Research: The world's most played songs and riffs What songs do musicians around the world want to play the most? We investigated this intriguing question and found out which song chords and guitar riffs are the most searched for around the world. By Eloy Caudet | 15 April 2024 Move your mouse over the countries to find out more Go straight to the results There are many polls and lists of the most popular songs for guitarists, where musicians can vote for their favourite songs. However, these polls are only partially meaningful because they only capture the opinions of a limited ..read more

Shirin David, Photo: Hubert Burda Media, © Eventpress for Hubert Burda Media We have analysed the 12 most popular German rappers on Instagram and determined what they could receive for advertising cooperations on Instagram. Unlike YouTube, Instagram does not pay the users themselves, so well-known influencers on the platform have to cooperate with companies in order to monetise their reach. The monetary estimates are based on a comparison with the data from thousands of stories, posts and influencer collaborations on the platform. They are calculated by measuring the relationship between reac ..read more

Study: The best German cities for musicians Which German city is the best place for musicians to live? We investigated this question and analysed the 40 largest cities in Germany. We measured the quality of life for musicians based on various factors and analysed them using the "Analytic Hierarchy Process" method developed by the well-known mathematician Thomas Saaty. By Eloy Caudet | 23 March 2024 Germany is a very musical country - according to Federal Statistical Office around 3.1 million Germans make music as a hobby and around 64,000 are professional musicians. That's just und ..read more

Ranked: Which electric guitars hold their value the best? We analysed the used prices of the 40 best-selling electric guitars and compared them to new prices. Here we show you which electric guitars are losing the most and the least value on the used guitar market. By Eloy Caudet | March 17, 2024 EU Ranking UK Ranking Download the images (Google Drive) Which electric guitars retain the most value? We have researched this question extensively. The 10 electric guitars listed above are the world's top sellers according to Reverb.com. In first place is the Fender Player Telecaster ..read more

The reverb pedal can simulate a variety of spaces, from small rooms to large halls, as well as metallic sounds such as spring or plate reverb. It adds depth and atmosphere to music by simulating the sound created when the sound waves from an instrument bounce off walls before reaching the listener. The reverb gives the impression that the instrument is far away. An electric guitar sounds very dry and even a little unnatural without reverb, so almost all modern guitar amps have built-in reverb. Most amps have a spring reverb - a special type of reverb made with springs that sounds very metallic ..read more

The origins of the chorus effect can be traced back to attempts to reproduce or amplify the sound of stringed instruments. Early versions of the effect were achieved by simultaneously playing identical audio signals with slightly different delays and/or pitches. In other words, like a delay with extremely short delay times. This created a kind of double effect, giving the impression that several instruments were playing at the same time. The actual invention of the chorus pedal as we know it today came with the advent of compact electronic circuits based on semiconductors. The first applicatio ..read more

It's hard to imagine an electric guitar without distortion - that's clear. But how do you get real distortion without having an all-tube amp and cranking it all the way? Quite simply, with a distortion pedal. These pedals are designed to distort the sound of an electric guitar, usually without tubes, but with DSP (Digital Signal Processing) or analog circuits. They are connected between the electric guitar and the guitar amplifier and can be switched on and off with a footswitch. Their sound has gotten so good that many of them sound almost as good as all-tube amps. And compared to the all-tub ..read more

In the ongoing debate between Windows and Apple, it's becoming clear that Windows brands are challenging Apple's long-held dominance. Notably, brands such as Alienware and MSI are earning recognition for outperforming Apple. Interestingly, this shift is also becoming apparent in music production. The perceived edge Apple once held seems less significant now, apart from the exclusive use of Logic Pro software. For music creators, the choice between Windows and Mac seems to be more about personal preference than distinct performance advantages. While Macs are typically more expensive, they do of ..read more

Few effects in the world are as popular as delay. But not only among guitarists - delay (also known as echo) is often used in production for mixing and live with many instruments, including vocals. What is a delay pedal? A delay pedal is an effect device that was originally designed for electric guitars, but can be used with any audio source. It creates an echo effect by picking up the signal being played and repeating it after a short delay. The delay time can vary depending on the pedal model and setting, from very short echo effects (slapback delay) to longer repetitions. Delay pedals alway ..read more

Sheet music is the written language of music, and percussion sheet music is no different. They are used to write down the music of percussion instruments in a way that any musician can read and interpret. Assuming, of course, that you know this "language", i.e. that you can read sheet music. To read drum notation, you first need to know the different note values (quarter note, eighth note, sixteenth note, etc.). Then you need to know where each drum is located on the staff - similar to the melody notes (C,D,E,F,G,A,B) on the melody instruments, each line and space on the staff corresponds to a ..read more