Melodica

The melodica is a wind instrument. It is played by blowing air through the mouthpiece and simultaneously pressing one or more keys at the keyboard.The modern form of the instrument was probably invented by Hohner in the 1950s or 1960s. They are widely in use in music education.

It is one of the few polyphonic wind instruments, since unlike a saxophone or a clarinet you can play multiple notes at the same time.

My metal cased Hohner melodica 'piano 26'.

Since you control the sound by your blowing, it produces a sound which differs from the standard electronic keyboard. It’s a small and easy controllable instrument which can be used if you want to add some flavour to your songs.

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Fun fact: Maude Maggart & Fiona Apple

Fiona Apple has one sister: Amber Maggart. Under the stage name Maude Maggart she is a successful cabaret singer specialized in singing standards of the 1920s and 1930s. Her latest album is a collaboration with Brent Spiner (known as Data in Star Trek).

Maude 

The real names of the two sisters are Fiona Maggart and Amber Maggart. So what happened?

Their great-grandmother’s name was Maude Apple.
Amber changed her first name in Maude (to fit the image of her music). And Fiona changed her last name in Apple (recommended by her recording company).

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Map your music

You can use music-map to find finds music that matches your taste. Just enter an artist and it will show artists that are similar in style.

The distance between the artists defines how much they are related to each other.

You can use the same concept to define what kind of music you would like to create. I mean, how should it sound, what kind of lyrics, etc..

Take 3 or 4 of your favourite artists as cornerstones, plot yourself in the middle, and add other artists you admire.

Of course it is debatable, you should use songs or albums instead of artists, still it’s fun the visualize your taste in music.

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Answer an Album

You can write a song as if it is an answer, or a sequel to some other song. For example, David Bowie’s song Ashes to Ashes is the sequel to his first hit Major Tom. You can do the same for a whole album; Liz Phair wrote her 1993 debut album Exile in Guyville (generally considered to be her best work) as a song-by-song reply to the Rolling Stones’ 1972 album Exile on Main Street. Her 2005 album Somebody's Miracle was originally modeled after Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life.

Liz Phair, who reviewed Keith Richards’s autobiography in the New York Times, stated: “I felt that ‘Main Street’ was a masterpiece that also typified a male perspective on love, sex and rock ’n’ roll. Since I was, at the time of making my record, frustrated and hurt by men, yet desirous of their attention and respect, I answered both the topics and the sound on ‘Exile on Main Street’ as if it represented the thoughts and feelings of a boyfriend, and I wanted to argue the female point of view.”

source   book review

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