The Complete World of Music
Links to Valuable Resources
This page is a supplement to the article series The Complete World of Music
Sources of Knowledge
On this page, we gather good places to seek further information about music, musicians, instruments, etc., with links lead to external websites, mostly, so we are not in control of what is there – but links are added, if we find something that could help you in your music related search for knowledge.
The links have been grouped, but some links could actually fit into another group as well. Over time, we might, therefore, duplicate the same link into more than one group. Groups may also be merged, or more added. Some of the pages we refer to may be of a more or less clear commercial nature, and some may contain wrong information or be “orphaned”, meaning left alone and never updated. So, please use whatever information you find with caution – and better check several places if you need to know something for sure.
Most websites and books are in English, but other languages can be included as well. All links can be affiliate links or paid content, but will be added only if we find that they provide valuable information.
Learning
If you want to learn how to play a musical instrument, you have several options – either you just pick up the instrument and try it out, figuring out along the way how to play it, or you seek some sort of assistance from friends, family, a teacher, or from books.
A new way of getting that training assistance is to subscribe to a music teacher on the Internet. Either as a fixed course, for instance a number of lessons, or as an ongoing subscription where you’ll get newsletters and access to training videos, possibly supplemented with live training sessions. The recent years have seen several such services popping up.
Such services, as well as other links related to training, can be found below. Please know that we haven’t always tried out these services, and we are not endorsing them – only telling about their existence. Hence, you’ll need to make up your own mind about whether it’s relevant and interesting for you.
Links
There are very many different instruments in the world, and some websites tell about one of them, or perhaps a selected group.
General
Atlas of Plucked Instruments – Very many instruments from all over the world described. They are from a private collection, but a large one, so they cover quite many of the instruments you could run into – if they have strings and aren’t meant to be played with a bow. In English.
Classic Cat – A large catalog of instruments, composers, performers, and music. There are descriptions of instruments and their history, about compositions played with these instruments, etc., and a possibility to download classical music performances as MP3 files.
Instruments of the World – A database of 200 instruments, different kinds, and information on what they look like, where they are used, etc., in English.
Jupiter Community – A website with wind instrument info, as well as general info about music, by the European distributor for K.H.S. (which includes the Jupiter brand), QS-MUSIC by MUSIK MEYER. There are “pro tips”, fingering charts and such as a chart of the circle of fifths for download. Some of the downloads contain German text. The website is in English, German, Dutch, and French.
Stringed Instrument Database – A brief description of a large number of instruments with strings, including both picked and bowed instruments. In English and Esperanto.
Thomann online expert guides and videos – Very informative walk-throughs of different instrument types and other musical equipment, mostly assuming no initial knowledge, and videos showing the look and sound of various specific instruments, sold by Thomann. The guides are mostly based on a typical opinion on what is right and wrong, like an old music teacher would provide them. But as one opinion together with others, they are quite useful.
Wikipedia – List of musical instruments – A long list of instruments with a bit of information about each, and links to individual articles. In English and 25 other languages.
Yamaha Musical Instrument Guide – Various information about a range of instruments, with slightly different types of info for each of them, but generally arranged with the sections Origins, Structure, How to Play, How the Instrument is Made, Choosing an Instrument, and Care and Maintenance. There are also some feature sections, for instance the one with fingerings, with online guides and downloadable charts.
Specific
Bassic Sax – A very comprehensive website with information about saxophones. There is a bit of everything here, including new sax brands and the vintage ones. A very interesting overview of “stencils” also exists – being such instruments that were made by one manufacturer but branded by another, a phenomenon also known as OEM (original equipment manufacturer). Very many musical instruments, all kinds, are made like that today.
Cavaquinho Museum Cultural Association – A website about the cavaquinho instrument, with history, chords and tuning, and a lot more, including a large selection of photos of different cavaquinho models. The page is in English and Portuguese.
OBOES.US. – Various information about oboes and related instruments (English horn/cor anglais, oboe d’amore, bass/baritone oboe). This is all the personal opinions of Peter Hurd, based on solid experience. He also sells oboes from the site. You can find information about very many brands and models here, making it a great starting point for further searches for information.
Verdes Anos – Fado of Coimbra – The homepage of a fado group, with interesting information about fado music, the Portuguese guitar, and other topics from that sphere. The site is in English and Portuguese.
There are very many different instruments in the world, and some websites tell about one of them, or perhaps a selected group.
Brands and manufacturers come and go, and it can be difficult to know what is being sold – whether second-hand or new – and where it was made, and by whom. This category will add a bit of insight about some of them.
Brands
Only selected brands are mentioned, mainly those with (possibly) some own design and/or production or with a significant role in history. Some of the resellers and distributors maintain their own brands as well, based on products bought from various manufacturers.
Brands are often owned by one company but licenced to another, so the real owner of the immaterial brand rights may be a different company than the owner of the manufacturing or distribution rights. In the following, the focus is on the manufacturing sand production, meaning, where to go if you want to buy an instrument, while the legal ownership of the name is less interesting for a musician.
Be aware that brands often change owner during the years, so if you have an old instrument of a certain brand, it may not have anything to do with the current company owning that brand – and, hence, they may not be able to help with information or spare parts. Also, a brand or a model may have been produced in different countries over time, often resulting in changing quality.
Current
Hagstrom Guitars – Originally a Swedish manufacturer of accordions, guitars, and other instruments, now a brand for electric, acoustic, and bass guitars. Production is “in Europe”.
LEVIN – Chinese manufactured ukuleles, electric guitars, “anglo designed” by Jay Levin, acoustic guitars, mandolins and banjos. Owned in the UK by David Wood, along with other brands, such as Mendieta Guitars (Spanish guitars, lauds, and bandurrias) and the shop Promenade Music where many of the instruments are sold.
Historical
Levin – Was a Swedish manufacturer of guitars, mandolins, banjos, lutes, and other stringed instruments, with a large production during many years, so, many instruments exist on the second hand market. The factory opened in 1900, was sold to C. F. Martin & Company in 1973, and closed in 1979, but the brand name was afterward purchased by Svensk Musik AB, later renamed to Svenska Levin AB, and has been used until recently for China-made instruments.
- The shop Oscar Guitar’s overview of Levin’s history and instruments
- Documentary on YouTube by Andreas Brink
Manufacturers
Manufacturers most often have their own brands, but some of them additionally produce for other brands as well.
Alhambra Guitarras – Spanish manufacturer of classical and flamenco guitars, as well as Spanish lauds (lutes) and bandurrias. Site in English, Spanish, Italian, French, and German. Check their page at Jedistar for info on how to get details about a specific (used) instrument.
AMATI Kraslice – Czech manufacturer of wind instruments under the trade names of Amati and V.F. Červený. Has during the years been producing for other brands as well, including such as Boosey & Hawkes and La Fleur. Websites in English and Czech.
APC Musical Instruments – Portuguese manufacturer of stringed musical instrument, mostly a large selection of traditional Portuguese instruments, but also several world instruments, guitars, and other stringed instruments. The website is in English, Portuguese and French.
Buffet Crampon Group – French based manufacturer of wind instruments and percussions, produced in France, Germany, India, China, and Japan under the brands Antoine Courtois, B&S, Bergerault, Besson, Buffet Crampon, Hans Hoyer, J. Scherzer, Julius Keilwerth, Melton Meinl Weston, Parmenon, Rigoutat, Verne Q. Powell, and W. Schreiber. Each website is available in English, German, French, and a variety of other languages.
C.F. Martin & Company – USA-based manufacturer of acoustic guitars, ukuleles, and strings. Production in the USA and in Mexico, under the names C.F. Martin & Co., Martin Guitars, and Darco. Website in English.
Choroi – German manufacturer of percussion, wind instruments, and stringed instruments, directed toward kindergartens, schools and other educational settings, as well as other beginner and professional musicians. Production in Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, and Holland. Website in English, German, and Dutsch.
Clavia Digital Musical Instruments – Swedish manufacturer of synthesizers, keyboards, digital pianos, organs, and electronic drums, branded Nord. Production in Sweden. Website is in English.
EKO – Italian manufacturer of classic, acoustic, and electric guitars, and basses, ukuleles, and other music equipment. It used to be a significant player on the European scene for guitar manufacturing, as well as for electronic instruments, but went bancrupt in 1985, was re-established, and is today a smaller company. Website in English and Italian.
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation – Manufacturer of electric guitars and bass guitars, acoustic guitars, and various accessories under the brand Fender. Based in the USA, with production in Mexico. Owns several other brands, including Squier, Gretsch Guitars, Jackson Guitars, Charvel Guitars, and is itself owned by Creator Partners and Servco Pacific Capital. Websites in English.
GEWA Music – German manufacturer and distributor of digital pianos, orchestral stringed instruments, classical and acoustic guitars, ukuleles, other picked instruments (world instruments), winds, including woodwinds, brass, harmonicas, and many more, drums, and more. It is owned by Thomann. Production is split between own facilities in China, Germany, the USA, and “all over the world”, plus sourcing from other manufacturers. They produce for other brands as well, but some brands they produce and market themselves are “GEWA – Made in Germany“, “GEWA – German Engineered”, Roy Benson, Ovation Guitars, Adamas, Gretsch Drums, and some of the distributed are Gibraltar Hardware, Conn, King, Bach, Armstrong, Leblanc, Hannabach, Thomastik-Infeld, Rotosound, Larsen Strings, and Prim. The websites are in English, German, and many other languages.
Hora Instruments – Romanian manufacturer of bowed instruments, guitars, ukuleles, harps, mandolins, and many world instruments of various kinds, also including panpipes and various flutes. Additional lines of products include educational instruments, and instrument cases. Europe’s largest manufacturer of musical instruments. The site is in English and Romanian. Their old site provides information about some instrument models not on the new one but still for sale.
Höfner – German manufacturer of classical, acoustic, and electric guitars, electric basses, and orchestral stringed instruments: violins, violas, cellos, double basses, and bows. Production in Germany and China. Website is in English and German.
Kala Brand Music Co. – USA-based brand owner, designer, and manufacturer of ukuleles, guitars, and percussion under the names Kala, Makala, Ukadelic, Novelty, and The Waterman, with production in the USA, China, Indonesia, Portugal, Vietnam, India, and Brazil. Site in English.
K.H.S. Musical Group – Taiwanese manufacturer of flutes, brass, percussion, band instruments, drums, and music stands, under the brands Altus, Azumi, Jupiter, Majestic, Mapex, XO, and Hercules. Production in Taiwan, China, and Japan. Owner of the German Hohner and Sonor, the Mexican H Jimenez Instruments, and the USA-based Lanikai Ukuleles. Websites in English plus Chinese/Japanese/German/Spanish and various other languages.
Matsikas – Greek manufacturer of traditional Greek instruments. The site is in Greek with some English headlines, etc.
Roland Corporation – Japanese manufacturer of digital pianos, organs, synthesizers, v-accordions (accordion-shaped synthesizers), and various other electronics for music playing and production, as well as drums and percussion, both acoustic and electronic, and electronic winds. They sell under the brands Roland, Boss, v-moda, and Drum Workshop, but they additionally own other companies and brands, such as Gibraltar Hardware. Production in Japan and the USA. Websites in English.
Steinway Musical Instruments – American manufacturer of acoustic pianos, winds, orchestral strings, and percussion through the brands Steinway & Sons, Boston, Essex, and from their subsidiary Conn Selmer: Armstrong, Bach, Conn, Henri Selmer Paris, Holton, King, Leblanc, Ludwig, Musser, Prelude, Scherl & Roth, Selmer, Yanagisawa (North American distribution), and piano components through Kluge. Manufacturing in the USA, Japan, Germany, and China. Websites in English plus Japanese/German.
Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation – Japanese manufacturer of orchestral stringed instruments, guitars, harmonicas, melodions, and music therapy/educational instruments, digital pianos, as well as the Omnichord (electronic autoharp) and some traditional Japanese instruments. Hammond (see also EU link) and Leslie are part of the corporation, producing organs, synthesizers, and amplifiers/loudspeakers. Production in Japan and the USA. The websites are in English, the EU one also in German, French, and Dutch.
Taylor Guitars – USA-based manufacturer of acoustic and electric guitars, as well as various accessories, with production in the USA and Mexico. Website is in English plus Japanese (the latter not working, at the time of testing).
Worldwind Music – A UK-based manufacturer of flutes, alto and bass flutes, saxophones, and clarinets under the brand names Trevor James and TJ, sometimes referred to as Trevor J James or TJJ, and Artemis, as well as the distributor of Miyazawa and Sankyo flute brands in the UK and Ireland. The instruments are produced in Taiwan, China, and the UK, with components from Japan, Italy, and the USA. Websites are in English plus one or more other languages.
Yamaha Corporation – The world’s largest musical instrument manufacturing company, producing string and wind instruments, drums and percussions, pianos and electronic instruments, and various equipment related to home and professional playing and recording. Selling mostly under the Yamaha brand, but they own a number of companies with own brands, such as Cordoba guitars and ukuleles, Guild acoustic, electric, and bass guitars, Ampeg, Line 6, Steinberg, and Bösendorfer. Production in Japan, Malaysia, China, and “elsewhere”, plus the Bösendorfer piano brand in Austria. Website in English and Japanese.
Overviews
Jedistar – Lists of makers of guitars, violins and bows, along with luthierie schools. Various amounts of information about each item, but often with photos and user comments. In English.
The resellers here are mainly such that can deliver across a large area – maybe worldwide, or at least to several countries. Should be useful to many readers.
Etsy, music – Etsy is an online marketplace, based in the USA but with specific sites for Canada, Germany, and the UK. Was until recently the owner of Reverb.
FolkReps – Portugal-based reseller of APC instruments, shipping worldwide. Site in English.
Gear4music – International webshop, UK-based, with many Chinese produced instruments carrying one of several own brands, plus a large selection of common brands. Site in English and most other common languages.
Philippos Nakas – Greece-based reseller and online shop, selling worldwide. A selection of basically all kinds of instrument, including many, that are specific to Greece. In English and Greek.
Reverb – Online marketplace for musical instruments and equipment. Owned by Etsy, until it recently was sold to Creator Partners and Servco Pacific Capital, together also the owners of Fender. Site In English.
Salão Musical de Lisboa / Lisbon Music Shop – A physical music shop in Portugal with two webshops (European / worldwide sales), selling all the traditional instruments as well as Portuguese instruments. Sites in English and Portuguese.
Thomann – Germany-based distributor and reseller of musical instruments, all kinds, a large selection of common brands, available in most countries of the world. It is said to be the largest musical instrument reseller in the world. The shop is a good source for European instruments, with many special types available. Rebranding many instruments under their own brand names, plus operating several own brands, produced for them. Some of their own brands are: Thomann, Harley Benton, Roth & Junius, Scala Vilagio, Startone, Adler Heinrich, Hemingway, Zultan, Millenium, DrumCraft, and t.bone. Thoman is the owner of GEWA Music and Hughes & Kettner. The main website is in all languages.
Behind the Passion (on YouTube), a documentary about the founder, Hans Thomann. In German.
Online music courses are often arranged as regular material provided online, plus perhaps an email subscriptions. They tend to be arranged by individual music teachers. Some of these also offer lessons in person.
Digital Trombone – Musician and music teacher Anders Larson offers subscription based access to various contents relevant for trombone players, including sheet music, exercises, a structured course, and more. There’s also free contents, such as this slide chart and description.
Flute Academy – Jane Cavanagh offers subscription-based access to flute course videos, an online community, support, and online concerts for and by the members. Specifically directed toward adults who are returning to flute playing – there’s no beginner’s stuff.
Learn Flute Online – Rebecca Fuller offers subscription-based online lessons at different levels, including a free one – requires sign-up.
Mando Mike – Mike Giverin offers free lessons with videos on YouTube and additional material on the website. He also offers individual lessons, in person (in Cheshire, England) and remote.
MandoLessons – Baron Collins-Hill offers both free lessons and paid subscriptions for his Academy and Course services for mandolin players and students. The free lessons are on YouTube, but some have additional material on the website.
Mandolin Secrets – Magnus Zetterlund offers subscription based training, including on-demand lessons and personal support, plus free lessons on YouTube.
There are many sites that act as yellow pages for music teachers. Some of these sites offer built-in tools for performing the lessons, while others merely arrange for the contact to be possible.
Lessonface – Platform for finding a music teacher for one-on-one and group classes over Zoom. USA-based with a global scope.
Music Teachers Directory – If you’re in the USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, or Canada, you can search for a local music teacher here.
Music Teachers Online – Australian catalog over music teachers, with contact option.
Music Teaching Online – Offers search for a teacher based on instrument. Worldwide scope.
MusicTeacher.com – Website that provides a catalog of in person and online music teachers for different instruments.
MusicTeachers.co.uk – UK-based platform for finding a teacher in the UK for online or in-person teaching, which also offers digital classrooms.
Preply, Music Tutors and Teachers Online – A search/catalog and course environment for all kinds of online teaching, including music. You’ll subscribe to a teacher’s services on a monthly basis, having lessons at the agreed frequency. The teachers might also offer onsite teaching.
Superprof – A search/catalog and course environment for all kinds of online training, similar to Preply. With different websites for different countries, so start by picking your country.
This is a mixed group of links for various practical things you might want to do with your musical instrument: clean, repair, tune, play chords, etc.
Fretexperts.com – A website by the author Tobe A. Richards, who has written many books with overviews of chords for various instruments. The website is in English and offers information about the books but also many articles about the different instruments – how to tune them, which strings to use, etc.
How to clean a trumpet – Nice and easy-to-follow instructions on the topic, from Leslie Scarpino’s website.
Muted.io – Large collection of different information and online tools, useful for tuning, creating chords, and many other things related to music theory. In English.
Tuner-online.com – Online guitar tuner, easy to use. In English.
Wikipedia – Stringed instruments tuning – Good overview of many stringed instruments and their typical tunings, plus general information on how to read a description of tunings. In English.
Musical notes, instruction books, and books about music history or famous composers or musicians. There is a large and rich world of literature related to music, and it all fits into this category. Mainly the good sources for it, as perhaps every bookshop could sell a book about music but doesn’t provide a large selection.
Amazon is a major player in the sales of books, including all kinds of books about music, also printing (on demand) many of the books they sell, but it is possible to buy books elsewhere too.
Apple Books – A shop and bookreader app that works in the Apple universe, i.e. not on other plaforms than those from Apple. There is a large selection of digital books about music, including many of those you can find in print elsewhere.
Boosey & Hawkes – Orchestral sheet music publishing company. Site in English.
Classcleff.com – Notes, tabs, MIDI and other formats of music for download, all for the guitar. Many different styles and composers, and also technique lessons and similar. Downloading seems to be for free. In English.
Fundamental Changes – English publisher of instruction books for guitar, bass, drums, and piano. Online sales of pdf editions, while printed editions are sold through Amazon. All in English language.
Gramophone – UK-based magazine with a special focus on review, but also containing various other contents about music, especially classical. It’s available in print and online. In English.
Google Play Books – A shop and book reader app, similar to Apple books, except that it works on many platforms, including Windows and those from Apple and Google. There’s not a large selection of sheet music (or perhaps it’s just difficult to find), but there’s some, and also many other books about playing music.
Hal Leonard – USA-based music book and sheet music/notes publisher, having a web shop for North America on their main site, but owns and operates MusicRoom for European shoppers as well as Hal Leonard Australia. They also own the global Sheet Music Direct, that sell downloadable sheet music from many publishers, and Sheet Music Plus, that sells sheet music in the USA only. Sites in English plus various other languages.
MuseScore – Subscription-based access to sheet music, plus sales of digital music books. Based in Cyprus. Website in English.
Music Teacher – UK-based magazine in print and online for music educators.
Schott Music Group – German publisher of a large selection of items related to music, including sheet music, books, CD’s, magazines, and more. The main site is also a website. In English, German, and French.
Troy Nelson Music – USA-based publisher of instruction books for many different instruments, as well as books with sheet music, all of them mainly for beginners. From their website, they sell online to addresses in the USA, alternatively, their books are available on Amazon. Site and books in English.
Some websites offer practical tools – either electronically, directly at the website, or perhaps for sale, so that you can use it at home. There can be a bit of an overlap with the instructions or courses sections, but we try to put here what is not of a broad, educational nature, but more specialized.
Metronome Online – Practical when practicing. For free.
Mooz – A video meeting service, specially for music teaching, with built-in on-screen instruments. This is mostly directed toward music teachers who can offer lessons to be done through this tool.
Musicca – Music theory training, for free.
My Music Staff – Management software as a service for studios or teachers, with calendar/schedule, progress tracking, payments, student list, waitlist, student portal, etc.
Tonic – A mobile app for practicing your musical instrument with an audience. Other users can check in and listen to you practicing and comment on it. Of course, you can listen to them too.
Most forums are based in the USA and have an overweight of users from there, talking about topics that often include very USA-specific details. They rarely support other languages than English, and they rarely contain topics specific to countries outside the USA. But there may still be some value for people in the rest of the world.
Forums are officially for all kinds of people to gather around discussions about specific topics of common interest. They often have a commercial aspect, though, and the contents can be moderated to please the sponsors. Still, there are trolls and spammers, and posts may have a purpose other than adding qualified input to a discussion.
Also, discussions mostly contain people’s spontaneous thoughts on the topic, and personal opinions, hearsay, half knowledge, etc., which may not be correct or universally applicable, so the general advice is that you shouldn’t take whatever you read there for granted – it is always advised to search for additional thoughts elsewhere and do some fact checking before you make up your mind on what to believe.
Dedicated internet forums sort of belonged to another time, and most of those still in existence are from the beginning of the 2000s, with most of their contents being that old. Today, social media-based forums have mostly taken over.
Accordionist Forum – A dedicated forum for the accordion, having an open and friendly atmosphere with room for everybody.
Acoustic Guitar Forum – Mostly about guitars and everything around them, but also other instruments, especially those with strings.
Akustiskt Gitarrforum – Mostly about acoustic guitars, but also other stringed instruments. The user interface is in English, the contents in Swedish, but with an international section in English.
Café Saxophone – Different topics around the instruments and their use, including courses, books, and other things for sale. Mostly European users.
Chiff & Fipple – Forums for Irish music: whistles, flutes, stringed instruments, and many other topics.
ClarinetPages Forum – A forum for clarinets, fairly active. Is part of a website about clarinets, The ClarinetPages.
Flute Almanac – A magazine and forum for the transverse flute.
Fluteland.com Flute Message Board – Part of an online flute course site, and has been very active in the past, but no so much anymore. There are many older discussions to study, though.
Mando Hangout – Forum with courses and other resources. Not the most active but an overall friendly tone.
Mandolin Café – Forum for mandolins and other related instruments, such as bouzouki, mandola, mandocello, cittern, etc. – heavily moderated! There are various resources available, such as notes, courses, and books. The user interface can be set to English, German, French, or Spanish, but the contents don’t change with the settings and are all in English.
Musical Instrument Makers Forum – For both aspiring and active instrument makers, but also inspiring for others who are interested in how their instruments are constructed, and how they can be repaired or maintained.
Official PRS Guitars Forum – About all guitars, but mostly about electrical ones.
Reddit – A kind of social medium with multiple discussion forums, not just about music. People are rating each other’s comments and are often mocking others out of the system (when you have more down-votes than up-votes, you’ll be excluded). Here’s a page for Flute, one for Clarinet, and one for Guitar (there can be more for each topic).
Sax on the Web – Different topics around saxophones and their use.
Trumpet Herald – Forum and other community-style information for the trumpet.
Ukulele Underground – A forum for the ukulele, especially focused on its marketplace and discussion around building instruments.
Violinist.com – Blogs and forum for the violin.
Woodwind Forum – Forums for various woodwind instruments, such as flute, clarinet, recorder, saxophone, etc., as well as various topics around the music and the business related to these instruments.
Woodwind.org – Forums for clarinet, flute, oboe, horn, and bassoon. Only the clarinet pages currently seem to be there and work as they should, but they then contain sections for oboe and bassoon. The user interface is very old-fashioned, to put it nicely
Your Links
Please feel free to suggest new links. We will consider them and add them, if we think that they fit in.
Please note: this feature is still a bit experimental.