All Questions
25,336
questions
0
votes
0
answers
4
views
How to identify the optimal SoundFont for a MIDI file?
When I come across a .mid file without any additional details, is there really no efficient way to determine the SoundFont with which it was created with/intended to be heard with?
For example any ...
- 219
1
vote
1
answer
36
views
What kind of software do I need to make general MIDI playback on my computer sound better?
[No, I'm not asking for a specific recommendation.]
I'm writing some web-based software that uses the WebMidi API to output MIDI events which, somehow (sound card MIDI module?) turn into sound. It ...
- 177
0
votes
1
answer
23
views
Solid chords or arpeggios?
Can anyone explain if the chords are played as solid chords or as arpeggios? Also, are the chords restricted to one instrument? I can identify the harp but are there other instruments playing the ...
- 21
0
votes
1
answer
22
views
How do I add another composition
For my music class, we had to make a minor melody and a major melody. For the final project, we have to put these together in ABA format, so either major-minor-major or minor-major-minor. In ...
- 1
1
vote
1
answer
28
views
How do i arrange chords after mixing pentatonic modes?
The Aeolian mode is the minor pentatonic scale plus a Major 2nd and a minor 6th. It can be seen as a combination of the 3rd and 4th modes of the minor pentatonic scale.
The Locrian mode is the 4th ...
- 11
2
votes
1
answer
200
views
Syncopation in Greensleeves?
Can anyone explain if there's syncopation in Ralph Vaughan Williams' (To sir with love version) of Fantasia on Greensleeves.
- 21
1
vote
0
answers
44
views
What is the specific key and tuning for this tongue drum I just got?
I just got a tongue drum and I'm not sure how to look up music or tabs specifically for it. The numbers starting at 1 and going around clockwise are: 1, 6 with a dot below, 2, 5, 1 with a dot above, 5 ...
- 11
-2
votes
0
answers
53
views
Music Analyzing [closed]
Analyze the chords marked by the numbers. Include only the notes directly above the numbers. Make sure to look at both staves on the grand staff.
1
vote
1
answer
57
views
Why is my audio so high pitched on garageband?
I recorded some music and downloaded it as a mp4. When I imported it into GarageBand the voices sounded like chipmunks. I checked to see the sample rate and it is at 32 khz. Apparently, that might be ...
- 11
3
votes
2
answers
76
views
Voice Leading in Göncz’s completion of Contrapunctus 14
My question relates to the attached extract from Zoltan Göncz’s completion of Bach’s Contrapunctus 14 from The Art of Fugue, and specifically the chord marked with the arrow.
To my mind, it appears to ...
- 31
2
votes
1
answer
401
views
How to play this chord?
This is a simplified version of Schumann's Träumerei (Op.15 no.7) , toward the end. How to play the left hand chord pointed to by the red arrow? How does it differ from just the original version ...
- 1,447
2
votes
1
answer
93
views
How do I play these tremolos?
So for this piece Lux Aurumque by Eric Whitacre there's this thing called a tremolo in between the notes Bb and D. What do I play during it, do I trill with C or something?
- 21
8
votes
10
answers
2k
views
Does natural amplification TRULY exist in acoustics or does it have to be turned into an electrical signal first?
I have seen people claim these two scenarios as being possible acoustic amplifications. My question is, are they TRULY amplification or are there any other types of acoustic amplification in existence....
- 810
1
vote
1
answer
42
views
What does this bowing marking signify? [duplicate]
In Maurice Ravel's String Quartet in F Major, just before the up-bow marking, the engraver has written what looks like an upside-down down-bow marking.
I have not come across this before …. What does ...
- 329
-3
votes
4
answers
190
views
Is there a mathematic reason why Standard tuning for guitar is number 1 in the series of tunings? Could AI find it given a guitar with no tuning? [duplicate]
Physics, Mathematics, and Linguistic Stack Exchange simply refuse to accept questions about the mathematics of tablature and guitar.
But what is tablature besides lines and numbers?
These sites often ...
3
votes
3
answers
54
views
Do added-tone chords change depending on the key?
I'm so confused. I have three questions.
1. Is the added tone (or note) counted from the tonic of a key or the root note of the chord?
2. Since, with the same scale degree, a note changes depending on ...
1
vote
0
answers
19
views
Yamaha NP-35's speaker as Windows 11 output
I am able to select NP-35 as my output in MacOS but I am unable to select it as a sound output device on windows 11.
I have verified that the keyboard is connected as I am able to use it in Piano ...
- 11
2
votes
1
answer
52
views
Misplaced chords over lyrics
I use Lilypond to make scores with only chords and lyrics. However, I don't understand the chords placement I get with the following snippet:
<< ...
- 347
0
votes
1
answer
85
views
Babylon Sisters intro . Harmony?
in the Babylon sister intro,
What is going on with the F#/E- A7b5-Ebmin7 ? ( my sheet music says Ebmajsus4 )
Just wanted advice on how to label
The chord functions.
I’ve circled the part in blue on ...
- 81
1
vote
2
answers
56
views
How will these 3 very similar strings sound different when tuned to low C on a baritone ukulele?
I prefer to use a nylon core, wound strig for the low C on my baritone ukulele. I had trouble finding just the right thing, and the closest I found at my local shop was a set of classical guitar ...
- 4,659
0
votes
1
answer
48
views
Trying to learn a song on guitar in an odd alternate tuning. How do I find the chord shapes?
EDIT: I got the first chord and therefore the tuning completely wrong! This is going to make a lot more sense now that I realize the first shape is 10 10 9 5 5 5. So the tuning is really just DADGBD. ...
- 143
0
votes
1
answer
64
views
Best way to memorize patterns/chunks/building blocks
I am having a hard time memorizing. I read some answers here and it seems the more you can lump together notes in memory the easier it gets. So I was hoping to build my 'internal library of motifs/...
- 699
4
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Is there any benefit in trying to play a song by ear?
I started playing Take Me Out To the Ball Game by ear on the piano and I find that I have been making several mistakes in knowing what note comes next. I don't know the lyrics well but I am familiar ...
- 191
10
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What is this quadruple-dotted X above the staff?
At the end of Shiro Sagisu's Robe Des Champs (KK_A09_miyagi), there is a dotted X with brackets covering two bars.
- 203
1
vote
0
answers
63
views
Was Bernstein's interpretation of Mahler's 9th Symphony correct?
During his fifth Norton lecture at Harvard University, Leonard Bernstein famously speculated that Mahler's ninth symphony was symbolically prophesying his own death, the death of tonality (the advent ...
- 317
3
votes
1
answer
44
views
Centering a line of lyrics on a staff?
I would like to center a line of lyrics on a staff so that the lyrics go inside of the empty space. Right now I have this:
<<
\new Lyrics \lyricmode {
1
\markup \column {
...
- 121
0
votes
3
answers
117
views
Would PA Speakers or Studio Monitors be better for practicing live vocals?
My main concern is the volume, which is why I don’t want to go with PA Speakers per se, but I do want an accurate representation of what I will sound like through a PA System. Also, will I experience ...
- 810
0
votes
1
answer
70
views
Can someone play piano good without knowing how? [closed]
Hey so my fingers just know wht keys to press and it sounds right but I don't know how to play like read keys and music sheets what can it be? Am I just talented?
- 9
0
votes
1
answer
114
views
how to theoretically understand that chords are compatible? [closed]
how can we theoretically understand that chords are compatible? let's imagine that there is a chord X1 and X2, what rules/conditions must these chords follow in order to be compatible? I have a ...
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11
votes
2
answers
452
views
Accidentals and ornaments
These are the first two bars of J. S. Bach's Fughetta in c-moll (BWV 961) as edited by Henle.
Does the second trillo in the second bar start on B flat, so that it cancels the natural on the previous ...
2
votes
1
answer
74
views
How can I keep double bass drum (kick) from getting lost in the mix?
I'm adding drums to a metal song with distorted guitar and heavy bass. I have a double kick part I want to use and I think it's right for the song, but it gets lost in the mix. The only trick I know ...
- 225
0
votes
4
answers
124
views
Writing a Bridge for a Song
I am considering a bridge in a song I am writing in the key of C. Is it customary to change keys by going up a whole step or half step?
- 35
2
votes
3
answers
82
views
How to practice when my hands are tired
I'm prepping for my RCM Level 8 piano exam this Thursday, and I have been practicing for an hour every day since last week, with a few exceptions, so I would have thought I would have been more ...
- 23
0
votes
0
answers
36
views
What's the instrumentation of this song? [closed]
How many trumpets and trombones do you think there are? It's a little hard to tell but could there be 3 of each? Or are they regular 4-person sections? I'd appreciate anyone's thoughts!
0
votes
1
answer
105
views
Newbie with a used electric guitar
So I acquired a used electric guitar(Brand: Ibanez GIO, GS120906614 & IBZ1G guitar Amplifier) from an acquaintance and after researching how to setup and all, I tried playing and no sound came out ...
3
votes
2
answers
631
views
Cmaj7 and the Circle Of Fifths
In the key of C, where does Cmaj7 fit on the Circle Of Fifths?
I'm writing a song for guitar and am using the chord progression C Cmj7, F Cmaj7, F G, F G C.
I'm new to the Circle Of Fifths but have a ...
- 35
2
votes
2
answers
180
views
Will this section be playable by a professional pianist and a professional violinist?
So I am composing a piece for a competition, and it has a strict criteria about the song being playable. I am looking for reviews for a section in my piece for playability.
The piano part , 16th notes ...
- 21
10
votes
3
answers
811
views
Breathing strategies writing choral music
This is my very first time writing choral music. I'm planning on having a choir making a re-exposition of an electric guitar theme.
This way, I wrote a choir (bass, tenor, alto, soprano) fragment of ...
- 203
0
votes
1
answer
39
views
Lilypond: How do I get horizontal beams for both stem-up and stem-down notes?
Looking at Force note beams to be horizontal, I see how I can force beams to be horizontal. The accepted answer works only for stem-up notes. If there are also stem-down notes, there's a mess.
So I ...
- 115
0
votes
4
answers
132
views
In general, do top orchestral musicians play multiple instruments as very young children or do they specialize right away?
In general, is it more common for a top orchestral musicians (say, in the top 500 players in the world for a given instrument) to have played multiple instruments as a very young child (3-6 years old) ...
- 109
0
votes
8
answers
145
views
is there a way to notate in a time signature a recurring triplet?
In The Beatles song “Ticket To Ride” the verses use a compound meter of 2/4 + ¼ note triplet. If put in a time signature would it look like this?
2 3
— + —
4 3
Is there a way to notate a triplet ...
6
votes
3
answers
440
views
How can I dampen the sound of maracas?
I bought these Meinl PM1BK Studio Maracas. They are way too loud for me. Just way too loud. I kinda need to wear ear protection to use them.
Now… is there a way to easily dampen the sound of the ...
- 161
-2
votes
1
answer
109
views
Professionalism at piano playing [closed]
What is the easiest way to get professional on the piano and what is the trick behind using two different hands to play several different notes with different fingers. How is the memory improved by ...
- 37
-1
votes
0
answers
136
views
Isn’t perceiving pitches as consonant (simple ratios) and dissonant (complex ratios) to one another simply a choice?
I’ve been thinking a little deeper into how sound is produced. The conclusion I’ve come to at the moment is that the simplest way to define sound is motion of matter (gas, water, solids) over time. So,...
- 810
2
votes
0
answers
87
views
Why the similarity between these sections from Tchaikovsky and Saint-Saëns?
I noticed that part of Saint-Saëns' Africa (1891) sounds very similar to Tchaikovsky's Concert Fantasia (1884), and was wondering whether they were friends/contemporaries during their lives so would ...
- 121
4
votes
2
answers
349
views
Guitar Cabinet volume low
I have just bought a guitar Cabinet (Harley Benton G112) but when I connect anything to it, the volume is very low.
I have tried the Phones out of my Boss Katana 50, with all volume up — it's hearable ...
- 143
2
votes
1
answer
56
views
Sustaining, while replaying, notes in Rachmaninoff Prelude in A flat Op. 23 No. 8
Bars 32-39 of this prelude call for the left hand to play a line built from sustained notes that also get repeatedly replayed in the right hand's sixteenth note arpeggiations.
I cannot figure out ...
- 233
1
vote
1
answer
96
views
Question Regarding the Meaning of Certain Symbols
On piano sheet music, I occasionally see the following notations:
In the bass clef, the letter "m", "M" or the number "7" is above a note.
What do they mean?
- 11
3
votes
1
answer
92
views
Glissando during arpeggiando on string instruments
(Related to this question for the case without glissando)
Consider following example of an arpeggiando on the four open strings of the cello (but the question also holds for violin or viola).
Is it ...
- 1,433
0
votes
4
answers
209
views
How to derive triads from more complex chords
I recently came into possession of a chord diagram book for guitar.
It explains 7/9/11/13 chords, sus, add, and everything in between, seemingly, for all 12 notes.
What I don't see explained in this ...
- 1,493