Questions tagged [tuning]
The system of pitches used by an instrument or in a piece of music, or the practice of adjusting the pitches that instruments or voices produce to be in accordance with the chosen system. When relevant, please also include the tag of your instruments, e.g. [guitar] or [violin].
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Ibanez S7420 ZR2-bridge not flush with body anymore, I can't fix it
I have a Ibanez S7420 7-string with the ZR2 bridge and I think I just majorly screwed it up.
The guitar was set up for standard 7-string tuning (BEADGBE) and I set it to A# F A# D# G C D# (tuning up ...
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Sharpened 5th in otherwise regular diatonic scale
Generally, I'm very pitch intolerant; out of tune vocals can send me running from the room. I'm particularly intolerant of 3rds & whether they push or pull depending on whether the feel is minor ...
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I'm having issues tuning my classical guitar [closed]
For some reason I cannot tune my classical guitar, I've used phone apps and actual tuners.
I'm starting to believe that the issue is that the guitar is too cheapy. I bought for 100$ from the brand ...
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Floyd Rose Bridge Fine tuner knobs pitch goes up and then down
So i recently got a new guitar which has Floyd Rose tuning system. I had tuned it low when i got it and then went back up to E Standard tuning. Since then i noticed that when i adjust the fine tune ...
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How to think about being 'out of tune'
I have been listening to quite a bit of the Dirty Three lately, and on songs like "Hope" the instruments/guitar are not in tune, and I love the sound. I feel similarly about some West ...
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How to interpret this tuning description for a kalimba? a' c" c' a' A f' e' e" b'
This is the tuning description for my kalimba, but I have no idea how to read it. I don’t know the difference between capital letters and lowercase nor the meaning of the apostrophes.
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How can I improve my ear for intonation?
I play tenor trombone, possibly switching to bass trombone. I need to improve my ear for tuning and noticing whether or not I am either sharp or flat. How can I practice in this area?
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Tuning a string instrument with well temperament
When I practice the cello, sometimes it is noticeable that, when playing big chords, they tend to be out of tune - the C string sounds a bit too flat. This is the issue of tuning by 5ths for any ...
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Why would the E string on a violin go flat when its peg is released?
This is pretty self explanatory. The moment I stop holding the E string peg in place, it immediately goes back down to an Eb. Why is this happening? Is there a good fix to this?
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How to practice improving intonation (singing) [duplicate]
I am an experienced musician, I'm a music ed major, having studied piano for over 10 years and singing for 4 years. I have sang in a couple musicals, a vocal jazz ensemble, and a choir. I also passed ...
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Piano tuning- tuning pin is far too small for tuning lever
I wanted to learn to tune a piano by myself, and bought a relatively cheap size #2 star tuning lever (~$40) for the job. The tuning pins are far too small for my lever.
I am looking for either a ...
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If the resolution of human hearing is approximately five cents, how can musicians play works with intonation changes of less than five cents?
Sources1 suggest that the frequency resolution of humans—our ability to discriminate differences in pitch—is limited to around five cents.
If this is the case, how can musicians play an excerpt like ...
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Alternate tunings on a 12 string guitar
I'm wondering if you can tune the second string of a double stringed guitar to something else than the regular octave. You would have to keep the open strings to C Major I guess, so that your barre ...
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open tunings for bass?
Long time bass [hack] player, also play a little bit of guitar, working on learning some music theory to expand my understanding of the mechanics of creating music. I'm curious about open tunings on ...
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Are these indentations on the frets of my Acoustic for intonation? Can I apply this to the frets of my Electric?
The questions are in the title, picture is below, but here are the (TL/DR) details.
About 9 months ago, I bought an electric guitar "kit" and assembled it (fun, highly recommended). This ...
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On the fly tuning of drums
I was watching Whiplash for the first time, and they mention tuning the drums at the start of the session, but that made me think. In every other instrument I know of, you can do on-the-fly pitch ...
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Useful tuning for 7 or 8 string guitars
So, I'm looking to add an Ibanez 7 or 8 string to my guitar zoo, but although I have looked into various standard tunings I am trying to figure out practical tunings so I can rapidly add the new ...
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Can a smartphone's accelerometer be used for tuning instruments? [closed]
Similar to a clip-on tuner, the vibrations of the instrument itself will be detected instead of its sound.
Procedure:
Phone is held where it can sense vibrations of the instrument
Play the instrument
...
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Why do people say "you are a little flat" and never "you are are a little sharp"? [closed]
Is there a tendency to sing flat when singing out of tune?
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What does [2 whole steps down & b flat down] mean for the guitar? [closed]
I know two steps down is C tuning, but what does the "b flat down" mean?
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Is there anything about a strat that lends itself to Eb standard tuning?
I have read that Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix tuned their Fender Stratocasters to Eb standard. I have not heard of it being done to other guitars.
Is there anything specific to a Stratocaster ...
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Restringing Acoustic guitar
I always have issues restringing the high E string. It breaks when tuning it. So today I used 2nd string as the first one and tuned it to High E, does it have a significant impact on tonality?
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What just intonation intervals are appropriate for the double-harmonic scale?
In musical traditions where something like the double-harmonic scale (e.g. C D♭ E F G A♭ B C) is used, and tuned with some kind of just intonation, what just intervals are preferred for the scale ...
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Why does my guitar tuner alternate between high and low for the high e string?
When tuning my guitar, the tuner kept alternating between too tight and too loose for the high e string- I hope that's correctish terminology. Although it was getting the correct string.
Although most ...
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What is the point in different guitar tunings? [duplicate]
I don't get it quite yet, since it seems to me like you can play most everything in standard tuning with a bit of practice. Or can you?
What are some parameters to look for in a specific guitar tuning ...
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Why Is Just Intonation Impractical?
I've read about the debate of "just intonation" vs 12-tone equal temperament. And nowhere it was clearly stated why just intonation is impractical. Here are my assumptions. Please let me know if I am ...
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Why does this tonal scale from 1737 have both F and E♯?
I've recently encountered Jean Féry-Rebel's "Les Élémens". (Check out that wild opening; it's hard to believe it was written in 1737!)
In the fifth measure of the third staff, why does this ...
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1912 Steinway B
I purchased a rebuilt 1912 Steinway B four months ago. It has been tuned three times since I got it. Each time, it seems like after playing 20-30 minutes the intervals start to migrate. Perhaps it is ...
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I broke my G string and my other 3 strings are out of tune too
It’s Thanksgiving break right now and I have a Christmas concert next Saturday December 4th, so I brought it over to my Abuela’s house to practice.
However, my grandparents keep the house hot, so my ...
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How does string age affect intonation?
I had a recent issue with my high e string where the saddle was adjusted as short as possible but the twelfth fret was still very flat. I read online that a new set of strings may fix this, and that ...
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How do the pegs on Sitar neck work?
I just saw a picture of a sitar (an Indian stringed instrument) with pegs throughout its neck. I searched a few websites, but I couldn't understand them well.
Can you please explain to me about these ...
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Should you play baroque pieces a semitone lower?
I haven't really been able to find an answer to this question. I've only noticed that most instruments during the baroque period were tuned a semitone lower (A=415 Hz I believe). So shouldn't it make ...
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How to develop a proper trumpet embochure: Tuning and range
I recently started playing the trumpet, and I am struggling with the upper range, but what concerns me even more than that is that my notes in the range I mostly control are out of tune.
In general ...
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Squier Stratocaster's Bridge Lift After Restringing with Ernie Ball Beefy Slinkies
Squier Strat, my high E string snapped yesterday, so I replaced all strings.
I used Ernie Ball's Beefy Slinky (2627) with following gauge numbers:
E (11)
B (15)
G (22p)
D (30)
A (42)
E (54)
When ...
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E-bass tuned correctly but E string too loose
I'm self-taught and new to bass, and I tuned my bass today (E-A-D-G, E being the lowest), but the E String seems a bit loose (It hits the neck sometimes, and I can bend it much further than the other ...
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Does bottleneck guitar use different tuning?
A naive question from a non-musician, so be kind please.
I'm curious whether playing with a bottleneck slide requires different tuning than 'ordinary' playing. I've seen great players picking and ...
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If Irish button accordions are typically B/C how and why are they often played in D or G?
On choosing a two-row button accordion...
B/C is the usual choice for Irish music (players use both rows in order to play mainly in D or G, but the instrument is almost chromatic).
Is this right?
...
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Are there pieces that require retuning an instrument mid-performance?
Are there any musical pieces that call for the musician to detune/retune the instrument, not in advance like a scordatura, but mid-performance?
I think it would be a neat avant-garde concept—for ...
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Why do people with perfect pitch perceive tunes not in 440 Hz out of tune?
I do not have perfect pitch, but I heard that people who have it might have difficulty when a piece of music is not tuned to the usual 440 Hz pitch standard; it sounds out of tune for them.
But this ...
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Inharmonicity between upper partials
Does anyone know whether the inharmonicity in an interval between upper partials is expected to be greater or lesser than the inharmonicity in same interval between a fundamental and a partial?
Here's ...
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How can I determine the diameter of my piano's tuning pins?
I have an upright Baldwin 88-key piano ("Style No. 2056A") that was made in 1991.
How can I determine the diameter of the tuning pins (so I can use the corresponding tuning tip)?
I took photos of ...
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What is the difference between the terms "tuning system" and "temperament"?
Are both the terms synonyms, or do they have different meanings?
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pitch choice for steel drums
When a steel drum is being tuned up are the pitches determined chromatically or are they tuned diatonically to a specific key? I'm asking about Jamaican style steel drums, just to be clear.
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Upright piano's keys feel heavier than they did when tested in the showroom
I bought a refurbished upright piano (Yamaha U1D). The keys feel a bit stiff, and sometimes if I hit a key softly it doesn't make any sound at all. It didn't have this problem when I tested it in ...
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Why is my D string showing a C♯ on my tuner?
I was playing for a bit and didn't tune any string, but when I wanted to tune it in at the end of my session my tuner kept saying C♯ instead of D. How do I get my D string back to its original ...
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How do you play a low Eb on a double bass?
The opera Das Rheingold starts with four of the double basses playing a low E-flat, one half step below the lowest E on a bass with standard tuning. In the sheet music, there is the instruction that ...
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Equal Temperament as a Stack of Just Intervals
Recently I came up with interesting discovery how to get equally tempered tones by using a stack of just intervals 3/2 and 5/4. Since they are a part of most harmonic cord, major triad, should be ...
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How to find the right tuning for arranging songs? [duplicate]
I want to know how to find the right tuning to be comfortable and able to combine many different voicings on a single guitar, I also wanted to spice up my arrangement. I saw kent nishimura on YouTube, ...
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My Floyd Rose won't stay in tune
I'm pretty new to Floyd Rose. My Floyd Rose wont stay in tune. My strings will go sharp after 15 minutes after tuning, the bridge is a bit higher from the body but the string action is really low as ...
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Newbie Question Open D Tuning
I'm beginner in guitar and music theory, here is my open D tuning question.
Open D is tuned (DADF#AD) on a 6 string guitar. I understand you can barre cords along the frets using the low D string ...