Questions tagged [styles]

Juxtaposing the many different styles of music that exist, and also discussing their individual qualities and identifying them.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
2 votes
3 answers
102 views

How to compose like Liszt? [closed]

I've been trying to compose like him for a long time but I've got no idea where to start. What are some of his most used chord progressions? Info like this would help.
  • 21
0 votes
1 answer
96 views

What is this type of piano sound and playing style? [closed]

I can't find out what is the name of this type of piano playing, it sounds really great and seems popular. Thanks, and I appreciate it!
1 vote
0 answers
60 views

How Can I Make a Chuck Berry Inspired Piece? [closed]

I'm thinking about making an unofficial Club Penguin Music Jam song for the Pizza Parlor, and I want to make it inspired by Chuck Berry, the king of Rock and Roll. What can I do to achieve the Chuck ...
-4 votes
1 answer
131 views

Blending Musical Genres To Create a New Genre [closed]

Throughout history mankind has created musical genres. This probably had its origins thousands of years ago when someone first banged 2 rocks together in a cave to accompany someone grunting. Or maybe ...
  • 123
8 votes
2 answers
980 views

"Playing cornet in open style"?

I am reading a jazz book, "Really The Blues" by Mezz Mezzrow, in which a 1920's cornet player, Bix Beiderbecke, was referred to as playing his horn mostly " open". He played ...
2 votes
1 answer
90 views

How is singing operetta and schlager connected?

I sometimes read or hear about people who are operetta singers. They don't sing opera (even if some did). They sing operetta. Many of the operetta singers are also non-musical actors in film or ...
0 votes
0 answers
76 views

Vocal fry plus? Does this John Lennon singing style have a name?

I recently learned the term "vocal fry" from an online singing lesson on pop singing styles. Now that I know what it is, I should think this is an effect instantly familiar to most people, ...
  • 392
4 votes
1 answer
98 views

Timing of arpeggiated chords

Arpeggiated chord [A] can be realized by either playing the first note on time, and the following notes later [B], or starting a bit in advance and playing the last note on time [C]. When each of them ...
  • 13.9k
0 votes
4 answers
111 views

Why are there multiple modern era styles?

I was wondering why there are multiple genres of modern era music, for example Minimalism, Impressionism, Expressionism, Serialism and Futurism. This variety of different styles wasn't present during ...
  • 11
8 votes
1 answer
708 views

In what ways does (late) Romantic-era orchestration practice differ from contemporary film orchestration?

By contemporary film orchestration I mean, broadly speaking, the orchestration style of popular mainstream film composers like John Williams and James Horner. It seems to me that these 'Hollywood' ...
  • 2,317
3 votes
2 answers
133 views

What embouchure and mouth configuration is the best for singing soul music?

I only started singing soul music well when I started keeping a large horizontal embouchure and I started pushing the back of my tongue up and the soft palate down, sounding more "nasal". ...
2 votes
1 answer
207 views

What style is this rhythm?

I would like to know what to call the rhythmic style of the pattern below. (The notation is my own, so it may not be exactly the way it should be written.) It has a Latin feel to it, but is also very ...
3 votes
1 answer
156 views

Gypsy Jazz style violin vibrato notation

The way vibrato is used in gypsy jazz violin, like Stephane Grappelli is a bit different from normal classical playing. Typically only used on long notes and developing after the note has sounded, ...
0 votes
1 answer
117 views

What exactly is the concept of returning to the one?

In riff writing, Tom Morello mentions his style with Tim Commerford was returning to the one. Is this basically just using the tonic chord as a drone? What exactly is meant by that? I believe I can ...
  • 14.4k
14 votes
2 answers
878 views

How bluesy is Ravel's Blues actually?

The second movement of Maurice Ravel's second Violin Sonata (1922-1927) is titled Blues (example performance). Wikipedia claims it is inspired by jazz and blues music, and that Ravel had first-hand ...
  • 141
2 votes
2 answers
390 views

Is there a defining difference between fusion and free form jazz?

I should probably get a handle on the differences between the two styles because when I read a question posted about "Fusion", the idea in my head is that the question is referring to what I'...
-2 votes
1 answer
90 views

Do styles have expected sounds?

I was wondering if chord progressions and melody have to sound a certain way to be part of a style of music? Like Hard Rock or Goth. Never heard of goth but if I did I would expect it to have a creepy ...
user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
202 views

In music what is style as it relates to instruments?

In music what is style I mean accompaniment styles? How does one play with style as it relates to instruments? Like make their own 16 ballad style. https://musicterms.artopium.com/s/Style.htm ...
user avatar
7 votes
9 answers
1k views

Can an original composition be an arrangement?

Sometimes I'll see on discogs.com a song will say string arrangements by so and so... and it's an original song by them. Can original compositions be arrangements? What makes an arrangement? Can ...
user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
2k views

What is a musical pattern and how do you use it in style?

In music theory what is a music pattern as it relates to style? Here is a quote I got from this website to help one get my question about style... and the use of "musical pattern. " "Style refers to ...
user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
43 views

Name of orchestral styles of Krzysztof Penderecki and Elliot Goldenthal

I just came across Krzysztof Penderecki's Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima after learning of his death this morning. The orchestral style is much like that heard in Elliot Goldenthal's score for ...
  • 101
1 vote
0 answers
41 views

What authors have tried to compare a wide variety of styles, specifically with regards to orchestration?

I have never found a guide to orchestration which systematically discusses differences in the theory behind the orchestration/composition choices with regards to different typical stylistic genres, ...
  • 1,085
4 votes
2 answers
555 views

"Contemporary Christian Music" but for other religions?

Contemporary Christian music (or CCM -- and occasionally "inspirational music") is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith. Do ...
  • 171
2 votes
1 answer
158 views

singing without lyrics

I was recently listening to some music while working on a book I'm writing and an orchestral piece came on. There was a woman singing over this instrumental but it wasn't lyrical words, more just ...
  • 23
3 votes
3 answers
349 views

You are the sunshine of my life: how is this off-beat singing called?

Stevie Wonder sings in a typical style I‘d like to know the english term. I wonder as I wander through Stevie Wonders style. What is this style called? Just syncopated? And when came this style up? (...
0 votes
1 answer
348 views

Guitar rif comparisons and similarities

Consider the bass guitar line of a song called "Schism": and another bass guitar line of a song called "Pneuma". When Pneuma was ...
8 votes
1 answer
196 views

What are the characteristics of Late Romantic English Music?

What common characteristics can you find in the works of composers like Holst, Vaughan Williams, or Grainger? I list these three in particular because of their propensity to build on existing folk ...
4 votes
2 answers
103 views

Is there a name to this piano element from Country Music?

There is a certain piano element I hear in certain classic country songs, where the piano seems to play backup to the vocals for the extent of one verse. It has a feel that the person is sitting ...
5 votes
4 answers
2k views

Why is Debussy's Clair de Lune not considered a nocturne?

Leaving the title of the piece aside, it sounds evocative of the night, though compared to what I've listened to from Chopin's nocturnes for example, it sounds more descriptive than contemplative. Is ...
26 votes
9 answers
6k views

How to modulate very smoothly and stealthily from major to minor?

I would like to modulate from G major to c minor in such a way that it would be almost unnoticeable to the listener. I'm composing a piece in a style that's very Arvo-Pärtesque minimalist-sounding, so ...
  • 2,317
1 vote
3 answers
209 views

What is the generic term for Allegri's Miserere-like music?

What is the word/adjective that could describe music pieces similar to Allegri's "Miserere" or Henry Ley's "A Prayer of King Henry VI"? This music appears to be be sung a capella, with a four-voice ...
  • 155
3 votes
5 answers
1k views

Holding a violin against the hips?

I cannot seem to find a reference to this practice anywhere outside of this video (seen from the beginning (~0:32) of the video) Is there an official term for this ...
  • 133
10 votes
1 answer
926 views

Why is contemporary music for the recorder so weird?

Im a recorder enthusiast and I love playing early music. There is so much music from that time that fits for the recorder, but it is still limited. So I would like to go for more modern / contemporary ...
8 votes
3 answers
3k views

How to distinguish light vs dark tone?

I have been playing the flute for 2 years and I can't get my head around the concept of tone colors. I'm learning with Trevor Why books, which describe 3 beginner exercises with which to practice 2 ...
user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
967 views

What is Salon music?

I have read that Chopins Minute Waltz was a great 'Salon' piece. What does this mean, for music to be 'Salon Music'?
  • 14.4k
3 votes
3 answers
2k views

What was Chopin's style like?

I don't really play piano, but I have been immersed in Chopin's music for the last month. I'm curious to hear from Piano players what were the elements of his style? You can hear a lot of eastern ...
  • 14.4k
12 votes
4 answers
7k views

Why play a fretted note while you can play it on an open string?

Please take a look at this arrangement: Why does the arranger/composer play an E on the B string, 5th fret and a B on the G string, 4th fret while he could just play an E on the open E string an B ...
  • 429
1 vote
1 answer
915 views

What is this singing style called? [duplicate]

I've been scouring google for over an hour, but I'm at a loss as to how to search apparently. I'd like to know what the singing style used here is called. I've tried looking for Balkan vocal styles, ...
2 votes
5 answers
255 views

What word describes an instrument’s native character?

(Caveat: this may be more appropriate in the English Stack Exchange, but I’m a musician and it has to do with instruments, so I put it here.) As a composer of Celtic-style tunes, I usually pick up my ...
  • 723
3 votes
1 answer
1k views

Rick Wright's style of playing

Some of you might know Richard Wright from Pink Floyd. I've been studying his technique and his style for a few years now. Especially the way he builds up harmony. Unfortunately I couldn't find any ...
  • 3,721
2 votes
1 answer
73 views

How to stylistically prepare symphonic pieces for auditions

I was wondering what the general thought is behind preparing symphonic pieces for an audition for band at a University. The pieces have already been chosen, so what I am considering is whether to ...
0 votes
1 answer
140 views

Question on arpeggiated chords in bluegrass

I am looking at a bluegrass progression in a book on country piano. One way to play this progression is by playing bass notes in the LH and arpeggiated chords in the RH. Is playing arpeggiated chords ...
8 votes
2 answers
9k views

Whats the difference between Organum, Motet, and Clausula?

Organa, Motets, and clausulae were all common in the 13th century, written and composed by the then-leading School of Notre Dame (Leonin and Perotin). However, I've found it really hard to understand ...
  • 221
6 votes
5 answers
426 views

How much of a solo by a great pianist is licks and how much is melodic innovation?

I see alot of websites and blogs that claim that the key to becoming a successful jazz musician is to load up on licks. Now while this may be useful to create mood in some contexts, it's not possible ...
  • 363
3 votes
3 answers
187 views

Is there a technical name for a piece of music played as alternate style?

Is there a technical name for a piece of music played in an alternate style? For example: in a documentary I saw a savant child play a sonata of Beethoven as if Mozart would have played it. Most of ...
  • 131
8 votes
3 answers
19k views

How did baroque composers relate to human emotions?

Not sure whether this question really belongs here, as it is rather open-ended. Still, it's something I've been thinking about a lot lately. So I'd be most grateful if you could share your thoughts ...
  • 2,317
-1 votes
1 answer
145 views

What is the rap mechanism used in "No Pixar" called?

There is a mechanism / technique used in rap, I guess it's like a count, a speed, the number of words per line or something that determines how a rap is performed lyrically/rythmatically, and I ...
  • 99
1 vote
1 answer
7k views

How can I change the style/rhythm of a song?

I came across a video by Maan Hamadeh, in this he has played Fur Elise in different styles. What is the theory behind this ?
5 votes
2 answers
764 views

Need help leaning to feel and play the upbeat centric soul/gospel/funk groove

I'm a pianist for a contemporary church also. I've been playing for my church for 30 years but I'm trying to improve my playing. My problem is that I really don't know that much about music theory ...
5 votes
2 answers
3k views

Is there any accompaniment software for a USB midi keyboard?

Is there any accompaniment software for a USB midi keyboard, like Yamaha's Style function or Casio's rhythm function? Basically I have a M-Audio Key Ring 49 and I would like the functionality of ...