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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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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Meaning of III 4/6 on this particular piece [duplicate]
Consider the initial segment of Antonio Lauro's "Nocturno":
I have been reading music for a long time, but with total ignorance of music theory (meaning I spent years learning and reading ...
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What is the meaning of this New Year's Resolution joke using music sheet notations?
I came across this joke while browsing the social medias of some piano dealers:
The picture depicts two staves: the one above with a G clef and the one below with the F clef. The time signature is 4 ...
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can someone explain (and give examples) what is, or how to describe what the 'STYLE' of a song it in analysing music?
I am struggling to understand in music, when analysing songs, what is meant by 'style'. I know it is different to musical structure. I'm having trouble getting my head around it, can anyone help and ...
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Why the terms "GERMAN double fugue", employed twice in Brahms's Ein Deutsches Requiem, and ITALIAN triple fugue (Bach's "St. Anne" p. & fugue)?
In the Brahms's Ein Deutsches Requiem, the composer sets the words, "Der Gerechten Seelen sind im Gottes Hand, und keine Qual ruhret sie an" as a German double fugue, with 2 completely ...
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Why is the solo/featured instrument in so many Baroque-era concerti silent during the slow movement?
Is the reason the soloist is
often silent during a Baroque-era concerto simply to provide a break from all the virtuosity often required within the outer movements? Or is it to allow a string soloist ...
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guitar - open strings in just intonation
has anyone of you tried to tune your guitar to just intonation?
As far as I understand it, it's possible to tune the open strings to just intonation. Consequently, you couldn't fret notes but only use ...
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Roman numeral analysis: how to notate tonic root anticipation / triple suspension V7 I742 I?
Sometimes in a cadence between V7 and I there's a moment when an anticipated tonic root in the bass given on top of suspended 7^2^4^ from the V7 (triple suspension?). Two examples:
Beethoven op 10 no ...
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Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No. 2 (1st movement) Tempo I - Bar 86 - why D not D flat?
In Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No. 2 (1st movement) Tempo I - Bar 86 -
Red box shows a D.
Green box shows a D.
Blue box shows a D flat.
My question is that what is the logic / why the Green box is ...
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What does Arauxo mean by "primero/segundo/... tono"?
In Francisco Correa de Arauxo's Faculdad Organica, he titles his pieces like "Tiento de primero tono". A complete recording of the Faculdad Organica is here: https://open.spotify.com/album/...
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How do I name the inversion of an augmented octave?
Say we have D flat going up an augmented octave to D natural.
The inversion would be D flat adjacent to D natural, or D natural adjacent to D flat.
We know that when an augmented interval is inverted, ...
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Rules for improvising intermediate notes in basso continuo
When realizing figured bass, passing notes in the bass are analyzed quite thoroughly in literature (e.g. The Art of Accompaniment from a Thorough Bass). However, I cannot find any information or rules ...
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Why do some pieces in sonata form lack a development section?
This leaves only the exposition and the recapitulation sections. Such examples include the overtures to Rossini's La Gazza Ladra and The Barber of Seville, or the 2nd movement of Beethoven's Tempest ...
user92536
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How to transition back and forth between relative major and minor 2-5-1?
I'm experimenting with nicely transitioning between a major and minor 2-5-1, at this point I'm purely interested in harmony.
The 2 progression I'm trying to transition between (technically 1-2-5):
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How to indicate end of spiccato? [duplicate]
How should I indicate the end of a spiccato section in the following situation? I do not want to leave it up to the interpretation of the string player.
Let's say the first measure of a phrase has the ...
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Mimic special midi reverb event that gets quieter the higher it is set to
I am looking for a way to play midis with a special reverb in a midi player or similar.
This reverb, which was used in a Nintendo 64 game, uses a special reverb technique that seems to be a ...
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Does a D minor vocal work in a G minor production? [closed]
Please help. The vocal is coming up D minor. The track with the vocal is showing G minor. But the vocals sound off. Do these keys work well together or not?
-Coming up in tunebat analyzer that is.
-...
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Is there a common name for the scale [0 2 4 5 7 8 10] (C D E F G Ab Bb C)? [duplicate]
Is there a standard or common way to refer to the scale with pitch classes 024578T or C-D-E-F-G-Ab-Bb-C (on C)?
There's many ways to refer to it as a mixture of another scale. Like saying "...
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How is this called, and how do I play it?
I found this on a piano score I was reading recently.The stream of notes is smaller than the rest of the notes in the staff. It also has that weird line accross it, like a grace note or acciacatura. ...
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Confusion on modes
I'm a bit confused about the modes. I'm learning them by ear through this app, where the app explains what to listen for. For instance: dorian has 2b (flats), and lydian has 1# (sharp).
The thing I'm ...
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Genre of this Sample Library [closed]
I'm music Producer and trying to achieve this type of "samples" Music.
What Genre are these "samples"?
Can you recommend me some music that sounds like that?
What instrument do i ...
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How did the suspended chords get the name "suspended?"
Why is the connotation of suspended used to describe suspended chords? Is it due to the sound of the chord or does suspend refer to the omission of the 3rd? Information of when the term was first ...
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Identifying a chord with seeming multiple suspended notes
I cannot figure out what would be the name for the chord containing these notes:
D,E,G in the key of C Major.
Also, does a sus2/4 exist. For example, Csus2/4 being C,D,F,G?
To make things clearer ...
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Why is a minor chord or key considered to be "lesser?"
I am trying to understand why the terms major and minor, meaning greater and lesser, are applied to chords and keys. Why is a minor chord considered to be lesser and a major chord greater?
I ...
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Chords building blocks
Are chords the same building blocks as notes in a song? Like do every song consist of certain chord progressions? You can reharmonize a song by changing the chord progression can't you? But you can't ...
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Is there such thing as a secondary dominant (or 2-5) of the 7th degree?
Specially in jazz, it is common to approach a chord that is not the root by its diatonic 2-5, or simply its 5 (secondary dominant). When approaching a minor, it will be a ii7b5 - V7, and, in major, a ...
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A melody is built from both notes and chords
A web site reads :
The difference between notes and chords is that a note is a single
pitch (for example C). ... This is important in music theory because a
note will have no characteristic when ...
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General way to find the key of a song [duplicate]
I was wondering if there was a general way to figure out the key of a song looking at its chords/scales.
According to this two questions:
Is the Chorus Key of Toto - “Africa" major or minor?
...
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Random Chord Progression Based on Circle of Fifths
Given a melody (say in the key of C, we then know G, F, and Am around C), could any chord progression (always starting with tonic) randomly from I, IV, V and vi still work or work most of time? (e.g. ...
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how to replace the diminished chord in a key to write a good song without a diminished chord (for example e diminished to F)?
Is there a way to compose without the dimished chord yet still use E? I've tried for example usuing E minor but it sounded displaced in the key of F major.
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How to switch from Fixed-do solfège to Movable-do?
I was born in a country where Fixed-do solfége is the standard. I was taught to use it from a very early age. It's deeply engraved in my brain.
However, I plan to leave the country and study music in ...
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Before the primo passaggio is there another passaggio?
I have tried to sing the tune "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" in the key of E. It seems to be the easiest key for me. The highest note is C#4.
Something seems to happen on D4. It is like I ...
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Examples of neutral lines
I have been reading Alan Belkin's book "Musical Composition". In the first chapter titled motifs he mentions the use of what is called "Neutral Lines" which are parts between ...
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Harmonic functions of these chords
I found this classical chord progression. What are the harmonic functions of these chords, especially the Adim.
1Amin Bdim Amin A Bb Adim Amin E Amin
I got it from here youtube.com/watch?v=zgBPiHTPCdg....
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Theoretically Correct vs Practical Notation
My music theory studies ended 20 years ago, but I am busy with some notation by combining piano accompaniment with vocals for solo piano, for personal use.
So, in 4/4 time, music theory dictates that ...
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What rules could a composer (e.g., Wagner) not follow and we would notice? [closed]
I'm an experienced talented professional musician. So this sounds like I'm a child but I'm not. An off the wall question to be sure. What rules of 19th century theory would Wagner have hypothetically ...
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Pythagoras ratio, 3 out of 7 ratios missing?
As per wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_hammers page about Pythagoras Hammers ratio discovery, there are following ratios I could find from wiki page:
C Unison 1:1,
D Major Second 9:...
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What are the acceptable ways to traditionally resolve dissonance?
This is a follow up to my previous question, about a seemingly unresolved "suspension" in Bach's Prelude in C major, bar 21:
In the next bar, it resolves to this chord:
If we block the ...
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What makes the melody so counterintuitive in the chorus/refrain of Light my Fire? [closed]
In the song light my fire by the doors, the refrain of the chorus repeats: “c’mon baby, light my fire”
The last 3-4 syllables have something interesting going on in the variations that come with each ...
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What do these letters and punctuation (d .s, :l, .s,) mean on this sheet music? [duplicate]
I’m trying to understand the letters and punctuation in an old piece of music (from around 1910). It’s a piece for ukulele and I’m assuming it’s a fingerpicking pattern, however it doesn’t use letters ...
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Why does the iii chord seem to be usually avoided in many styles?
Chord iii in major key is often avoided. This transcends specific styles. Popular music almost never uses chord iii, classical music usually shies away from it even with its large harmonic potential, ...
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Is there an example music on Lydian ♭2 ♭7 scale? [closed]
Today I found that, in 19edo, the kleismic scale has interval steps of 1 4 1 4 1 4 4.
By setting C as the tonic, that is C - Dbb - Eb - Fbb - Gb - Abbb - Bbb. (where the white keys are standard ...
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Can someone explain why this spacing is preferred for III-VI progression
I was studying from walter piston's harmony and came across this. Can someone explain why the first progression is unusual while the second one is preferred?
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What chord do we get by raising the fifth of a minor triad?
Raising the fifth of a major triad gives an augmented triad. For example, you can get from C (C-E-G) to C+ (C-E-G♯) by raising the fifth.
However, what happens if this is done to a minor triad? Doing ...
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