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Random Music Facts!!

Hey everyone!! Today instead of looking at a specific instrument I am going to be sharing some random music facts with you lovely people! 1. The Curiosity rover played 'Happy Birthday' to itself on its one year anniversary of landing on Mars making 'Happy Birthday the first song to ever be played on a foreign planet. 2. In 2008, a man called Andrew Vactor was sentenced to listening to classical music for 20 hours instead of paying a $150 fine as a punishment for playing rap music too loudly. He left after 15  minutes and had to pay the $150 as a result. 3. Hans Zimmer, who has composed music for many famous movies like all the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, the Lion King and Interstellar, only received 2 weeks of music education when he was a child. 4. There is a song called 'As Slow as Possible' and it is 639 years long. It can take years for a single note to be played. 5. When Beethoven went deaf, he cut the legs off his piano and sat of the floor to

The Origin of Ukuleles

What is up famalam?! Today we're going to be looking at the geography and history of the ukulele! It is assumed by many that the ukulele originate from Hawaii, however, that is not true. Ukuleles actually originate from an island called Madeira in between Portugal and North Africa. It is thought that three immigrants in particular, Madeiran cabinet makers Manuel Nunes, José do Espírito Santo, and Augusto Dias, are the first ukulele makers. Ukuleles then appeared in Hawaii in the 19th century as an adaptation of the Portuguese machete, brought by the Portuguese immigrants. The name 'ukulele' roughly translates to 'jumping flee' and it is thought this is because of the quick movement of the players fingers. In the 1960s, the ukulele was introduced into school systems in Canada as an inexpensive and easy way to teach music in class. In Japan today, the country is considered a second home for Hawaiian musicians and the ukulele. This is because in 1929,  Hawai

Origin of the Cajon

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Hey all! Today I'm going to be talking about the origin of the cajon as I play the instrument myself and have been frequently asked where it comes from, only to shamefully utter the words "I have no idea!" For those of you that don't know what the cajon is, it is a box with either a snare or strings inside that you sit on and hit rhythmically and it sounds like a drum. Also, the word cajon is Spanish for box! As it turns out, no one really knows for sure where or when the cajon originated so I'm not the only one! However, there are many theories of when and where the cajon came from. What we do know for sure is that it was created sometime in the 16th century. It is thought that it started with African slaves in America. It was developed during the periods of slavery in Peru and reached a peak of popularity in 1850.  Another theory is that slaves used boxes as musical instruments to get around Spanish bans on music in mainly African areas. This meant that th

Welcome!!

Hi there I'm Rachel and this is my blog all about the geography of music. I chose this topic because I love music and I'd like to find out more about its origins. I'm going to be taking a look at where different instruments come from and all that JAZZ. Pardon the pun!! I'm also going to research music within different cultures around the world. I hope you enjoy!! After all, without music, life would b flat!