It was said at the time that Niccolò Paganini, who often intentionally performed with just one string on his violin, had sold his soul to the devil.

French musician and composer Jean-Baptiste Lully (Lulli) kept time with a large stick, and died of gangrene after accidentally skewering his foot with it.

Igor Stravinsky's revolutionary piece, The Rite of Spring provoked a riot when it premiered at the Théâtre de Champs-Elysées in Paris in 1913. Opinions differ as to what sparked the outrage -- the music, the dance or simply class tension.

Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor (Choral) changed the way the world looked at symphonies.

Singing in an unnaturally high "head voice" beyond your vocal range is singing in falsetto.

Allegro is a brisk, bright tempo that's about 120 to 168 beats per minute (BPM).

(Franz) Josef Haydn, a musician and composer in the Classical period, is considered to be the Father of the Symphony, as well as the Father of the String Quartet.

Sergei Rachmaninov, known for his precise, technical playing, is said to have had a hand span large enough to span an octave and a half (middle C to high G), or a minimum of 12 inches.

The time signature is an indication of the number of beats per measure.

The first note of a scale is known as the tonic.

George Gershwin, known for "Rhapsody in Blue" and "Porgy and Bess," died of a brain tumor, a glioblastoma multiforme, at the age of 38.

The structure of a classical concerto is three movements, typically a fast, then slow, then fast order.

One. Two. One Two. In 2/4 meter, each measure has an up and a down beat -- perfect for marching.

Songs like "Der Tod und das Mädchen," which is written for a single voice accompanied by a piano, is an example of a lied.

Three great composers of the First Viennese School are Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven.

Although it sounds like it couldn't be true, Tchaikovsky had a quirk where he held his chin with his left hand while he conducted - to be sure his head wouldn't fall off.

"Lisztomania," coined by German poet Heinrich Heine, raged after he performed in Berlin in 1841, and during the eight years Franz Liszt toured Europe.

Viennese composer Franz Schubert was the first composer of the Romantic Era -- and/or one of the last Classical.

A fermata is a pause in the music, usually held longer than a normal rest.

While the harpsichord was all the rage in the Baroque period, the piano gained popularity in the Classical period.

"Staccato" means "detached" in Italian. Such notes are shortened, followed by silence before the next note.

United Airlines uses George Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue" in its marketing. "Over the Rainbow" was once considered, as well.

Andante is known as the "walking" tempo, with a rate of 76 to 108 BPM.

The four voices, from high to low, are soprano, alto, tenor and bass. Arrangements using all four voices are SATB.

Because of its association with antisemitism and the Nazis, Wagner's music is unofficially banned in Israel.

A dominant seventh chord includes a root, major third, perfect fifth and minor seventh, but not the minor ninth. There are five common types of seventh chords.

Syncopated notes emphasize the offbeats. Syncopation is very common in modern pop music.

It's Johann Sebastian Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor you hear during the opening credits of the 1931 release of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." The composition can also be heard in "Fantasia," "Sunset Boulevard," "The Meaning of Life" and many more films.

When Erik Satie debuted his work, "Parade," a Parisian audience booed and threw oranges at the musicians. Satie often used sounds in his compositions, such as gunshots and typewriter tapping.

Unlike the 7 tones of the major scale, there are 12 tones in a chromatic scale.

Common time, 4/4 meter, is four beats per measure.

After being picked up while out for a walk (and, possibly looking in windows), Beethoven was charged with vagrancy. He had some trouble convincing authorities that he was actually Beethoven, because he had no identification on him.

Orlande de Lassus is one of -- if not the most -- prolific composers, creating over 2,000 works.

Because of his short stature, less than five feet, Schubert's friends called him "Little Mushroom."

In 1952, composer John Cage wrote 4'33" -- a three-movement work of silence. Literally, the score states no instruments are played. Cage wasn't the first to compose silence. Alphonse Allais also had a similar project, with "Funeral March for the Obsequies of a Deaf Man," in 1897.