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.
1,720
questions
-1
votes
2answers
60 views
What note is this and how many counts does this have?
How many counts do this note get and what is the note called? I’m confused
3
votes
1answer
53 views
Chord-Scale Theory: Determine chord qualities
I started to learn about the chord-scale theory lately which i find quite interesting. I came across this table of modes (scales) and their corresponding chords:
Chord-Scales of the Major Modes:
...
7
votes
1answer
171 views
Best practice for notating harmonic: quarter vs. half note?
Typically, an "open diamond" notehead is used to indicate a harmonic fingering. The image here is from an edition of the Cassado Cello Suite (1st mov't). It's clear from the overall ...
4
votes
1answer
155 views
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto 2 - technical question
Quick question about the following section in Rach 2 3rd movement:
Should this be played with the right hand only? I originally assumed so, but it's such a fast section I wondered if others played it ...
4
votes
1answer
130 views
How to beam multiple voices correctly
I don't want to change the clef at the top, so I wrote the first group of notes in the bottom, but I also want the first notes (chord) of the bar to be in the second voice. But in this case, it ...
1
vote
0answers
29 views
What do these two diagonal lines between bars mean? [duplicate]
They look like tremolo bars but they're not beside any note.
2
votes
3answers
477 views
Why is legato articulation needed
Can someone clarify why the legato articulation is needed in notation? Staccato 'shortens' the duration but surely the default is legato? How can a note be played more legato?
0
votes
1answer
58 views
Can a pedal point note be used from any note?
Usually a pedal point note is a Tonic or a Dominant note.
Can we use the Subdominant note as a pedal point ?
Should we use any note as a pedal point ?
0
votes
1answer
107 views
What does it mean to have a 'slash chord' with more than one note after the slash? [duplicate]
I'm used to slash chords like D/F# or Am/G where the second part after the slash informs you of the bass note.
I just saw a video with someone talking about chords like C+/Db+. I didn't even know ...
11
votes
1answer
998 views
What does this sideways triangular marking mean?
In this score to the Barber of Seville, these rightward pointing triangles appear. I first thought that it may just be an unusual way of showing the accent mark > but this also appears. Does ...
7
votes
4answers
1k views
How to simulate performance volume levels in MIDI playback
I've a questions about preparing a brass band arrangement in Sibelius, although the answer would also apply preparing parts in a MIDI sequencer and then creating notation from them.
In a UK brass band ...
3
votes
4answers
206 views
When do you end a pedal sustain on a row change?
I am learning the proper way to notate a pedal sustain in music notation, but am not sure about how to mark a transition from one line of music to another. In this hypothetical only example ...
... ...
2
votes
2answers
322 views
Augmented and Diminished Intervals
I am going through a huge theoretical "reboot" with Laitz's Complete Musician on my own, and I'm having trouble counting the intervals here:
This is in treble clef. The first highlighted ...
3
votes
6answers
216 views
Why No Augmented Minor Chord?
The recently posted question "What chord is Dm7 with a Bb?” asks:
If I have a Dm7 chord played on the 5th fret of a guitar as a barre chord and move my pinky to play the Bb note next to the A on ...
2
votes
1answer
70 views
standard notation and the numbered notation
So I have been playing piano for 1.5 years and my biggest obstacle for learning piano is definitely to play both hand, I’m still struggling right now, maybe I improve a little bit, but still very much ...
1
vote
2answers
79 views
How do I notate this rhythm? [closed]
I've written this riff and cannot for the life of me figure out how to notate the rhythm. I need to know the subdivisions to set up DAW and write drum track for it.
Here's the riff, played twice: ...
4
votes
1answer
63 views
With no accent mark available to soften a note or 2, can Dynamics notes be used instead? [duplicate]
I realize a form of this question has been addressed in the past, but ... I am very new to music theory and need a clarification. I was shocked to discover today that in music notation, there is no ...
4
votes
4answers
140 views
The proper way to mark sustain pedal for MuseScore playback and live performer?
Thanks in advance for your help here. I am very new to music theory and notation. As such, I may struggle with your reply if it has a lot of musical vocab. I'm using a great free music notation ...
2
votes
1answer
69 views
Proper use of fermata marks on sheet music
I'm VERY new to music notation ... an absolute novice, so forgive me if this is an obvious beginner question.
My questions involve use of Fermata marks.
(1) In music notation, if I want to tell the ...
3
votes
1answer
73 views
What does this tenuto notation mean?
What precisely does this notation mean in the first bar treble clef? From ear, the note appears to be held until it’s sounded again - is that the intention, and wouldn’t a dotted eight be a reasonable ...
1
vote
1answer
36 views
Help, how can I properly notate this rhythm? [closed]
this is the song
The intro/loop throughout is
F#m E A
Bm A/C# D
C#m E
A/E E
I was thinking like:
| F#m F#m E A | A Bm A/C# | D D C#m E | E A/E E F#m
But I don't know if that's a proper way to ...
2
votes
1answer
45 views
Tongue drum note symbols
I've been offered recently a tongue drum similar to this one:
Exploring the StackExchange answers I think it is tuned to the pentatonic scale. However I cannot make sense of the symbols on the ...
4
votes
1answer
166 views
How to notate the 6th and 7th scale degree cord of a minor scale? [duplicate]
Let's say that I'm in the key of A minor and there is a G major chord proceeding an A minor chord. Do I notate the G major as VII or bVII? Confusing since G is the VII in the natural minor scale and ...
4
votes
1answer
65 views
MUSICXML - what octaves does it use?
I noticed that .musicxml used an open g string in guitar as a 3rd octave note. However in classical guitar wouldn't this be the second octave. What octave system does the .musicxml format use?
Or like ...
1
vote
0answers
40 views
What form is a Waltz in? [closed]
What form is a waltz in? I've heard lots of things coming from lots of people but it is not very clear. I need it for a music theory study.
-1
votes
0answers
34 views
What is the reason for writing the notes according to the key of the melody? [duplicate]
When writing notes on the staff, we first indicate a key and then it affects all notes on the staff, making them sharp or flat. But I could instead indicate that all my staffs are in C major, and then ...
2
votes
1answer
57 views
Augmented and Diminished (Fifth) Chords Baroque Notation
Hello ¿Does anybody know what is the baroque notation of Augmented & Diminished (Fifth) chords?
I'm talking about of chords like this: C-E-G# & C-E-Gb
I need the baroque notation, for example: ...
2
votes
3answers
132 views
How does one know which F (or other note) to play?
I am trying to learn how to read sheet music for my guitar. I am starting with this beginner exercise, but I am confused on how I am supposed to know, for example, which F note to play when it comes ...
12
votes
1answer
524 views
What is this open, vertical rectangular symbol?
In Rautavaara's Second Piano Sonata, first movement, beginning 20 bars before the end, there is a tablature-like symbol. What does it mean?
4
votes
4answers
238 views
When should one use flats or sharps when transcribing? [closed]
All I know is that:
if the song has an F chord then it should be flats
but if it has a B chord it should be sharps
In this song, the chords are Dm B♭ F C and a transition chord which is C♯dim/D♭dim
...
6
votes
1answer
195 views
How do I get chords that last half a measure to display correctly in 6/8 in LilyPond / Frescobaldi?
I am currently using a lead sheet template to make a reference lead sheet for someone (I am looking to see if the chords that I found are correct, but that is a whole other problem). In LilyPond / ...
8
votes
4answers
919 views
Correct notation of ghost notes depending on note duration
Chords, notes and rests can generally be notated to show a duration of 1, 1/2, 1/4 etc. beats but how do I do that for ghost notes - i.e. those with an 'x' as a head. I can find examples of a quarter ...
6
votes
1answer
97 views
Divisi in Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings
I am looking at the score for Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings op.48, Violins I section, and I can see that there are double-stops. It is not marked divisi, but I'm listening to some recordings and ...
3
votes
2answers
151 views
Different accidental notations for the same key within the same measure
Mozart sonata K545, first movement, measure 32, the same key appearing twice, as Db and C#, respectively (see circles in image). Is it because this way it looks more uniform like in the previous ...
1
vote
2answers
81 views
Smaller scripts on guitar tablature
Above picture there are some notes are written smaller does it mean play slightly more silent?
1
vote
1answer
50 views
Notation of piano arpeggios, cross-staff and between hands
I need opinions on the notation of cross-staff notes in piano arpeggios. I chose not to write the usual rests so that my page would have a clean look. I cannot beam the notes of the whole arpeggio ...
2
votes
3answers
79 views
What are your techniques to research music basics signs, theory and for sheet music?
There are many questions about music basics, scales, keys, signs, harmony, chords etc. which could be answered by own researches if people had better strategies for searching.
This is because they don'...
2
votes
5answers
189 views
Are these notes (circled)?
This is from bass learning book. How are these G, D, G, D in red? Shouldn’t they be B, A, B, B? Sorry again, just starting out on electric bass.
3
votes
3answers
113 views
What is the correct terminology/notation for playing notes in a chord at the same time, and not as an arpeggio?
It is very common for interpreters of sheet music — especially string players — to roll chords. What is the notation to specify that all notes should sound at once? I had thought it was a square ...
2
votes
1answer
71 views
Help with same note next to each other but different values? [duplicate]
For the Treble Clef: Is The "D" played only once and at which value? What is the purpose of this notation?
5
votes
4answers
446 views
Rhythm notation syncopation over the third beat
I found this copy of Sloop John B online...
I wanted different line breaks so re-notated it.
But I changed the rhythm notation to use ties to the third beat...
What is the right way to notate these ...
6
votes
2answers
416 views
Hollow, x-shaped noteheads
I came across this line of sheet music, and I've never seen these hollow "x" shaped noteheads before.
I found it in this search engine, and the title or lyric seems to be in Chinese. I wasn'...
21
votes
9answers
3k views
Piano notation for student unable to access written and spoken language
I am working with a student in with a developmental delay. He basically cannot understand spoken or written language at all, so he has to learn by observation.
He has expressed much interest in music, ...
3
votes
2answers
65 views
Correct notation of rhythm in 6/8 time [duplicate]
I am writing a bass part in 6/8 time. I'm not sure which is the correct way of notating the following rhythm, although I suspect bar 2 is easier to read. Is this a matter of opinion or is there a ...
5
votes
1answer
106 views
Highly irregular beaming in this Liszt piece - is phrasal beaming a no-no or not?
The piece is Liszt's Heroischer Marsch im Ungarischem Stil, S.231, and the passage is this (measures 57-64). Notice how irregular the beaming is in the right hand, going across barlines and grouping ...
11
votes
5answers
508 views
Function of augmented-fifth in figured bass
What is the harmonic function of the 5+ in the figured bass in the following snippet?
If I have interpreted the figuring correctly, a F♯ figured 5+ should realise the triad F♯ A C𝄪. I am confused ...
2
votes
1answer
58 views
Is it possible to combine accent and tremolo in notation?
I want to have a strings part with tremolo, like used for example on the beginning of the 4th movement in Beethoven's 6th Symphony.
But I also want the beginning of every such note to be accented. In ...
3
votes
1answer
55 views
How can I use a custom text font in LilyPond?
I'm trying to use the "Hiragino Mincho ProN" font for Japanese text on the title, but I don't know how to use fonts, not even the other default ones (Sans and Typewriter).
I don't have any ...
3
votes
1answer
38 views
Questions on note grouping and beaming for 3+3+2 rhythm
EDIT: The questions below still apply, but here is an updated edit that I think looks a lot cleaner. Any thoughts?
Regarding this piece with a 3+3+2 rhythm, I have a few more questions regarding ...
10
votes
5answers
2k views
To what extent do performers “hear” sheet music?
Sheet music enables instrumental performers who are able to read music notation (a pianist, orchestral instrument players, a jazz band, etc.) or singers to perform a song or piece.
Presumably some ...
