Music Learning Site

22/03/2020

Welcome back Music buffs! Given the global quarantine, I find I have a lot of time on my hands to start writing articles for the website again.

Post here what you’d like me to start with and I’ll get cracking. Stay safe, stay inside!

17/09/2018

September 17th 1957 Louis Armstrong cancels trip to Russia for political reasons. Louis Armstrong was a famous African-American jazz musician. He refused to take part in a U.S government sponsored tour of the soviet union days before his tour started.

WHY? Not only did he disagree with the governments way of counteracting America’s criticism of racial discrimination by sponsoring African-American musicians and other well-known artistic figures but just days before his tour the events in Little Rock had spread through the media.

In Little Rock, Arkansas 1957 9 African American students were met by an angry mob of whites and the Arkansas National Guard preventing them from enrolling at Central High School.

Enjoy learning about history? Visit our page, Instagram or Website >> links in bio.

Image courtesy of Leafly.

09/03/2018

Why not give this a go and see what you know?

Are you a Missa SolemYES or a FedliNO? Test your Beethoven knowledge with our tricky quiz.

02/03/2018

Hazel Scott was a fabulous pianist, truly talented and with grace and elegance.

26/12/2017

Like a bit of Mozart or Verdi? Check out our latest article on the Requiem and its history here:

The name ‘Requiem’ is taken from the words Requiem aeternum, meaning eternal rest in Latin. A requiem is a religious piece of music made up of multiple small pieces called movements. Each movement is quite different in character and mood and is about a particular religious scripture based on the...

18/11/2017

Another addition to our fast growing collection of articles - features of Baroque music:

A history of Baroque music features. Baroque period gave birth to major changes in music in terms of structure, harmony, texture and timbre.

18/11/2017

Check out our latest article on musical form in the Classical period:

Sonata Form: The major structural development in composition was the creation of Sonata Form, which the majority of music from the classical period is made up of. With the development of the piano, the instrument replaced the harpsichord and much music was written for solo piano in the form of sonat...

21/09/2016

On this day in 1874, the English composer Gustav Holst was born. Son of a choir master, he grew up playing trombone, violin and piano and studied at the Royal College of Music. He is best known for his well-loved Planets Suite, which continues to be one of the most popular pieces of orchestral music ever written.

07/07/2016

On the 7th July 1860, Gustav Mahler was born in Bohemia, then part of the Austrian Empire. He was one of the great late-romantic composers and somewhat influenced by both Bruckner and Wagner, wrote notable symphonies and orchestral works.

15/06/2016

On this day in 1843 in Bergen, Edvard Grieg was born. He was a Norwegian pianist and composer considered one of the great composers of the Romantic era.

06/06/2016

Check out our latest page and learn all about the bassoon! http://www.musiclearningsite.co.uk/woodwind-instruments/bassoon/

The bassoon is one of the largest instruments of the woodwind family. It is made up of several smaller pieces with internal piping that fit together. The sound is produced through the use of a double reed that is placed on the end of the crook. The player (called a bassoonist) blows into the reed …