Think you know everything there is to know about music? Prepare to be blown away as we take a look at some of the most interesting, unbelievable facts about musicians and the music industry......Music Genre's you may not know about!
1. The Seikilos Epitaph is the oldest musical composition in the world;
Dating back to the 1st century AD, it was on a column marking a grave in Turkey. The epitaph includes both a musical score and a short set of lyrics. The lyrics read, “While you live, shine. Have no grief at all. Life exists for only a short while. And time demands his due.”
2. The world’s largest performing rock band included 953 musicians.;
The Beijing Contemporary Music Academy achieved this record on June 16, 2016. They performed in the city of Tianjin, China. The band included 349 singers, 154 guitarists, and 151 drummers. 100 bassists also took part in the performance, along with 100 keyboard players, and 98 players of wind instruments.
3. Japan’s Folk Music and Dance Association assembled the world’s largest shamisen ensemble.;
The shamisen is a traditional Japanese musical instrument that looks like a violin. The 1,911 participants all used the Tsugaru Shamisen in their performance. It took place in Tokyo, Japan, on October 23, 2016, and lasted 6 minutes and 5 seconds.
4. Simon Desorgher assembled the most number of chimes as a single musical instrument.;
Also known as tubular bells, Simon Desorgher’s instrument included 120 aluminum tubes. The tubes have various lengths tuned to musical scales. The longest tube measures 4,877 mm long, while the shortest is 473 mm long.
5. David Stanley and The Music Man Project assembled the world’s biggest triangle ensemble.;
The triangle is a musical instrument made by bending a metal bar into a triangle. It’s played by tapping the triangle with a metal rod. The ensemble included 1,521 players on October 15, 2017. They performed as part of the London Palladium’s Music is Magic concert.
6. The world’s longest concert by multiple artists took place from March 17 to April 5, 2017.;
The concert was part of Canada’s celebration of their country’s 150th anniversary. Participants included the Epidemic Music Group. It lasted for 453 hours, 54 minutes, and 40 seconds.
7. The largest erhu ensemble assembled in Raoyang, China, on October 19, 2019.;
The erhu is a traditional Chinese musical instrument that looks like a violin. 2,024 participants took part in the performance. Their sponsor was Raoyang Gold Suona Musical Instrument Manufacturing Co. Ltd. The performance lasted for 5 minutes and 18 seconds.
8. The record for the world’s longest marathon drumming by an entire team is 3 days, 8 hours, and 2 minutes.;
The team included Janel Spalding, Aaron Houseago, Holly Jones, Ryan Murray, and Lorraine Dorrington. They performed from August 26 to 29, 2016. The performance was live-streamed and seen worldwide.
Weird Music History
Guns N Roses wrote Sweet Child O’ Mine in five minutes
"Sweet Child o' Mine" from Guns 'N Roses's debut album "Appetite For Destruction" is an emblematic rock song, still heard frequently today. Surprisingly, the hit tune is merely the result of the band playing around with their instruments. Slash, in an interview with Rolling Stone, said: "It was an interesting sort of pattern, I never thought it was going to become a song."
Lead singer Axl Rose finished writing the lyrics in five minutes while hearing the guitar ringing from another room. As a result, "Sweet Child o' Mine" spent 24 weeks in the charts in number one place, which is absolutely mind-blowing when you realize it was written in minutes!
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