Questions tagged [notation]
For questions about visual representation of music and its uses. If the question is about a specific type of notation like tablature, that should also be tagged. Questions about how to input specific notation are best served with the engraving tag.
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Lilypond lead sheet chord symbol notation
I am working with a collection of Lilypond files generated from the Weimer Jazz Database, and I've been trying to understand the rules for chord symbol notation. I've found a useful resource ...
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2
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Meaning of a stem extending to both sides of a notehead
A piano part of a big band arrangement uses notation where chords are marked and stems extend to both sides of noteheads:
My guess is that this is marking the highest note of the chord to play, as ...
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2
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Meaning of :/: with a 2 above
I don't fully understand this symbol. I know it means to repeat the bar, but how many times? Normally I'm used to the one slash and two dots in a bar, which I know means to repeat.
Can anyone help ...
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Clarification about the little x
I read through many comments and think I generally understand the idea of a little x. So I am now seeing one in a piece of music (More, Quincy Jones, transcribed by Boris Myagkov, for alto sax) which ...
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1
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Notes extending for longer than time signature allows for [duplicate]
I can't seem to find an answer for this on the internet, so I'll try asking here. I've come across a measure that lasts for five beats when the time signature is 4/4 and
should only last for four ...
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3
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Measure numbers in alternating time signature with dotted barlines
A piece has an alternating 7/8 and 8/8 pattern a la this answer's second example, notated as 7+8/8 with dotted barlines between.
For the purpose of numbering, does the full 15-beat pattern count as ...
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1
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Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody 2, unusual markings?
Disclaimer: I'm a musician but not a pianist. My hobby is to study musical scores of other instruments just to learn a little more about them and how they work.
I came across some unusual markings for ...
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1
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When do I notate the midpoint of a measure?
Is it necessary to notate measures in such a way as to always delineate the third count in 4/4 time or the fourth count in 6/4 or 6/8 time, in other words to show the midpoint of the measure?
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What is the correct rest grouping in 6/4 time?
From an ABRSM test paper (G5)
The last rest is incorrect according to the answer. However to me it divides the dotted minim beat into 2+1 for compound time and appears correct.
What is wrong with it ...
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1
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Splitting the beat in two when beaming a fast phrase in a slow piece
I have a slowish piece for cello (with piano) that has sections of 6-tuplets and various other groups of very short notes where the phrasing implies a double-time feel, so it's much easier to count if ...
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8th note value on TuxGuitar
I am studying Les Claypool's bass style, and for this, I am making a single gp5 file with some of his most iconic bass riffs to study. So I got them all together and don't need to open a file for each ...
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Is it okay to change the key signature in the middle of a bar?
In music notation, is it okay to change the key signature within a measure? Or should I split the meter into two for that?
For example, I have the following four quarter notes in one measure with:
𝄞 ♭...
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2
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Notes tied to rests?
This is the end of Leo Brouwer's study 4 from the "Estudios Sencillos":
Some notes here are tied to rests, or so it seems. What did Brouwer want the performer to do?
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4
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Dotted quarter or tied notes
I know in 4/4 you are supposed to clearly indicate beats 1 and 3 in the measure, but does this apply to beat 2 as well? I am transcribing a song on piano and don't know which version of this measure ...
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What does l.v. with a dashed line following it mean?
In the image above, I see the l.v. symbol with a dashed line following it.
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How to play the "Ped" symbol when there's no corresponding release symbol
I know what this symbol means, but I would like to know if I have to press the pedal as soon as I see the symbol and keep pressing it until I see the another "Ped", and then repeat.
I don't ...
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How to annotate violin bowing over a triplet
I am new (6 months) to both violin and music; forgive the simple question. My understanding of general bowing is:
Without a slur, bow direction alternates with each note
With a slur, maintain the ...
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Can I create separate variables for duration and pitch in LilyPond and combine them?
How would I go about defining two separate variables where one can be mapped onto the other to produce some typical output? For instance:
durations = {
4 8 8 2
}
pitches = {
e' g' f' a'
}
\score {
...
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2
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What's this curved line after this note?
It's not a slur because it doesn't connect to any other notes, so what is it?
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How can I make a standard notation for all beatbox sounds?
I'm working on a beatbox site, and I can use the old school notation for beatbox, like "K" for KSnare, "B" for kick, and "Peh" for peh snare.
This is my website
but the ...
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8
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Teach beginner staff notation
I'll be teaching an adult musical beginner piano. I've never taught [music] before though I've taught programming and math for decades.
[And I don't remember too well how I learnt!]
I am asking ...
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What does a vertical square bracket and number indicate on a piano score? [duplicate]
Does it indicate to play the A# and C# with the same finger (a horizontal style thumb?). I’m not sure that’s possible!
Does the notation have a name?
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Horizontal arrow protruding from a note
I've found some notation that I'm not familiar with in the violin part for the musical Tuck Everlasting. It's a horizontal arrow that starts at the stem of a note and points rightward along the staff:
...
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Placement of articulation on middle of three voices
I have a drum part that looks like this (instruments shown are cymbal, tambourine, tom, and kick):
Whether splitting the upper voice this way is even standard in the first place I'm not sure, but it ...
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8-string guitar stave
As we are all aware, the convention is to write guitar notation an octave higher than concert pitch. However, this convention is problematic for anyone putting together a score for extended range ...
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Liszt Transcendental Étude No.1 (Prelude) -- Piano zu 7 Oktaven -- which order to play?
In Franz Liszt Transcendental Étude No.1 (Prelude) --
There is something saying "Piano zu 7 Oktaven" --
my question:
Which is the ordering to play these bars?
Am I understanding correctly ...
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3
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What does this notation mean in piano music? [closed]
All I've been able to find is that it is a up bow marking for string instruments and have no clue what it means for piano.
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2
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Are trills played with triplets to finish them?
In the ABRSM Music Theory in Practice Grade 4 workbook, it suggests repeatedly that trills should be finished with a triplet, i.e
Should they be played as such or in a more straight and uniform tempo?...
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Should the 'f' be sustained or replayed in Rachmaninoff op. 43, variation XVIII (piano)?
In Rachmaninoff's well known variation 18 of opus 43, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, the first few measures of the piano part show an 'f' that's somehow repeated during the length of the first note:
...
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5
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What convention is used for sharps and flats in chromatic scale notation? [duplicate]
This exercise says to leave the dominant and subdominant notes unaltered (pick up the sharp or flat from the key signature). However, I have also seen convention that says use sharps for ascending ...
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Help to separate voices in piano score
I'm trying to write in MuseScore Rachmaninoff's transcription of Tchaikovsky's lullaby. But there is this section that puzzles me a bit in terms of voicing:
No matter how I try to separate the ...
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Confused about the natural symbol (♮) and the omnipresence of the C major scale in music theory
Something is confusing me in our use of accidentals in modern music theory, and more particularly about the use of the natural symbol ♮.
It is not always easy to formulate accurately a mess of ...
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Gm+6 Chord notation [closed]
I've seen a chord notated as Gm+6 — is that supposed to be a Gm with a 6th so G B D# E ? it sounds really off and unrelated to the song... What is this notation?
context: https://imgur.com/a/DcmtYJC
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Notation of a sustained note [duplicate]
I want to write a sustained A note for 2 beats. On that A note I want a B and C note. Both for 1 beat. What is the correct way to write that?
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What is this chord, and how do I name chords like this
I've written a piece that has this chord (notes from lowest to highest):
I'm not quite sure how to name this chord, most of my attempts have been confusing [such as E-7(𝄫5)/B♭]. It's definitely a B♭ ...
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Hairpins in Late Classical and Romantic Music
I have spent a year and a half researching the notational enigma of hairpins in late classical and romantic music, and now I am at a bend in the road.
The esteemed Czerny claims that opening and ...
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Chord symbols in staff in Sibelius
When I write guitar parts in Sibelius I currently use a slash notation (4 slashes with no stems in each measure and chord symbols above staff), but I want to make it even simpler for my guitarist and ...
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Piano notes not placed as they should [duplicate]
I am reading piano music (treble clef) and there are two notes on top of each other. Yes, I know what a chord is but notes for chords are usually connected right? And the stem of the note shouldn’t be ...
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Guitar tab symbol
Below are the first two measures from Adele's "Easy on Me".
What does the symbol on the top right of 2 mean in both the bars in the picture above?
Edit: ...
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Is there a notation for a short rest of undetermined length; the rest equivalent of a grace note?
Here's the phrase I'm working on, a nice chord progression from the finale of a symphony movement (Dopper 7 mov. 1) that I'm arranging for solo piano.
So the B♭ trill in the right hand exists for ...
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Circle and half bracket symbol - what does it mean? (Flute)
The final bar in the flute part of an orchestra piece has a notation I've never seen and can't find an explanation for. I thought the small circle might denote an overtone but I'm not sure. And the ...
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Bach BWV 817: what do the slashes between the notes of a chord mean?
In this Henle edition of BWV817 there are slashes between the notes of the chords in bars 1, 2, 3. What does this signify? I don't think I've seen this symbol anywhere else in the book. The editorial ...
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Corridos staccato eightnotes or 16th notes? [duplicate]
La mesa del rincon is a song I am transcribing bass for. It is by Los tigres Del Norte.
I am wondering if it is ok to use staccato eighth notes for the bass part, or are they actually supposed to be ...
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What is this "<>" thing above a note
It looks like a crescendo and a decrescendo on one note, but I don't think that's it:
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Can someone please tell me what is written on this score?
I found this writing on a certain sheet music, but I can't read it:
Can someone please tell me what this writing says, and what it means?
The composer is G. Donizetti, and the title of the piece is ...
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1
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Problems with notation in 6/8 and dotted sixteenth
I have been practicing with the Stick Control book by George Lawrence Stone. After a while it starts with the 6/8 time signature, but then I ran into some notation that I can't quite understand. If ...
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Notating hitting cymbal with shoulder vs tip of stick
I am writing a pep band piece (although the type of piece probably makes no difference) and the snare part is going to have syncopation between hitting the marching cymbals (as if they are ride ...
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5
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Notes on treble line extend down to bass line
What is happening when some notes extend down from the treble to the bass on this piano score? Piece is 'Wandering Sprite' by JC Engelbrecht
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Half note with flags? [duplicate]
I was looking at Saint-Saens Bacchanale sheet music and saw 2 half notes in a measure combined with sixteenth note stems in a 2/4 time signature.
What is this and how would you play it?
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