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Music

John Coltrane (left) “took it further than any [other] tenor saxophone player,” says photographer Chuck Stewart.

New Photos of John Coltrane Rediscovered 50 Years After They Were Shot

During the recording of A Love Supreme in 1964, Chuck Stewart caught the jazz legend in his element

New Research

Some Totally Normal People Just Don’t Like Music That Much

While some of us find ourselves quietly crying in the middle of a Target when some dumb song comes on, others are unmoved

Jason Barnes

Cool Finds

This Prosthetic Hand Lets a Drummer Play Again

“I’ll bet a lot of metal drummers might be jealous of what I can do now,” he said. “Speed is good. Faster is always better”

New Research

Musicians Are Better Able to Identify a World-Class Orchestra by Sight Than by Sound

Allowing musicians to both hear and see an orchestra playing actually lowers their ability to tell if it’s world-class

DJ put that record on, it's everybody's favorite song.

Cool Finds

The World’s Most Sampled Song Is “Change the Beat” by Fab 5 Freddy

From Nine Inch Nails to Justin Bieber, nearly everybody has sampled this song

Dublin at twilight.

The Inside Scoop on Jury’s Irish Cabaret in Dublin, Where Blarney Met Vaudeville

Rediscover a classic Smithsonian Folkways recording of an Irish variety show that first tickled tourists in 1963

The Beatles step onto the tarmac at JFK Airport on February 7, 1964, arriving for their first performance in the U.S.

Vintage Headlines

When the Beatles Arrived in America, Reporters Ignored the Music and Obsessed Over Hair

They’d go on to change American music forever, but the press focused on the moptops

United States athletes at the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The Paris Olympics

Who Really Composed NBC’s Olympic Theme? Not Who You Think

Music for the Olympic Games has a long and complicated history—and John Williams, the Star Wars composer, is only part of it

Alise Ojay claims that a series of routine vocalizations, performed 20 minutes a day over the course of less than a month, can reduce snoring significantly.

The Cure For Snoring Is…Singing?

Choir director Alise Ojay’s vocal exercises have been shown to work throat muscles that help silence the snorer within

Conjunto masters Flaco Jiménez and Max Baca team up for an album of duets, "Legends & Legacies," out this month from Smithsonian Folkways

LISTEN: Five-Time Grammy Winner Flaco Jiménez Returns to his Tex-Mex Roots

Virtuoso 12-string bajo sexto player Max Baca talks about his long-time partner Flaco Jiménez

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Copyright Law Kept These Famous Works From Entering the Public Domain This Year

Here is a list of books, movies, music & scientific research that would have entered the public domain today had the 1978 copyright law not been passed

How Does Mistletoe Grow and Other Questions From Our Readers

Airplanes flying upside down, the earliest music and more answers from our experts

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Listen to Classic Holiday Music From Around the World

Go around the world this holiday with Smithsonian Folkways—no reindeer or sleigh required

Playing an Instrument Won’t Make Your Kid Smarter

Music can, however, boost children’s creativity and teach them important life skills such as discipline and concentration—but so can other hobbies

Baikal Ice

Siberian Musicians Used the Frozen Surface of the World’s Largest Lake as a Drum

Siberians by chance discovered that Lake Baikal’s frozen waves created an unexpectedly bright sound when one of them fell and thunked the ice with her hand

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The Totally Original Sound of St. Vincent

The singer-composer brings new sophistication to pop composition, conjuring ethereal dreamscapes from her suburban roots

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Doug Aitken is Redefining How We Experience Art

The artist uses video, music, mirrors, railroad cars, even entire buildings to create works that make every viewer a participant

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7 Epic Fails Brought to You By the Genius Mind of Thomas Edison

Despite popular belief, the inventor wasn’t the “Wiz” of everything

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Power Tools

10 Gadgets Halsey Burgund Can’t Live Without

From the software he uses to compose to the podcasts that inspire him, these tools help the Boston-based sound artist make music from everyday noises

This bronze portrait bust of German composer Richard Wagner, sculptured by artist Arno Breker, resides in Bayreuth, Germany, home of the annual festival honoring his work.

The Brilliant, Troubled Legacy of Richard Wagner

As the faithful flock to the Bayreuth Festival in his bicentennial year, the spellbinding German composer continues to fascinate, inspire and infuriate

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