Hot answers tagged classical-music
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A major 9th double stop is not possible using just the four fingers in conventional position -- in that case the maximum double stop would be a minor seventh (or a major seventh with an extension). However, it is possible using an extended thumb position, especially if the notes are high (e.g. the lower note around an octave above the string on which it's ...
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It's thought that Beethoven would think up a sentence or phrase, write notes that matched the rhythm and inflection, and use that as a motif for a piece. He never told anyone what the phrase was, with two exceptions where he printed it in the published music: "Le - be - wohl" in the sonata for piano opus 81a, and "Muss es sein? Es muss sein!" in a string ...
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In the days of the Brill Building there was a phrase "writing sideways" That was, starting with an existing song / melody / theme and changing it piece by piece until it was something new. Sometimes when I'm stuck I'll go to a period that isn't related to what I'm trying to write - for modern pop music I'll listen to Debussy / Ravel. For more "formal" art ...
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Speech is made up of two parts: words, that contain the logical content, and melody, that contains the emotional content. Consider any spoken phrase; by changing the melody, the infliction and stress, the meaning changes, just as it can be changed by changing the words. Thus music is relevant to us in our speech, and we are exposed to this music every day.
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