Content tagged with "music"

Bossa Nova
Explanation
December 16, 2022
246

This is a style of music that originated in Brazil in the 1950s. The phrase literally means “new talent” or “new way” in Brazilian Portuguese. It’s a variation of samba, which is a musical style which originated in Brazil. Musical styles are hard to explain, but – to me – this feels like a laid back…

Concertina
Explanation
April 11, 2024
71

This is an accordion-like musical instrument, meant to be played between the hands. It has buttons on either side, but, unlike an accordion, it does not have a keyboard. In once-upon-tome: Not a week passes by when he doesn’t come up to the shop floor to show me something esoteric, unfolding a…

Diegesis
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
September 11, 2024
541

In narrative story-telling, diegesis refers to things that are experienced by the characters within the story. Non-diegesis refers to things that are experienced by the audience, not the characters. Example, if watching a movie: Background music coming from a band playing in a bar as part of the…

Grammy Awards
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
February 10, 2024
283

The Grammys have confusing award names. They’re named in a way that might have made sense 50 years ago, but doesn’t make sense today. There are four “general” Grammy Awards, meaning those open to any genre of music. One of them is “Best New Artist,” which is self-explanatory and appropriately named….

Luthier
Stuff I Looked Up
Explanation
April 14, 2023
92

The word comes from “lute,” which was an early guitar. I was driving home from the airport in Sioux Falls when I saw a new shop advertising itself as “Certified Luthiers.” From a profile of Yo Yo Ma in spark: …beginning with a reference from Isaac Stern, who had heard Ma play in Paris at the advice…