Composer improvises Darth Vader’s theme in the style of Beethoven

(HT: 22 Words)

Stevie Wonder Singing a Sting Classic

To be able to sing like this when you are over sixty years old is insane. Got to wait for him to take it up at the end.

4-Year-Old With Insane Piano Skillz

Is this fake somehow?  If it's real, this kid is unreal simply because of the size of his hands among other things.

How to Listen to Music

Music has a powerful grip on our emotional brain. It can breathe new life into seemingly lifeless minds. But if there is indeed no music instinct, music—not just its creation, but also its consumption—must be an acquired skill. How, then, do we "learn" music? Even more curiously, how do we "learn" to "listen" to music, something that seems so fundamental we take it for granted? 

From the wonderful vintage book Music: Ways of Listening, originally published in 1982, comes this outline of the seven essential skills of perceptive listening, which author and composer Elliott Schwartz argues have been "dulled by our built-in twentieth-century habit of tuning out" and thus need to be actively developed. Perhaps most interestingly, you can substitute "reading" for "listening" and "writing" for "music," and the list would be just as valuable and insightful, and just as needed an antidote to the dulling of our modern modes of information consumption.

Read the rest.

(HT:  Joe Carter)

Is Rock and Roll Over?

Interesting article here.  I would credit the internet for much of the demise that is outlined in this piece.  It's not all bad.  Just an evolution that was bound to happen at some point.  There will always be great music in the world.  It just might not come with spandex and glitter anymore (thankfully).

Playing in F Major, Singing in F-Sharp

Aside from being quite annoying, this is really hard to do. Demands a lot of concentration. Try it sometime. Pick a song that you know really well like Happy Birthday and pick a key and then have someone else pick a completely different key. Then try to sing at the same time. It's pretty trippy.

The Middle-Aged White Guy's Guide to Christian Rap

This is quite clever and probably helpful for many of you out there.  Click over to read more at Challies.com.