14 of the Most Influential Latin American Composers of the 20th Century
Unless you’re a classical guitar student, odds are your music education is sorely lacking in the works and legacies of Latin American classical composers.
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An Introduction to 20th Century Composer Christian Wolff
Today we’re taking an introductory look at one of the 20th century’s most daring avant-garde composers and his music, Christian Wolff.
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Sounds of Battle: Compositions That Defined the Wars of the Early 20th Century
In 1942, half-starved and weak from war and lack of supplies, members of Leningrad’s Philharmonic Orchestra gathered in the midst of the looming threat of bombardment to pull off one of the most extraordinary musical feats of all time. The city had already endured almost a year of brutal siege by the German Army —…
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The Day the Music Died, and 4 More Band Tragedies of the 20th Century
+ Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. One of the most significant tragedies in the history of rock ‘n’ roll, and certainly one of rock’s very first serious tragedies, happened on February 3rd, 1959.…
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Stravinsky & Jazz: Yes, Even Classical Music Is Influenced by Black American Forms
Stravinsky’s music and the music of Charlie Parker and John Coltrane have been compared to Cubism, is jazz the connector? We trace the influences.
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What Are Études, and Why Do Composers Write Them?
An in-depth look at the historical foundations and the compositional development of the étude, and why musicians still use them today!
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14 of the Most Commonly Confused Terms in Music and Audio
Once upon a time, remixing a song meant actually redoing the mix. Many vintage consoles (some Neve 80-series, for example) have a button labeled “remix” that changes a few functions on the desk to optimize it for mixing rather than recording. But sometime in the late 20th century, the word “remix” began to take on a new meaning:…
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The Sound of Fear
Common idioms such as “seeing is believing” give our eyes the central role in our engagement with the world. But there is little doubt that listening plays a critical part in how we navigate and understand our environment. Historically, our ears, not eyes, revealed what lay beyond the light of the campfire. And importantly, our…
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What We Learned from ‘Composers or Types of Pasta’
Thanks to a hilarious internet quiz, we’ve discovered works from 8 spectacular Italian composers that we definitely thought were types of pasta.
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8 Musicians Redefining the Sound of Jazz in 2021
Here’s our rundown of eight of the most exciting new artistic voices in American jazz music in 2021. Enjoy!
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Loud Silence & Quiet Sound: The Illuminating Music of Toru Takemitsu
Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996) was arguably the most well-known and influential Japanese composer of the 20th century. In addition to composing prolifically for the orchestra, Takemitsu wrote many chamber works, solo guitar music, electro-acoustic pieces (incorporating the use of magnetic tape loops and found sounds), a number of pieces that feature soloists playing traditional Japanese instruments…
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Extracting Latent Sound: Composer Lawrence English on Scoring David Lynch’s Photography
In 2015, Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art presented David Lynch: Between Two Worlds, a major retrospective of filmmaker David Lynch’s works across painting, sculpture, installation, and photography. To celebrate the landmark retrospective, curator José Da Silva, along with Lynch and his studio, developed a number of commissions for the exhibition. One of these commissions was HEXA’s…
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On Alban Berg’s Great Musical Palindrome
Hidden in plain sight in a second act interlude of Berg’s monumental Lulu, sits a full orchestra musical palindrome unlike anything in music history.
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All (Human) Music Is Repetition — Let’s Talk About That.
Because our brains are constantly seeking out patterns, all the music we create can be plotted somewhere along the grid of repetition.
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The Lasting Legacy of the Slave Trade on American Music
Today is the UN International Day of Remembrance of the Slave Trade, we honor this day by charting the legacy of African diasporic music in America.
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An Introduction to Zappa’s ‘Black Page #2’: Modality, Polyrhythms, and Intervals
We explore the fundamental rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic concepts at play in one of Frank Zappa’s most lauded compositions.
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Who Is the Art Ensemble of Chicago?
+ Bridge the worlds of theory, improvisation, and jazzy hip-hop, and improve your piano chops with Grammy-winner Kiefer in his course, Kiefer: Keys, Chords, & Beats. For the musicians of the many houses of improvised music out there, the Art Ensemble of Chicago is one of the most influential bands of the 20th century. Yet for…
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Why Are There No Saxophones in Orchestras?
A quick historical deep dive on the journey of the saxophone from French military pride to jazz band spotlight, but never the symphonic orchestra.
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5 Important Works That Call for a Theremin Soloist
You may know the theremin as the sci-fi sound of aliens and robots, but it’s been used by composers all over the world in concert music too. Let’s explore!
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Teaching Myself the Bach Chaconne With Ableton Live
From a South American dance to a romantically rubato performance piece, Bach’s Violin Partita in D minor has some funky rhythms and bizarre chromaticism!
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Sibelius, That High-Functioning Drunkard
+ Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. The notion that partying is somehow intrinsically linked with the culture surrounding musicians is unfortunately nothing new. From Motown to EDM, the hard drinking and illicit drug…
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The 13 Most Important Composers of the 21st Century So Far
This list profiles the most influential composers of the current century. But these artists are linked by more than just their accolades. Read on!
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The Inimitable Legacy of Van Dyke Parks: A Life’s Journey Through Song
“The song form is a great central theme in a life well lived.” – Van Dyke Parks Van Dyke Parks occupies a very distinct corner of the 20th century. His is a world of imagination, wonder, and the sublime. His stylistic interests pair a considerable appreciation for the music of the past with an almost complete…
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A Beginner’s Guide to Morton Feldman — an Intimate Encounter with Sound
+ Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. By Soundfly Mentor Tim Maryon A student of mine recently said that they’d never been given the chance to “get into” famed American composer Morton…
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4 Different Ways to Start a Musical Sentence
When you’re composing music, you kind of have to split yourself into a bunch of different personas. There’s “you, the artist” who contributes all the emotive content; “you, the craftsperson,” who gets anally retentive over just how you’re going to translate the emotive content in such a way that another human being can interpret it with…
