Music History and Music Theory questions? Ask Mike!

You’ve always wanted to do more than just listen to music. You want to play a musical instrument yourself. Now you’re going to take the plunge. You’re going to organise music lessons and set aside time for practice. One question remains: which instrument will you choose to learn? … more about Which musical instrument should I learn?

You don’t have to be a violin virtuoso to gain considerable pleasure out of playing a musical instrument. Music-making, both on your own and in the company of others, is a wonderfully satisfying form of self-expression. It is a positive, life-enhancing experience. … more about Why learn to play a musical instrument?

A Caribbean steel pan is traditionally made from a 55 gallon oil drum. The level base of the inverted drum is beaten into a bowl shape and the notes are formed by creating almost flat polygonal areas or facets within this bowl shape. … more about What is a Caribbean steel pan?

It was the Festival of Britain in 1951 that propelled the Caribbean steel pan into the UK limelight. Trinidad’s contribution to the festivities was a performance by the Trinidad All Percussion Steel Orchestra. … more about Caribbean steel pan in arrives the UK

Did all musical instruments come into being through a happy accident? It’s difficult to know. The roots of most traditional musical instruments are lost in the mists of time. However, the Caribbean steel pan is such a recent innovation that we can still speak to those “in the know” to find out. … more about The origin of the Caribbean steel pan

One evening in the early 1930’s in the dressing room of The Claridge on the Champs-Elysees, virtuoso gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt was warming up on his guitar as he always did before a performance, when violinist Stephane Grappelli casually started to improvise around his chords. … more about Swing jazz, the Paris Hot Club way

Music for me is a love affair. The love of my life? An instrument that emanated from the near East, was perfected in Renaissance Italy and has proliferated across Europe and the rest of the world since then, such that it is part of the warp and weft of most styles of musical expression from the humble to the grand. … more about Fiddle player meets classical violinist

In days of yore, the mean fiddler could leap impromptu upon a nine-gallon beer cask in the back room of a country hostelry and whip the crowd into a frenzy with his wild playing. Not so in the UK today. First he must sit down with a long risk-assessment form, then he must complete a detailed license form. … more about The silencing of the mean fiddler