15 fun facts about music that may surprise you

School's back in session and to avoid the dunce's cap here are 15 fun facts for any brainy musician.

1. Mozart sold more CDs in 2016 than Beyoncé did.
2. Pianos can have upwards of 12,000 individual parts.
3. It takes on average 2.29 seconds for listeners to recognize Wannabe by the Spice Girls.
4. None of The Beatles could read music.
5. Eminem wrote and recorded The Real Slim Shady three hours before his album was due.
6. The song Jingle Bells was originally written... for Thanksgiving.
7. Leo Fender, inventor of the Telecaster and Stratocaster, could not play guitar.
8. Elvis Presley didn't write any of his songs.
9. Flowers can grow faster by listening to music.
10. The beginning five seconds of The Beatles I Feel Fine contains nothing but feedback from a guitar John Lennon left leaning up against his amp.
11. Drums are one of the oldest instruments and their form has barely changed since their origins.
12. Considered one of the greatest rock songs of all time, Stairway to Heaven, bored the audience when first performaned by Led Zeppelin in 1971.
13. Your heartbeat follows the rhythm of the music you are listening to.
14. The harmonica is the world's best selling instrument.
15. The very first Woodstock in 1969 (featuring artists like Jimi Hendrix, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, The Who and many more big name acts) cost a mere $24 at the gate.

Published on: 4 September 2017