Questions tagged [instruments]

For questions about generalities about instruments or groups of instruments.

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3 answers
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What is this cello with a fret-board called?

What is this cello with fret board called?
Neil Meyer's user avatar
  • 14.8k
0 votes
1 answer
109 views

Why can I not tune up newly bought classical guitar to proper pitches?

I bought classical guitar yesterday online, and it is impossible to tune the 1st string to E. I can only tune up to Eb, and if I apply more tension to the string, it looks like it's about to snap. Is ...
Sean's user avatar
  • 327
5 votes
3 answers
2k views

Are percussion instruments the only instrument type capable of making an unpitched (indefinite) sound? [Electronic instruments excluded]

I just want to confirm, wind instruments and stringed instruments are completely incapable of creating an unpitched sound correct?
Lecifer's user avatar
  • 808
2 votes
1 answer
137 views

Can anyone identify the instrument that James Morrison is playing in this picture?

From the bell flare it looks like it might be some sort of flugel horn. Can anyone say for definite what it is?
Brian THOMAS's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
84 views

Is it possible to "add" a rotary fifth valve to a 4-valved tuba?

I am currently playing Wessex TB 692 Grand, which is 4-valved BBb tuba. I have always cherished a 5-valved BBb, so I wonder if it is possible to add a rotary 5th valve to my Wessex horn.. Is this ...
Keith's user avatar
  • 143
1 vote
1 answer
136 views

What is the name of this instrument that sounds like a pedal steel guitar? [closed]

What is the name of this instrument? Here video I'm thinking that the sounds produced by that instrument are similar to the sounds of a pedal steel guitar, because when I see the newer versions of the ...
dsa's user avatar
  • 57
-1 votes
2 answers
175 views

What acoustic instruments are great for Droning? [closed]

I want a drone, using only acoustic instruments, with as little effort as possible, to accompany singing.
Lecifer's user avatar
  • 808
9 votes
3 answers
2k views

What is heard when a tuning fork is struck?

When a tuning fork is struck I hear two tones. From a distance I can hear a high octave frequency of the pitch of the tuning fork. Though, if I listen to it closely (closer to my ears), I also hear a ...
Lecifer's user avatar
  • 808
5 votes
8 answers
3k views

Do chords sound good only on specific instruments?

Whenever I search on the internet for chords, google spits out things such as "guitar chords" or "best chords for piano". But isn't it that such chords would be good for any ...
reign's user avatar
  • 179
4 votes
2 answers
350 views

What is the earliest we know wire-strung instruments to have existed?

What is the earliest we know wire-strung instruments to have existed? I was reading about gut strings, nylon strings, wire strings used on guitar, and wanted to know, but couldn't find the answer ...
Noah J's user avatar
  • 195
2 votes
1 answer
198 views

Alto Sax producing octave notes without using key, won't play lower notes without tilting down

I bought my daughter a new saxophone last year, and she barely used it- ended up with a school loaner because she says it's "defective". The horn plays fine, but for lower notes it will ...
SaxyMomma37's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
111 views

Easiest brass instrument to transpose with?

my real goal is to pick a brass instrument to pick up, but I don't know the right words to research what I want. I have a strong ear, so certain instruments are easier than others for me. So one ...
Jeremiah Gelb's user avatar
13 votes
6 answers
2k views

What "things" can you notice on the piano that you can't on the harpsichord, after playing the same piece on both?

Referring to Bach's Prelude and Fugue in C minor BWV 847, Masato Suzuki remarked at 1:37, as translated from Japanese to English I also like to play it on the piano. When playing it on the piano I ...
user avatar
-4 votes
3 answers
135 views

Which instrument is the easiest to produce the shortest and yet loud note? [closed]

It strikes me that it is not so easy to produce very short notes - like thirty seconds and sixty fourths - on the wood winds (it is merely my guess, I don't know for sure). Perhaps, it has to do with ...
brilliant's user avatar
  • 937
0 votes
1 answer
161 views

Help me find this "new" musical instrument, maybe invented in the 70s [closed]

The question was closed by an admin. I didn't find precisely what I was looking for, but I found this really cool instrument called Exquis which allows for what I'm talking about, to make scales ...
user1886458's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
60 views

What instrument is used in the background? [closed]

What instrument is being used to create the soft "pulsating" background noise in this video. It almost sounds like some sort of strings but I am not sure. For example, between timestamp 37s ...
7R1X's user avatar
  • 11
4 votes
1 answer
217 views

Magic Bells in The Firebird

Is a campanelli the same instruments as a glockenspiel? Although a literal translation of campanelli (It.) is something like "little bells", I thought that campanelli in an instrumentaion ...
Elements In Space's user avatar
5 votes
4 answers
596 views

Why don't all transposing instruments have transposing clefs?

Is there a reason for which some transposing instruments (say, horns in F, bass clarinets etc.) don't have transposing clefs? For some instruments it's not odd to have them, e.g. tenor voice always ...
Alex Kowal's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
111 views

12 string guitar stringing

Most commonly, 12 string guitars have their bottom four pairs arranged so that when strumming down, the octave strings sound before the original E A D and G. Is there any particular reason for this? ...
Tim's user avatar
  • 190k
2 votes
0 answers
210 views

Can anyone explain these unexpected overtones on my NUX electric piano?

I recently purchased a NUX NPK-10 electric piano, as a step up from a Yamaha keyboard. I love the instrument, and I'm enjoying playing it. However I have noticed a bizarre effect that I cannot explain....
Jon Kiparsky's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
276 views

Are there advanced high-quality violins like Strads with 4 fine tuners? Does any concerto virtuoso use 4 fine tuners? [duplicate]

Are there advanced high-quality violins with 4 fine tuners? (like Stradivarius.) Are there advanced violin concerto virtuosos players using violins with 4 fine tuners? Below are some related ...
wonderich's user avatar
  • 901
1 vote
11 answers
1k views

Possible list of motivations for playing an instrument (by hand) [closed]

Given that nowadays people can compose and play via a mobile phone or computer, what could or would some possible reasons for wanting to be able to play an instrument by hand be? Can't you just try ...
Joselin Jocklingson's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
342 views

Diatonic harmonica: How to play the draw bend with the three semitones down (effectively)?

For the diatonic harmonica, in the 3rd draw position B, how to play the draw bend with the three semitones down (marked in blue rectangle) B, Bb, A? I could play a semitones down, most easily in the ...
wonderich's user avatar
  • 901
1 vote
1 answer
141 views

What is a "bass xylophone"?

In the instrumentation of the opera Turandot there is something called bass xylophone, but I couldn't find many things about it. What is it? And, since it doesn't seem to be a common instrument, how ...
Ergative Man's user avatar
9 votes
5 answers
4k views

Blondie's Heart of Glass shimmering cascade effect [closed]

There's a ethereal shimmering cascading effect in the background of Blondie's song "Heart of Glass" at around 0:35 minutes in (in E major) and also moments ...
D.R.'s user avatar
  • 448
1 vote
2 answers
363 views

Learning cello fingerings without owning one

Okay this is going to be a weird question but bear with me, I promise I'm not crazy. Let's say I really wanted to learn cello. Now due to the fact I am not currently able to rent/buy a cello, this ...
violetorigin's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
91 views

What is the name of this brass (most likely) instrument? [closed]

I'm not sure if this is considered an appropriate post, I hope it is but if not, my apologies. I've heard this distinct instrument a couple times. I'm not sure what it is but am really fond of it, and ...
John's user avatar
  • 19
5 votes
1 answer
360 views

What's the earliest known example of music written for an electronic instrument?

The other day I stumbled upon Joseph Schillinger's First Airphonic Suite, a 1929 orchestral suite that includes a part for theremin. Since this was written 10 years after the invention of the theremin,...
WiJaMa's user avatar
  • 161
-4 votes
1 answer
1k views

Can mayonnaise actually be a good instrument? [closed]

Everyone knows what one iconic scene from SpongeBob, where Patrick asks Squidward a question: Is mayonnaise an instrument? To which he responds: No, Patrick, mayonnaise is not an instrument. I've ...
Matto58's user avatar
  • 19
1 vote
0 answers
118 views

Did percussion instruments communicate spoken words in click languages?

There are a number of click languages in Africa where 'clicks' function as part of their language. It seems like it would be possible to communicate some words with percussion instruments (maybe a ...
nanotek's user avatar
  • 403
1 vote
3 answers
131 views

Can I start playing on this clarinet?

Me: no money at all and no experience with wind instruments. Goal: learn how to play clarinet and to read music. Found this "French-styled clarinet from URSS" for 40 dollars. Is it ...
Igor's user avatar
  • 11
3 votes
4 answers
869 views

Keyboard where each key has pitch bend? [closed]

Are there any keyboards where each key has touch sensitivity allowing for microtones and pitch bend with the fingers on individual keys? I think that would be a pretty cool instrument, but I only ...
Emil's user avatar
  • 703
5 votes
1 answer
694 views

Why are band instruments built in flat keys?

Instruments in a military bands (and similar) are usually built in the keys of B-flat or E-flat. (Whether these instruments are treated as transposing instruments or not is irrelevant. The key that ...
Elements In Space's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
65 views

A Question about Avid Sibelius 2021 and Kontakt (.nki) instruments

Since Sibelius is just using a version of Kontakt in the background to play its own sounds, can I build Sibelius Soundsets that are based on nothing but the .nki files in my authorized Kontakt ...
William Andrew Hainline's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
463 views

What do you call this type of guitar?

Does anybody mind mentioning to me what this type of guitar is called? A pedal lap steel guitar maybe? ...
Neil Meyer's user avatar
  • 14.8k
0 votes
1 answer
131 views

Pocket instruments? [closed]

I’ve heard of the guitarlele, but they are about 1/4 the size of a normal guitar. I’m looking for some kind of guitar or other real instrument that would fit in a large pocket (no larger than 10 ...
Timothy Kanski's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
323 views

What are the key factors for any composer to select instrument for a song? [closed]

There are lots of instruments in all over the world every instrument have its different sound that could attach differently to the person`s emotion wondering how Music Composer think for selecting ...
Nisarg Desai's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
281 views

Why do snare players only have one drum?

In marching drum lines, like Blue Devils, it's common that there are some tenor drum players with 4-6 drums, but the snare players only have 1 drum. To me, that seems like a waste. Sure, more drums/...
klutt's user avatar
  • 1,418
8 votes
1 answer
566 views

Question about the abbreviation for 2 instruments in an orchestra score

I'm learning an orchestra score and I'm really new to that. I'm figuring out what instruments are included in this score, and I get most of them (correct me if there is any mistake). However, I'm ...
MusicalChicken's user avatar
0 votes
4 answers
898 views

Are Pianos and Electric Guitar Keys the same?

So I know that Pianos Keys are pretty simple to understand, yea? Like C1 is just the first time C comes up, but how does that relate to guitar? More specifically, F#5 on keyboard is easy to find, but ...
Punkalo's user avatar
  • 13
2 votes
2 answers
186 views

what does continuo mean?

In the sheet music for BWV1, "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" the last instrument is labeled as "continuo". What does that mean?
Neins's user avatar
  • 752
2 votes
1 answer
218 views

Unknown instrument named in "Ondine et le pêcheur" by Paul Dukas

(Image source) What is the instrument's name, I've searched it but I can't find it. It's in the score of Ondine et le pêcheur by Paul Dukas (c. 1884, unpublished).
Sanjai S's user avatar
  • 139
18 votes
3 answers
3k views

What is the correct name for this instrument?

I guess it's some type of trombone, but I can't find its correct name anywhere. P.S. If you're wondering, here's where I got this shot from:
RoyalGoose's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
444 views

Note designs on the 10 hole major diatonic harmonica [duplicate]

Here is the typical note design on 10 holes major diatonic harmonica in C major: I have a few questions: Why there is a G key in the 2nd draw and the 3rd blow? But it omits the F key? also omits the ...
wonderich's user avatar
  • 901
2 votes
1 answer
110 views

Drawing on Classical Guitar with Open Pore Finish

this might be a somewhat naive question, but I am curious if using some type of permanent marker to draw on a classical guitar with an open pore finish will cause any issues? I'd like to give it a go, ...
Rob Proctor's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
123 views

Need help identifying a guitar [closed]

I really like the sound and look of this classical acoustic. Can anyone help me identify it? Thank you!
connor449's user avatar
  • 145
2 votes
0 answers
224 views

Service Manual For Rodgers 770 [closed]

TLDR: Where can I find the service manual for the Rodgers Exeter 770 pipe organ? I am trying to repair a Rodgers Exeter 770 digital pipe organ, however, I do not have the service manual. I easily ...
Thoughtyness's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
600 views

Bass sine wave on an acoustic instrument

Is there an instrument that can produce a sub bass sine wave like tone, that also has a lot of volume? Something that would sound a bit like an 808 bass. I've listened to some contrabass type flutes ...
AvidListener's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
36 views

Hot rodding the fender 100 rumble [closed]

I am looking for information on replacing 12 bass driver with a very good quality driver and possibly Stiffening cabinet using acoustic foam. I plan on using other amplification. And or using fenders ...
Nasferatu's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
343 views

what are the sizes of the ocarinas

I have been trying to find the sizes for every ocarina (1C to 7C), width and height of the chamber .The only one I can find was because a youtube video. I am asking this because I want make my own ...
leontres's user avatar

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