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For the past decade-plus, a new style of music and music production has been growing in popularity, particularly amongst younger music fans. The rise of DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software like Steinberg Cubase, along with compact, affordable recording equipment, has given aspiring artists increased opportunities to create full-blown musical productions in their homes (as opposed to being forced to go into professional recording studios) and to release them to a worldwide audience through social media and popular file sharing websites. The result? A brand-new genre of self-produced songs and artists that are calling the shots and cranking out hits from their bedrooms.

So what is Bedroom Pop, anyway? In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into the sound and history of this burgeoning genre, and identify some of the top practitioners of the style.

The violin, for all its sonic and visual beauty, can be difficult to learn. It’s a precise instrument that requires manual dexterity, a good ear and a great deal of practice. But knowing your instrument and developing good playing habits can open the door to lifelong enjoyment and a long-lasting musical relationship that will yield many rewards.

Here are eight tips that will help you on the road to mastering the violin.

The history of sports video games started some 50 years ago with the release of the mock-table tennis title Pong in 1972. About a decade later, things got more interesting, with then-advanced games like One on One: Dr. J vs. Larry Bird in 1983 and Tecmo Bowl in 1987. Since then, the sports video game landscape has grown exponentially. Today, there are tennis games with which you can work up a sweat through the use of wireless controllers, golf games featuring legendary athletes like Tiger Woods, and football, soccer, baseball and basketball games that feel like real life.

Here, we will dive into the best of the past two-plus decades, highlighting the top titles and what makes them special, from growth in graphics to the enjoyment of playing … and winning. All these gaming choices offer engaging sporting experiences with the ebb and flow of competition, and the details in their soundtracks can be equally important for generating emotion, from the crowd noises to the acoustics of the arena itself, particularly if you add the immersive envelopment of surround sound.

Since its launch in 2011, the live streaming service Twitch has become an indispensable online platform for gamers, serving as a hub of entertainment for viewers who want to watch others navigate popular games. By October 2013, the service boasted some 45 million unique users who were watching gameplay both live and on-demand, with a multitude of fun games, from “e-sports” like football, baseball and basketball titles to first-person role-playing games like Grand Theft Auto and multiplayer games like Fortnite.

Of course, success breeds competition, and today, Twitch is not the only platform that gamers can dive into. YouTube, for example, offers everything from gaming tutorials to live gameplay of popular titles like Call of Duty. The social platform Discord, which debuted in 2015, gives players the ability to communicate via instant messages, voice calls, video calls and text massaging in private or public chats, trading tips (and even a little trash talk) as they play.

Nonetheless, Twitch still serves as the primary forum for introducing new titles, showcasing how specific games can be played and elucidating strategy as well as providing gaming tips, tricks and secrets. There’s even a biannual convention known as TwitchCon where fans can play and compete with one another. Here are seven of the best games to enjoy on Twitch.

It wasn’t all that long ago that like-minded gamers would have to physically travel to each other’s homes to enjoy rudimentary multiplayer titles like Street Fighter II or NBA Live. Modern video games, of course, have increased greatly in both complexity and visual appeal; what’s more, with the rise of technology and widespread broadband access, gamers can compete with one another from pretty much any location in the world, as long as there’s a Wi-Fi signal or LAN connection. In addition, with the availability of community chat apps like the messaging platform Discord and the video live-streaming service Twitch, gamers can interact with friends and competitors, sharing texts or videos as they play.

Here are 10 of the most iconic multiplayer games of all time.

The clarinet is one of the more versatile woodwind instruments. It’s found in symphony orchestras and small ensembles, and used in a wide range of musical genres, from symphonies to jazz, not to mention klezmer music, where it serves as the featured instrument.

But what is it that makes a clarinet sound like a clarinet? Well, while the instrument’s inner shape has a great impact on its tone, so too does its mouthpiece. That’s because the mouthpiece, which houses the clarinet’s reed, is integral to producing sound. To make music, the mouthpiece is placed into the player’s mouth and blown into, which vibrates the reed and creates notes via the instrument’s keys. The mouthpiece’s size and shape can dramatically affect that process.

You may think that you should just stick with the mouthpiece that came with your clarinet, but that’s not always the best option. Certain mouthpieces can be more difficult to play than others, and, depending on the materials they’re made from, can create a darker or brighter sound. And of course, quality counts: It’s important to choose a mouthpiece made by a reputable manufacturer. Saving a few dollars may cost more in headaches down the line.

In this article, we’ll tell you what you need to know so you can buy the right clarinet mouthpiece for you.

This month, the most famous fighter pilot movie of all time — Top Gun — gets its long-awaited sequel. On May 27, the world will be introduced to Top Gun: Maverick, starring Tom Cruise in a reprise of his role as fighter pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.

While you may not ever have the chance to actually sit in the cockpit of a high-performance airplane, you can approximate the exhilaration by playing flight simulator games — an experience that gets even more realistic and compelling when you connect your gaming console to a surround sound system with a high-quality AV receiver and speakers or sound bar.

Here are some of the best flight simulator games to enjoy in surround sound.