Questions tagged [notation]
For questions about visual representation of music and its uses. If the question is about a specific type of notation like tablature, that should also be tagged. Questions about how to input specific notation are best served with the engraving tag.
1,646
questions
4
votes
4answers
148 views
Why are there fingerings in very advanced piano pieces?
I was watching along with an entertaining video of Liszt's solo piano transcription of Beethoven's 9th symphony. This thing is over an hour long with numerous technical feats and is surely something ...
1
vote
2answers
45 views
Is this the correct numeral for the given bass?
Pardon me, I'm pretty new on the whole "part writing from figured bass".
Based on what I know, I believe that a 6th means 1st inversion? (correct me if I'm wrong)
However, here's what I don'...
6
votes
2answers
531 views
What do these left arrows or angle brackets mean to the left of a chord?
I almost wonder if this is a weird way to draw an arpeggio, but they seem like distinct arrows or left angle brackets each on a line to the left of a chord in piano music on the left-hand bass clef. ...
1
vote
0answers
37 views
Are there examples of explicitly-notated, precise, nontrivial polytempo before Ives and Nancarrow?
Polytempo refers to the simultaneous use of two or more distinct tempi in a piece of
music. Polyrhythm can be viewed as a special case of polytempo; any polyrhythm can be written as a temporary tempo ...
3
votes
5answers
93 views
Two ties in a row
The image was from a video on YouTube. I think I only heard one G played on the third measure. So why did the author have the two one quarter G in the 4th measure instead of a single one half G ...
3
votes
1answer
157 views
What does this bracket mean in violin music sheet?
I am a self-taught violinist and need help understanding this sheet music.I know how it sounds thanks to YouTube but I wonder its name and its meaning.
0
votes
1answer
81 views
What does it mean when a chord in the bass-clef bar is marked with a treble clef and what is the extent of applying that notation.This is piano music [duplicate]
There is a treble clef next to a chord in the bass-clef bar near the end of a piece of music I'm trying to learn. I don't know how to interpret it. Should I play just this one chord as if it were on ...
5
votes
2answers
76 views
Did Chopin use hairpins (adjacent crescendo and decrescendo) to indicate rubato rather than dynamics?
In her answer to Liszt's B minor sonata crescendo, user @Madeleine writes:
In many places in Chopin's music, he wrote hairpins ... to indicate rubato rather than a crescendo or decrescendo.
The ...
3
votes
2answers
45 views
Guitar tablature: same fret indication connected by arc, no label [duplicate]
I'm trying to learn "Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues", by Skip James, and I am stumped on the circled notation in the picture. It doesnāt look like a pull off or hammer on to me, because the ...
1
vote
1answer
46 views
What does the word full mean to do in this piece
I was trying to play the song Legends Never Die for flute and I found the word full on an arrow attached to a note and do now know what it means or how to play it.
1
vote
1answer
80 views
Why does this sheet music say A7sus42?
In the sheet music below, there is an A7sus42 notation above the 2nd half of the measure. However, the left and right hands only play A, D, G which I thought should just be an A7sus4 chord. Is my ...
2
votes
2answers
76 views
Tempo problem in Schubert D784, 2nd movement
I am studying Schubert Sonata in a-minor D784. I have a problem with the tempo in the 2nd movement.
In my scores (Wiener Urtext, thus, I suppose this is not a typo) the 2nd movement is written in Alla ...
1
vote
2answers
36 views
Can a phrase mark extend two staves?
I was watching Liszt B minor Sonata on YouTube with the sheet music when I came across what looks like a Slur covering the grand stave. I havenāt seen this before, if itās common one obviously needs ...
5
votes
2answers
61 views
Does the natural sign still apply with the octave up sign?
The first natural sign means all E5s will be natural, so the first E5 and the second E5 will be E naturals.
But then the 8va sign comes in and the third E is actually an E6 but resides on the same bar ...
0
votes
3answers
70 views
How do you notate a blues scale?
I understand the concept of a blues scales and its structure. For example, the one I've been trying to write on sheet music is D Major blues. The scale contains the following: D E F F# A B
Now ...
2
votes
3answers
105 views
What is considered a proper Cantus Firmus?
I've recently begun on trying to compose a Cantus Firmus (it's an assignment given to me by my teacher).
I know some of the rules but there are some parts I guess I don't understand:
Could it be in ...
1
vote
1answer
83 views
Need help with reading this fragment from piano sheet
I'm a beginner in playing the piano and I came across these signs that I don't know. What do they mean and how should it be played?
Second measure, first notes for the right hand:
the three dots ...
2
votes
2answers
267 views
Time Signature Issue
I've been having an issue with this composition. Is it supposed to be 4/4 or would it become a different time signature? I know that 4/4 is 4/4 often because each note contains 4 beats- but often I ...
0
votes
0answers
36 views
Bass measure and treble measure don't add up [duplicate]
I'm having trouble matching the length of the two measures in the image below. All rests are eighth rests. Up until the seventh note group in the bass, things align; note groups 5 and 6 are sixteenths ...
0
votes
0answers
22 views
How to move the measure line to a specific note in New SmartMusic composer?
I want to move a bar line to a note so that I can loop from the point and so I don't have to write the whole section over again.
0
votes
2answers
51 views
Understanding Hammer-on Guitar Tab from the book “The Neo Soul Guitar Book”
I got this book "The Neo Soul Guitar Book" and they have audio files and videos, all helpful. But I just can't understand how musical notation or guitar tabs should be read here. Just the ...
6
votes
1answer
649 views
Are these diagonal dotted lines legitimate notation?
I came across this score with diagonal dotted lines:
Source: https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0016239
Compare with this more typical voice-plus-instrument score of the same song:
...
1
vote
0answers
51 views
Begining with solfege. She's leaving home [closed]
I bought a keyboard a couple of years ago (should have done it way before).
I've been playing the guitar for twenty years just strumming and singing. but now I bought a new instrument to learn. Also ...
5
votes
2answers
340 views
Piano arpeggio symbol: split vs drawn through
This may be an obvious thing for more experienced piano players, but I was wondering whether there is a difference between having a single arpeggio symbol that spans both the left and right hand and ...
1
vote
4answers
107 views
I don't understand this rhythm notation
From the bass clef I think the downbeat count is obvious, but on the treble clef is the 1st downbeat on the eighth note? It looks like it, since it is right over the chord. But then why isn't it ...
4
votes
4answers
320 views
What is the musical symbol for a single, reverberating note (2-3 sec) in Unicode/HTML?
To be perfectly honest, I've long forgotten my music theory. I'm now a poet and I need a visual way to indicate a single note that reverberates for 2-3 seconds (think of a third-full wine glass gently ...
6
votes
1answer
309 views
Do first violins go first even in repeating parts
During a feedback session on one of my compositions I was told that the first violins always get the first/more/better/complex notes and themes than the second violins. Even if it means that you would ...
2
votes
1answer
309 views
Where to repeat in this Jingle Bells score?
My son (5th grade) has received this Jingle Bells score. He shall play the treble clef on the piano. The colourful highlighting is mine for the purpose of explanation here. I have played piano ~25 ...
16
votes
5answers
1k views
How to notate this two-voice syncopation in 12/8 time?
Currently working on this composition which is in 12/8 time. I want the rhythm in the left hand to be like this:
But the notation looks difficult to read. Also tried this:
But the C octave chord is ...
1
vote
1answer
79 views
Jazz lick identification [closed]
I found this lick. I know that it is Jazz lick and I have used "Notes to tab" app and I think that it is in Am but I am not sure.
https://pasteboard.co/JxRpKKQ.jpg
Thanks for answers!
6
votes
2answers
137 views
Backward-pointing dashed arrow means what?
First time I ever ran into this. It's from a church song book printed in Hungary. In this example there are 4 of these dashed arrows: two seem to point to notes, the other two don't. What are they ...
14
votes
3answers
2k views
Why are the accidentals here written in a rather complex way, when there exists simpler notation?
(Score taken from Tchaikovsky Symphony No.1, Op13, Bassoon part. PDF file from IMSLP.)
I'm referring to the second line, starting from the mf. The melody goes on temporarily on another key but the ...
4
votes
2answers
289 views
What does this pedal notation mean for the piano?
I've never seen this pedal notation used before and would appreciate it if someone could help me understand what it means?
2
votes
1answer
88 views
I am supposed to play an F#, but there is no sharp sign to suggest it [duplicate]
Given this piece of music:
A learning app tells me to play an F# as the 2nd and 3rd note. My concern is that there is no sharp symbol on the 1st space. I figured there is a sharp on the line ...
4
votes
2answers
211 views
Understanding swing-like tempo notation
This is the beginning of Oxygene part IV (by Jean-Michel Jarre). There is a note-equivalence notation (not sure what it is actually called). I do not really understand how this should be applied to ...
3
votes
1answer
97 views
What does 7P mean?
I'm trying to learn the song Ladye Nothynges Toye Puffe by John Renbourn and noticed the following symbol in the book (7P followed by a line).
I have tried googling but didn't find anything. Thank ...
1
vote
2answers
71 views
I'm looking for help both understanding and how to properly notate semiquaver triplets in 3/4 time?
Here is an example of what I am referencing. Here is how it is supposed to sound: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G1tNWeMQ_IADvZ8JITKzK0WIUDPYvMSA/view?usp=sharing
I am looking for assistance in ...
3
votes
2answers
90 views
What does a prime mean in figured bass?
What does a prime symbol after a bass figure mean? For example 6' or 6 4' 2?
I came across this in a 1956 edition of J.S. Bach's BWV 1035, by Otto Heinrich Noetzel. Looking at the written right hand, ...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
How can I read these cross staff notes?
I'm aware of notes crossing clefs, but I've never seen it being used like this before. For the record, the song is in 4/4.
4
votes
1answer
62 views
Modern (Hollywood) score convention for Solo & Tutti
I've written my first orchestral score, and I've engraved it, as best I can, in a style to serve recording it by a conductor and orchestra on a sound stage in a short session, Hollywood soundtrack ...
0
votes
1answer
56 views
Raising a note multiple times on a single scale
I have a question. In the image you see that the F is raised twice by a sharp, making it equavalent to a G. Then, the F is raised again by one sharp. This happen within the same measure. Is the latter ...
1
vote
1answer
67 views
Help with fingering on Chopin's Nocturne op. 9 no.2 coda
I am trying to learn this nocturne and this fingering is really confusing to me.
Why are three different, consecutive notes played with the same finger? Should I just "hop" from note to note,...
0
votes
3answers
79 views
Two different symbols on Autumn Leaves sheet
Source
I rectangled these two notations on score.
What does these two notations mean?
0
votes
1answer
31 views
Articulation for shortening a note/silence [duplicate]
I want to ask is there an articulation that is opposite from 'Fermata'. In other words I don't want to change the time signature? What I want the particular note/silence should go faster then the ...
1
vote
1answer
45 views
Why is the Proper Sarum mode notated differently than it sounds (in the Yattendon hymnal)?
For context, image 1 is where I found this tune in another hymnal, and it looks like a sort of free-flowing attempt at notating (in standard notation) how a choir or congregation would sing. Images 2 ...
2
votes
2answers
213 views
How do you notate the augmented 6th chords with chord symbols?
If we I want to analyze a a piece by Beethoven e.g. with an Italian 6th chord (iv aug6) the notes are the first inversion of F#,Ab,C => Ab,C,F#.
So what chord symbol is correct? Is it F#b3b5/Ab ... ...
0
votes
0answers
60 views
Any tips for reading sequencer piano roll notation?
I'd like some hints reading piano roll notation in Cubase LE. At the moment when I see the vertical piano keyboard on the left-hand side of the window I'm sort of turning my head, imagining it ...
0
votes
1answer
90 views
Adjusting the BPM for an odd rhythm (to render a MIDI)
Firstly, sorry if I'm missing something basic, but I'm new to standard notation.
I felt stuck because I'm doing a cover song @ 76 BPM, but I realized there's a lot note durations equal to 5 and 3 64th-...
1
vote
1answer
68 views
How do you figure an accented passing note in the bass?
How do you figure an accented passing note in the bass, specifically when the harmony changes?
If you have non-chord tones in the bass following a figuring, it's easy to show the same harmony ...
5
votes
3answers
244 views
triplets on full score or 12/8 (with dotted 4th as full beat)?
I am writing a piece in 4/4 which has triplets all the way.
I insist it is not a "swing" feel, which I know how to notate (writing regular eight notes and adding the Swing decorator), but ...
