Instrumental Music
Instrumental music in its most basic form, refers to music without vocals, exclusively performed by musical instruments.
Instrumental music in the context of school music programs typically refers to concert band and orchestral ensembles, though a wide variety of musical groups employ only instruments, from rock to hip hop. For people who do not commonly listen to classical instrumental music, the most requested times for instrumental music are at Christmas, in romantic situations, and at weddings. The use of the piano is very prominent in instrumental Christmas music, a saxophone is most frequently used for seductive or romantic situations (the oboe is also thought of as a romantic-sounding instrument, though only for orchestral music), and weddings usually utilize a string quartet or a harpist, though brass ensembles are common as well.
Music without voices is often used for religious purposes as well. It is more difficult for Christian instrumental music to maintain its own identity, since most Christian music is based on sacred lyrics; but well-known hymn tunes are often the source material for these recordings.
The misconception about instrumental background music: While many students and employees alike claim that music helps them perform better, research by Salame and Baddeley indicate that both instrumental and vocal music distract the working memory system. There is evidence to suggest, however, that vocal music is more distracting than instrumental music, since lyrics evoke mental images which are more emotionally and intellectually distracting for the listener.
Free instrumental music downloads are frequently sought for long car rides or background music. Due to copyright laws however, many of these sites operate illegally; providing ripped copies of CDs or hosted versions of instrumental music free download on their servers. With the massive increase in internet speed, more and more free radio stations have cropped up that offer legal streaming of instrumental music. By working out deals with music companies, these sites can provide access to the music without you downloading your own copy. Tech savvy consumers who own their own smart phones can often stream the music to their phone (or ipod touch), and in essence still receive unlimited music on their devices.
Below are additional instrumental music articles and resources found at Music Education For All:
Benefits of Free Instrumental Music
Finding Ethiopian Instrumental Music And Other Interesting Sound Files Online
Finding The Best Instrumental Music For You
Free Instrumental Music Downloads For Hip Hop Artists And Other Musicians
Instrumental Music Downloads For The Mind
Mixing Instrumental Music Online
