The melodica, like the pump organ and harmonica, is a free-reed instrument. Performers blow air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole on the side of the instrument. A musical keyboard lies on top. Pressing a key opens a hole, and enables air to flow through the...
The cajón is a box-shaped percussion instrument that originated in Perú. It’s played generally by hitting the front face with the palms, fingers, brushes, mallets, or sticks. Cajones are predominantly famous in Afro-Peruvian music but have also found their way...
The berimbau is a single-string percussion instrument that belongs to the stick-zither chordophone family. It has strong regional ties to the state of Bahia in northeastern Brazil. It also has a cultural affinity to Brazilians of African descent. Capoeira is famous...
A set of chimes is a pitched percussion idiophone instrument consisting of 22 or fewer cast bronze bells, similar to a carillon (from medieval Latin Cymbala, meaning “bells”). They range from two to twenty bells. Although the Voorslag (automatic clock...
Loudness, by definition, is a subjective perception of volume. Since the 1980s, the concept of “Loudness Wars” has been raging. Record labels have pressured engineers to make louder and louder masters. On the other hand, because of a number of factors, the...
