Michael Jackson

Baby boomers loved Michael Jackson. We couldn’t take our eyes off him. We grew up watching his whole life. Folks digging the pop-culture moment thrived on Michael’s work because it was undeniably leading us forward. His twenties decade was filled with transformation and his music had a way of reflecting our social angst. His too. I’m encouraged to analyze and investigate Michael’s subjectivity for the JustSheetMusic audience because I know you are interested in this artist. My earlier piece on Jackson got lots … Continue Reading

Adelina Patti (19 February 1843 – 27 September 1919)

Who was Adelina Patti? She was one of the most successful sopranos in history. Born in Spain, but a subject of the King of the Two Sicilies, she was in her prime a pan-European figure.

Start the video below to listen to a recording of her voice.

The recording was made in Patti’s home in 1905, and is fascinating in part just because it represents an artifact from the early … Continue Reading

Celebrating Ireland’s Recovery With Its Music

The best Eurozone economic news in a long time is that which has come out of Ireland in recent weeks. Ireland is well into recovery, the statistics all tell us, and the rating agency Fitch has upgraded the outlook on its sovereign bonds from negative to stable.

The website of the U.S. news network CNN ran the above photo of some cheerful Irish folk when it noted this turnaround. They are clearly making music and celebrating, although I don’t know … Continue Reading

Les Misarables

Hollywood’s take on the long-running Broadway musical Les Miserables opened in U.S. movie theatres in the U.S. on Christmas Day 2012. It stars Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Russell Crowe as Inspector Javert, Anne Hathaway as Fantine, and Amanda Seyfried as Cosette.

This opening has us thinking about the history of the production, and about the phenomenally successful collaboration behind it all, that of Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boubil.

Music while reading this article

Les Miserables (Musical London Cast) At the End of the … Continue Reading

The Music For An Old And Lasting German Legend

According to a very old German legend, one which has come to be expressed in every theatrical form from grand opera to puppet plays to Broadway musicals, a medieval scholar named Faust or Faustus made a deal with Satan, offering the Evil One his soul for unending post-mortem punishment, in return for elusive knowledge and worldly pleasure. The specific lure or combination of lures that led to … Continue Reading

At the end of the 20th century, nobody could have predicted where the music industry was leaded. In fact, it still boggles our minds to think about how different the musical landscape looked by the end of the 2000s compared to the late-90s. With rap and pop largely supplanting the popularity of rock music, the 00s decade transformed the face of popular music.

Want to find out which songs of the 2000s were the best? Our music experts browsed the best- selling charts from the last decade to find out which … Continue Reading

Image Source: quadriproject.com

If you’re like me, between work and family, there are never enough hours in the day. Perhaps that is why I value alone time with my guitar the most. Learning an instrument can be a relaxing and beautiful experience.
Regardless of age, education, or amount of time throughout the day, the guitar is a wonderful instrument to start on, and I might be as bold to say that the guitar is the best instrument to begin with. Why? The guitar is simple … Continue Reading

A student at the University of Michigan, Fred LaBour, decided to make something up one day in 1969. The ‘something’ was a story that Paul McCartney, of the Beatles, was dead.

As Peter Ames Carlin, in his recent biography of Paul, tells the tale: LaBour didn’t produce the idea completely out of thin air. He had taken a phone call while working in the newsroom on something else, from someone who had put together a few “clues.”

There is a strange incantation at … Continue Reading

There is no comparison for the robust sounds and qualities you can get when playing your instrument.

If you love the sound of an acoustic guitar, you may want to consider choosing a 12 string guitar because of its available range of tonal variation. 12 string guitar songs when played take advantage of a fuller sound, which
has a sparkle thanks to the use of octave strings.

Many classic rock songs were made strictly to be played on a 12-string guitar, including “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin, and “Hotel California” by The Eagles. Early blues … Continue Reading

Gregory Norman "Greg" Ham (27 September 1953 – approx. 19 April 2012)

Greg Ham was found dead in his home on April 19, 2012. The 58 year old musician lived alone, and friends who had not heard from him went to his home to check on his welfare, and found him deceased. The cause remains unknown. Although authorities initially spoke of “unexplained circumstances” more recently they have been saying that the postmortem turned up nothing suspicious.

There has still been no straight answer as to … Continue Reading