Talk about sealing your record. A new company is offering music lovers the opportunity to have their ashes pressed into a copy of their favorite record. You have to wonder if it's easy to get the death album mixed up with your prior copy. After all, you'd hate to be donated to the thrift store after death, wouldn't you? At least you can get 30 copies, so hopefully most of your remains will stay with those you care about. Imagine if a rock star did this with his final release. Can you imagine how much... READ ON

College students have been forming a cappella groups since at least the late 1800s, with the Rensselyrics of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute being the oldest known group. (They started out as the RPI Glee Club in 1873.) Women's collegiate groups, though, weren't formed until 1936. (Smith College's Smiffenpoofs were the first.) Today, college a cappella groups are increasingly popular—Northwestern University has at least 15—and usually known for their fun renditions of classics and current hits. The... READ ON

Famous composer Ludwig van Beethoven began to lose his hearing around the age of 25. By the time of his death, he was completely deaf. But that never stopped him from writing some of the most beautiful music the world has ever known. Beethoven is proof that music isn't just in the ears, but comes from the heart and from the soul. His legacy is carried on today by many deaf and hard of hearing musicians, including these six performers who don't need to hear to express themselves through song. Mandy... READ ON

I ran across the term crystallophone while researching the post 8 Weird and Wonderful Musical Instruments. According to Wikipedia, "A crystallophone is a musical instrument that produces sound from glass." There are quite a few different types, as you'll see in these videos. Glass Armonica Some Mozart, performed by Thomas Bloch. Glass Harp Most of us just call this instrument "wine glasses", but if you play them with a wet finger around the rim, it's a glass... READ ON