Ways to use one's instrument or voice precisely to produce a desired musical effect.
3
votes
2answers
237 views
Steve Gaines and Ed King… Love their playing, have a hard time emulating it…
Another question that's been puzzling me for a while.
I love Steve Gaines playing but I find it impossible to improvise in his style, especially the style he plays in I Know A Little.
I also love ...
3
votes
2answers
344 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 ...
3
votes
3answers
644 views
Bass-guitar online exercises for not-beginner
I'm an intermediate bass guitarist, and I want to improve my left arm fingers work, and improvisation during bass solo.
I think I should learn not only by simply remember some tabs by famous bass ...
3
votes
3answers
109 views
How do I improve my lead technique
I can play a small amount of pentatonic-based lead guitar but being mostly self-taught, my technique is quite poor. As I take my finger off the fret, sometimes the open string will sound. How do I ...
3
votes
5answers
424 views
Technique for octaves on piano without pain?
So I'm a decently experienced pianist, but I never had formal training. And now I've got this absolutely amazing arrangement of Bohemian Rhapsody, and it's killing me.
The first two parts were so ...
3
votes
2answers
382 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 ...
3
votes
1answer
60 views
Is there a set of guidelines to indicate where on the neck to play equivalent notes?
I have just started learning mandolin and I am working my way through St. Louis Blues. The music that I am using includes the tablature as well as the music.
The tab for one section shows:
...
3
votes
2answers
100 views
Slurs that span two staves
I saw some slurs that span two staves (both the bass and the treble clefs) on a piece of sheet music. Are they any different from the regular slurs? How should I play them?
3
votes
3answers
250 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 ...
3
votes
2answers
166 views
Playing The Strokes - Heart in a Cage intro - what's the best technique?
I'm trying to play the intro to The Strokes - Heart in a Cage. Valensi uses quite a bit of drive in it so it's very difficult to get clean notes at that speed. I use two fingers of my left hand to ...
3
votes
2answers
103 views
Name for music that imitates speech
I have searched and asked others for the answer to this but have come up dry: what is the name or technique in music where musical notes approximate/imitate speech? Note that I am not talking about ...
3
votes
2answers
221 views
Flatpicking: how can I make my floating-pick-hand less bouncy?
Can anyone suggest how I might improve my "floating fist" style flatpicking? I'm trying to clean up my pick technique for the sake of accuracy, feel, speed, and general ease-of-playing. I use the ...
3
votes
4answers
220 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 ...
3
votes
2answers
206 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 ...
3
votes
2answers
180 views
What technical difficulties will I encounter transitioning from violin to 5-string viola?
What is harder to play, violin or viola?
My question is should be completely agnostic, i.e. no relation to the classical repertoire or any other rep., nor should it be about the string order.
The ...
3
votes
1answer
244 views
Finger techniques when playing valve brass instrument
I am playing Eb tuba with 4 valves (4th at my right hand pinky). Usually I have my fingers more or less straight out over the valves, resulting in the tips for all other than the pinky is sticking out ...
3
votes
2answers
128 views
Inconsistent Right Hand Technique - Mixing economy and double picking
I am coming back to the guitar after almost 10 years away. I have been around the instrument as a jazz player for almost 25 years.
The biggest challenge coming back is what, I believe, drove me ...
3
votes
1answer
145 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). ...
3
votes
1answer
227 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. ...
3
votes
1answer
280 views
Piano technique: Repetitions and oscillations
Not sure if I am using the right expression, so allow me to cite examples.
There are some piano movements that cause my hands (wrists) to cramp when I play it for too long. One are repeated chords. ...
3
votes
2answers
106 views
How to play Rumba-Flamenco (Spanish rumba) style of music on guitar?
I want to play the rumba style of flamenco music on my guitar.
What are some defining characteristics of this style of music? Are there particular strumming patterns that define this music?
Which ...
3
votes
1answer
548 views
How can I learn Soukous guitar?
I really like the sound of Soukous guitar playing, and would like to learn a bit of that. What would be good ways of doing this? I'm not great at picking at all, I'm a happy amateur chord strummer, so ...
2
votes
2answers
88 views
Do I have a problem in my ring finger?
I play piano, guitar violin and other instruments.
I have a little weakness in my ring finger, especially the left one.
Instrumently-agnostic speaking, to reproduce what I'm talking, place your left ...
2
votes
2answers
2k views
Short fat fingers
Any tips for someone with short fat fingers.
I find trying to get my chords, I accidentally cover over other strings.
Any tips?
2
votes
1answer
267 views
Beginning sweep picking exercises
What are some recommended easy exercises to start developing the sweep picking technique in guitar? And what advice would you give to someone who's just starting with this technique? I mean, what is ...
2
votes
2answers
601 views
What Phaser is used at the beginning of “Rooster” by Alice in Chains?
I built a CE2 chorus clone that sounds fantastic and should work for Rooster. But I believe the Alice in Chains guitarist (was it Cantrell or Layne playing?) is also using a phaser, which I don't yet ...
2
votes
2answers
101 views
Is the following non-standard fingering for an A shaped barre chord still technically sound?
Having slowly come to grips with E shape barre chords I'm now grappling with A shaped ones. The two popular fingerings I have seen involve one finger each on the 2, 3, 4 strings or alternatively ...
2
votes
2answers
370 views
How do you play guitar dead notes quickly switching?
I'm trying to play part of a song that looks like this:
0 x x 0 x x 7 x x x
9 x x 5 x x 5 x x x
I find it very difficult to play this. I have trouble playing open strings and letting them ring ...
2
votes
5answers
238 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 ...
2
votes
2answers
204 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 ...
2
votes
1answer
214 views
Soprano recorder vibrato
How should I vibrate the sound of my soprano recorder?
Note: I'm not sure to use the correct term. By vibration I mean producing the sound similar to vibrating your hand on a Violin during playing a ...
2
votes
2answers
71 views
Drums - Having trouble playing bass 16th notes
The title is an understatement. I've been trying for months, and I can't for the life of me play bass drum 16th notes while playing 8th notes on the hi-hat. I can play snare 16th notes and hi-hat 8th ...
2
votes
1answer
50 views
How can I learn foot-from-hand and foot-from-beat independence on the drums?
Similar to How can I significantly improve my hand independence on piano?, I'm wondering how I can improve the independence of my feet from my hands. I have not done much drumming but this was an ...
2
votes
1answer
67 views
Proper way to finger Flugelhorn
Today, I was playing Holst's Second Suite in F (Movement 1) on my Flugelhorn. It sounded great, but I feel that some particular sequences are a bit muddy in the fingering. I usually play with the ...
2
votes
1answer
88 views
Andy Timmons Carpe Diem fast vibration
This is a tough one :)
When I listen to this amazing track (track 14 from "That was then, This is now" album) I notice at 0:36 and 0:42 a very fast vibration on the G string (5th fret) which I doubt ...
2
votes
1answer
150 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 ...
2
votes
5answers
979 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 ...
2
votes
2answers
81 views
How are method books for instruments created and why do they work?
This is an odd question. But I think I can use some wisdom from teachers and other experienced individuals.
Now, most of the instruments have method books, and many teachers follow them as well. My ...
2
votes
3answers
199 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 ...
2
votes
2answers
232 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 ...
2
votes
3answers
554 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 ...
2
votes
1answer
80 views
Is there a typo on page 27 of 'Mastering the Scales and Arpeggios'?
Cooke's 'Mastering the Scales and Arpeggios', from 1931, came recommended to me as the one-stop reference for learning to play scales. On page 27, I find A-flat. The text says, 'Right hand: Fourth ...
2
votes
1answer
164 views
Any way to practice using the very tip of your pinky?
I'm practicing a lot of scales as mentioned in my earlier question. When I stretch my pinky to reach for a distant fret, I almost always "land" on the side of my pinky. Is this ok? If not are there ...
2
votes
1answer
133 views
What is the correct posture / handle on a small Keyboard / Controller (ex: microKorg)
What's your advice on proper handling of small keyboards, like Korg's microKorg?
I'm asking because I find it particularly difficult and unnatural to play on smaller keys even when the keyboard is ...
2
votes
0answers
68 views
Tips for bowing in the Spiccato-esque part of Tchaikovsky's Pezzo Capriccioso on the cello?
See this video, about three minutes in, for details:
...
2
votes
2answers
227 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.
...
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
3answers
267 views
On a guitar how do you play two notes simultaneously on non-adjacent strings?
For example here is a snippet from moonlight sonata.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/12337149/gap.png
There are two open strings here with a pretty big gap in between them. How should this be played?
1
vote
3answers
203 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 ...
1
vote
2answers
743 views
How can I hold a barre chord for a long period of time?
I don't know if there is a special word for this playing style - I do it like this: I take a barre and I play all single notes along - if I need a chord I just keep the barre and press all needed ...
