Inspired by Bread and Roses, David Lescht founded Outside In, a program that brought music to jails, hospitals, rest homes and other institutions in the Santa Fe area. He will be missed and his contributions will continue to inspire. Read more on this pillar of the Sante Fe music community at The Republic.

North Little Rock, Arkansas’ Bill Jagitsch shows making cigar box guitars is a fun and creative hobby that supports other fun and creativity. Read more on making your own cigar box guitars at Making Music.

Soundclouds is a popular online music sharing and collaboration tool. Check out this preview of an app that visually rounds out the new album from Soundclouds creator Eric Wahlforss. See this Making Music article for more on online collaboration.

They’re tough to stuff in the trunks of cars and don’t fit in the overhead bins on airplanes. How do you practice piano while travelling? Read Hesh Reinfeld’s humorous account of how he did it.

A music lover’s visit to Louisiana shouldn’t begin and end in the Big Easy. The Jerry Lee Lewis (“The Killer”) Family Museum for example is a fascinating place to visit up north in the town of Ferriday as you will see in this video. Read about Cherie Yurco’s tour of this and other musical destinations in Northern Louisiana in Making Music.

Just 10 days left until the entry period closes for this year’s FORTUNE Battle of the Corporate Bands (which you can read about in the latest issue of Making Music). There’s a link to the entry form right at the top of our story, so check it out!

Scientists and doctors at the Yamaha Music and Wellness Institute have been extensively researching the life-saving benefits of recreational music making. Through their research, they have discovered that music can lead to reduced stress and a stronger immune system. In addition to these benefits, music making has been shown to reverse stress at the DNA level. This could be particularly beneficial for seniors, as playing an instrument has also been found to “improve mood, lower blood pressure, and affect the course of many diseases including cancer and heart disease.” While many musicians have been experiencing these benefits for years, Dr. Bittman of the Yamaha Music and Wellness Institute believes that everyone has an innate musical ability and that we all should recognize our capacity to make music at some point in our lives.

Throughout your years of making music, have YOU noticed any particular health benefits? Let us know in the comments section below.

Read more about this study here: The Life-Saving Effects of Music

With Halloween just around the corner, it’s time to start preparing for this spooktacular weekend of parties, costumes, & (most importantly) unhealthy amounts of candy. Oftentimes, people forget about one of the best parts of this holiday: the music! It’s easy to forget how many songs are perfect for this creepy time of year, so be sure to take a look at this list of the top 100 Halloween songs. Of course, topping the list is Thriller by Michael Jackson (that video still haunts us), but check out the other 99 that are just as haunting! Did your favorite Halloween song not make the list? Comment and tell us which songs you would add!

Click here for the article: Top 100 Halloween Songs

We recently posed a question on the Making Music Facebook and Twitter: “The oldest instrument I own is ____ years old.”

Excitedly, our readers filled in the blank, each with their own story about their oldest instrument. The oldest response we received was a 139-year-old violin. People told us about their 20-year-old flute, their 45-year-old Gibson bass guitar, and their 125-year-old viola. It seems as though many of our readers have a sense of pride and achievement toward these instruments. This, of course, made us think: Are good instruments like wine? Do they get better with time?

Of course, without proper care, instruments will decline. However, after reading your responses & stories, it seems as though there is something very special about instruments that have lived as long (or longer) as its owner. What is it about the age of an instrument that makes it so interesting? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Read about an ancient Chinese instrument here: $23M Zither?

With the increasing popularity and usage of auto-tuned vocals in today’s music, it seems as though many musicians are split on whether this is a useful tool or a slow degradation of true musicianship. On the Making Music Facebook and Twitter, we posed our question of the day: What is your opinion on auto-tuned vocals? The responses were mostly negative with a few people mentioning how it can be a great tool when used professionally and sparingly. With these unfavorable comments, we would love to hear some positive aspects of this growing trend. So, with that, we ask you: Can you see any benefits to auto-tuning vocals? Please share your ideas with us in the comments section below.

In the meantime, check out our blog post about a popular auto-tune app from Glee: “One Person Glee-Club on Your Phone”