Questions tagged [theory]
For questions about how music works, seeking to identify structures and patterns in music. Used to indicate questions about musical concepts and structures, as opposed to techniques and execution.
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Beginning Counterpoint
Can I start a 5th species counterpoint on a perfect 12th instead of a perfect 5th when the cantus firmus is in the lower voice?
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What is this scale: (Bb, C#, D, Eb, F#, G, A, Bb)
I merged Bb major and D major to see what comes up. The scale has the notes: Bb, C#, D, Eb, F#, G, A, Bb.
What scale is this?
Can I have chords in this scale?
Let me know!
Notation for the scale:
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Instrument key vs sheet music key [duplicate]
I have a logic problem in my head. Let me first state what I know.
recorder in A key with all closed holes plays an A.
recorder in C key with all closed holes plays a C.
in sheet music a C sits one ...
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Need help to understand this chord progression
This song should be in a-minor but I'm not sure about key changes in a following passage (starting from f#m7b5 chord). Any help would be appreciated, thanks!
am7 / em7 / am7 / em7 / f#m7b5 / B /
em / ...
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What's going on in the South Park intro?
The theme song of the TV show "South Park" has always sounded musically weird to me, but I have never understood why. I've been wondering if it is possible to use music theory to explain ...
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Tchaikovsky's sleeping beauty Op. 66 introduction measure 28
I was listening to the ballet sleeping beauty.
In the beginning in the introduction, when there is a change of time signature. (measure 28) it felt like three beats.
I looked up the score, and it ...
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Could anyone help with understanding this passage about flamenco guitar theory?
Could someone help me understand this passage about flamenco guitar theory?
Secondary Dominant Scales
It is well known that scale patterns are used in Flamenco, and are related in their layout on ...
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Specific chord confusion: why the C# in Eb7 b9 13?
needing the expert help on the forum as I simply can't understand this. Following a vid, the player mentions he plays Eb7 9b 13 chord. The melody note is C, and he plays 1-3 (Eb, G) in left hand. What ...
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What modes is the Litany of the Saints in?
I've been looking at the Litany of the Saints. Kyrie Eleison has La as the reciting tone. But then Do is the reciting tone and the finalis. I've yet to find a mode with finalis and tenor on the same ...
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What is the function of G Major in the key of B Major
Referencing the song in context: Yoake To Hotaru
At around 3:30, the chord progression goes from Cm - Dm - EM - GM#5 - Abm from what I can see in the video.
In this case, what function does GM#5 ...
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What makes this music calm?
The Girl from Ipanema by Stan Gets & João Gilberto in the album Getz/Gilberto https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=N-TKOh0zsvU
Why does this song sound very calm, chill, non-attention-grabbing, non-...
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Chord change timing in lead sheet with two chords in a bar
Sorry if this has been asked before, but I couldn't find it all. In this example, and in general I wonder. Im not sure I can upload photo of the example due to copyright.
But in this bar there's an A ...
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How do I figure out what mode this Pater Noster is in?
I have been singing this Pater Noster:
Before Pater Noster starts we have the Oremus. Let's assume that C is Do.
Then the recitation notes, we have two, would be A and B. This seems strange to me. ...
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What is the theory behind this chord progression with two chords from the minor scale of the same key? [duplicate]
I came across a lovely piece with the following chrod progression:
Body:
D Dmaj7 G Em F#m G Em D
Ending:
D D7 Bb C D D
From the body it looks like D major scale, but in the ending two chords from D ...
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What is the difference between "Asynchronous" and "Syncopated" meters?
While working the above problem, I found it difficult to understand the difference between "asynchronous" and "syncopated" meters. I understand that the first meter is a simple ...
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Unsure how this progression is in D
This is for Deal by Grateful Dead.
The progression is
A - C# - F#m - E - D - Ddim - A - F# - B7 - D
I’m trying to play A mixolydian and the C# completely throws me off because G# and F of that triad ...
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Why do some of the chord choices in measures 18 through 20 of "Study #1 William Leavitt - Melodic Rhythms For Guitar" sound... "wrong"?
prior research: I was given this link by my guitar teacher. When I first raised the issue that this sounded funny I was told it was fine, and "there's no 'wrong' in music." But this still ...
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Analysis of a few bars in Bach's BWV 895
The overall key of this piece in A minor (it is Bach's prelude from Prelude and Fugue in A minor BWV 895). Here is what I understood :
At the end of bar 6, there seems to be a change of key: this ...
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help understanding list of chords in music theory
from this wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_chords
in the main table listing the chords, I am interested in the 5th column (pc pitch class) integer values representing the ...
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where can I learn about mathmatical models for making music?
I am bad at music. But I am pretty ok at programing, and building electronics.
I have a couple sound projects I'm working on to create live music, assisting my lack of dexterity. I've been fiddling ...
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Liszt Transcendental Étude No.1 (Prelude): tension-ful chord progression in bar 9, 10, 11
I am trying to digest the Liszt Transcendental Étude No.1 (Prelude) chord progression in bar 9, 10, 11 with the full of tensions.
Three related sub-questions.
In both the Zoltán Gárdonyi (1906–1986) ...
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Is it possible to approach hidden 5ths & 8ves by contrary motion?
is it possible to approach hidden 5ths & 8ves by contrary or oblique motion?
In another meaning every time there is contrary or oblique
motion between voices, are direct 5ths & 8ves allowed ...
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Liszt Transcendental Étude No.1 (Prelude): Top voices on ascending fifth, descending second, descending second
I wanted to follow up to analyze the top voice on the right hand of the Liszt Transcendental Étude No.1 (Prelude).
Here are my (related) questions:
Is the red box note a B-flat or B? (It looks that ...
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How did western music label and calibrate around C Major as having no sharps/flats rather than A Major? [duplicate]
This is purely academic/speculative, but wouldn't it have made more sense and been easier to learn if Western music were based on A Maj, rather than C Maj, as having been the one designated to have no ...
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Two-note-same-root chord progressions with the G and B strings
I have a question regarding two note chord progressions on the G and B strings. I have noticed this in at least two songs:
The intro to Teacher's Pet in School of Rock
Tab courtesy of ...
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What does Hindemith's Rule 20 mean? (The Craft of Musical Composition, book 1: Exercises in two-part writing)
Paul Hindemith's Rule 20 in his The craft of musical composition: Book 2: Exercises in two-part writing has two paragraphs:
Paragraph One:
If the last tone of the model is approached from a fifth ...
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Liszt Transcendental Étude No.1 (Prelude) -- chord progression along the Arpeggio (in the first 4 bars)
Liszt Transcendental Étude No.1 (Prelude)
I am curious to know whether there is a logical reason for the "chord progression" of the Arpeggio for Liszt Transcendental Étude No.1 (Prelude).
...
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How to write a lead from a bassliine below
Is there a rule for writing melodies from a bassliine below? I ask because I don't know if the same notes can be used, it has to be different etc., I have no problem writing bass lines. That they have ...
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Set special reverb in midi player/editor which is oriented to midi reverb event
I am looking for a way to play midis with a special reverb in a midi player or editor.
I'm working on a patch for a videogame which fixes its midi based music (it's buggy in the original game). Among ...
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What is the meaning of the +4? [closed]
I bought a music sheet last year and came across this symbol. What does +4 mean?
Here are the details of the song.
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accidentals of the treble and bass clef
I don't understand why we have to write the key signature on the bass line?
It's already precise on the treble line, so we already know the tonality of the piece.
What's more, is it possible in this ...
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Yesterday from the beatles structure and form. 8 bar verse or 7 bar verse
It is common to say that yesterday from the beatles is the perfect song, and the perfect song has 8 measures bars, why do people says it is a 8 bar verse and i count 2 measures of intro and 7 measure ...
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Where do metrical accents come from?
I'm still trying to wrap my head around time signatures, but I think I'm stuck on where these metrical accents come from. For example, in 4/4, we say the main beats are Strong-Weak-Less Strong-Weak.
...
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Why does the author play C and E on this sheet music?
Looking at this sheet music, I would have played E and G but he plays C and E. Is there something I don't understand?
Thanks
Reference :
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Shifting from Cmin to Cmaj in guitar solo
I'm playing a guitar solo by myself without accompaniment where I move from C major to C minor by playing D diminished as a passing chord. How should I move back to C major from C minor?
I am ...
user93181
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How should I make "exotic" scale enharmonic decisions?
I'm creating a scale visualiser (JavaScript based website) for guitar. I recently updated so it will use "correct" enharmonics e.g. major scales it will default to "Bb" tonic ...
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What is the proper study of composition and arrangement?
I have been composing and arranging on my own for about 10 months now, i am confident that they sound good but i am not sure, how good, how to make them better and if taking the proper course will ...
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Does temporarily quitting singing lessons affect your voice
I have been taking singing lessons for 9 months, but I will have to stop for about 3 to 4 months because I will be moving to another state for some reasons. Will this cause my voice to get worse, and ...
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Help to separate voices in piano score
I'm trying to write in MuseScore Rachmaninoff's transcription of Tchaikovsky's lullaby. But there is this section that puzzles me a bit in terms of voicing:
No matter how I try to separate the ...
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"Major" progressions & "Modal" voicings (tonal vs modal) when building chords & progressions
im not asking "what i can or cannot play" as all music is subjective, but im asking for "theory" or "technical" reasonings.
people often say that they replace the 4/11 ...
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Frequency ratio, Wavelength ratio, and chords
Here is a plot of list of wavelengths λ ($\lambda$, inverse proportional to frequencies f) of some strings, or sound waves.
Let us call the wavelengths as
λ1: λ2: λ3: λ4: λ5: λ6: λ7 and so on
= 1: 1/...
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Confused about the natural symbol (♮) and the omnipresence of the C major scale in music theory
Something is confusing me in our use of accidentals in modern music theory, and more particularly about the use of the natural symbol ♮.
It is not always easy to formulate accurately a mess of ...
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Bar 48: A3+B4 and B3+A4 - ODE TO JOY Symphony no. 9, opus 125 Extract from a piano transcription by Franz Liszt
In Bar 48 of the fourth movement - "Ode to Joy", Symphony no. 9, opus 125, in this extract from the piano transcription by Franz Liszt, there are three counterpoint melodies, marked in the ...
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Is a written music theory exam noisy?
I haven't taken a written music theory exam, and I never will, but I don't understand how it would work. You've got a lot of people in a room, all trying to answer the same questions. And if half of ...
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Will the accidental of a mordent affect another mordent that is in the same measure?
The first mordent in this measure will be played as D , C# , D. The second mordent in the same measure doesn't have a sharp like the first mordent.
Will the sharp accidental of the first mordent ...
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Help in Understanding Modes
Just wanted some clarification and guidance in my attempt to understand the use of modes. I am a bass player involved in playing pop, rock, alt and indie genres; I am not a Jazz/Bebop bassist. My ...
user90561
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Chromatic Modes?
Are there names for chromatic modes? As in where the "starting note" isn't in the "key" that you're playing. For example, D major but starting on C, as it's something between ...
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How can I improvise singing a melody over a chord progression? [closed]
Do I sing the pitches I hear within the chord progression, or there is another way to do it?
What if I want to sing notes that are not in the chord progression how do I sing them?
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Where can I find melodies to practice basic four-part writing? [closed]
I'm a first year Music Student. In our theory classes, we're learning four part writing (SATB).
In every class, our teacher brings a soprano or bass melodic line and asks us to harmonize it. I've ...
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Difference between perfect 4th and perfect 5th
I've recently been learning about interval ratios and about why some intervals are more consonant or dissonant than others.
I was trying to find out about the order of intervals by consonance/...
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