guidelines for byLine Item contributors—musical instrument of the week
Submit Your musical instrument of the
week write-up Now
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feature description
Each week The Muse Of Music briefly examines the
cultural, historic, and emotional impact of a different
class or type of musical instrument or of aggregation of musical instruments.
suggestions
The Muse Of Music is asking you to create and
submit an original write-up that covers the whos, whats, whens,
wheres, or whys of a specific class or type of musical
instrument or of an aggregation of musical instruments. An aggregation of
musical instruments might be a swing band, a section of a classical
orchestra, or a gamelan orchestra.
The
Muse hopes that describing a musical instrument of your choice for
Electricka's visitors to see will prove
to be easy, gratifying, pleasant, and rewarding, whether or not you build
instruments, play an instrument, sing, or just love to hear music. (Of
course, the human voice is considered a musical instrument.)
Below are a few suggestions for topics you might wish to
include in your write-up. You could choose one or a few of them; or you
could choose one or a few topics of your
own that you prefer to address. Possibilities are virtually limitless.
The physics of the sound (the what) |
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How played; technique (the how) |
Who invented it (the who) |
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Design and construction (the what) |
Where invented (the where) |
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When invented (the when) |
The culture where it flourishes (the where) |
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Versions (the what) |
Impact on society (the what) |
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Appearance (the what) |
History (the when) |
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Sound (the what) |
Who played it (the who) |
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Musicians who played it (the who) |
Works in which it appears prominently (the where) |
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Anecdotes about the instrument (the who; the
what) |
How it changed music (the what; the why) |
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Anecdotes about performers (the who) |
How the instrument was invented (the how) |
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Kinds of music in which it's employed (the what; the why) |
Place in the orchestra (the what) |
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Famous instruments and their owners |
What it's like to play; hard or easy? (the how) |
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Closely related instruments (the what) |
What's it like to hear (the what) |
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Strengths and weaknesses (the what; how) |
Emotional or spiritual impact (the what; the why) |
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Instrument classification (wind, percussion, etc.; the what) |
The
instrument you favor with your write-up may be conventional or
commonplace, like a harmonica or guitar; it may be weird or off-the-wall, like a theremin
or a recording by Alvin and the chipmunks; or it may fall somewhere in-between. Your
instrument can belong to any...
...instrument family, from brass to percussion to wind.
...technology,
from acoustic to electronic.
...tradition,
from Asiatic to
Western to African.
...musical
genre, from pop to acid rock to hip hop.
...musical
period, from prehistoric to ancient to modern.
stop!—before you proceed...
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—navigation— about
musical instrument of the week
If you haven't explored this feature already, The Muse suggests
that you visit it before you submit your puzzle.
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How to submit your Musical Instrument Write-Up for publication
Publishing your write-up is a simple, 2-step procedure:
- Read this guideline. It explains everything you need to know to prepare
your write-up for submission.
- Fill out and submit an ByLine Item form. It explains everything
you need to know to send your write-up for publication.
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—form— Submit your Musical
Instrument write-up now
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Note:
- Electricka does not notify visitors of where and when to find the
musical instrument write-ups they submit:
- Your write-up will be published at
the Muse Of Music's feature called Musical Instrument Of The Week.
- To discover if your write-up is published,
visit the
feature called Musical Instrument Of The Week and
look for it there:
click here.
- Electricka publishes the musical instrument write-ups she receives
in order of receipt. Since she displays only one musical instrument
write-up a week, it may
take several weeks for your write-up to appear. Please be patient and keep
looking.
Submission requirements
Submissions to the Instrument Of The Week feature generally meet these requirements:
- Topics taken from or related to Electricka's web
site and the muses are especially welcome.
- Your opinions, comments, insights, personal experiences and observations are welcome.
- Links to other web sites must be approved by Electricka.
- Supply pictures and sound samples where possible.
- Primarily in informal English prose styled like an essay (foreign language names or expressions or other constructions are
fine, if appropriate).
- Less than about 500-1000 words should do; take more if you feel the need.
Remember: Your write-up doesn't have to cover
everything there is to know about your chosen instrument; cover as much or as
little ground as you like.
- Quotations, citations, references, videos, photos, artwork, film clips,
animations, music, sound bites, etc. that are not original with the
submitter must be properly credited.
- Submitted by a visitor to Electricka's web site or by a
collaboration of visitors.
- Should not
contain private information or intellectual property.
- Write-up is not proprietary. One or more of the following applies:
- Copyright or patent has expired or never existed.
- Write-up is in the public domain; does not belong to anybody.
- You own it because you created it.
- You own the legal right to publish which you acquired from someone else.
- You have oral or written permission from the owner to publish.
- Completely finished by the author(s) when submitted. The Muse
edits nothing.
If your work has a previous publication history that you want Electricka
to publish with your essay, include it in the comment section of the
submission form and ask Electricka to publish it there.
Your Instrument Of The Week write-up can be accepted for publication even if it is not written especially for this feature.
It does not have to be submitted by the author(s). Submit as many times as
you like.
Electricka's policies
apply.
questions?
Planning to submit? Have submitted? Address questions about this feature
or this guideline to
AskTheMuses@Electricka.com:
click here.