American composer John Cage was arguably the most prolific composer of prepared-piano music and is often credited as having invented the prepared piano, so to speak. While there were earlier instances of composers placing objects on the piano strings, or bypassing the keyboard in order to directly manipulate the strings in performance (most notably Henry…
Settle down, class, and take your seats. Bobby, what did I say about chewing gum? Alright. Now that we’re all settled in, let’s talk about sound. Today we’re going to address concepts relating to sound traveling through, getting lost in, and accumulating within airspace. Much of how we perceive our surrounding environment is influenced by our…
Canadian singer-songwriter Feist’s monumental second album, Let It Die came out all the way back in 2004. So why am I all of a sudden offering a perspective on it? Good question. I have no idea. Long car rides often provoke more attentive re-listens, I suppose. Upon first listen, Let It Die has this deeply seductive bossa nova-style…
Horns are a prominent piece in the puzzle of modern music. When it comes to pushing the language of American music forward, predominantly via jazz in the 20th century, their role has been invaluable. But what about their prominence in film? Whether it’s the saxophone, trumpet, or trombone, or, yes, even a bunch of tubas,…
A powerful OpEd on hearing familiarity through artificial musical boundaries and what happens when we look at our own aesthetic tastes under a microscope.
Composers throughout history have created great masterworks of art during times of hardship, here’s an examination of three such pieces.
Last year, Rihanna’s hit single “Work” started an argument here at Soundfly. We come from an array of different musical backgrounds, styles, training, and instruments, and the question that kicked us off was: What key is “Work” actually in? It’s got that super repetitive synth bass line that returns to C# every time, giving the…
Music in prisons has long been considered a key device for rehabilitation. Amanda Petrusich examines its history, from Ellington to Cash and The Clash.
By Andreas Oskar Hirsch Köln or Cologne, Germany, offers a vivid scene with regards to experimental, new music, electronica, classical music, jazz, cross-border projects, improv, and more. To me, the city is quite well-connected to sonic exploration, research, and experiments. In German we call it, “Klangtüftelei,” which means working with sound in a playful and…
Hey! It’s the 20th episode of “Themes and Variation!” We have a ton of fun making this podcast, so this episode is all about whimsical songs.
Even if teens aren’t your target audience, their listening habits are transforming the music industry and changing how music is consumed. Pay attention.
+ 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. It’s 1965. After almost a century’s worth of benefits and remarkable improvements to our daily lives, electricity is here to stay. Light bulbs, television, computers…
Last week, Apple announced the release of the iPhone 7, among other new products and partnerships. The phone features innovative additions such as water resistant technology, dual lens cameras for professional quality photo and video, and sleek new design tweaks to the screen and phone body. Yet you’ve probably heard that something very noticeable will be missing from the new…
+ Improve your songwriting with Soundfly! Explore our range of courses on emotional chord progressions, basic songwriting technique, songwriting for producers, and many more. Subscribe for unlimited access here. Late in the summer of 1976, as a matter of fact it was 42 years ago today, the man known as the “quiet Beatle” made quite a stir when he was…
Take a tour of 5 important copyright infringement cases in music history to learn about the decisions that helped shape how we look at songwriting today.
Who’s the first composer you think of when you think of film scoring? They probably started in pop music, and that says something!
+ 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. Colin Woodard’s book, American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rivan Regional Cultures of North America, identifies a number of distinct cultures that have historically spread across and divided…
A delightful OpEd tackling the debate surrounding the myth and mystery of the orchestral conductor’s role, from anecdote to history.
If you’ve ever been to Brussels, or know much about Belgian culture, you may already be familiar with the four things they take really seriously over there: beer, fries, waffles, and… a bronze statue of a naked boy urinating into a fountain from 1618, with a penchant for dressing up in various costumes and regalia (sounds like a lot…
Rapper Drakeo The Ruler is currently being held in jail as he awaits a further trial, but while there, he may have created 2020’s best album with JoogSzn.
Need a boost of inspiration? Try any of these fool-proof chord progressions to jumpstart your writing process.
This is part 2 of a series on how to write a musical. Start from the beginning with a brief history of musicals or jump forward to learn how to select song posts! This is part 2 of our series on how to write a musical, inspired by a friend’s efforts to write a musical about an undercooked piece of pasta named Al…
Editor’s Note: The conspicuous absence of women from the historical canon of great classical composers is worth noting. There are myriad reasons behind that lack — women have historically been denied the ability to hold a job, access higher education, receive professional mentorship… The list is endless. Women composers were not given the opportunities to even…
Here are our favorite under-appreciated live music cities across the United States right now.
The guzheng (古筝) is one of my favorite instruments in the world. An ancient Chinese plucked-string instrument, today it’s featured prominently in both classical Chinese and modern international compositions. I think of the guzheng as a perfectly balanced mix between a harp and a zither. + Read more: Curious what the heck a theremin, shruti box, djembe, or glockenspiel…
