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1500 questions
17
votes
2 answers

What are some qualities to consider when purchasing a cello?

My wife is a Suzuki-method violinist but wants to dabble with some cello pieces. I'm a rock guitarist--so I have absolutely no clue what to look for in a cello. It's clearly not a Les Paul so any expertise I have is out the door on this one. Two…
Jduv
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17
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1 answer

What does it mean to play in an 'arpeggiated' style on the guitar?

I sometimes hear a guitar player described as having an 'arpeggiated' style, such as Peter Buck of R.E.M. I know that an arpeggio is the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 8th of a scale, but exactly what does it mean to play this style on the guitar?
Ali
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17
votes
3 answers

What is this electrical thing in my piano?

What is the bar with the red freehand circle? You can see it has a cord coming out to the right. I'm unable to try plugging it in and seeing what it does because it's an incompatible cord with my locale. The piano is a Baldwin Acrosonic. I don't…
Scimonster
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17
votes
4 answers

Basic effects for bass

I’m an amateur bassist looking to get started with effects pedals. Most bassists use effects a lot more sparingly than guitarists, so I’m not sure which ones are common or important. I have AmpKit, so I can experiment to see what I like to use…
Bradd Szonye
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17
votes
6 answers

My ear is not very well trained - what can I look for as easy hints when trying to identify a ii-V-I progression in blues music?

I'm looking to learn how to better analyze music I am listening to, and I'm having problems identifying ii-V-I progressions, especially when they're the basis for improvisation. What are some hints or signs I can look for in the music to help me…
blueberryfields
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17
votes
3 answers

Why does the chord progression Dmaj -> Emaj -> Bmaj sound good?

I looked up the chord progressions for all major and minor scale keys, but this combination doesn't match any of them. Why does it work well?
tr_quest
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17
votes
2 answers

Tips for increasing loudness while mastering in Ableton Live

I am a drum and bass (Jump Up) producer using ableton, I have been producing for about 8 months now and I would say I have progressed really well with it. I have got to the stage with it where I want to master my tracks so I can get them sounding…
daniel aagentah
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17
votes
3 answers

What is tritone substitution?

What is tritone substitution? How can this device be applied to improvisation and composition?
TaylorSwiftFan5932
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17
votes
6 answers

Are accidentals in the key signature and measure additive?

If I have a flat for a note in the key signature, and then in a bar the same note with an flat symbol, does that mean the note is "double flatted"? For example in the key of D Minor with hash one flat (B♭): This means that all B's are actually…
Luke
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17
votes
3 answers

Name for descending semitones under a repeating musical phrase?

In much contemporary music, especially instrumental guitar music, there is a particular device employed. It involves a musical phrase in which usually one note, often a bass note, descends in one semitone intervals, while a(n often repeating) phrase…
EmmaV
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17
votes
2 answers

What is the theory behind scales?

My question is the following: Scales are The backbone of quite everything in western music. Does anybody know if there is some sort of backbone behind scales? A number, something like that? Or do some scales sound better than others because its…
17
votes
3 answers

Rendering lilypond score into html page

What would be the best way of rendering specific parts of a lilypond score, into an HTML page? I did that using lilypond-book by previously embedding tag into my html file, and it works, however that way I am embedding the whole…
branquito
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17
votes
5 answers

C major 6th chord and A minor 7th chord: same notes but different quality, why?

Simple question: many have noticed that the A minor 7th chord is the an inversion of the C major 6th chord. However, the more interesting this is why they have different quality (as minor and major) despite consisting of the same notes: A - C - E -…
krismath
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17
votes
3 answers

How to play same note legato?

This question is about this arrangement for a beginner (image below): http://makingmusicfun.net/htm/f_printit_free_printable_sheet_music/marriage-of-figaro-piano.htm There is one big slur over the first several bars. How am I supposed to play this?…
catalyst
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17
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9 answers

Using two microphones for vocals

In footage from concerts in the 1970's +/- I've notice that they often had pairs of microphones taped together, e.g. these: It seems like it was somewhat "standard practice" at one time; why did the engineers set up the microphones in this manner…
Dave
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