Questions tagged [technique]
For questions about ways to use one's instrument or voice precisely to produce a desired musical effect.
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Anatomy of plucking hand's motions for a bass guitar
The (following) questions came from analyzing my plucking hand technique. Consider playing 16th notes on one string with two fingers. It is accessible for me to play 8th notes with one finger (...
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It looks like both hands play the same notes (E and F), how do you play this? [duplicate]
How do you play the E and F with each hand? Do both hands play the same exact key?
[1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/NoFFd.jpg
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Is this a common harpsichord technique in Bach's WTC 1 C-major Prelude?
In Wanda Landowska's recording of the opening prelude to J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, at the moment of dominant prolongation (shortly after the cued recording begins) she doubles the bass one ...
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How to do pitched screams across the passagio?
Connecting chest and head voice (mixed voice) in clean singing and false chord modulation ("grit/rasp") works rather well for me. Pitched false chord screams work fine both in the chest and ...
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Can the trombone be played left-handed?
Conventionally a tenor trombone is held in the left hand, with the bell crook over the left shoulder, and the slide is moved with the right hand.
Is there any reason a left-handed player shouldn't ...
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Tips and tricks for turning pages without noise
I'm singing in a choir of 50 singers. We will be recording, and want to eliminate the sound of swishing pages when turning them. (Of course it would be better to memorize the music, but we haven't ...
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Tuba technique using chords in Dixieland
When one has lost their place in a tune, how can one play a non-specific note sound on the tuba to replace an actual note – to keep the rhythm/tempo going until they find where they are?
I have ...
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Piano fingering for fast right hand arpeggio (B-A#-F#-C# in 3 octaves)
What would be the recommended fingering for this descending arpeggio?
(I'm currently using 5-4-2-1 but it's tricky to shift between positions.)
The tempo is somewhere around 1/4 @ 135 bpm.
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Drumming rudiments & distribution
I have recently gotten into rudiments in order to gain better grip control. My practice pad works great for this and I can sit and watch tv or listen to music while going over the 40.
This has me ...
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Tips on playing loudly on saxophone with supportive air
When I play saxophone I tend to play pretty quietly. My teacher always tells me to play louder and I do but it's like it’s still not loud enough. He tells me to play with more attack and I don't ...
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Any tips on making pentatonic climbing more fluid (electric guitar)
I've been practicing pentatonic scales on my electric guitar and sometimes it'll be very fluid and smooth sounding and other times it'll be very choppy and static. Is making the climb-up and climb-...
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What technique was most likely used when demonstrating how a mariachi group played rapidly?
Sometime when I was around nine years old, my music teacher brought in an audio-visual aid into our classroom and showed us a half-hour film documentary about what made up a mariachi band. I=The ...
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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 ...
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Should I be consciously moving larynx when doing vibrato?
Aspiring classical singer here. Lately I've been experimenting with vibrato when singing by essentially just moving my larynx up and down gently but rapidly. I've certainly been able to produce a ...
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What's the name of the "warbling" vocal technique in "The Tale of Jenny and Screech"?
In a song by Ren, called The Tale of Jenny and Screech, there's a musical technique that I've heard a few times over the years, but never known the name of it (if it has one, as I'm sure it does). It'...
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Bending techniques in 16-hole Chromatic harmonicas (like Hohner 64)
Obviously, diatonic harmonica requires bending a note to get a chromatic scale.
Chromatic harmonica (16-hole like Hohner 64) can get a full chromatic scale by pressing or releasing the side button.
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Is burying the beater a bad thing?
I've been playing the drums (acoustic set) for almost a year now and I tend to lightly rest my kick foot on the pedal in-between notes.
This means that my beater is on my drumhead in these cases.
Is ...
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Playing ghost notes on the drums
I've been playing the drums (acoustic set) for almost a year now and have made good progress. I am learning from online lessons and loving it, but this has got me stuck.
I'm finding it hard getting ...
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4
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How to avoid certain notes ringing out when played with distortion
When I play a certain note like the 9th fret on the G string or the 8th fret on the B string (it is more prominent with higher notes) it seems to ring out almost like reverb but I have no reverb on my ...
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Ideal Wrist and Finger Technique for Large Interval Ostinatos
A lot of songs I play have ostinatos with riffs over large intervals and include a changing a middle note.
The treble clef in the image below is a good example.
I have been trying to play this with ...
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Granados' Goyescas finger wide chords
I'm learning the "el Fango del Candil" by E. Granados and I am struggling with the following two parts:
Measure 9
Measures 22-23
For the first one: how can I make the three chords so ...
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Is it OK to use the transpose function of a piano like guitar players use a capo?
The title says it all, I guess. I'm in the process of learning scales and chords in the different signatures. I find some patterns/licks to be easier in, for example, D minor, so when playing a song ...
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answer
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Fingerpicking right hand beginner problems
I just started to try self-learn fingerpicking. I know absolutely nothing about it, but can play some beginner tunes with flat picking.
When I try to position the right hand as told in the YouTube ...
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Hammer on and pull off barring the same fret
I have the riff shown in the image and I'm not sure if I should be just barring the 8th fret, partial barre, or moving my index finger as I walk across the strings. It seems faster to barre it, but ...
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Can anyone tell me how to play triplets in rhythm with eighth notes? [duplicate]
I'm having difficulty performing these series of triplets in tandem with my eighth notes? Does anyone know any cues or practice I can do to learn? I'm thinking I should try to just aim to aim to time ...
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Do you barre a chord directly on the fret itself or in between the frets? [duplicate]
I have seen guitarists barre directly on the fret and also in between in the frets. All diagrams of fret chords show to play in between frets. Which is correct? Or, does it matter? Thank you.
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Classical guitar technique problems with leaning ring finger [duplicate]
I've recently started guitar lessons with a local tutor. He's lent me his classical guitar — and ok I'm only two or three days in — but my ring finger on my left fret hand leans towards the middle ...
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What is Meant by Hooting [duplicate]
I once heard a tenor refer to a soprano as having “hooted” while singing with him. What exactly does that mean?
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Correct arpeggio direction
Should the left hand arpeggio be played up or down when there's two half notes in the bottom and a quarter note above?
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How or What to Practice to Get Consistent?
This might seem like a strange question. I've read a lot of books about deliberate practice and the history of music pedagogy, and I'm still a bit puzzled by this:
How do I get more consistent?
For ...
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When to start learning double stops on violin?
I am an adult beginner on the violin and would just like to say I've absolutely loved it so far. I started at the very beginning of this year and found a teacher who I'm extremely happy with. Around ...
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Is the Violin Sonata No. 9 a particularly difficult Beethoven violin part to play? If so, what is it that makes it particularly challenging?
In The Daily Show's April 14, 2022 video CP Time: The History of Black Classical Music comedian (among other titles) Roy Wood Jr. mentions George Bridgetower:
George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower (11 ...
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What's the best technique for C major scale?
I'm currently learning C major scale using acoustic guitar and I can play one note at a time on top of a Song. The challenge is,it doesn't sound like a music. How can I achieve good solo with it?
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Piano fingering for left hand figure
What would be the generally recommended fingering for the following left hand figure?
(5-2-1-3-2-3-1-2 works nicely starting on a white key, but not so much on a black key.)
Thanks!
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Tips on finding a comfortable position to hold a guitar?
I have an ES-339, and play sitting down with a strap, right leg on a footstool (or the bar of the chair/stool I'm on). Even though I use the strap, the guitar's body still slightly moves away from me ...
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Does anyone have any suggestions for some cello pieces to improve my comfort with treble clef/higher positions? [closed]
I've just finished playing "Allegro Appassionato" by Saint-Saëns and the first movement of Cello Concerto No. 1 in E Minor by Brahms. My teacher suggested I start playing Eduoard Lalo's ...
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What does ABRSM mean by Musical Shape and Musical Tone?
The marking criteria for ABRSM Performance exams comprises Pitch, Rhythm, Tone, Shape and Performance.
What is (Musical) Shape?
What is (Musical) Tone?
For context, I'm learning to play piano, ...
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answer
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How to make Big beat drum from scratch? [closed]
As a beginner producer, I am having trouble making drums for my records.
I usually go to YouTube to learn how to create drum beats, but when I came across Big Beat, there was no detailed tutorial for ...
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0
answers
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How do I teach high positions for double bass?
I am self-taught on electric bass and I'm currently working with a double bassist who learned to play in a much more conventional sense than I did. My musical education consists of watching videos of ...
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I don't know how to deal with the trills in Bach's Fugue in D Minor
(Included from comment: the fugue is from well-tempered clavier, vol. 1 BWV 851)
All research I do gives me a different answer. One example said to use the auxiliary note first - more in keeping with ...
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What are some common patterns used when playing the piano/keyboard in a pop/rock band setting?
I've been trying to learn to play the keyboard for a few years now and think it would be cool to eventually get to the point where am able to play as part of a group. The problem is that I really ...
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Jazz guitar: thin tone on strings 1-2
Hi jazz guitar experts -
I'm able to get a nice warm, muted, jazzy tone on strings 3-6, but not 1-2. This persists across different guitars, amps, and tone settings. For example, I've tried
Heritage ...
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Are 4 part chorales supposed to be played on piano using 2 voices for each hand?
Sometimes the bass and tenor have a 10th or 12th interval so obviously I cant reach that with one hand on some chords but is the general way to play a chorale on piano using two notes per hand? Most ...
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Singing: Head and Chest Voice, let them come naturally or intentionally?
I am taking Singing lessons, and starting to read about Head Voice and Chest Voice. I was told to sing from the Diaphragm. Does this also mean I should
start singing from the head and chest voice ...
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Recording technique: not letting the crash cymbals ring out
I listened to the following song this morning on the way into work. I heard something I hadn't heard before.
Each of the crash cymbals were very minimal, almost gated, or maybe miked from a distance.
...
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Fingerings in Rachmaninoff's Prelude in G minor, Op. 23 Nr. 5
According to the sheet music, the G minor chord and the octaves in the beginning of the piece should be split between both hands
And I see most people performing the piece like this as well (for ...
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Artificial harmonic pitch
When playing an artificial harmonic, does it matter where the stopping finger is placed? Leaving tone quality aside, will the same pitch class be produced regardless the stopping location?
I performed ...
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Term for flute-like sound made by increasing volume after picking? [duplicate]
What's the term for the electric guitar technique that results in a smooth sound (like that of a wind instrument) by:
Decreasing the volume (usually to mute; typically with the pinky finger)
Striking ...
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How to play 3 notes at the same time on the violin? (Der Erlkonig)
I'm trying to play Der Erlkonig by Ernst, and in the first lines it seems possible, but you get to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th lines, I lose all hope in being able to play the piece.
To start, a violin has ...
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Glissando, fall, and lip bends on trumpet, what are some good exersices?
I had an artist get recommended to me by another trumpet player, his name is Brandon Ridenour. I just listened to him perform a really clear glissando like the one in Rhapsody in blue. Are there any ...
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