Instrument Overview
Taylor’s Music sells all types of Folk and Ethnic instruments such as Ukuleles, Mandolins, Banjos, Dobros, Autoharps and Dulcimers. We stock such famous makers as Fender, Martin, Kala, Gold Tone, Makala, LP and Ovation as well as many others. If you are looking for something different you may like a Cajon, Concertina, Harmonica or how about a Shenai from Pakistan or an Aboriginal Didgeridoo! Listed below are just some of the interesting instruments you can check out!!Stop in and check out all of the possibilities!
The Harmonica, also French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. There are many types of harmonica, including diatonic, chromatic, tremolo, octave, orchestral, and bass versions. A harmonica is played by using the mouth (lips and/or tongue) to direct air into and out of one or more holes along a mouthpiece. Behind the holes are chambers containing at least one reed. A harmonica reed is a flat elongated spring typically made of brass, stainless steel, or bronze, which is secured at one end over a slot that serves as an airway. When the free end is made to vibrate by the player’s air, it alternately blocks and unblocks the airway to produce sound.
Today, the Cajón is heard extensively in Coastal Peruvian musical styles such as Tondero, Zamacueca and Peruvian Waltz, modern Flamenco and certain styles of modern Rumba. In 2001 the cajón was declared National Heritage by the Peruvian National Institute of Culture.The modern cajón is often used to accompany the acoustic guitar. The cajón is becoming rapidly popular in blues, pop, rock, funk, world music, fusion, jazz, etc. It is also often referred to as a “drum kit in a box” or “cajón box”. The cajón has become a popular instrument in the folk music of Ireland and is often played alongside the bodhrán. Besides its standard use, the cajón has been played in a variety of ways, according to different influences over time. Since it has been widely spread across the world, not only full-time percussionists, but also other musicians have begun to play the cajón. The instrument has been played not only with hands, but also with plastic and metal brushes, as normally used for drums. Another way of playing the cajón is to use an ordinary bass drum pedal, thus turning the cajón into an indirect percussion instrument. This enables the player to beat it just like a pedal-bass-drum, but it also restricts the player’s standard position.
The Appalachian dulcimer is now a core instrument found in the American old-time music tradition. But styles performed by modern dulcimer enthusiasts run the gamut from traditional folk music through popular and experimental forms. Some players exploit its similarity in tone to certain Middle Eastern and Asian instruments. Increasingly, modern musicians such as Lindsay Buckland, Bing Futch, Butch Ross, Cristian Huet in France and Quintin Stephens have contributed to the popularity of the solid-body electric dulcimer. Dulcimer festivals take place regularly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, as the Appalachian dulcimer has achieved a following in a number of countries. Though the mountain dulcimer has long been associated with the elder generation, it has gradually attracted a number of younger players who have discovered its charms. Because of its ease of play, many music teachers consider it to be an especially good educational instrument. Because of this, they are often used in educational settings, and some music classes make their own dulcimers. However, because of budget, time, and craftsmanship skill issues, these are usually made from cardboard.
The Didgeridoo (/ˌdɪdʒərɪˈduː/) (also known as a didjeridu) is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia around 1,500 years ago and still in widespread use today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or “drone pipe”. Musicologists classify it as a brass aerophone. The didgeridoo also became a role playing instrument in the experimental and avant-garde music scene. Industrial music bands like Test Department generated sounds from this instrument and used them in their industrial performances, linking ecology to industry, influenced by ethnic music and culture. It has also been an instrument used for the fusion of Aboriginal rhythms with a black metal sound, a music project called Naakhum that used the spirituality of the Aboriginal people and many others as an approach. The acid jazz band Jamiroquai were known for their didgeridoo player Wallis Buchanan. In the early days of the band, many songs explored the theme of ecology and those of native cultures marginalized by colonisation. A notable song featuring a didgeridoo is the band’s first single “When You Gonna Learn”, which features prominent didgeridoo playing in both the introduction and solo sections. When Wallis Buchanan left the band in 1999, the band chose not to replace him, and simply abandoned the use of the instrument in their music.
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