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How should I play the half bass notes with the slashed stem?

See please the attached image:

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Dom
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vagoo
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1 Answers1

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It's called measured tremolo, and is a shorthand for writing a series of eighth notes. It means that you are to play repeated eighth notes that fill the time of the half note. So, for example, in the first measure, you'd play four eighth notes of A, followed by four eighth notes of G♯.

Caleb Hines
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  • See also: http://music.stackexchange.com/questions/20649/what-do-these-beamed-half-notes-mean – Caleb Hines Jul 08 '15 at 05:43
  • Uncommon in a piano score. Much more common in instrumental music, where repeated notes are a frequent feature of string parts in particular. – Laurence Jul 08 '15 at 13:39
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    To be precise, the repetition rate is typically two notes per beat. If this were in cut time (2/2), then you'd play two notes for each half note, not four. – Carl Witthoft Jul 08 '15 at 16:12
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    Thank you for the answer Caleb Hines. Finally, I think that the half note means that these notes are played as quarters. The piece of music is the Resurreccion del Angel by Astor Piazzolla a slow tango and I can clearly hear this quarters on the bass lines. – vagoo Jul 15 '15 at 14:39
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    If there were two slashes through the stem of a half note, it would be 8th notes, and if there were three slashes through the stem of a half note, it would be 16th notes, etc. –  Aug 11 '15 at 02:47