Questions tagged [technique]
For questions about ways to use one's instrument or voice precisely to produce a desired musical effect.
1
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2answers
33 views
What is the best way to play with dynamics on the violin?
I've just started playing the violin, and have come to dynamics (forte, piano, etc.). To play forte, I push the bow hard, and for piano, I push the bow lightly. Is this the right method? Are there any ...
3
votes
1answer
38 views
How to play vibrato on the clarinet?
I've been playing the clarinet for some time now, and have wanted to extend my ability with it. While doing so, I ran into vibrato. Is there a good method to play vibrato on the clarinet?
5
votes
1answer
137 views
Is there a way to play vibrato on the piano?
I know this is a silly question, but I couldn't help but wonder it. Is there a way to play vibrato on the piano? If not are there pianos out there with this feature?
3
votes
1answer
87 views
Why do ukulele players not use the G-string?
Well, obviously, they do, but in solo/fingerpicking, the only time I've ever seen a note written on the G-string in tab is as part of a chord. Why do melodic structures neglect to use the G-string? ...
1
vote
1answer
30 views
Use of sustain pedal in Prince's “How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore” (from “The Hits/The B-Sides”)
I am trying to figure out whether, and how much, Prince uses the sustain pedal in playing the main riff here. To me, it sounds like there are notes from the opening chord(s) that sustain through the ...
1
vote
0answers
19 views
Vocal part for my range [closed]
I have a vocal range that spans from D2 to D6 and while I love singing normal tenor part what would fit my voice best?
2
votes
3answers
71 views
Impacts on hand dexterity caused by combat sports or martial arts
I am considering to start practicing box, karate or tae kwon do to improve my health and self defense skills. Does anyone know if any of these affect my dexterity, speed, sensitivity negatively? Not ...
2
votes
1answer
69 views
I could once play 270 BPM 16th notes with full leg motion, with a bit of ankle motion, while my left leg was tense. Now I can't do 150 BPM
Okay, so as said I could once play 270 BPM 16th notes with full leg motion, with a bit of ankle motion, while my left leg was tense. Now I can't do 150 BPM.
Now, I know that it was a really bad way ...
1
vote
0answers
24 views
Classical guitar techique to play artificial harmonics while striking three bass strings
Is there a technique that would allow me to play something like this? I have my pinky and ring finger free, but i don't know if i could possibly play it with them. I'm just stuck at this point. ...
0
votes
2answers
44 views
Should I learn the Octave Etude to prepare for the Appasionata Sonata?
One of the hardest Beethoven sonatas is his Appasionata Sonata. There is one technique that I know it has in common with Chopin's Octave Etude. That is legato octaves. Difference has to do with ...
6
votes
2answers
78 views
How do I not fall into other people's singing pitch?
When I am at the karaoke with my friends, I often sing with them and realize, when I sing alone, I can sing the song perfectly but when I sing with someone that is of higher pitch/lower pitch, I tend ...
9
votes
2answers
978 views
Why is button three on trumpet almost never used alone?
The trumpet buttons 1,2 and 3 lowers the pitch by 2,1 and 3 halfsteps. So pressing button 1 and 2 gives the same result as only pressing the third button.
So why is the third button so rarely used ...
1
vote
2answers
60 views
Beginner fingerstyle on acoustic guitar
I'm trying to learn fingerstyle technique on an acoustic guitar. I'm using the 5 fingers (thumb for E & A, ..., pinky for E) but after 3 days trying with this song I still sound horrible. I ...
1
vote
1answer
63 views
Chopin Etude Op. 10 No. 1 bars 31-36: how to position 4th finger?
I've been studying this etude for one year now, using the exercises of Alfred Cortot in his student's edition. I am making steady progress but have a lot of problems with bars 31-32 and 35-36. There ...
2
votes
3answers
266 views
Piano music notation conventions
In the last two bars, what is the proposed way to play. Are you meant to switch hands? If so, why isn't the notation from the preceding two bars used?
3
votes
5answers
112 views
Holding violin bow without pinky
For classical violin: Is holding the bow without using the small finger of the right hand considered defective technique, or does it not matter?
I've realized that I bow without my pinky, and usually ...
3
votes
2answers
80 views
How to learn to play the pipe organ?
I have been playing piano for about 13 years now. I want to go to the next level: playing church pipe organs.
A few weeks ago, my dream to play a church pipe organ became true, after a Catholic mass ...
0
votes
1answer
121 views
How mix scales (locrian, dorian, etc…) with blues scales/pentatonic?
I am experienced with both, scales and pentatonic.
but when it comes to the point to mix them together, I have some trouble.
My goal is it to extend my possibilities, but at the same time to keep this ...
0
votes
2answers
112 views
Is my piano teacher right about my pain? [closed]
I have recently been having forearm pain, and i have asked on this site, what i needed to do. They said the best solution was getting a piano teacher to correct my form and technique, so i did that.
...
5
votes
3answers
315 views
Guitar counting problem
I have a problem with counting. I can count well when there is something without the need of stopping like:
1 e and a / 2 e and a ...
(I hit the note every word I say)
but when there is something ...
4
votes
7answers
226 views
Forearm pain - practicing piano
I have started recently and want to become good at piano, but what is hindering me is the pain that follows up, when I play piano. I think it's frustrating. I don't know if it is technique or posture.
...
2
votes
1answer
21 views
Alto saxophone learner
Any tips on how to go from C flat to D flat quickly on alto saxophone? (Besides practice.) It's difficult. I kind of put off learning the low C flat key. I'm going through Larry Teal's book and I'm ...
1
vote
3answers
120 views
Should I practice some J.S. Bach for piano technique and where should I start?
I want to know if playing J.S. Bach would improve my overall piano technique. I look for pieces that help me to become better. I usually play romantic composers. I have played pieces such as
Chopin'...
0
votes
0answers
35 views
Music for Piano, Frangis Ali-Sade
What should I know about the music tradition behind Music for Piano, I believe mugham? From what I gather, the notation is more of you'd call a guideline. I have the 1998 Musikverlag Hans Sikorski ...
3
votes
2answers
92 views
Guitar: How to mute bend release sound?
Take this tab for example, it is specifically required that there should be no release sound after bending.
I tried many ways but just cant get rid of the release sound.
My first attempt was to mute ...
6
votes
2answers
109 views
Guitar: How to properly pull-off with open string?
Take the tab below for example:
Because the string tension maybe a bit loose, when I pull-off on those notes (e.g. -19-0-), it has a slight "bending" when my finger leaves from note to open. That "...
4
votes
2answers
129 views
What does the plus (+) ornament mean?
I am learning a baroque piece on the recorder. Some notes have an unusual ornamentation symbol. How is a note with a plus sign over it played? It was suggested to play it as a mordent. Is that correct?...
1
vote
3answers
67 views
Guitar: How do I keep my picking hand from moving away from the soundhole and toward the saddle?
I'm having some trouble with advanced picking. When I am trying to move between strings etc. my picking hand tends to move laterally from over or just behind the soundhole, where it should be, to get ...
9
votes
1answer
742 views
What is the technique about how this this violin is held called?
the violinist in this video holds the violin in a really peculiar way, I'm wondering if there is a name for the way he holds the violin?
1
vote
1answer
163 views
How do Jazz pianists learn to improvise and make up chord progressions that make it sound more complicated than it actually is? [closed]
I know that classical, or Western artistic music mainly uses traditional chords e.g. major, minor, dominant seventh, augmented, suspended and diminished. But, Jazz goes way more into it..Major ...
1
vote
4answers
70 views
What are the characteristics of an easy piece to conduct? Examples?
Pieces like Beethoven's 5th Symphony have been described to me (by conductors) as "notoriously difficult." So what do they start beginners on? And what makes certain pieces more challenging than ...
0
votes
0answers
33 views
How do you mute strings on higher frets when playing 3 notes per string patterns and switching between 2-3 strings?
Let's say it's 1st position E natural minor with root note on 12th fret. I'm trying to play Buckethead-style licks. I'm doing my best to mute the strings when swapping between them, but I still get ...
2
votes
3answers
92 views
Fingered glissando, how to do it?
Basically what I mean is scales that are so fast, they sound like glissandos. Generally speaking, I hit the wall at 32nd notes at 120 bpm and it feels like my fingers can't get any faster. That is ...
1
vote
1answer
40 views
Improving drumstick control in non-dominant hand
Why is it that my drumstick in my dominant hand always hits the same spot yet the drumstick in my non-dominant rarely does?
7
votes
1answer
565 views
What is the definition of Mid-side stereo as compared with X-Y stereo?
Perhaps someone can explain the difference between Mid-Side stereo miking technique and X-Y stereo miking technique and explain which technique is actually a more accurate reproduction of the original ...
-5
votes
1answer
82 views
How different can be a piece of music be if someone else performs it? [closed]
A piece of music, for example a symphony has sheet music so it's written how it should be performed.
Because different people like different performers sometime, my question is that in technical ...
1
vote
3answers
100 views
How can I strengthen my little finger for playing violin?
I have been playing violin for many years now but I am still finding it hard to control the placement of my fourth (little) finger when I am playing. I also have noticed that as my other fingers got ...
1
vote
1answer
337 views
How come John Mayer is not compared with other great guitarists like BB King, Eric Clapton? [closed]
I am confused as to why John Mayer is not considered par with other guitarists like BB King, Eric Clapton, etc. when he can and produces so difficult songs to play even for advanced level guitarists ...
1
vote
0answers
14 views
Controlling multiple CC channel with one automation curve
hope this finds you well.
Is it possible to have one automation curve that controls more than one cc channel?
Thanks in advance!
Best,
Markus
1
vote
1answer
139 views
Where do you place your fingers (y-axis) on keys when your thumb or pinky is on a black key or white key?
I'd like some feedback on some keyboard diagrams I'm making. I'd like to indicate where you would put your fingertip (fingers 1-5) on the y-axis if you were to play certain chords depending on if the ...
2
votes
1answer
47 views
How would you modify the muting technique when finger picking on an electric guitar?
After watching this I was wondering how you would modify the classical guitar technique if you want to fingerpick on the electric guitar?
7
votes
0answers
108 views
What are the main schools of thought on conducting?
Conductor Kevin Purcell writes on his personal website:
There are schools of conducting thought that have evolved over the years. Some of the more prominent of these (in no specific order) are ...
9
votes
2answers
1k views
Is there a term for when a lyric is sung and then an instrument (sound) is played to mimic the lyric?
Is there a term for when a phrase in a song, i.e., "shivers down my spine" as in Bohemian Rhapsody, after that phrase is sung, a tinkling or some kind of sound is made with an instrument, to mimic "...
22
votes
14answers
6k views
Can one be too old to learn an instrument?
I own a guitar. I've owned it since I was about 13, but never really got into it because I was a spiteful teen who wanted to play the drums, and went out of my way to play the drums instead (to the ...
2
votes
2answers
119 views
How do I do this kind of strumming?
I'm kinda new to playing the guitar and I found this video on youtube with tabs:
I was able to learn and play to until the 2 minute mark on the song. But I'm having a ...
1
vote
3answers
173 views
Super fast scales and octaves, How?
I looked at the sheet music for a piano transcription of The Four Seasons and I see in the third movement of Summer, 2 things that I don't know if I can do. It has partly to do with the Presto tempo ...
2
votes
3answers
126 views
Is there a good fast scale run technique I can use in ANY song?
I can play almost anything on electric guitar. The problem is I have the hardest time getting from point A to point B using a fast run and it's not a matter of speed. I just don't know the technique. ...
1
vote
3answers
83 views
best fingering for this arpeggio
Right-hand.
I've been trying to play thumb, index, middle, pinky, thumb, middle, thumb.
But I find that a bit awkward. Maybe it's correct and I just have to get used to it.
What's the standard for ...
4
votes
2answers
193 views
In violin, how do you know if you should play staccato or spiccato?
The way I was taught, spiccato is a short note made by lifting your bow and lightly bouncing it (off-string), while staccato is a short note that is produced without lifting your bow, but instead by ...
2
votes
4answers
137 views
Which hand for which in guitar? (a complication)
I'm going to start learning guitar in the next coming weeks, and I'm wondering which hand I should use for fretting and which to use for strumming. I am left hand dominant, and have tendonitis in my ...
