Vets bark up right tree with music therapy

Using therapy based on advice from a psycho-acoustic expert in America, a chain of veterinary surgeons is promoting the power of music to get animals to relax. Cats and dogs are being played specially recorded classical music as they are prepared for surgery, and the therapy seems to be proving effective.
 

Classic synths recreated in software

Jason Gorman, Chris Whitworth, Brian Hogan, Lance Walton, Yuri O’Donnell and Peter Camfiel are all software developers and amateur musicians. Together, they have re-created nine classic synthesisers in software, and produced an album, Music By Programmers, all to raise £5,000 for maths workshops for children at Bletchley Park, and programming lessons at the National Museum [...]

Swiss tonewood produces perfect violins

It is perhaps no surprise that Switzerland is home to some of the world’s greatest violin makers. Swiss forests are home to spruces that produce perfect musical wood, largely thanks to the work of expert wood pickers such as Lorenzo Pellegrini (pictured), now 83.
Age, the weather, the tree’s position in relation to the moon, even [...]

Shredding the Easter weekend away

As you may have gathered by now, I have not been strictly honest with you this Easter weekend. Far from being loving re-visitings of past glories, the music videos I’ve posted are, in fact, examples of a phenomenon known as ‘shredding’, which is the speciality of Finnish music parodist Stsanders.

Stsanders, known to his mother as [...]

Guitarists to the fore in today’s re-imaginings

We’re often led to believe that the world’s rock glitterati are out squandering their cash on private jets and fast cars and lounging around their mansions counting their millions. But then we find out, no, they’re as prolific as ever, and re-visiting their back catalogues for our benefit. Today, we want you put your hands [...]