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1500 questions
18
votes
7 answers
How often is the Sostenuto pedal used in classical and modern Piano Music?
In most of the pianos that we see today, the Sostenuto pedal does not exist. Only the pianissimo (una corda) and the sustain (damper) pedals can be seen. Throughout the time that I've been studying music, I have never come across any place to use…
ViviRukisha
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Why was Brahms's music considered 'too academic'?
I posted on here before about learning to compose, after hearing some classical music that moved me enormously.
I have been researching many of the famous composers from all over the world; Brahms has particularly enlightened me.
Whilst…
cmp
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18
votes
6 answers
How can I prevent the noise my guitar pick makes?
When I play the guitar (electric with steel strings), I can hear the noise of the pick clashing against the steel strings.
When I play a chord, after my pick triggers one string it then falls against the next string causing a clashing noise which…
Tamara Wijsman
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18
votes
9 answers
Why is the highest frequency on a piano 4186 Hertz?
The human hearing range is between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz. The lowest frequency on a piano is 27.5 Hz, which is almost at the start of the human hearing range. However, the highest frequency on a piano is only 4186.01 Hz. Why is this the highest…
Neil
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18
votes
3 answers
When creating a bass line, how do I know what notes I'm allowed to use?
I've been playing bass for about two years now. I've learned plenty of beginner/intermediate songs and play with some friends about once a week. I have no problem playing the songs, but I kinda just go through the motions and don't truly understand…
D. David
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18
votes
2 answers
Scale modification in sus2 and sus4 chords
I've recently been looking at what makes chords what, and hence my first target for this was looking at major, minor, sus2, and sus4 chords. I know major chords are made up of the first, the third, and the fifth of the scale, and from memory I think…
user2240
18
votes
2 answers
Different types of grace notes
This is a definition of a grace note from a Thompson piano course book:
But if they don't have any time value, why do I see grace note of different time values?
In this picture there is an eighth grace note, but often I also see sixteenth grace…
iddober
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18
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4 answers
Tell pianist to play entire piece softly, except one part
I've composed a short melody, however I'm very new to all this piano theory, how would I tell the pianist to play the entire piece softly? (mp, not pp), and how would I write exceptions for specific notes? For example, take this piece of music.
How…
H chalmers
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18
votes
6 answers
avoiding thirds at lower frequencies
From Plomp & Levelt 1965, Tonal Consonance and Critical Bandwidth: "The critical frequency is lower for more consonant intervals. This behavior reflects the musical practice to avoid thirds at low frequencies and to use mostly octaves or wider…
Kevin Yin
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18
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5 answers
Differences between the concept of Scales , Raagas, and Thaats?
Western music has Scales (major, minor, etc.) while Eastern Music primarily has a large number of Raagas derived from some basic Thaats. Both these groups represent sets of notes on which actual song tunes are based, yet they have very superficial…
explorer
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8 answers
What exactly is Bootleg in electronic music?
It's not quite clear what a Bootleg is in the electronic music?
What's the difference between a Bootleg and a Mashup?
tftd
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18
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2 answers
Why is there a sharp and a natural over this Bb?
I'm studying a piece by palestrina (Agnus Dei is the title of this piece, but I'm not sure of the name of the work) and in this 3rd bar we have a sharp in the parenthesis and a natural over the B, which from the key signature is flat. I'm pretty…
Shevliaskovic
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18
votes
7 answers
Is the sound of a semi-hollowbody guitar significantly different from that of an equivalent solid body?
I'm wondering if the sound of a semi-hollowbody electric guitar (i.e. one that looks hollow but in fact has a solid central block) really differs that much from an equivalent solid-body guitar with the same pickups and hardware. I'll illustrate with…
Mark
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4 answers
What are the most common ways to "decorate" a melody?
Yes, I know, there are way too many possibilities and it depends on the style of the music... I would be happy with an incomplete list for beginners (like me). Here is what I have so far:
Accompanying triads, very common in fake books, see also How…
Ali
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18
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4 answers
What do the 3/4 and 4/4 numbers mean?
In music notation, I've always been looking for a simple explanation of those numbers that appear on the far left of musical piece, such as 3 over 4 or 4 over 4.
I have a hunch they affect the tempo, but I'm not sure if they affect the way the…
BeemerGuy
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