Questions tagged [tone]
The characteristic quality of sound produced by an instrument or performer.
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How is this level of quality of tone attained?
Can somebody please explain to me what kind of wizardry is going on in this video. The player has a quality of tone that I simply did not know existed. How would someone go about reproducing these ...
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Fux Counterpoint
In Fux's study of First Species modal counterpoint, why is it permitted to raise the 7th as he approached the final cadence. I realize that allowing that creates a leading tone which sounds better, ...
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Drilling in guitar tops
If cheap acoustic guitars sound bad because the tops are thick, then wouldn't drilling a lot of very tiny holes in the top improve the tone and volume at all? I mean VERY TINY holes...
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What is the reason a given note can have different "sounds"
People, instruments, objects, etc. all are capable of producing "sounds" that sound different (not sure the proper term for this) but can produce the same note.
Given that sound can be ...
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Do pianos have a generally recognized "bass register"?
Playing the piano, I've noticed the notes under a certain note seem to be voiced more for heavy chords instead of melodies/countermelodies. If you try to play complicated lines under that note, They ...
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What are the differences between Ash and Alder wood for electric guitar?
Ever since the 50’s both Ash wood and Alder wood have remained the most popular choice for building electric guitars.
What are the major differences between these two woods for an electric guitar? (...
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Can smoking allow a singer to sing in a way a non smoker couldn't?
A lot is said about how singers shouldn't smoke because smoking ruins their voices.
However, there are certain singers known for being smokers who also have a typical hoarse smoky voice. When I listen ...
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Reverse engineering tones - incremental approach
The context here is electric guitar but I think the question stands more generally: what kind of steps/questions should I be asking myself as I attempt to methodically reproduce a tone?
I'm sure it's ...
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How does an electric guitar waveform differ from a pure tone?
I've been writing a program that functions similar to a MIDI interpreter, but the pure tones I'm currently using very poorly resemble the actual tones produced by guitars, pianos, and other ...
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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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Would mixing 80/20 Bronze with Phosphor Bronze guitar strings be a good way to alter the tonal balance of a particular acoustic guitar?
It’s generally agreed that different woods used in the body of an acoustic guitar will accentuate different tones and emphasize different parts of the tonal spectrum. Some woods will emphasize the ...
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How to make a mini amp sound like rock (distorted/ overdrive)
I'm a beginner and have been getting some trouble with my mini amp. It's the borne strike g30 (brazilian brand) and its settings are: a drive switch (which honestly just seems to be making the volume ...
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What effect do wood and body mass have on electric guitar tone?
Most articles on tone state that electric guitar pickups have a major - or even the greatest- influence on tone.
It is also typically said that tonewoods make a small difference in tone.
So why is it ...
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Guitar - How to switch from clean to hi-gain
I'm tyring to reverse-engineer how this cover was done:
Around that time stamp we can see the player switch from clean (not totally clean) to hi-gain by toggling the ...
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Why can I remember this pitch? [duplicate]
I don't have perfect pitch, first of all. However I've realized that for some reason the first note of the song linked below ("Brite Boy" by Alex G) has taken root in my memory such that ...
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Is it accurate to say synths have timbre?
Of the more intuitive examples of timbre: the human voice, which to a large extent varies by physiology, resulting in a kind of uniqueness. Similarly, an identical note played on piano versus a cello ...
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Is there a word for being able to sing a song in a different key/pitch without practice?
Example: Say you randomly want to sing Toxic by Britney Spears out loud, but you sing it in a lower key or pitch(idk the terminology) you've never practiced the song this way, heck you're not even a ...
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How can I improve the tone of my Fender Strat on high frets?
I have a midrange setup that I'm quite comfortable with. I have an American Strat that I bought ca. 2008 (I think it's a Standard but I have no way to know), and a Marshall Origin 20 Combo. I use ...
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Drawing on Classical Guitar with Open Pore Finish
this might be a somewhat naive question, but I am curious if using some type of permanent marker to draw on a classical guitar with an open pore finish will cause any issues? I'd like to give it a go, ...
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wind instrument tone - good practice routine?
I understand that to get a good tone the best exercise is to play long tones. There are tons of variations of long tone exercises:
a) starting pianissimo and ending fortissimo for as long as you can ...
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Lyrical Contralto vs Dramatic Mezzo-soprano
I'm a self-taught singer who would like to ask about lyrical contralto vs dramatic mezzo-soprano.
The range of my voice is from F3 - F5.
On the upper end, I can sing up to C5 quite comfortably.
(I've ...
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How important is brand name and type of string to the overall sound of a guitar?
I'm aware of many different brands, gauges, and alloys used in manufactured guitar strings. Is it necessary for me to try each type and brand to optimize the sound of my guitar, or do the type and ...
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Fretboard map - Notes and octaves
I'm currently developing a music player that displays the tab from a midi file similarly to guitar hero. This for mandolin.
The midi parsed file out is something like this
"notes": [
...
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I have been struggling at achieving pitch accuracy since forever. How can I prevent singing off-pitch?
An audio of myself singing to Billie Eilish's "Bad Guy":
my bad guy cover
I have been singing for a year and 4 months now. When I started I had no knowledge of pitch, tone and dynamics. I ...
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Pan flute using straws : all notes measurements?
Thanks to this website, I was able to create a pan flute from some straws and it really worked (I could play all the music I know on C major scale). However, the dimensions of the straws only ...
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How do Fender wide-range pickups change the sound?
Billie Joe Armstrong's blue strat has a tilted pickup in the back, its tilted a bit clockwise from the front of the guitar, so the pickup gets more lower end and and a extended higher end, it gives ...
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Play piece using a custom waveform?
As part of a music festival, I have been asked to convert one of my piano compositions, titled "Fractal", into an electronic piece by playing around with timbres using MIDI data. Though I ...
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the tone/effect of guitar during rock song bridge/breakdown?
A lot of rock songs I like change the tone or distortion of the guitar during bridge/breakdown of the song. Can someone tell me what is going on that makes the guitars sound this way, and how I can do ...
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What's the difference between rectified nylon strings and regular nylon strings?
Many nylon string manufacturers offer rectified nylon options, but what's the difference?
Is there a difference in tone, feel, durability, or intonation?
If there isn't, which other differences can ...
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How does changing a guitar string's tuning affect its timbre?
I'm not a guitar player, but have been reading some posts about alternative tunings. There are several mentions of how tuning a string up or down can change its timbre, but I haven't found anything ...
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Do we have any better/richer framework for understanding rhythm and timbre?
A large chunk of music has been made in the last 50+ years that largely cannot be analysed (in any meaningful way) via notes, focused instead on variations on repetition/timbre/rhythm/dynamics/etc. ...
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How to achieve a wet snare drum sound?
I was listening to Say Hello 2 Heaven today by Temple of the Dog. Matt Cameron on this track (and often with how he sets up) seems to have a wet snare sound.
How is this achieved? I assume it is by ...
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What are the acoustics of brass instrument pedal tones?
The natural range of a standard Bb trumpet, for example, extends down to F# (i.e., concert E), but by adjusting one's embouchure and air, it's possible to produce lower pitches. Those lower pitches -- ...
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What is the relationship between where and how a vibrating string is activated?
My understanding is that each string on a musical instrument/chordophone has a "sweet spot", such that when a string is activated at that point, the "best" sound is produced.
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Shine on you crazy diamond (Pink floyd) tone
how to do I get the Shine on You Crazy Diamond(Pink Floyd) tone from my Amp(Harley benton hb20r). I also have three pedals (compressor, phaser and chorus).
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Where did the term 'Tone' originate?
We use 'tone' and consequently 'semitone' a lot in music - in Western music, the semitone is the smallest possible difference between two notes. (Not including guitar bends etc!).
However, the word '...
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Why does the exponential curve that shows up in the orchestra not overwhelm anything?
So, I've noticed these ratios of range in the modern orchestra, which is primarily strings:
Soprano:Alto - Factor of 4 or 5 more soprano than alto
Tenor:Bass - About twice as much tenor as bass
Alto:...
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What physical phenomenon causes stratitis?
I've heard luthiers refer to the weird sounds from a badly adjusted pickup as 'stratitis' (or 'wolf sounds'?).
What are the mechanics of stratitis? What physical phenomenon causes it to occur?
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What determines the tone coming from a pickup?
I hear a lot of hocus pocus in music. One such thing called "Premium" pickups are heralded as some must-have for a good sounding guitar.
To me, it seems like pickups are just electromagnets ...
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Elvis singing technique
Please see Elvis in this clip , what technique Elvis is using to create this raspy and powerful tone? Thanks!
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Should bridge pickup knobs affect neck pickup?
I have an Ibanez AF95RW with Super 58 Humbuckers, and the bridge volume and tone knobs act in a surprising way. When the pickup selector is all the way on the neck pickups, I would expect the bridge ...
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Can you change some composition I wrote to whatever music you want just by changing the timbre of the instruments?
Here is my problem: suppose I am a composer you have contracted to create any sheet music I dream of with the unique condition it is not pure silence and that I don't stipulate the instrument section (...
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Will using flatwound bass strings take emphasis off of my slap tone?
I've never gotten a chance to play a bass that has flatwound strings, but I've heard from people who have. They usually say that it completely changes the sound, but that they feel amazing for your ...
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Guidance on achieving this Guitar tone (Axe-fx Ultra) [closed]
Today I received my Fractal Axe-fx Ultra and would like to achieve the guitar tone in the below video. I'm crazy about this song.
I'm using the Axe-fx with a head (Peavy 6505 MH) and 1x12 Orange ...
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How can I overdrive my tube amp at low volume?
I recently bought a Marshall Origin 20C. Nice tube amp, with a beautiful (clean) sound. It's a single-channel amp, with 3-way EQ, volume and gain pots, brightness pot (called 'tilt') and a 3-lever ...
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Do I need some amplifier for my VST instruments Ample Metal Eclipse and Ample Metal Rays to get the tone of Metal?
I want to tune these instruments to get the tone of metal especially metalcore tone.
Here is my guitar Ample Metal Eclipse :
and here is my bass :
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Where can I find the harmonic profile for each instrument?
I'm doing a project on instrument detection using the harmonic profile of each instrument. The idea is that the relative amplitudes of the harmonics will allow me to identify what instrument is ...
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Violin string G not playing smoothly
Whenever I play my violin (beginner) I always find that the G string doesn’t play well and is very choppy and dull while the other strings are fine. I have tuned it multiple times to try and get it to ...
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How can one create a sitar-like tone on a regular guitar?
What are some playing techniques or simple ways to emulate the buzzy tone of a sitar using a regular guitar?
Either acoustic or electric would suffice, but not permanent modifications (like changing ...
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Tension/gauge less prone to buzzing
Is there a type of string (high tension or low tension) that is less prone to generate buzzing on the acoustic guitar ?
I've mainly heard these few arguments so far :
high tension strings are larger,...
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