Open Your Ears: Creation Multimedia Oratorio-This Friday marks the premier of Sabrina Peña Young’s new work, ‘Creation’, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Decatur, Illinois. Open Your Ears This is the first post in a new series, “Open Your Ears”, which will highlight interesting and exciting music which will stretch your ears and expand your musical horizons. We’ve all had the […]
Open Your Ears: Musical Bridge to Burma-I recently heard about an very interesting musical event – a concert in aid of Link Emergency Aid & Development of Burma, which brings young Western composers and classical musicians together to play traditional music, and music inspired by Burma. Burma (officially now called Myanmar) is a country of about 50 million people, bordering China […]
Open Your Ears to Tuvan Throat Singing!-Believe it or not, it is possible to sing more than one note at once! Discover the Tuvan throat singing method and train your ears to understand how it's done.
Open Your Ears to the Music of Björk-Few artists are as creatively experimental as Björk, which makes her music the ideal exploration ground when stretching and improving your musical ears.
Open Your Ears to Modern Electronic Opera-When they think about opera, many folks envision Bugs Bunny wearing a Viking hat singing loudly to Wagner or remember sitting bored in a concert hall as a robust soprano belts out some serious Italian. For many reasons, opera has gotten a pretty bad rap in the last few decades. After all, how can hours […]
Open Your Ears to 60×60-In the Open Your Ears series we cover a wide range of music: from opera to electronica, from Björk to Tuvan throat singing. (seriously, if you haven’t heard about throat singing, you’re missing out!) But if you want to have your mind blown away minute-by-minute with new music, you need to check out a 60×60 […]
Open Your Ears with an MPR Coffee Break-It’s no secret that I love The Current, one of Minnesota Public Radio (MPR)’s flagship stations. I wrote something of a love-letter blog post in support of their fund-raising drive last year, and I’m a proud supporter of the station – despite living across the other side of the world! One reason The Current so […]
Open Your Ears with a Five Song Set-The 5 Song Set podcast showcases a different musical genre or theme in every episode. Expand your musical world and improve your ears just by listening.
Open Your Ears to Acid Jazz-Have you ever come across the genre "acid jazz" and wondered just what that might be? Discover the musical elements which tie together this fascinating genre.
Open Your Ears to Electro-Swing-Discover the sound of Electro Swing, a genre blending swing jazz with house music. Find out what makes electro swing and how you can train your ears with it.
Open Your Ears to the Contradanza-The Cuban Contradanza is an interesting and varied musical form using latin rhythms. Learn how to understand and recognise it when you hear one performed.
Open Your Ears to Afro-Latin music-Afro-Latin music is a broad term covering a wide range of musical styles. Explore the distinctive sounds of Cuba, Brazil and Peru with these explanations.
Open Your Ears to Cool and Interesting Percussion-Percussion can make or break a track, making something dull and lifeless into an exciting number you can't help but dance to. Here are five great examples.
Open Your Ears to 5 Songs Full of Life-Need a musical shot of caffeine to brighten up your life? These five songs will give you a burst of uplifting energy and expand your musical horizons.
Open Your Ears to 5 Kind of Soft Songs-Close your eyes, relax and enjoy letting your thoughts wander away with these five kind of soft songs. Perfect for escaping the stress of everyday life.
Open Your Ears to Halloween Haunt Music-Open your ears to some original Halloween music by horror music composer Sam Haynes. These free tracks are essential for any Halloween party playlist.
Open Your Ears to a Serving of Groove-Get ready to feel the rhythm with this "serving of groove". Featuring five artists from around the world this set demonstrates the diversity of groove.
Open Your Ears to Winter Holiday Music-Cosy up to the fireplace and enjoy this Winter Holiday 5 Song Set. Open your ears to some alternative Christmas music from these international artists.
Open your Ears to some Rocking Blues-Open you ears to this 5 Song Set influenced by the blues. Listen out for the bluesy elements in these unique songs from five great international artists.
Open Your Ears to the Clouds of Burma (Interview)-A fascinating active listening tutorial and interview with the musicians of a Burmese folk music EP which is being sold in aid of charity Prospect Burma.
Open Your Ears to some Yuletide A Cappella-The new Christmas album from the Swingle Singers, Yule Songs vol II is a true treat for musical ears. Join me as I listen through for the first time.
The Sound of New Indie Music-Open your ears and join us for an in-depth look at six "new indie" tracks, and analyse the making of contemporary music using synthesis techniques.
Open Your Ears to Cumbia Music-Join us for an active listening journey to the Colombian Coast with these 5 songs demonstrating the influence of Cumbia music in other genres.
Open Your Ears to Emerging Genres-Actively listen to these five tracks from various new genres of music that are being developed by splicing together existing genres in innovative ways.
Open Your Ears to The Elders-Listen to The Elders, from the American Midwest, to find out why the Irish Rock genre is so popular, and how they will inspire your own musical creation.
Open Your Ears to Chant Music-Join us to explore the timeless genre of chant music. Open your ears to these five chant songs and chant's integration into modern day music.
Open Your Ears to Villa-Lobos-Discover 5 astonishingly beautiful tracks by Heitor Villa-Lobos, who infuses classical forms with Brazilian spirit to create a musical language all his own.
Open Your Ears to Amazing Tango-Surprise your ears with the wide range of tango, celebrating more than 150 years of innovation with all its moody, playful, and emotional rhythmic energy.
Open Your Ears to Free Rhythm-Most western music relies on a steady measured pulse. See what happens when the metrical safety net disappears in these passionate examples of free rhythm.
Open Your Ears to Rock Music-Spanning a half-century of musical mayhem, rock genres range from Surf to Heavy Metal to Punk, Grunge and beyond. Find out what makes rock, well, rock.
Open Your Ears to Pop-What makes pop pop? While drawing from several other genres, like rock, hip-hop, country, and R & B, pop music has its own musical and cultural qualities.
Open Your Ears to the Blues-While not currently a chart-topping genre in it's own right, blues saturate the roots of rock, pop, hip-hop, R & B and nearly every popular music worldwide.
Open Your Ears to Celtic Music-With St. Patrick's Day right around the corner, isn't it about time you added some genre-bending Celtic Punk, Irish Trad, or Pirate Metal to your playlist?
Open Your Ears to Jazz-Born the streets of New Orleans, jazz grew through dance, entertainment and pop to become high art, touching nearly every popular music style on the planet.
Open Your Ears to Traditional Latin Music-From samba to salsa, Latin music is unbelievably energetic and diverse. Learn about the rhythm and instrumentals that give this music its distinct groove!
Open Your Ears: Creation Multimedia Oratorio - This Friday marks the premier of Sabrina Peña Young’s new work, ‘Creation’, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Decatur, Illinois. Open Your Ears This is the first post in a new series, “Open Your Ears”, which will highlight interesting and exciting music which will stretch your ears and expand your musical horizons. We’ve all had the […]
Open Your Ears: Musical Bridge to Burma - I recently heard about an very interesting musical event – a concert in aid of Link Emergency Aid & Development of Burma, which brings young Western composers and classical musicians together to play traditional music, and music inspired by Burma. Burma (officially now called Myanmar) is a country of about 50 million people, bordering China […]
Open Your Ears to Tuvan Throat Singing! - Believe it or not, it is possible to sing more than one note at once! Discover the Tuvan throat singing method and train your ears to understand how it's done.
Open Your Ears to the Music of Björk - Few artists are as creatively experimental as Björk, which makes her music the ideal exploration ground when stretching and improving your musical ears.
Open Your Ears to Modern Electronic Opera - When they think about opera, many folks envision Bugs Bunny wearing a Viking hat singing loudly to Wagner or remember sitting bored in a concert hall as a robust soprano belts out some serious Italian. For many reasons, opera has gotten a pretty bad rap in the last few decades. After all, how can hours […]
Open Your Ears to 60×60 - In the Open Your Ears series we cover a wide range of music: from opera to electronica, from Björk to Tuvan throat singing. (seriously, if you haven’t heard about throat singing, you’re missing out!) But if you want to have your mind blown away minute-by-minute with new music, you need to check out a 60×60 […]
Open Your Ears with an MPR Coffee Break - It’s no secret that I love The Current, one of Minnesota Public Radio (MPR)’s flagship stations. I wrote something of a love-letter blog post in support of their fund-raising drive last year, and I’m a proud supporter of the station – despite living across the other side of the world! One reason The Current so […]
Open Your Ears with a Five Song Set - The 5 Song Set podcast showcases a different musical genre or theme in every episode. Expand your musical world and improve your ears just by listening.
Open Your Ears to Acid Jazz - Have you ever come across the genre "acid jazz" and wondered just what that might be? Discover the musical elements which tie together this fascinating genre.
Open Your Ears to the Contradanza - The Cuban Contradanza is an interesting and varied musical form using latin rhythms. Learn how to understand and recognise it when you hear one performed.
Open Your Ears to Afro-Latin music - Afro-Latin music is a broad term covering a wide range of musical styles. Explore the distinctive sounds of Cuba, Brazil and Peru with these explanations.
Open Your Ears to Winter Holiday Music - Cosy up to the fireplace and enjoy this Winter Holiday 5 Song Set. Open your ears to some alternative Christmas music from these international artists. 
