Today is Kurt Cobain’s birthday. He would have been 45 years old.

A musical icon and the figurehead of the grunge counterculture, his influence stretches on into the sounds and styles of the present day. Regardless of the tragic events surrounding his untimely passing, Cobain’s influence on music endures.

Here are 10 marks left by Kurt Cobain and Nirvana upon modern music makers and bands today.

10. His influences

It may seem odd to begin a list of a person’s influence by listing their influences, but Cobain’s disparate and wide ranging tastes were both key to his song writing and the legacy it left behind.

From The Beatles to Neil Young, King Crimson, Lead Belly, Daniel Johnson, KISS and hardcore punk and beyond, Cobain created something both powerfully melodic and brutally immediate that was greater than the sum of its inspired components.

According to Jonathan Poneman, co-founder of Sub Pop, “Part of what was so captivating about Nirvana’s music was not so much its stunning originality, but its remarkable fusion of so many different strands of influence.”

9. …and influence

Or perhaps impact. Cobain is often credited with slaying the bloated beast of stadium-rock (or any of the derogatory prefixes available poodle-, cock- etc.) that Nirvana’s success signalled the death knell of.

It seemed that no longer were the likes of Guns’N’Roses and Motley Crue allowed to dominate rock with all their meaningless, arena filling bombast. Kurt Cobain’s raw emotion and the stripped back sound of Nirvana snatched back the zeitgeist.

Vernon Reif of Living Colour sees the front man as a lightning rod: “Cobain changed the course of where the music went […] There are certain people where you can see the axis of musical history twisting on them: Hendrix was pivotal, Prince was pivotal, Cobain was pivotal.”

Cobain’s influence has spread far and wide, to artists you wouldn’t necessarily expect. M.I.A., Friendly Fires, Blink 182 and Nickelback have all gone on record in the past to speak of how his music has affected their own work.

8. Making music accessible again

As mentioned above, the over-the-top stadium-rock of the 80s had become too big by the time Nirvana were ready to make their presence known. Their costumes, attitudes and music was seemingly detached not only from reality but the feelings of a whole new, downcast generation.

Nirvana smashed through the pretentiousness, leaving a huge, wrecking ball sized hole for ‘alternative’ music to climb through after them.

Whilst ‘alternative’ was hardly new, the attention and opportunities Nirvana’s success brought allowed people to reconnect with music that felt more real, intimate and relevant. It was like punk mk. II!

7. A call to arms!

One of the most powerful elements of Kurt Cobain, Nirvana and Grunge’s success was that, at least initially, the entire scene sprung up from the oft-forgotten, back water city of Seattle to conquer the world.

Suddenly, remote scenes were empowered. Teenagers were inspired to pick up a guitar, form a band and do it for themselves!

Whilst music had hardly been cleansed into a pure artistic pursuit, for people switching onto Grunge, it no longer had to be some distant, cynical career path full of gimmicks and commercialism. Cobain gave rock’n’roll its soul, bite and energy back for the disenfranchised youth of the early 90s.

Chris Cornell, the former singer for follow Seattleites Soundgarden, remembers Jonny Ramones thoughts on the city in the late 80s: “the Seattle scene was the first scene he ever came across where all the bands were friends. In the New York punk scene he grew up in, everybody was a rival.”

6. Being a great guitarist without being a great guitarist

Kurt Cobain was not a virtuoso guitarists my any means. He’d never trouble technocrat metal heads or perfectly polished exhibitionist soloists, but his playing had a sort of contagious charm and musicality that didn’t require breathtaking feats of musicianship to be great.

Cobain had power, presence and a natural ear for a song. He somehow made his blocky, heavy handedness utterly captivating, and was another way in which he opened up music for others. You no longer had to be perfect to be a lead guitarist. Expression could win the day.

5. Popularising loud-quiet dynamics like never before

As with many of these points, Cobain and Nirvana spread ideas rather than invented them.

The Pixies were arguably the band that worked the alt-rock loud/quiet contrasts to perfection, but Cobain took this simple technique to the world.

With Nirvana, this simple dynamic trick became a tidal wave with every chorus.

4. Pedal power

From fuzz distortion to chorus and wah-wah effects pedals, Nirvana brought weirdness and dirt back into the guitar sounds of the day. Things could be messy and textured rather than preened and perfect. Guitars could roar like monsters rather gently weep.

For audiences brought up on Prince and Madonna, hearing a cacophony of fizzing, biting noise coming out of your radio was fresh, new and exciting.

3. Pop sensibilities and underground bite

Cobain matched the feral energies of Nirvana in full tilt to his wit for a verse or memorable melody.

Tracks such as ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, ‘Come As You Are’, ‘Sliver’ and ‘Heart Shaped Box’ are headed up by a strong sense of melody and song writing balance.

Nirvana songs were catchy, fun and easy to hum along to, with an engrossing snarl that kicked every track into overdrive. What wasn’t there to like?

2. Legendary live shows

Once more, neither Kurt Cobain nor Nirvana invented intense live shows, but, as with their music, attitude and approach, they reminded the mainstream of what a rock gig should be like.

There were no glitter ball space ships or over-worked stage props, just a band playing their music at painful decibels to a fully committed crowd.

Take Nirvana’s now legendary appearance at Reading festival for instance:

Somehow, over thinking the design of your bassist’s dorsal cape seemed horrendously out of touch.

1. The cult of the outcast

The main reason for Kurt Cobain’s success as a musician and an icon is that large swatches people could relate to him and his music.

Danny Goldberg, manager of Sonic Youth commented on the first time he saw Nirvana live: “I was stunned how intimate the relationship was between Kurt and the audience, even with material that a lot of people didn’t know. There was something about the way he performed that made him seem like a member of the audience and being on stage at the same time.”

Cobain appeared as ‘one of them’ in the way he dressed, the songs he wrote and the things he said. Rather standing out as a figure of aspiration, he was more like a summarised vessel of their thoughts, feelings, despair and anger; at least he was to his fans.

Today, the likes of My Chemical Romance and 30 Seconds To Mars tap similar tactics, albeit rather more obviously and costumed up.

Did Nirvana influence you as a musician? Has their music ever influenced your playing? Maybe you just don’t get what the big deal is with them? As always, let us know in the comment box below!

After a turbulent 2011, the British music industry is looking ahead to a positive 2012 and according to Paul McManus, chief executive of the Music Industries Association (MIA), there is a lot to work towards in the coming months.

Two of the biggest aspects of 2012 will be regarding music education and the Live Music Bill.

For the latter, the Bill is just moments away from becoming law, as it now waits for the final stage of Royal Assent, a date of which has not yet been set.

When it becomes an Act of Parliament, small gigs will no longer be subject to the 2003 Licensing Act, meaning that more musicians, particularly those starting out, will be able to play in more venues.

Currently, venues such as pubs face huge fines if they allow live music without a licence but this could completely transform and strengthen the British music scene.

Elsewhere, the National Plan for Music Education, which was published last November, will be brought in this year.

Writing for Mi-Pro.co.uk, Mr McManus noted that the MIA has lobbied hard on the “critical importance of children continuing to have a statutory right to learn a musical instrument at school”.

Related to this, he added that 2012 will mark a huge transition as the Local Authority Music Services become new music hubs as part of the National Plan for Music Education. They will see regions apply for funding to become hubs and offer music services inside and outside of schools.

In the government’s plans it states that every child will have the opportunity to play a musical instrument and Mr McManus explained that the MIA is working closely with the Department for Education to ensure that purchasing of new instruments is being done cost-effectively.

Away from the education sphere, the exec said that the MIA will this year be working to secure government grants to help manufacturers exhibit at major overseas trade shows, support music events like Next Brit Thing and monitor US and EU law on the sourcing of woods for musical instruments.

How will the Live Music Bill effect you? Will you be able to play and attend more local gigs and shows?

What are your thoughts on the National Plan for Music Education?

Miriam Grossman Menascé headed to the musicroom facebook with a query:

“I would like to have some information about the composer I. Burnell. Our chorus is going to sing his passiontide cantata, “For us men and for our salvation”, but we don’t know anything about his life.”

We answer!

Even on the internet, information on I. Burnell was scarce. Through checking our databases, we discovered a score published in 1931 for Burnell’s Surely The Lord is In His Place, a choral piece specially written for the dedication of Bromsgrove School’s memorial chapel in the same year.

Through searching for Burnell and Bromsgrove School online, we found a page from the 1917 Bromsgrove directory on a cryptography site, The Crypto Barn. The page states that I Burnell was director of the Bromsgrove Musical Club at this time.

After contacting the webmaster for more information, we were sent the scan of another page from the directory, entitled the Bromsgrove Almanack. This page stated that I Burnell was a master at Bromsgrove School.

From here we turned our attentions to the archives of Bromsgrove School and the Bromsgrove Musical Club, latterly known as Bromsgrove Choral Society. The choral society unfortunately didn’t have any information dating back to this period as the original club disbanded before the war, with their current organisation forming in 1947.

The foundation department of Bromsgrove School did however hold records of a school master by the name of I Burnell.

Though only mentioned briefly in five pages from old copies of the Bromsgrovian Magazine, it appears that Burnell was president of the Bromsgrove Musical Society.

As president, Burnell organised and lead musical programmes, debates, readings of papers on orchestral and choral composition and lectured on the pressing musical issues of the time, including the lack of government support given to English opera. From the fifth and final source we also know that Burnell had a wife. These records from the Bromsgrove School archives date from 1916 to 1918.

This is unfortunately all the information we could gather on I. Burnell. Whilst it is far from a definitive biography of the composer, it has hopefully shed some light upon his career as a school master and musical academic.

Do you have a question for the musicroom team? Can you top our answer with yet more interesting facts? Ask or let us know in the comments box below!

On a night that saw his band pick up five Grammy awards, Foo Fighters frontman, Dave Grohl took to the podium with the ‘Best Album’ statuette in hand to say a few words.

Whilst his speech contained the usual thank yous and nods of recognition, the former Nirvana drummer also had something to say about the importance of musicianship to the audience of the 54th Grammy awards held last night in LA:

“This is a great honour, because this record was a special record for our band. Rather than go to the best studio in the world down the street in Hollywood and rather than use all of the fanciest computers that money can buy, we made this one in my garage with some microphones and a tape machine…

“To me this award means a lot because it shows that the human element of music is what’s important. Singing into a microphone and learning to play an instrument and learning to do your craft, that’s the most important thing for people to do.

“It’s not about being perfect, it’s not about sounding absolutely correct, it’s not about what goes on in a computer. It’s about what goes on in here [your heart] and what goes on in here [your head].”

How important is being able to play an instrument to you? Do you appreciate music more knowing the technique, dedication and hard work required to write and perform songs? Are you a digital performer or producer who feels that your skills and musicianmanship is all too often over looked?

On Saturday 11 February 2012, Whitney Houston passed away in Beverley Hills, Los Angeles. She was ‘the voice’ of the 20^th century and a true global singing superstar, leaveing behind a legacy of incredible vocal performances and timeless pop hits.

The tragic sense of a one-off talent who lost her way will forever linger around Houston’s life, but her career featured some undoubted highlights, with her incredible voice catapulting the New Jersey born diva to the very top.

Many of Whitney Houston’s songs are now popular classics, and her singing will continue to inspire and amaze for years to come. Here are five of her greatest tracks to remember Whitney at her very best.

Didn’t We Almost Have It All

I Wanna Dace With Somebody

Saving All My Love For You

Greatest Love Of All

I Will Always Love You

How will you remember Whitney Houston? What is your favorite song to sing by the Bodyguard icon? Have you ever sung a Whitney Houston song? Let us know in the comment box below.

Whitney Houston: Greatest Hits is available from musicroom.com

She will perform for the first time since going under the knife at the Grammys.

Adele has spoken out about her painful voice problems and subsequent surgery days before her comeback performance this weekend.

The British singer had to have vocal chord microsurgery last November in the US after suffering a haemorrhage in her throat from excess strain.

In an interview with CBS programme 60 Minutes, she described the moment when she knew something was wrong during a performance on French radio.

“It felt like someone put a curtain over my throat,” she said. “It felt like something popped in my throat.”

Adele first suffered from hoarseness last May and was forced to cancel some concert dates as she rested her voice.

Only her problems returned in October and the singer was this time forced to cancel all of her US tour dates.

She tweeted an apology to her fans at the time by posting a picture of herself with a notepad that she had to use in order not to speak.

The timing of her vocal strain has not been good. Her second album 21 was becoming the biggest-selling album of the year in the UK and the US.

Indeed, the album has now broken records for staying at number one for the most cumulative weeks and Adele has become the first woman to have two singles and two albums in the UK’s top five at the same time.

Ahead of her first performance at the Grammy Awards this weekend (February 12th), Adele will no doubt be taking plenty of time to warm up her voice and use the right muscles to avoid straining.

However, in true Adele style, she had other things on her mind during her singing ban. She told the programme that she found it infuriating not being able to swear, so she managed to find an app that read aloud her expletives.

Not only will she be singing on Sunday, but Adele is up for six Grammy Awards.

Hip-hop stars like Jay-Z are of much influence among today’s plaintive singer-songwriters as Bob Dylan, one commentator has suggested.

Noticing the rise of Lana Del Rey and British stars Ed Sheeran, Emeli Sande and Michael Kiwanuka, Neil McCormick wrote an article in the Telegraph about how they have taken deep and introspective ballads and given them an urban twist.

Ed, who has been nominated for four Brit Awards thanks to his debut album +, told the Telegraph that he writes lyrics in rap form and then puts a melody to them.

“I’ve always really been into hip hop. Growing up, Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur satisfied my thirst for lyrics,” he explained.

“I like the way they put words together, and then if you can mix it with melodies, you get something really special. Plan B does it, so does Jason Mraz; you can hear it coming through.”

Ben Drew, also known as Plan B, started his career as a rapper who played acoustic guitar before his second album The Defamation of Strickland Banks turned him into a hip-hop soul singer.

Lana Del Rey, too, has cited hip-hop as inspiration for her music. She has been described as a ‘gangsta Nancy Sinatra’.

“The hip-hop world has crossed over into all of the world, and it crossed over into mine too,” she was cited by the Telegraph as saying.

McCormick noted that by incorporating hip-hop into traditional song forms, music is coming “from the inside out, emerging through a natural affinity with the genre rather than being artificially grafted on in pursuit of a gimmick”.

However, he also noted that rappers like Drake have also been pushing hip-hop towards more introverted subjects that are usually the realm of ‘me and my guitar’ singer-songwriters or they have collaborated with these types of musicians.

“It is a reflection of a general blurring of boundaries in the internet generation,” he claimed.

The Beach Boys are to make their comeback in style this weekend (February 12th), two decades after their last appearance together.

Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, and David Marks will perform live at the Grammy Awards in front of millions of people from all over the world.

It has not been revealed what they will play, but the iconic Californian band will be joined on stage by two Grammy nominees, Foster The People and Maroon 5.

While the band have not played live in years, last year saw the release of a remastered album featuring previously unheard tracks.

The Smile Sessions includes a verson of the album Smile, which was record in 1966 and 1967 but only released in 2004, and session highlights and outtakes.

Smile was, until its release, regarded as one of the most famous unreleased albums of all time.

Grammy.com also announced further additions to the show line-up, including an exciting collaboration between Foo Fighters and Dadmau5, singing a remixed version of Rope, while David Guetta will perform with Chris Brown and Lil Wayne.

Also making a kind of comeback at the show will be Adele, who has not performed live since undergoing vocal cord surgery last year. She is also up for a string of awards.

Her album 21 is up for Album Of The Year and Rolling in the Deep is a contender for Record of the Year. She also has a nomination for Best Solo Pop Performance.

Kelly Clarkson, Tony Bennett, Coldplay and Rihanna and Sir Paul McCartney are also set to perform along with many others and an even bigger list of presenters from the world of music.

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl recently told the Associated Press that he is glad to be competing with Adele in six categories including Best Album.

“It means we’ve done something right. I think she gives us all hope,” he said.

Happy birthday to John Williams! The veteran film score composer is 80 today, and to mark the occasion, we’ve compiled a list of 10 vital pieces for players wanting to explore his long and varied career in Hollywood for themselves.

The suggestions below are not instrument specific but since many of his greatest pieces are written for orchestras and large ensembles, players shouldn’t struggle to find a solo or smaller scale arrangement to fit their requirements. Some players may even discover the inspiration for an epic cinematic jam along of their own design.

First up, Jaws…

Melodically, Jaws’ main theme may be dominated by those two ominous notes, E and F, sawing away at your nerves, but the building, stabbing tension that slowly bubbles up around that simple yet effective motif feels great to play on instruments in the mid to lower registers.

Whilst pianists, cellists and their ilk can enjoy cranking up the anxiety from the depths, players in the treble clef can enjoy sharp stattacco and weaving melody lines that drive home the terror, uncertainty and confusion of Spielberg’s psychological shark thriller masterpiece.

The Imperial March from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

In comparison to the stressed out, flinching scare tactics of the Jaws main theme, The Imperial March is far more fluid and grandiose, with a memorable main melody motif reinforced by every section of the arrangement.

Recreating the bombast of The Imperial March for yourself is a lot of fun, and feels immediately epic and atmospheric, from the marching bass lines to the fanfare, soaring highs.

Lumos from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

There’s an almost whimsical feel to the drip-drop bass and woodwind lead of Lumos; a piece that takes us on from the full and heavy footed thrillers mentioned above.

With its almost spooky, main melody and floating, breathy accompaniment, Lumos is all about expression, demanding an eerie and delicate treatment from players in order to reproduce the theme’s mystical feel.

Minority Report – Sean’s Theme

Sean’s Theme is a track rich with emotion and nuance, conveying the jarring mixture of grief, guilt and warmly remembered memories of a lost son felt by the film’s protagonist, John Anderson. For the score to 2002’s Minority Report, Williams took inspiration from the work of Psycho composer, Bernard Hermann, and the soundtracks of film noir.

The piece is full of interesting melodic nuances and harmonic contrasts as the character’s emotions and thoughts flow and conflict through the music. Whilst written for piano, other instrumentalists can find space and purpose within but to the theme’s rich contrasts and layers.

Theme from Schindler’s List

It must be said first and foremost that the theme to Schindler’s List is not one for beginner pianists or violinists, and is rated as a grade eight standard piece.

Players comfortable with such difficulty levels however, will discover a tempered and gentle piece, reliant on a subtle, underlying sense of humanity and tragedy to accompany this unforgettable film.

Theme to the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic games

To many, John Williams’ Olympic opening ceremony composition is the definitive theme to not only the 1984 games in Los Angeles, but the Olympics itself.

Whilst obviously written for a full orchestra, amateur ensembles and soloists can enjoy picking out highlights to play from Williams’ regal sporting theme due too.

Theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark

The theme to Raiders is another big John Williams arrangement, and perhaps the greatest example of a swashbuckling action score from his vast body of work.

With its highly memorable leading motif, excitable, driving momentum and engrossing sense of frontier adventure, Raiders of the Lost Ark will have you bobbing along as you play.

Theme to Catch Me If You Can

The theme to Catch Me If You Can is something of a departure on out list considering what has gone before it. Its jazz inspired could well shock listeners who have tended towards the large scale action adventure soundtracks that John Williams is perhaps most famous for. In many ways, it harks back to the composer’s early works within 60s cinema.

The main theme to Catch Me If You Can is a lively, jostling piece to enjoy as a listener or player, full of intricate contrasts and shifts to keep you on your toes.

Theme to Jurassic Park

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6q0mVhms1I

Another iconic theme from John Williams, Jurassic Park captures the majesty and size of the film’s CGI dinosaurs with this stately, full orchestral score.

As with many of Williams’ large scale pieces, there is a real sense of gravitas and weight to the music, making Jurassic Park a fulfilling piece to play and enjoy.

Theme to E.T.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPhE1XZXw3s

The main theme from E.T. is unmistakable, and one the best loved themes created by John Williams. It is at once suspenseful and climatic yet playful and calm with a main melody that sweeps you up off your feet every time.

As with all of the legendary composer’s blockbuster scores, it’s an engrossing and powerful piece to play full of emotion and imagery that sucks you right into musical narrative Williams masterfully conveys.

Discover John Williams in printed sheet music at musicroom.com! From woodwind guest spots to full band scores – lose yourself in the works of one of cinema’s all-time greats.

What’s your favorite John Williams theme? Are you a dedicated player of his music or just curious about giving it a try? What we to hear from you!

Fresh from organising a huge concert in aid of Children in Need, Gary Barlow has announced the initial line-up of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Concert, which he is also helping to organise.

Veteran British pop royalty Dame Shirley Bassey, Sir Elton John and Sir Paul McCartney are all set to perform on June 4th, while new rising stars like Ed Sheeran will appeal to the younger audiences.

Unlike the Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002 which saw the Prom at the Palace and Party at the Palace take place in the gardens of Buckingham Palace, this concert will be held in front of the palace, using the Queen Victoria Memorial as part of the stage.

The change of venue means that hundreds of thousands more people will be able to watch the gig, which celebrates the Queen’s 60 years on the throne.

What’s more, 10,000 free tickets are to be delivered via a national ballot. Applications are open unitl March 2nd and they will be allocated according to regional populations.

As well as the legendary Elton John, other acts secured by Barlow include classical music from Alfie Boe and pianist Lang Lang, jazz from Jools Holland, 80s pop from Annie Lennox and Madness, and contemporary pop from the likes of Jessie J and JLS.

More acts will be announced over the coming months but Barlow did not confirm if Take That would make an appearance.

He promised it will be one of the “biggest and most exciting live music shows in recent years”.

“With Buckingham Palace as a backdrop, it’s going to be a fantastic event which transcends multiple decades of music,” he added. “It’ll be a great, unique, experience for the thousands attending, watching on TV and listening on Radio. I can’t wait!”

The concert will be broadcast live on the BBC.

This year marks the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic and more than 400 children in Cumbria are using the disaster as musical inspiration.

They will lend their talents for a new commission by Composer David Bedford, to be premiered at a concert in Carlisle on April 16th.

Called The Wreck of the Titanic, the work is a choral and instrumental interpretation of the disaster which killed 1,503 people on April 15th 1912.

Children from the Cumbria Youth Orchestra will perform at the concert, as well as primary school children starting out in their musical instrument tuition, the News and Star reported.

Other performers include established youth choruses from across Cumbria, children’s choirs, a music technology group from Whitehaven and Sing Up! platinum award winners. They will perform alongside professional musicians as part of Cumbria council’s learning support services.

Cumbria’s talented young musicians will then take their talents across the country to perform the piece.

More than 100 schools in the county are set to get involved in the project, which also includes a silent film, inspired by lost footage from the liner, made by children and families from Maryport.

Maryport was the home of the Ismay family who owned the White Star Line, the Titanic’s operators. The ship’s chief engineer and chief steward also hailed from the area, giving Cumbria close ties to the vessel.

One of the famous stories of the Titanic was that of the ship’s band who reportedly continued to perform on deck to entertain first class passengers waiting to climb into lifeboats. A band will be recreated by eight members of the Lancashire Sinfonietta orchestra to recognise the story.

David Bedford was commissioned to write the work in 2010 and it reflects the north-west’s Titanic heritage. His inspiration also came from newspaper reports and music from the era.

Ed Sheeran has been confirmed as a performer at the inaugural BBC Radio 1′s Hackney Weekend 2012.

He will play on either June 23rd or 24th in front of 100,000 people on Hackney Marshes in London.

Other recently-confirmed acts set to perform at the event include Jessie J and Professor Green, who described Hackney as “home”.

“Hackney is a great place, so events like this and the Olympics will help showcase the borough in a positive light,” he told the BBC.

“It’s going to be an amazing weekend and I’m delighted to be a part of it.”

The event is part of the BBC’s celebrations of the London Olympics, which take place one month later.

Jason Carter, Radio 1′s event director for 2012, added: “This is a concert in the heart of east London and we will use it as an opportunity to shine a light on and celebrate the young people of east London too.”

Tickets will largely be allocated to people living in Hackney and its surrounding areas, with registration opening today (February 6th) until March 19th. Successful applicants, who have also uploaded a photograph as part of their ticket, will be notified at a later date on whether they have a ticket or not.

More acts are set to be announced over the coming months, although it was also revealed that Chase & Status, David Guetta, Dappy, Will.i.am, Labrinth, Jack White and Emeli Sande will all be at the event.

They will perform across six stages and Hackney Marshes will have more than double the capacity of the radio station’s regular Big Weekends events.

Lana del Rey, who is currently at number one with her debut album Born to Die, will also perform to the crowds.

It has already been confirmed that Leona Lewis, Plan B, Florence & The Machine, and Tinie Tempah will make an appearance.

The BBC also has Elbow lined up to record the music for the broadcaster’s coverage of the London Olympics.

How low can you go? What’s the deepest note you can sing? Can your range stretch almost three octaves below middle C?

Maybe you’re a maverick basso profondo of the Russian Orthodox tradition, or somehow blessed with bass guitar strings for vocal cords? If so, Paul Mealor is looking for you!

The composer, whose music for the Christmas mumber 1 Wherever You Are and Royal Wedding captured the nation’s imagination, wants to break the record for the lowest note sung in a choral piece. The current holder is the ground-shaking B Flat from Rachmaninov’s Vespers.

Whilst some early online detractors have claimed his search to be a gimmick, Mealor’s intentions are purely artistic, with the composer explaining:

“My setting of De Profundis calls for a rich and powerful voice; a voice that can not only touch the heart with its sincerity and truth, but also make every fabric of the human body resonate as it plunges into the very lowest parts of the vocal spectrum,”

The record for the lowest note by a human is an incredibly low F Flat, produced by Roger Menees, an American coach driver, in 2010. His feat came through a focused effort to reach such lows; hitting such depths in a normal singing performance is thought to be impossible.

Basso profondo singers are able to produce some of the lowest singing performances on Earth, but even they may struggle to answer Paul Mealor’s call.

If you think you could be the singer Mealor is looking for, or fancy finding out just how low a low E is, pick up a bass guitar in standard tuning and try to hit the same note as its thickest string played open. Are you able to make the impossible, possible?

Check out Paul Mealor at musicroom.com

Click this link if you wish to submit an .mp3 audition of yourself singing a low E.

What’s the lowest note you can reach? Do such deep sings add anything to the feel of the music for you?

Six major commissions have been announced to mark the centenary of the birth of Benjamin Britten, one of the UK’s best-loved composers.

They will be premiered in 2013 and will also mark the bicentenary of the Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS).

Work will be written for different ensembles which, according to the Britten-Pears Foundation (BPF), reflect the range of Britten’s output.

“Britten himself was a keen champion of new music, and would surely approve of us working with the RPS to celebrate his centenary, and their bicentenary, with new works from such outstanding contemporary composers,” commented Richard Jarman, general director of the BPF.

Composers commissioned for the project include Wolfgang Rihm for symphony orchestra and Judieth Weir for chamber orchestra.

Magnus Lindberg will write for ensemble and speaking of Britten, he said of his admiration for the “clarity of his scoring and the amazing range of his output”.

“He also had an innate sense of drama, and I hear this just as much in his instrumental music as in his operas,” the composer added. “His legacy continues to be important for living composers and contemporary music in general.”

Per Norgard will compose a work for string quartet and Harrison Birtwistle for tenor and piano, using the words of poet David Harsent.

Last but not least, Richard Rodney Bennett has been commissioned to write a song cycle for children.

Leading orchestras from across the UK will be part of the premieres, including the Halle Orchestra and Britten Sinfonia.

Meanwhile, the RPS will mark its special anniversary with a series of concerts and special events.

The organisation is not unfamiliar with commissioning new work. In the past it has supported composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn and since its foundation in 1813 over 130 new works have been commissioned by or dedicated to the RPS.

Bjork is to become a music teacher for a short while this month in her latest experiment.

She will take up a three-week residency at the New York Hall of Science involving interactive science and music workshops for middle school children in the local area.

At the same time, she will bring her Biophilia show to the venue for ten nights and four performances at the Roseland Ballroom.

The idea has come about from her latest album, Biophilia. On its release last year, Bjork launched an iTunes app that allowed users to play with the components of the music, and she will take the project to school children as a new way of thinking about and accessing music.

According to the event organisers, the workshops will help students study the “scientific concepts at the core of Biophilia’s songs, including crystalline structures, lunar phases, viruses, and more”.

Children will also use the app as a tool for music composition and learn how musicology relates to nature.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Bjork said that the concept stems from her dream to open up a music school and revealed she is “a frustrated music teacher”.

“The whole idea is to take music education out of a bookish, academic thing and into a more physical, tactile experience,” she explained.

If it is successful, Bjork could take her project to other cities around the world. Indeed, after introducing it to schools in Reykjavik, Iceland, the city chose to implement the Biophilia educational project in the school curriculum for the next three years.

It first premiered in the UK during the Manchester International Festival last year and a version of the programme will tour major European festivals this year, including Roskilde, Oyez, and the iTunes Festival in London.

Bjork’s Biophilia show will be an audio-visual experience and use a series of unique musical instruments, including four ten-foot pendulum-harps, a MIDI-controlled pipe organ celeste with gamelan bars, and twin musical Tesla coils. A 24-piece Icelandic female choir will also take part.

Sir Paul McCartney may have hinted that he is to write music for computer games.

Speaking to German newspaper Die Zeit, the Beatles legend showed his excitement at collaborating on a video game and suggested that it is more lucrative than releasing music on its own.

He also claimed that video game music would provide a new platform for younger people to listen to his music.

“It’s a fascinating market,” he told the news provider.

“A new computer game sells so much better than a new CD these days. Young people will hear my music for the first time in a game.”

The singer releases a new album, titled Kisses On The Bottom, on February 6th, but it is the type of album that isn’t likely to reach younger generations.

McCartney is not entirely unfamiliar to the video game format. He and Ringo Starr had their likenesses created for the computer game The Beatles: Rock Band back in 2010.

He could also reach out to younger music fans if he performs at the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony, although nothing has yet been confirmed about the Danny Boyle-directed event.

Recording music for video games has become a popular foray for many artists, particularly with the rise of the games console. Pharrell Williams, whose music can be heard on True Crime, told Billboard that the platform is “a new means of expression for us”.

“We get to do what we want in all of our splendour,” he added. “We have no boundaries, it’s fun across the board. [To Activision Games], we’re providing the music, in our minds they’re providing the visuals, so it’s like a perfect marriage.”

Eminem’s Recovery was used in Call Of Duty: Black Ops, while the Rock Band and Guitar Hero series help sales of the original music used in the games.

A cello made by Antonio Stradivari has sold at auction for a record price.

The instrument, which was made in 1707, once belonged to the Italian composer and musician Nicolo Paganini. Although a price was not disclosed, the New York Times reported that the sale exceeded the previous record held for a Stradivari cello of $6 million (£3.8 million).

Indeed, rare-instrument dealer Christopher Reuning – who handled the sale – told the news provider that the cello sold for “a fair bit above” the bid price of $6 million.

Most recently, the instrument, nicknamed the Countess of Stainlein, was owned by Bernard Greenhouse from the Beaux Arts Trio, who until his death last year played the instrument for 50 years.

According to Reuning Private Sales, the cello is associated with the Countess but it is more likely that it was acquired by the Count Louis Charles Georges Corneille de Stainlein, a renowned amateur cellist. The Countess was not thought to have played an instrument, but did correspond with composers including Franz Liszt. She held the cello in her possession until her death in 1908.

The auctioneer described that the instrument represents a “pivotal moment” in Stradivari’s quest to refine and perfect the cello.

The name of the buyer was undisclosed, but Mr Reuning confirmed that it had gone to a “patroness of the arts from Montreal”.

Eighteen-year-old Montreal player Stephane Tetreault has been lent the cello by the patroness to help with his music career, abiding with Mr Greenhouse’s family’s wishes to sell the cello to a deserving musician.

He is due to play the Dvorak Cello Concerto with the Orchestre Metropolitain of Montreal later this year with the instrument.

While the quality and value of a Stradivarius is well-known, recent research from the University of Paris suggests that many people cannot tell the difference between a multi-million pound violin and one that was made last week.

When played blindfolded, musicians were asked to rank three modern instruments and three by Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesu, with the new instruments winning in terms of playing quality.

Ed Sheeran has returned to number one in the UK Albums Chart with his debut album +, knocking Adele off the top spot.

The album has been in the charts for 20 weeks and at its time of release it became the fastest-selling digital debut album in chart history, going on to become one of the biggest-selling albums of 2011.

However, Ed’s victory comes in a week where had Adele stayed at number one, her album 21 would have been celebrating its first anniversary in the top spot.

Instead, she has dropped to number three, with Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto rising to the number two spot.

There were just 1,200 copies separating all three chart positions, however, so Adele was not far from the top spot.

Ed Sheeran is expected to have a good 2012, with a nomination as best male solo artist, breakthrough act and British album at the Brit Awards.

This week’s top five is made up of albums that were released in 2011, suggesting either that last year saw some good album releases or that January has been a disappointing month for new albums.

Bruno Mars’ Doo-Wops & Hooligans and Stereo Typical by Rissle Kicks make up the top five.

Chris Isaak’s Beyond the Sun, an album that includes covers by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and others, was the highest-placed new entry at number six.

British singer Seal saw sales of his album Soul 2, climb 51 places to number 17.

Next weekend (February 5th) could see a change in tides in the Official Albums Chart with the hotly-anticipated release of Born to Die by Lana Del Rey.

The US singer, who became famous after her song Video Games was a YouTube sensation, has been making headlines for weeks now and her debut album is finally available to buy.

Lana, whose real name is Elizabeth Grant, has been described as a ‘gangsta Nancy Sinatra’ and her debut is expected to soar to the top of the charts.

Talent show mogul Simon Cowell has announced that he is to start a search for the world’s greatest DJs in a brand new show.

Plans have been in the pipeline for over a year and will see Cowell’s company Syco Entertainment partner with Sony Pictures and Overbrook Entertainment, the firm owned by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith.

According to the companies, the show will capture the “incredible rise of the DJ phenomena” and will likely be broadcast in the UK and the US.

“DJ’s are the new rock stars, it feels like the right time to make this show,” Cowell said.

Stepping away from the conventional X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent format, the show will instead be based on a new live, international TV format.

“This show will comb the world to find a new breed of talent,” Jada Pinkett-Smith added.

The news comes after Cowell admitted that he had taken the wrong step last year. He left the X Factor in the capable hands of an almost-new judging panel in the UK while he launched the format in the US and only came to the Britain’s Got Talent panel for the live shows.

His departure led to a ratings fall for both shows and even in the US the new X Factor USA did not achieve the same audience level as American Idol.

Cowell told The Sun recently that he had “got a bit too cocky” and that the ratings fall was a “big wake-up call”.

Therefore, he will be returning to the judging panel for Britain’s Got Talent and has already been seen at the first auditions. He will not, however, be a judge on the new DJ talent show, as confirmed on his Twitter account last week. This could be because he has too many commitments or because DJ mixing is not his speciality.

Kylie Minogue is to re-record her most popular hits this year as she marks her 25th year in showbusiness.

She has recorded acoustic versions of her fan’s favourite tracks at London’s famous Abbey Road studios, accompanied by a 24-piece orchestra.

The first track was released yesterday (January 25th) on the Kylie.com website. The singer asked her fans to ‘tweet to unlock’ a video of her performing Finer Feelings, which led to 25,000 people using the k25fans hashtag to view the track.

It led to Kylie becoming the number one trending topic in the UK within minutes of the announcement.

All of the tracks have already been recorded and were produced by Kylie’s long-term partners Steve Anderson and Colin Elliot, as well as the Aphrodite Band and four backing vocalists.

Kylie has not announced what songs she will re-release through the year, but it is likely that they will include her number ones.

Her debut single, Locomotion, was released in 1987 after she left her role as Charlene Mitchell in the Australian soap Neighbours. It spent seven weeks at number one in Australia and reached number two in the UK. The song then went on to become the highest-selling single of the decade in her native country.

In the UK, the pint-sized pop princess has had number ones with I Should be so Lucky, Tears on my Pillow, Spinning Around, Can’t Get You Out of my Head and Slow.

Some of the new acoustic versions are rumoured to include lesser-known tracks too. Finer Feelings was released in 1992 and reached number 11 in the UK chart.

Despite turning 43 years-old and being made an OBE in 2008, Kylie shows no signs of stopping. She released her album Aphrodite in 2010 and has been on a world tour.

She has also announced that, for the first time in 14 years, she will be performing at Sydney’s Mardi Gras this year, a gay, lesbian and transgender event as guest of honour on a special float in the parade.

Alberto Iglesias has been nominated for the Oscar for best soundtrack for his incredible score to 2011’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. This is the Spanish director’s third nomination following The Constant Gardner in 2005 and The Kite Runner in 2007.

The tense and brooding atmosphere of Iglesias’ work has been applauded both for how it compliments the film’s visuals and on their musical merit as a stunning collection of engrossing cues.

Online, listeners report it to be the perfect accompaniment to reading the original John le Carré novel, the inspiration behind the summer’s hit spy thriller and the preceding TV series of the same name.

Critics have been enamored by Iglesias’ reworking of classic suspense cinema tropes, freshened up with his own modern twists: you can hear the knife-edge pursuit music of the 1970s and the smoldering tension of film noir.

With his tactile usage of unnerving dissonance and breathless changes of pace, Iglesias has captured the dramatic and bleak essence of cold war espionage and intrigue in this claustrophobic and visceral score.

Alberto also provided the soundtrack to  The Skin I Live by Pedro Almodovar, which has also been nominated for Best Film Not In the English Language by BAFTA.

You can purchase the official piano solo book to the Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy soundtrack at musicroom.com

Did you watch Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy in the cinema? How did Alberto Iglesias’ score add to your experience?

John Adams Live In Musicroom

It was a rainy, dreary December day in Portsmouth, just two days before Christmas.  Hoards of shoppers, desperately dashed through the rain, in hopes of finding those last-minute Christmas presents. Suddenly, ball of sunshine in the form of X-Factor’s John Adams, and a rather soggy entourage of guitarist/bass player Tom Kent, photographer Giles Babbidge, friends, and hoard of teenagers followed him in off the streets, and burst into Musicroom Portsmouth! 

John, with the help of Tom, had embarked on a busking tour ( sponsored by our friends JHS ) of the UK to promote his single ‘Nowhere To Hide’, which is available through iTunes and we here at Musicroom Portsmouth, were fortunate enough to be part of his first tour.

Once John had warmed his vocal chords with a good ol’ cup of tea, (made by yours truly), out came this beautiful, haunting voice which could surely melt even the iciest of hearts.  He serenaded the crowd that had gathered with a medley of popular songs and requests from the audience. To their delight, he included  ‘Cannonball’ by folk singer, Damien Rice, the song which got him noticed by Gary Barlow on The X-Factor and through to Boot camp.  Like a true gentleman, he posed for photos with fans, answered their question and signed autographs, all while flashing that shy, genuine and rather white smile of his.

With his time in the shop sadly coming to an end, I’m left with a warm feeling that John Adams is a born performer, whose smile has the ability to blind and whose voice has the ability to pierce the heart.

Words by Latifa Walker

Photography by Giles Babbidge: Website www.gilesbabbidge.co.uk

John Adam Offcial Website: www.johnadamsmusic.co.uk

Guests staying at London’s Savoy and other Fairmont-owned hotels are being given the rare opportunity to record at Abbey Road, the studios made famous by the Beatles.

Through a deal between EMI, which owns the building, and Farimont, guests will be allocated a producer and session musician to help them record their very own track, the Independent reported.

It is hoped that the partnership will help support the future of Abbey Road in St John’s Wood, which is facing closure and possible sale to developers.

Beatles fans have championed the idea of making Studio Two into a museum, but the studio, which is now 80-years-old, does not have the funds.

Despite this, music is still recorded there by artists including Kylie Minogue and Elbow.

Speaking to the news provider, Kerin McDonald, head of brand & marketing at Abbey Road Studios, said that 60 chosen guests a year will “have access to the famous studios and be given help to record their song with vocal coaches and session musicians. They’ll get a CD of their recording as a souvenir”.

They will also be given a tour of the landmark, while corporation days could also be held there, giving up to 100 staff musical tuition and performance advice before recording a song.

In return, Fairmont will pay for the studio lounges to be refurbished.

While Abbey Road was made famous by the Beatles, who named an album after the studios, it was also where Pink Floyd, The Shadows and Oasis recorded music. It was where the film scores for Star Wars and Harry Potter were set down and Edward Elgar was the first composer to have his music performed there.

As part of Abbey Road’s anniversary celebrations, public tours are to be held later this year, with vintage music instruments and equipment on display, and a series of talks will be held about the history of recording music there.

Keyboard players and pianists now need only an iPad to play their favorite songs along to real band accompaniments.

As usual, technology is leading the way for hobby musicians who want to expand their playing experience with NoteStar: a brand new and free app that gives keyboardists the power to summon their own backing band at will.

Whilst the hobby guitarist can head off at will with their six-string in hand, the keyboard player is often more limited in their mobility, making casual jamming and band practice with others a chore. Now, with professionally recorded backing tracks and vocals synchronized to the hands-free sheet music on-screen, the band experience can instead be brought to the keyboards.

Another problem often faced by players who do manage to find transport over to practice, is the band politics and power dynamics of the jam room. From the struggle for supremacy between lead guitarists and singers, to unstoppable sax soloists and the bassist intent on pushing their own arrangement upon the ensemble, keyboardists either find themselves shunted to the margins looking for the quiet life or drafted into the role of group diplomat. Of course, if you take away the musicians, you take away the arguments, giving full control to the musician behind the keys, distraction free.

With playback options that include A-B looping, track muting, metronome toggle, adjustable tempo, and managable individual track levels and transposition control, the keyboard player can tailor the accompaniment to their needs and preferences. The app, as you’d expect, displays in both portrait and landscape orientations, and features resizable and scalable text and sheet music size for easy reading.

There are already 200 songs available to purchase through the app at £2.49 each. The catalogue features chart-topping hits and classic favorites, specially selected for keyboard players with 20 new tracks added each month.

NoteStar is available now for free on the Apple app store for all iPad owning keyboard players. Check out the demonstration video below:

US soul legend Etta James has died at the age of 73.

She was diagnosed with leukaemia and passed away from complications relating to the cancer.

Perhaps best known for singing At Last, I’d Rather go Blind and Tell Mama, James only just released her final album, The Dreamer, in November last year.

However, she announced that the critically acclaimed album would be her last and it was revealed that she had chronic leukaemia and hepatitis C.

Since news of her death came last Friday (January 20th), floods of tributes have come in for the singer, who inspired many female artists.

Beyonce, who portrayed James in the 2008 film Cadillac Records, said on her official website: “This is a huge loss. Etta James was one of the greatest vocalists of our time. I am so fortunate to have met such a queen. Her musical contributions will last a lifetime.

“Playing Etta James taught me so much about myself, and singing her music inspired me to be a stronger artist. When she effortlessly opened her mouth, you could hear her pain and triumph. Her deeply emotional way of delivering a song told her story with no filter.”

Beyonce famously sang a version of At Last at the inauguration of President Obama in 2008.

Other artists to offer their tributes include Aretha Franklin, who said that James was “one of the great soul singers of our generation. An American original!”.

Pop star Pink also wrote on Twitter of how James had inspired her and others.

During her career, James released her first, somewhat controversial, album At Last! in 1961, before facing personal addiction problems. She made a comeback in the late 1980s and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

She is listed as number 22 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Rihanna has announced that she will sing a duet with Coldplay at next month’s Grammy Awards.

She appears on the band’s latest album, Mylo Xyloto, on the track Princess of China and they will perform the song at the show on February 12th.

It will be the first time they will have performed together away from the recording studio and after the Grammys confirmed the news, Rihanna took to her Twitter account to say: “#RihannaNavy My friends@ColdPlay and I will be sharing the stage for a performance at this years Annual Grammy Awards! #BONKERS.”

She later tweeted that she has racked up more than two billion views across the clips on her official YouTube channel, beating Lady Gaga to become the most watched female artist on the video sharing site.

Coldplay revealed that the band had asked Rihanna to join them on their album last year. Speaking to BBC Radio 1 in October Chris Martin defended the slightly unusual collaboration.

“Don’t you think that music now shouldn’t fall into a particular box? I don’t think anyone thinks like that any more,” he said.

Other artists confirmed to be singing at the event include Paul McCartney, Kelly Clarkson, Foo Fighters, Bruno Mars, Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift.

Rumour has it that Adele might also perform at the show.

LL Cool J will host the Grammys, the first time in seven years that the awards will have an official host.

Both Coldplay and Rihanna are nominated at the awards, although they won’t be competing against each other.

Rihanna has four nominations for best album and pop vocal album for Loud; and best rap/sung collaboration for What’s My Name with Drake and All of the Lights with Kanye West, Kid Cudi & Fergie.

Coldplay, meanwhile, have three nominations for best pop duo/group performance for Paradise; and best rock performance and best rock song for Every Teardrop is a Waterfall.

Singers and choral music lovers have less than two weeks left to become a voice in Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir 3 – the composer’s most ambitious online collective singing project so far.

The 31 January deadline looms large for those wishing to submit their webcam sings of Whitacre’s 1995 a cappella composition, Water Night, available now at musicroom.com.

Following on from his previous two web based mega-choirs, Virtual Choir 3 promises to take the concept further than ever, pushing the envelope for online musical collaboration and the technology behind it.

From an initial 182 voices singing Lux Aurumque in Virtual Choir 1.0, to an incredible 2052 strong rendition of Sleep in its second iteration, Whitacre’s ever-expanding vision for the project, and the fantastic response from the singing public, has seen it grow and progress beyond expectation.

With Water Night, for the first time ever, the online choral phenomenon is expanding into the physical realm too. The finished performance video will be premiered both online and off using video sites and real world installations. In Eric’s own words:

“The final film will exist not only as a beautiful online video but also as a powerful audio-visual art exhibit, placed in cities around the world. Visitors to these installations will get the chance to literally walk through our Virtual Choir, a deeply immersive experience using surround sound and panoramic video, tailored for each venue.

Imagine someone standing in the middle of the Virtual Choir as we sing the line “if you open your eyes”!

The initial inspiration for the Virtual Choir came from one of Eric’s fans, Britlin Losee, who sent the composer a YouTube clip of her singing the soprano line to his choral work, Sleep. Touched by the video, Eric was moved to explore the possibilities of mass musical performance over the web, blazing a trail for online musical innovation and collaboration in choral music.

The Virtual Choir is a modern testament to the awesome power of music and people amplified through the internet; an empowered public coming together to create and share in a beautiful idea that brings people of all backgrounds together to stop, think and enjoy.

Have you taken part in any of Eric’s online Virtual Choirs? Will you be singing for the Virtual Choir 3? Have you ever taken part in your own or similar online musical collaborations? Leave your stories and experiences in the comments box below!

Discover Water Night, Lux Aurumque and Sleep, along with Eric’s other fantastic works at musicroom.com