Hi, Ged here, the founder. Founded in 2016, Zing Instruments is a leading online music magazine. We write in-depth articles about how to play and appreciate music. We have tutorials about various playing techniques, as well as helpful guides about buying instruments and gear. We’re also massive fans of music in general, so have lots of music appreciation articles where we wax lyrical about great music. All our writers are musicians who live and breathe music and play in various bands, from rock to indie to gypsy jazz.
Things we write about:
Music Appreciation:
…and various tools that help musicians out. We also have our blog section where stuff goes that I can’t find a label for 🙂
Why ‘Zing’?
Well, there’s a funny story there. When I was trying to find a name for this site, I struggled to find anything that I really loved.
Then, a random thing happened.
A movie had just come out called ‘Hotel Transylvania,’ and one rainy afternoon, there we sat, my 6-year-old daughter Martha and I. In the film, the monsters (including Dracula, who, funnily enough, had a wife named Martha) have a term for falling in love.
That word, or verb, is ‘to Zing‘. And boom, like a lightbulb in my head suddenly switching on, I had it….’Zing Instruments.’
To ‘zing’ is a special feeling that only happens once in your life. The way I see it, when you go about learning an instrument, you really do fall in love with it. Music has the power to bring us together like nothing else. We (humanity) badly need to come together, and I think music is one of the best ways of doing it.
So, the mission of this website is to make the world come together through music. Should be pretty straightforward, right?!
Finding Amazing Music
I’ve always loved discovering new music. Always was, well before I started this site. One of the joys of running this site is the amount of new music I get to discover. By ‘new,’ I don’t mean ‘just released.’ I mean ‘new to me’.
A lot of the music I discover is from years, sometimes decades ago, and I’m always blown away how much amazing music is still out there.
I often wonder why music means so much to me. I think growing up, as I did in a single-parent family, music played a special role in my life. It was my escape. Bands and artists became like surrogate parents, becoming the role models I lacked in the real world. Bob Dylan was my wise uncle, Morrissey an impetuous (but lovable) cousin, Joni Mitchell a cool Aunt, and Jim Morrison a flamboyant brother.
There are so many powerful pieces of music, but one track that really gives me the feels at the moment is this one. It features a discourse by spiritual teacher and meditation expert Guy Burgs. It is a perfect example of music and words bringing home a really important message that I need reminding about a lot. Stop overcomplicating things, and learn to appreciate your life. Sound familiar?
The Zing Team
Ged Richardson
Founder / Editor-In-Chief
Yo. I’m the guy behind all this. What once started out as a passion project turned into one of the web’s largest music publications (around half a million views per month and growing) that employs numerous writers, editors, and techies. I also play in a London-based Gypsy Jazz band called Django Mango. I live in the rolling hills of Devon in England, and can often be seen riding around in an orange rust-bucket VW Campervan called Hux with a fluff-ball dog called Simba.
Contact: ged@zinginstruments.com
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Rebecca Day
Writer
Rebecca Day is an independent musician and writer residing in Florida. She’s the frontwoman of swampy country band The Crazy Daysies and has a vast knowledge and appreciation of music, particularly blues and country.
Ant Long
Writer
Ant hails from Manchester, England, where he was raised on a steady diet of ‘90s indie-rock and grunge. He’s worked with promoters and venues in the city, and now writes for a living. When he’s not typing, he’s usually playing Neil Young songs on his acoustic Tanglewood.
Simba
Maltipoo dog, age 3.
By the way, we’re always on the look out for good writers to join the team. If you’re interested, visit our contact page and drop us a line.