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1500 questions
21
votes
8 answers
How to stop distortion from making minor chords muddy?
I have a Roland/Boss GT3, which I use to get various distortion sounds. I like the sound for the most part, but I find that distorted sounds seem very ... "muddy" I guess would be the best way to describe it. Major chords, 7ths, etc, sound fine, or…
Nerdfest
21
votes
9 answers
How to improvise a walking bass line
When improvising or writing a walking bass line the bass note (usually the root of the chord) is played on the chord change, but how do you choose the other notes for a walking bass line? Is there a pattern or technique that is used to…
Dom
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21
votes
6 answers
Why is IV-iv-I an effective chord sequence in a major key?
An example of this is the song Nobody Home by Pink Floyd. The last line of the intro is, in a C major key:
F Fm C %
I think this sounds great, and in fact I often use such passages when improvising on the piano myself, but I still don't know how…
Lee White
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21
votes
8 answers
From beginner's perspective, should I polish an easy piece or move quicker to advanced ones?
I have started playing piano just recently. Although I have some understanding in music theory and played various instruments before (a bit), I am a total beginner in piano.
My ultimate goal is to learn to improvise and play jazz piano.
So far I…
mai
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21
votes
4 answers
How do guitarists switch on/off multiple effects via pedalboards?
An example would be a guitarists on stage with various sounds for his setlist, and he has around 10 pedals.
For solo, he needs to turn on boost, change the channel, a bit of reverb, turn off chorus that was intended the clean channel, and use the…
Glorious Kale
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21
votes
3 answers
Improving breath support
What are some exercises or tips to help singers improve their breath support?
rshallit
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21
votes
7 answers
Why does a Cm13 chord use A instead of A♭?
Why is the 13th (or the 6th) of a Cm chord A, not Ab?
user10354
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21
votes
9 answers
Is there such thing as a piano-like keyboard with all whole tones between two adjacent white keys?
Just a quick question, which came to my mind several days ago. I thought that it would be much easier to learn to play a piano (or a keyboard), which has a consistent structure - a black key (halfstep) between each two white keys, thus making it.. i…
Roman Kruglov
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21
votes
7 answers
Why are guitars strung low-to-high?
Why not the high E at the top and the low E bottom? I haven't even heard of an alternate tuning that's similar. Is there a reason for this?
user10163
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21
votes
3 answers
How do I set up an electric guitar?
How do I set up the pickups, neck, etc. in an electric guitar? I'm not concerned with producing a particular sound as I am with keeping the neck from warping, prevent string buzz, improving playability, and that sort of thing.
user28
21
votes
5 answers
How to differentiate between a diminished fifth and an augmented fourth interval?
Both are a tritone appart, both sound the same. How can we differentiate when an interval is an augmented fourth or a diminished fifth?
Context:
In voice leading we learn that when the spelling of the tendency tones (7th and 4th degrees) forms a…
TaylorSwiftFan5932
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21
votes
5 answers
What is the term for a song without a tempo?
I have a song that is just acoustic guitar/vocals/and cello and I don't want to give it a tempo because I enjoy the way it sounds just played at the tempo of whatever emotion I have or venue I'm playing at, etc...
I was just wondering if there was a…
MattCamp
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21
votes
2 answers
What is the meaning of this New Year's Resolution joke using music sheet notations?
I came across this joke while browsing the social medias of some piano dealers:
The picture depicts two staves: the one above with a G clef and the one below with the F clef. The time signature is 4 and 4. There is a bar line in the middle, meaning…
Clockwork
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21
votes
6 answers
Is there a way to rehearse being in a stressful performance situation?
I'm a brass player in a UK brass band. We spend lots of time practising things:
we practise our technique so that we can perform fast or slow phrases without stumbling;
we practise ensemble playing so we are in tune with the other players and our…
Brian THOMAS
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21
votes
11 answers
Guitar for a patient with a spinal injury
I work as a physiotherapist at a rehabilitation hospital. I am looking to help a patient get back to playing guitar. He suffered a cervical spine injury and has no control over his fingers in both hands. He has managed to strum with his right from…
Ciara Murphy
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