of the wind has long been recognized. According to legend, King David hung his kinnor (a kind of lyre) above his bed at night to catch the wind, and in the 10th century Dunstan of Canterbury produced sounds from a harp by allowing the wind to blow through its strings.

Acoustic guitar:

“If you play acoustic guitar you're the depressed, sensitive guy.”

 An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only acoustic means to transmit the strings' vibrational energy to the air in order to make a sound. Acoustic means not electric or using electric impulses (see Electric guitar). The sound waves of an acoustic guitar are directed through the body of the guitar creating a sound. This typically involves the use of a sound board and a sound box to strengthen the vibrations of the strings.

The main source of sound in an acoustic guitar is the string, which is plucked with the finger or with a plectrum. The string vibrates at a necessary frequency and also create many harmonics at various different frequencies. The frequencies produced can depend on string length, mass, and tension. The string causes the soundboard and sound box to vibrate, and as these have their own resonances at certain frequencies, they amplify some string harmonics more strongly than others, hence affecting the timbre produced by the instrument.

By definition the guitar is a musical instrument having a flat-backed rounded body that narrows in the middle, a long fretted neck, and usually six strings (see photo), played by strumming or plucking.

The guitar is considered a European-invented instrument that first appeared during the medievel period. The form of the modern classical guitar is credited to Spanish guitar maker Antonio Torres circa 1850.

Torres increased the size of the guitar body, altered its proportions, and invented the "fan" top bracing pattern. Antonio Torres' design greatly improved the volume, tone, and projection of the instrument, and has remained essentially unchanged.

At around the same time that Torres started making his breakthrough fan-braced guitars in Spain, German immigrants to the USA - among them - had begun making guitars with X-braced tops. Steel strings for instruments were invented in 1900. Steel strings made for louder guitars, however, the increased tension that the steel strings created did not work with Antonio Torres' fan braced design. Guitar makers, such as Christian Fredrich Martin invented the X brace for the new steel stringed guitar.

Steven Paul Elliott Smith was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and resided for a significant portion of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he first gained popularity. His primary instrument was the guitar, but he was also proficient in piano, clarinet, bass guitar, drums, and harmonica.

Acoustic Bass Guitar:

      The first modern acoustic bass guitar was developed in the mid-1950s by Kay of Chicago but the design did not show up again in a production instrument until the early 1960s when Ernie Ball of San Luis ispo, California, began producing a model. Ball's aim was to provide bass guitarists with a more acoustic-sounding instrument that would match better with the sound of acoustic guitars. Ball stated that "...if there were electric bass guitars to go with electric guitars then you ought to have acoustic basses to go with acoustic guitars." Ball notes that "...the closest thing to an acoustic bass was the Mexican guitarron...in mariachi bands, so I bought one down in Tijuana and tinkered with it.

The acoustic bass guitar is also called as ABG it is a base instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually somewhat larger than a steel-string acoustic guitar. Like the traditional electric bass guitar and the double bass, the acoustic bass guitar commonly has four strings, which are normally tuned E-A-D-G, an octave below the lowest four strings of the 6-string guitar, which is the same tuning pitch as an electric bass guitar.

Unlike the electric bass guitar, which is generally a solid body instrument, the acoustic bass guitar usually has a hollow wooden body similar to (though usually somewhat larger than) that of the steel-string acoustic guitar. The majority of acoustic basses are fretted, but a significant number are fretless instead. Semi-fretted versions also exist, although they are quite rare.
   

Accordion:

                 The accordion's body consists of two wood boxes joined together by the bellows. These boxes house reed chambers for the right- and left-hand manuals, respectively. Each side has grilles in order to facilitate the transmission of air in and out of the instrument, and to allow the sound to better project. The grille for the right-hand manual is usually larger and is often shaped for decorative purposes. The right-hand manual is normally used for playing the melody and the left-hand manual for playing the accompaniment, however skilled players can reverse these roles.

The size and weight of an accordion varies depending on its type, layout and playing range, which can be as small as to have only one or two rows of basses and a single octave on the right-hand manual, to the standard 120-bass accordion and through to large and heavy 160-bass free-bass converter models.
   
        Accordion is invented by a German Akkordion in 19th century. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist. The concertina and bandoneón are related; the harmonium and American reed organ are in the same family.

The instrument is played by compressing or expanding the bellows while pressing buttons or keys, causing valves, called pallets, to open, which allow air to flow across strips of brass or steel, called reeds, that vibrate to produce sound inside the body.[notes 1] The performer normally plays the melody on buttons or keys on the right-hand manual, and the accompaniment, consisting of bass and pre-set chord buttons, on the left-hand manual.

TABLA: 

Tabla is a pair of drums. The right hand drum is called a tabla and the left hand drum is called a dagga or baya. It is claimed that the term tabla is derived from an Arabic word, tabl, which simply means "drum.
The head of each drum has a central area of "tuning paste" called the syahi (lit. "ink"; a.k.a. shāī or gāb). This is constructed using multiple layers of a paste made from starch (rice or wheat) mixed with a black powder of various origins.

The precise construction and shaping of this area is responsible for modification of the drum's natural overtones, resulting in the clarity of pitch (see inharmonicity) and variety of tonal possibilities unique to this instrument which has a bell-like sound. The skill required for the proper construction of this area is highly refined and is the main differentiating factor in the quality of a particular instrument.

For stability while playing, each drum is positioned on a toroidal bundle called chutta or guddi, consisting of plant fiber or another malleable material wrapped in cloth.

   
 The dayan (right hand drum) is almost always made of wood.  The diameter at the membrane may run from just under five inches to over six inches.  The bayan (left hand drum) may be made of iron, aluminium, copper, steel, or clay; yet brass with a nickel or chrome plate is the most common material.

Undoubtedly the most striking characteristic of the tabla is the large black spot on each of the playing surfaces.  These black spots are a mixture of gum, soot, and iron filings.  Their function is to create the bell-like timbre that is characteristic of the instrument.

The tabla is used in some other Asian musical traditions outside of Indian subcontinent, such as in the Indonesian dangdut genre.

.

Flute:
           "Playing a flute is like writing a book. You're telling what's in your heart...It's easier to play if it's right from your heart. You get the tone, and the fingers will follow."

The oldest flute ever discovered may be a fragment of the femur of a juvenile cave bear, with two to four holes, found at Divje Babe in Slovenia and dated to about 43,000 years ago. However, this has been disputed.[13][14] In 2008 another flute dated back to at least 35,000 years ago was discovered in Hohle Fels cave near Ulm, Germany.[15] The five-holed flute has a V-shaped mouthpiece and is made from a vulture wing bone. The researchers involved in the discovery officially published their findings in the journal Nature, in August 2009. The discovery was also the oldest confirmed find of any musical instrument in history, until a redating of flutes found in Geißenklösterle cave revealed them to be even older with an age of 42,000 to 43,000.

Theobald Boehm:
                               was a German inventor and musician, who perfected the modern Western concert flute and its improved fingering system (now known as the "Boehm system"). He was a Bavarian court musician, a virtuoso flautist, and a celebrated composer for the flute.

Indian flutes:

         The bamboo flute is an important instrument in Indian classical music, and developed independently of the Western flute. The Hindu God Lord Krishna is traditionally considered a master of the bamboo flute. The Indian flutes are very simple compared to the Western counterparts; they are made of bamboo and are keyless.

Two main varieties of Indian flutes are currently used. The first, the Bansuri, has six finger holes and one embouchure hole, and is used predominantly in the Hindustani music of Northern India. The second, the Venu or Pullanguzhal, has eight finger holes, and is played predominantly in the Carnatic music of Southern India. Presently, the eight-holed flute with cross-fingering technique is common among many Carnatic flutists. Prior to this, the South Indian flute had only seven finger holes, with the fingering standard developed by Sharaba Shastri, of the Palladam school, at the beginning of the 20th century

The quality of the flute's sound depends somewhat on the specific bamboo used to make it, and it is generally agreed that the best bamboo grows in the Nagercoil area in South India.

Violin: is the best musical instrument to express any feel like happiness, sad and romance etc.
David Garrett is one of the  best person who can create extraordinary music with this ordinary instrument.

The violin, also known as a fiddle, is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola, and the cello. The modern word is derived from the Italian word violin
, literally 'small viola'.

Someone who plays the violin is called a violinist or a fiddler. The violinist produces sound by drawing a bow across one or more strings (which may be stopped by the fingers of the other hand to produce a full range of pitches), by plucking the strings (with either hand), or by a variety of other techniques.

About Andrea Amati

Andrea Amati was an Italian inventor who was credited with the invention of the violin. The reason he was able to do so is because he was positioned, by King Charles IX of France, at the time, to create something new and exciting for the kingdom to enjoy, musically. He would create this instrument and it would look very different then the one we are used to seeing today as they were splashed with interesting drawings as well paintings that covered the instrument from head to toe.

Guitar is one of the most finest musical instrumant. Amin Toofani at Harvard shows his jaw dropping skills with guitar.This guy clearly did a great job.While reading about unusual guitar techniques, I found this article on Wikipedia about something calledpolyphonic strumming. I had never heard of it before, and actually the name they use for it sounds a little bit too grandiose to be accurate in my view. I kind of doubt that some people are strummingcounterpoint on the guitar, though I'll accept that playing multiple parts can be considered polyphonic. Any ways, I'm a bit intrigued because I'm having a difficult time imagining what this would sound like. However, I can't find any specific examples of this technique and I'm wondering if it really exists and if it really deserves its own special terminology.