Aaron Copland (1900-1990 CE) was one of the first composers to put jazzy music into symphonic music, Copland was also one of the greatest American composers. Read more about him and his work. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to...

Interested in popular and serious music, Gershwin (1898-1937) played a big part in bringing jazz to a more important place in American music. He helped mix it with classical music in his compositions. Read more about his work, including...

A short biography of the American ragtime pianist, Scott Joplin.

Castanets are a percussion instruments. Read more about them at this resource. Use this resource to learn more about the percussion family of the orchestra. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to hear castanets play with the orchestra.

Have you ever wondered what those big bowl shaped drums were? They are timpani. Use this resource to learn more about them and the percussion family of the orchestra. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to listen to the timpani play...

Use this resource to learn about the percussion family of the orchestra, the tambourine in particular. Learn what it is made of and how it is played. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to listen to the tambourine alone and with the...

The xylophone is a percussion instrument that is tuned and has a keyboard shape. Use this resource to learn more about it and the other instruments in the percussion family. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to hear the xylophone by...

The chimes are the tall tube looking things in the orchestra. Read more about percussion instruments, the chimes in particular. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to listen to the chimes on their own and with the orchestra.

Brahms used to play piano in dance halls when he was a child in order to help support his family. Use RealAudio and Windows Media Player to listen to some of his work. This site also provides more information about the life and works of...

A concert hall organ can have as many as four keyboards, 244 keys, 32 pedals and 4,535 pipes. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to hear the organ alone or with the orchestra.

One of the famous "Russian Five," Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881 CE), once wrote a polka for his school friends at the Cadet School of the Guards in St. Petersburg. Listen to his work using RealAudio or Windows Media Player.

Use this resource to learn about the percussion family of instruments, especially the snare drum. Find out how it helps the orchestra make music. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to listen to the snare drum by itself and with the...

Learn about the ways to play the cymbals and how they contribute to the sound of the orchestra. Use RealAudio to listen to cymbals alone and with the orchestra. Pictures of the instrument are also provided.

Read about the percussion family of the orchestra. Find out how the bass drum helps the sound of the orchestra. Use RealAudio or Windows Media Player to listen to the bass drum.

Quick, simple and short; this biography covers all the territory. Extremely basic.

Use this resource to learn about the percussion family of the orchestra and the guiro. This instrument is untuned and comes from South and Central America.