The methods, rules, and conventions for representing music visually.
5
votes
1answer
264 views
Deciphering the series of numbers shown for songs in a hymn book
Consider almost any song in a church hymn book. Either at the top just above the ledger lines or at the bottom near the credits is a series of numbers usually a set of four to six numbers such as 87 ...
5
votes
2answers
307 views
“Standard” drum notation alternatives
For the purpose of playing live, working through ("popular") songs involving verse, chorus, bridge, intro, outro, etc., is there a standard notation that drummers use to help them know what to play, ...
5
votes
2answers
132 views
Musical notation/tablature for isomorphic instruments
I've started playing the harpejji, a 16-stringed instrument with an isomorphic fretboard.
Due to its very nature, there are several different frets for a given pitch. Has there been an attempt to ...
5
votes
3answers
100 views
Does anyone know a good site to share guitar and bass tabs? [closed]
I know I can search in Google and get a lot of good tabs but I would like to use some wiki where I can keep the tabs I like and everyone can improve and share the tabs.
I searched but did not found ...
5
votes
1answer
80 views
Learning standard notation without succombing to simply remembering songs?
I'm in a tricky position. I've been playing guitar for around ten years and am fairly good at improvising and tinkering around on a piano, too. I understand sheet music, I can decipher it, but I can't ...
4
votes
3answers
156 views
Percussion notes in the vocals
This an excerpt from an arragment to the song "Hakuna Matata" from the movie "The Lion King":
Why are there percussion notes in the vocals?
4
votes
3answers
150 views
Music sheet notation explanation (Alto sax)
I just got some new sheet-music for alto sax and wonder how to play this notation:
For example in these contexts:
Thanks for every helpful answer!
4
votes
3answers
351 views
Do accidentals in one staff apply to notes in other staffs?
For example, when reading piano music on a grand staff, I know that if there is an A# in the treble clef staff (where it's normally natural), it changes all of the A's in the rest of that measure to ...
4
votes
4answers
165 views
Transcribing a Standard MIDI File to sheet music
I have a couple of nice guitar midi files that I would like the scores for; is there any software out there that can do this sort of conversion, and output it as a PDF file?
Thanks
4
votes
2answers
129 views
Why note B is marked with H in Scandinavia and Germany?
At least in Scandinavia and Germany two notes are marked differently than in most other countries:
B -> H
B♭ -> B
I have heard that this is due to mistake in interpreting messy sheet notes, as ♭ ...
4
votes
1answer
863 views
What does “NC” mean?
On some tabs, I sometimes see a "NC" text on top of the tab.
What does it mean ?
How should it be played or interpreted ?
4
votes
2answers
313 views
Is there any open source notation software for indian shrutis?
I would like to write down Shruti music but I wasn't able to find notation software for that.
Do you know any?
edit: Live Playback would be a great feature.
4
votes
3answers
108 views
Temporarily Changing Keys - Which accidentals to use?
I've was taught that whenever you write a run of notes going up, you should use sharps instead of flats; And whenever you go downwards, you should generally write flats instead of sharps. My question ...
3
votes
3answers
118 views
How many bars can a clarinet sustain?
Apologies if the question is too silly (my profile might explain why I don't know the answer).
I am writing a piece and at some point I want a clarinet to hold a note until the performer runs out of ...
3
votes
4answers
252 views
What are some interesting ways notes and chords are spelled in cultures outside of the U.S.?
I've heard that German musicians spell the seventh note of the C major scale with an "H" where an American musician would use a "B". And, for the fourth note of the F major scale, where an American ...
3
votes
2answers
109 views
Different representation of consecutive sixteenth notes
These are two different bars from "John Thompson's Grade 3" arrangement "Hungarian Rhapsody no.2".
Is there a difference between the time value of the first F in the first picture and the first D in ...
3
votes
3answers
1k views
What is the difference between swing and shuffle?
I am learning piano from a book and I can't understand the difference between swing and shuffle. I have searched, but I still can't understand the difference. Could someone please iterate the ...
3
votes
1answer
128 views
What does “1 x Tacet” mean?
What does 1xTacet mean?
Does it mean "play the following in 1st round only"?
3
votes
2answers
138 views
Arpeggio vs. Acciaccatura
(When writing notation for piano)
Scenario: I would like the player to play the chord G (G3, B3, D4, G4), in a "spreaded" way. That is, not hit all keys at once, but start with the bottom G and end ...
3
votes
1answer
72 views
Notation on Schubert's Op.94, D760, piece 6
I was practicing the 6th moment musicaux of Schubert's Op. 94 using a Henle edition (which is in public domain in imslp, Here) and I encountered something I have never seen before.
Over the bars 30, ...
3
votes
2answers
134 views
Is that a hemiola or what?
I found myself listening to Mumford and Sons' Babel, and my friend and I couldn't quite agree on how to describe the rhythm. I won that battle since my way led to groups of four figures, whereas his ...
2
votes
5answers
328 views
Trying to program a piano staff/stave. Is this what it's supposed to look like?
I'm currently writing a software application which creates notes on a staff, when a piano key is pressed. Unfortunately I have no background in music, and thus am finding it quite hard to get started.
...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
What exactly does a 3 mean over a quarter note and an 8th note?
There is an eighth note followed by a quarter note, and above them is a little overarching bracket with a little 3 in it. I know this has something to do with the timing, but I have no idea what.
...
2
votes
2answers
296 views
Am I understanding time signatures correctly?
I think that the reason my compositions in DAW's have seemed off is because they've actually been changing time signatures throughout, and I haven't accounted for it.
I tested this by making this tab ...
2
votes
2answers
372 views
Right hand in top stave?
I'm learning the song shown. How are these chords meant to be played? Are the chords shown in the middle stave (treble clef) meant to be played by the left hand? How does one tell this from the ...
2
votes
3answers
321 views
International notation system
I would like to know if there is a special order for notes in English and/or an international notation system.
In french, our order is Do Ré Mi Fa Sol La Si which is equivalent to C D E F G A B, what ...
2
votes
1answer
318 views
What does the circle around a note mean in a guitar chord diagram?
I'm trying to play E/G#. I found this, but what is that symbol on the 4th string?
2
votes
3answers
227 views
Are whole and half note rests supposed to only be written on specific lines?
I've always written the whole note rest on the 4th line of the staff and the half note rest on the 3rd. I always see it that way and never thought much about it until recently a musician with a lot ...
2
votes
1answer
818 views
Is there a difference between a slur and legato?
Are legato and slur one and the same? If the two are different, how do I tell which the piece is using? I know the gist of them (as opposed to staccato) but I need to know the specifics. They are ...
2
votes
1answer
163 views
How to play a #.1 in the guitar?
I play guitar using this scale....this is C major I think...(I don't know the name...but I follow the number on the music note, and it works. ):
But once I come across with this in one music notes:
...
2
votes
1answer
233 views
What does “Doubletime feel” mean?
I'm working a new cover song in my band (Volbeat - Sad Man's Tongue), the tab being a PDF file.
As I like working with Guitar Pro, I'm copying the tab in that sofware.
But when the distortion comes ...
2
votes
3answers
109 views
Is there a proper musical term for a piece's “roadmap”?
Band directors and other teachers will colloquially refer to a piece's "roadmap": the flow control commands denoted by repeats, repeat endings, D.C.s, D.S.es, codas, etc.
Is there a proper word for ...
2
votes
3answers
132 views
Should “Ooh” be sung as “oo” or “oh”?
In my last choir rehearsal, while going over a new piece, after I said, "Let's go back to the beginning and go over the 'oo's", my lead tenor, whom I respect immensely as a musician, responded "Uh, ...
2
votes
3answers
84 views
The origin of “Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles' Father” [closed]
The order of the flats is given by the mnemonic "*B*attle *E*nds *A*nd *D*own *G*oes *C*harles' *F*ather". What is the history behind this strange phrase?
2
votes
3answers
105 views
Same note in two staves [duplicate]
I have only just started to learn (on my own) to read music and play the piano at the grand old age of 64! Please can someone tell me how to play the same note on two staves? I keep being asked to ...
2
votes
1answer
72 views
Metric modulation, ordering of the notes around the equals sign
I could find some references stating that the old note value is placed on the left while the new one is placed on the right.
For example: "dotted eigth = quarter" means that the tempo just got ...
2
votes
1answer
324 views
Visual representation of sound
Graphical sound visualization (as available in several music players, eg winamp) is mostly used for fun, to add some visuals to the music, related to it in some way ( pseudo spectrum analysers, ...
2
votes
1answer
65 views
How are sharps and flats written in the nashville numbering system?
How are sharps and flats written in the Nashville numbering system. 5♯ or 5♭?
2
votes
1answer
47 views
How to make nonstandard scales on Finale?
I'm trying to use the scale:
A,C,F#,A
And then:
A,B,C#,D#,F,G,A
But I'll need to input a nonstandard key signature. How can I do that?
2
votes
4answers
146 views
Does an implied tie exist
Is there such a thing as an implied tie? Like some kind of symbol or notation that would specify to hold a note through the duration of all the notes on a pitch as if they were tied together.
Edit: ...
1
vote
3answers
70 views
How to play these chords?
I'm trying to play the song here. What confuses me is when I see things like 0h2p0 and 0h2(x4). What are those, and how do you play them?
1
vote
1answer
143 views
What note(s) are a diminished 3rd above D-flat?
In
What is the interval between Db and D#
some of the comments indicate that the interval Db->Eb can be considered as a diminished third. I would think that Fbb (double-flatted F) is a diminished ...
1
vote
1answer
235 views
Must “first-time bars” and “second-time bars” appear together?
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repeat_sign
When a repeat calls for a different ending, number brackets above the bars indicate which to played the first time (1), which to play the second time ...
1
vote
2answers
241 views
Notating Augmented Chords
When writing an Augmented chord, which inversion of the chord should I use?
The problem came up while I was composing (piano). I came to an augmented chord and couldn't think of which version to use ...
1
vote
4answers
569 views
Can a legato notes be played staccato?
I've been working on this piece by Sousa, and I came across this oddity:
Does this mean to play then notes somehow legato and staccato at the same time? If so, how would I play it? If not, what does ...
1
vote
1answer
105 views
How to play given notes on the guitar
I'm sorry, if my question is not too generic, but I'm having trouble playing instrumental acoustic peace and would appreciate if you could help me out.
Here are the notes I have (sorry for scan ...
1
vote
2answers
65 views
Accidental in Chopin Opus. 69 No. 2
This is an excerpt from Opus. 69 No. 2 by Chopin from the Henle Urtext:
In the last bar seen in the excerpt, there is a sharp on the A in bass line. Since A is already "sharped" in the key ...
1
vote
1answer
85 views
Best way to notationally indicate that a solo phrase in an instrumental section should end
After writing "solo" over a part intended for one instrumentalist in a section, what's the best way to indicate that the the entire section should again begin playing?
1
vote
2answers
180 views
Why is the last semiquaver outside the last triplet of the measure?
The following measure is from "Clair De Lune ~ Adagio Sostenuto de la Sonata Op. 27 N. 2 De Beethoven", guitar sheet music .
Correct me if I'm wrong but the last semiquaver isn't going to be ...
0
votes
5answers
110 views
Why transpose at the octave?
If an instrument has a range too high or too low for composers to easily write its music on bass or treble clef, the music may be written either an octave higher or an octave lower than it sounds, ...
