Ways to use one's instrument or voice precisely to produce a desired musical effect.
6
votes
1answer
403 views
How to improve/train pinky dexterity for guitar playing (after long absence)
I played guitar from 12 to 23, but haven't really played for the last 5 years and would like to start again.
However, when I used to play I rarely used the pinky finger because I have big hands (not ...
6
votes
1answer
253 views
How to do a finger roll on a doumbek
So, I've just started playing the doumbek. I've started trying to pick up finger rolls, but they don't have the same ring or intensity as my tek or ka strokes. While this is probably to be expected ...
6
votes
2answers
3k views
How to correctly position your larynx when singing?
I'm a beginner singer who wants to get it correctly. I've seen quite a lot of videos explaining how keeping the larynx neutral while singing is crucial, but not a lot of the techniques they teach ...
4
votes
3answers
258 views
What are the advantages and disadvantages of various methods of supporting the classical guitar?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of supporting a classical guitar? I know of three methods, each of which has some variation:
A footrest
A stand or cushion that rests on the left leg and ...
0
votes
3answers
151 views
How can I play this passage on classical guitar?
I'm trying to teach myself classical guitar. I've got a fair bit of experience chording and strumming. But this passage is giving me problems:
My problem concerns the highlighted portion. Even ...
2
votes
1answer
151 views
Is there a formal name for this type of composition?
So, say there's a musical piece that has the following structure:
[A.1] [A.2] [A.3] [A]
Where A is a "harmonic theme", in the sense that it's treated as a theme, but its melodic content is contained ...
4
votes
1answer
210 views
Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (Piano Solo) - Measure 306
In the picture below, there is a significant stretch where the melody in the upper staff is at a lower pitch than the accompaniment in the lower staff.
Does Liszt intend for me to cross my ...
6
votes
3answers
662 views
What is the best way to become super-accurate on the piano?
For an example of what I mean, look at Volodos or Marc-Andre Hamelin -- both well-known for their incredibly crisp and accurate technique.
The answer is NOT to play more. There are some pieces I'm ...
3
votes
2answers
376 views
How do I double tongue on a recorder?
I have been trying to play relatively fast pieces (e.g. staccato sixteenth notes at ≈200 bpm) on a soprano recorder lately. Single tonguing on them is impossible, I have found. I have done some double ...
0
votes
1answer
190 views
Picking hand technique and precision
I started realizing that the picking hand was actually very important (probably as much as the fretting hand): it is always moving and it has to be extremely precise. I wanted to ask a question about ...
1
vote
1answer
78 views
What is the name of perfomance technique used in the chorus of Celldweller — Last Firstborn?
I am currently obsessed with the track by Celldweller called "Last Firstborn". Is there any name for the keyboard technique used in the chorus? In this YouTube video you can hear it from 1:28 right ...
2
votes
5answers
1k views
Electric Guitar | Right hand position
I find it difficult to decide on where to position/rest my right hand (picking hand) when playing electric guitar. I started with acoustic and i have a habit of resting my pinky finger on the guitar ...
1
vote
1answer
285 views
How should I put my fingers on a piano / electronic keyboard?
Should the fingers be curved/bent or straight?
Should I press the key actively or let my finger fall by "using gravity"?
6
votes
5answers
3k views
How to bend and release without flicking the other strings?
I'm trying to bend up then back down on the G string (so it plays both notes, I'm not muting the bend back down to G) but I always catch my fingernail on the D string. So when I let the bend back ...
14
votes
5answers
2k views
Why does music sound bad when played backwards?
I am not sure where to post this, but I hope it fits here.
If you have ever recorded music, and play the track backwards, you'll notice it sounds quite strange, almost demonic. I have always ...
0
votes
3answers
1k views
Belt (singing) exercises and techniques?
So, I have worked hard to develop a middle voice and head voice but it doesn't have the really powerful tone of a belt voice. Can anyone give me audio exercises or refer some source for belting ...
2
votes
3answers
202 views
What is the most classically correct way to play this fast run?
I am trying to figure out the best way to play the first run in Francesco Tarrega's Caprice Arabe. This run is meant to be played really really really fast.
First way:
p i p i ...
3
votes
3answers
268 views
When I do a pulloff on strings 2-5, how do I prevent my finger from muting other strings?
I've taken great care to hold frets with my fingertips in a position that they don't come into contact with other strings. Every time I try and do a pulloff though, it stops the string below, kind of ...
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?
5
votes
1answer
736 views
Organ technique for pianists
I've been playing the piano for 15-odd years, so I like to delude myself into thinking that I'm somewhat skilled. However, my question revolves around the organ. I've played the organ for 5-odd ...
6
votes
4answers
1k views
Rhythm guitar techniques for a great Blues/Blues Rock player
Firstly, let me say that I've been playing guitar for a couple of years now. I know a few scales (Major, Minor, Blues, Harmonic Minor) and the basic chords with it's different shapes. I've also ...
5
votes
3answers
131 views
Downshifting in high positions on violin
I'm having trouble going down to fifth position from a higher position. I often land a little offkey (usually flat by a quarter-step unless I overcompensate), I think because that's where the base of ...
1
vote
4answers
237 views
What is the correct way to use your left hand on a fretless bass guitar?
I just recently bought a used fretless bass ($200 for a Schecter Diamond series = can't pass up) and it is the first fretless bass I have ever owned. The neck has fret inlays & markings, so it's ...
2
votes
2answers
234 views
Switching from a short-scale bass to a 'normal' one - Tips please?
I've been playing bass in my bedroom for a while now. I have a pretty but pretty crappy 1970s Yamaha semi-acoustic (SA70, I think). I've been thinking of branching out into some new styles and ...
3
votes
2answers
408 views
Riders on the storm fingering for piano
I'm talking about this little run:
I can't think of a proper fingering of this, so it sounds very smooth.
Its basically in the Dmajor scale starting on b.
Can anyone help me getting the ...
2
votes
3answers
582 views
Pain in left wrist after playing Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 No. 1
I've been playing piano for a year now (I used to play in a conservatory when I was a child, maybe 2 years total). I've already learned Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata (1st Movement), Chopin's Nocturne ...
4
votes
1answer
3k views
What's the origin of using the cup-stacking-girl shouting “OH MY GOSH!” in dubstep mixes?
In a lot of dubstep remixes I hear there is a clip of a girl screaming "OH MY GOSH!" I'm wondering why this is such a popular splice, what its origin is or why it is so prevalent in dubstep mixes.
...
1
vote
2answers
130 views
How should I dampen timpani?
I've been working on my timpani playing, and the music has it written in that I should dampen certain notes at various parts of the song. But having I'm having trouble figure out the best technique ...
1
vote
6answers
833 views
Should I lift my finger before I hit a key when playing a piano?
I've noticed, that many people are hitting keys, instead of just pressing them. It kinda looks like that before they press the note, they lift the finger a little bit, same as if you tried to hit a ...
4
votes
7answers
3k views
Is it important for a guitarist to know how to use a pick?
I've been playing guitar for almost a year and a half now and I still don't know how to use a pick. I strum very hard and I'm afraid that my guitar strings would break from the pick. Would this be ...
3
votes
4answers
224 views
Is there a name for this guitar technique for Paganini's Capriccio #6?
I've spent several years working up Paganini's Capriccio #6 for the violin on the guitar and I wonder if the idea already exists and has a name.
For the violin, the piece is a coninuous double-stop ...
5
votes
2answers
359 views
Techniques to improve general ability to play fast runs on a tuba?
I play Tuba, so I dont have very much fast runs in orchestra arrangements, but there are occationally small passages that can be challenging. I want to improve my general ability to handle such ...
3
votes
1answer
148 views
What are the benefits to using different dulcimer hammers?
I, like many hammered-dulcimer players I've met, have a bag full of hammers. However, I find that I only ever use one pair, a set of double-headed hammers (padded on one side, unpadded on the other). ...
2
votes
5answers
243 views
Will changing my grip help avoid wrist pain?
I've been playing drums for about ten years and have recently started playing more long gigs (3+ hours, with breaks). Sometimes, as the night wears on, I'll get intense pain in one wrist; it's ...
6
votes
5answers
1k views
Logical way to learn movable scales on guitar?
After learning the CAGED 'open string' scales, what scales to do next? In what order or what way? When I learn a new scale, it seems to have the effect of displacing my ability to play other scales ...
4
votes
1answer
484 views
What can I do about my problems with piano scales which manifest in just one direction?
I've been practicing scales for some time now, and I found them mostly easy and fun to play. The problems begin when I have to play them faster, but oddly enough my problem manifests only when playing ...
4
votes
3answers
3k views
Should I mute “unwanted” strings or not when playing power chords?
I've been playing guitar for a while but haven't yet actually learned to play any songs featuring hard power chords. Now I'm trying to learn some songs by Metallica and AC/DC, and I don't have to tell ...
7
votes
6answers
1k views
When singing, how to avoid being distracted by vocal harmony or other vocal lines?
I'm not a professional singer but I love singing. I find it very difficult to focus on my own vocal line when I hear other vocal lines. For example,
When I was in the college choir, I sang bass, and ...
3
votes
1answer
266 views
How should staccatissimo be played?
How should staccatissimo be played on Handel, Beethoven, and Liszt pieces? I have read that it is like staccato only shorter, but it seems like it is used when notes should be staccato and accented. ...
4
votes
4answers
120 views
Does shifting vary on a fretted instrument?
As a beginning cellist, it struck me that non-fretted instruments seem to have a much greater focus on shifting mechanics than fretted. With fretted instruments, it seems to my novice eye that ...
2
votes
2answers
243 views
What is a harmonic note and how do you play it?
While I was browsing here I came across an interesting question so I decided to see what the answer was and well, I had some difficulties understanding it. I'll quote a short part of the answer.
...
0
votes
1answer
182 views
How to replicate Joe Satriani technique in “Searching”
What is Joe Satriani doing at 0:55 onwards in "Searching" from "Is There Love In Space" in order to achieve the sounds he is making?
My first instinct is that it sounds like a synth with a glissando ...
2
votes
2answers
210 views
What are good examples of advanced technical exercise books for pick-style guitar?
For technique studies, saxophonists have Klose, pianists have Hannon, finger-style guitarists have Shearer, and guitar beginners have Mel Bay.
What are some Klose/Hannon equivalents for pick-style ...
0
votes
1answer
247 views
How do I continue improving my saxophone technique?
I've started learning saxophone three weeks ago. I'm having really good fun with it and I play it whenever I can.
I already play drums, bass guitar, and trombone so I know a bit about music, but not ...
3
votes
2answers
220 views
Recommended book for learning Jazz Music in the piano
I have been playing classic music in the piano since I am a teenager and now I want to switch to Jazz music and learn it by myself. Which book would you recommend me? I know there are is this one Jazz ...
6
votes
5answers
1k views
What is the foundational book of Czerny finger exercises for piano?
I've recently started teaching myself piano (via Bartok's Mikrokosmos) and feel it would be helpful to supplement the pieces with some standard exercises. Everyone I speak with suggests Czerny, but ...
5
votes
5answers
1k views
What are the pros and cons of Traditional Grip vs. Matched Grip for snare and drumset?
So far I've just been learning matched grip for my snare and drumset playing, but I see of lot of people using traditional grip as well. I'm curious, what are some of the pros and cons of matched vs. ...
7
votes
1answer
310 views
What is the technical term for Bass 'growl' or 'roar'?
I've been looking everywhere for the past 2 days for the terms of these two awesome electric bass 'techniques' and couldn't find 'em.
I want to know their technical or common names..
When you ...
6
votes
3answers
3k views
Causes of sharp pain in a fretting finger after playing guitar or bass?
I have been playing guitar and bass for about 20 years now and I have noticed that sometimes, particularly in the last five years, I will do something with my fretting hand that causes a sharp pain in ...
4
votes
2answers
567 views
My fingers are huge; how do I adjust on a piano?
I'm a big guy and my fingers are proportionately big. I've been a student of piano for a few months now. I'm told regularly that I should play "into the keyboard" so that my fingers are closer to the ...
