Music: Practice & Theory Stack Exchange Community Digest

Top new questions this week:

Accidentals and ornaments

These are the first two bars of J. S. Bach's Fughetta in c-moll (BWV 961) as edited by Henle. Does the second trillo in the second bar start on B flat, so that it cancels the natural on the previous ...

accidentals baroque-period ornaments  
user avatar asked by Mariano Suárez-Álvarez Score of 11
user avatar answered by Aaron Score of 8

What is this quadruple-dotted X above the staff?

At the end of Shiro Sagisu's Robe Des Champs (KK_A09_miyagi), there is a dotted X with brackets covering two bars.

notation sheet-music  
user avatar asked by IsAGuest Score of 9
user avatar answered by musicamante Score of 20

Breathing strategies writing choral music

This is my very first time writing choral music. I'm planning on having a choir making a re-exposition of an electric guitar theme. This way, I wrote a choir (bass, tenor, alto, soprano) fragment of ...

choir breathing legato  
user avatar asked by glezo Score of 9
user avatar answered by phoog Score of 7

How can I dampen the sound of maracas?

I bought these Meinl PM1BK Studio Maracas. They are way too loud for me. Just way too loud. I kinda need to wear ear protection to use them. Now… is there a way to easily dampen the sound of the ...

dynamics percussion mute  
user avatar asked by Toskan Score of 6
user avatar answered by Edward Score of 5

Is there any benefit in trying to play a song by ear?

I started playing Take Me Out To the Ball Game by ear on the piano and I find that I have been making several mistakes in knowing what note comes next. I don't know the lyrics well but I am familiar ...

theory composition learning ear-training self-learning  
user avatar asked by heretoinfinity Score of 4
user avatar answered by Laurence Score of 11

Guitar Cabinet volume low

I have just bought a guitar Cabinet (Harley Benton G112) but when I connect anything to it, the volume is very low. I have tried the Phones out of my Boss Katana 50, with all volume up — it's hearable ...

guitar amplifiers  
user avatar asked by Kevin Score of 4
user avatar answered by DavidW Score of 9

Centering a line of lyrics on a staff?

I would like to center a line of lyrics on a staff so that the lyrics go inside of the empty space. Right now I have this: << \new Lyrics \lyricmode { 1 \markup \column { ...

lilypond  
user avatar asked by DWW256 Score of 3
user avatar answered by Lazy Score of 2

Greatest hits from previous weeks:

How can I significantly improve my hand independence on piano?

I started taking piano lessons about 7 years ago, and stopped about 2 years ago when my teacher (the one and only piano teacher I've had) quit. In all honesty, my piano has been severely neglected ...

piano hand-independence  
user avatar asked by daltonf Score of 89
user avatar answered by Michael Blaustein Score of 62

Finger Exercises for Piano when not playing

Are there any finger exercises I can perform even when I am not near a piano to improve my dexterity and strength of my fingers?

piano exercises  
user avatar asked by iddober Score of 36
user avatar answered by Rebecca Chernoff Score of 23

Purpose of double-sharps and double-flats?

In a few pieces of music I have read through, I have come across double-sharps and flats. To my understanding, they are two semitones above/below the note indicated. What is, then, the point of ...

theory accidentals  
user avatar asked by Ian Cordle Score of 88

What are the disadvantages of buying a short-scale bass guitar

I'm considering buying my first bass. I already play guitar, and find that even though I'm an adult, stretching to a fifth is a struggle -- so handling a bass with its more widely spaced frets is ...

electric-bass-guitar  
user avatar asked by slim Score of 24
user avatar answered by leftaroundabout Score of 18

Why do some artists tune their guitars half a step or whole step down?

Is there a reason some guitarists tune down half or whole steps, other than preference or style? It bugs me sometimes when I would like to play along with a song only to find that it's played down ...

guitar tuning alternative-tunings  
user avatar asked by Jasarien Score of 33
user avatar answered by Bella Score of 34

How not to touch neighbouring strings?

When playing guitar, my fingers often touch other strings on the guitar. I found that my fingertips are too broad for the strings. When I press one string by my middle finger, the meat of the ...

guitar  
user avatar asked by lamwaiman1988 Score of 42
user avatar answered by Kaz Score of 33

What is a normal singing range for children?

What is considered a normal singing range for children? That is, when choosing a key for a song for children to sing, what range should the melody fall within? Alternatively, what is an expected full ...

vocal-range children  
user avatar asked by Ulf Åkerstedt Score of 13
user avatar answered by Looby Score of 9

Can you answer these questions?

Was Bernstein's interpretation of Mahler's 9th Symphony correct?

During his fifth Norton lecture at Harvard University, Leonard Bernstein famously speculated that Mahler's ninth symphony was symbolically prophesying his own death, the death of tonality (the advent ...

composition history analysis  
user avatar asked by John05 Score of 1

How will these 3 very similar strings sound different when tuned to low C on a baritone ukulele?

I prefer to use a nylon core, wound strig for the low C on my baritone ukulele. I had trouble finding just the right thing, and the closest I found at my local shop was a set of classical guitar ...

strings ukulele  
user avatar asked by nuggethead Score of 1

Misplaced chords over lyrics

I use Lilypond to make scores with only chords and lyrics. However, I don't understand the chords placement I get with the following snippet: << ...

lilypond  
user avatar asked by Antonius Score of 1
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