Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [country-and-western]

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What exactly does it mean to "play over the changes"

I've been watching a podcast lately which features a country guitarist and a blues guitarist discussing various aspects of guitar-craft. When comparing stylistic differences, the blues guitarist often says to the country guitarist something akin…
gingerbreadboy
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Why was "A" called "a good country key"?

Background I'm a novice. I'm currently learning to play and sing a "country"-style song on guitar. I'm playing it in G major. The melody is just over one octave, from E3 though G4. That's difficult for me to sing: because I seem to have a bass voice…
ChrisW
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Is there a name to this piano element from Country Music?

There is a certain piano element I hear in certain classic country songs, where the piano seems to play backup to the vocals for the extent of one verse. It has a feel that the person is sitting there "tickling" the keys. Three songs that have this…
nonremovable
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Why does most "Country" Music use mostly major and minor plain simple chords?

Rock and Roll features power chords. Funk features 9th and 13th chords. Blues features 7th chords. Jazz features all kinds of strange diminished and augmented and suspended and flat 5th and other unusual chords. Country music (aka Country and…
Rockin Cowboy
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Is there a formula/theory for writing country licks/riffs?

Is there a formula/theory for writing country licks/riffs, and where can I find it?
user9962
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How to avoid being pianocentric in my compositions?

I have heard of 1 thing to do to make your music less pianocentric. That is to play other instruments. Thing is my commitment to guitar has always been on and off and while with an acoustic I don't really have to worry about sore fingers, with an…
Caters
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How are skip beats decided in Red River fiddling?

As I understand in Red River fiddling, the distinguishing feature of that style (as well as the more obscure James Bay and Athapaskan fiddling styles) is the skip beat. That means a whole beat is dropped or inserted as the tune is played and that…
Phillip Siebold
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country singing harmony

I am a singing teacher, and have taught music theory and mechanics of singing, have directed church choir for over 30 years. I have a fairly high level of theory knowledge. I also love to harmonize. Now I am being asked to work with a country band…
Theresa
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Country music elements

My question is in general but for right now I'm just specific about country music. Every genre of music has its own elements, and some genres have some features and some other don't. For example every genre has its own rhythm, scale, mode,…
virtouso
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Which string instruments/playing techniques were used for Nashville Sound country music?

I've been delving into the history of a particular style of country music called "Nashville Sound" recently, which involved a lot of string sections in songs. Some websites describe them as being "Lush strings" or "smooth strings", but never…
Jodast
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Is this an 8 bar blues chord progression? How to know if it is or isn't?

I just read sheet music from a book on country piano with this chord progression: C-C-F-F-G-G-C-G. This is 8 bars long. Would you call this an 8 bar blues chord progression? All the examples I found on wikipedia did mention other 8 bar blues chord…
user20754
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How can you get a Country and Western sound with just a guitar and vocal?

A glimmer of a song idea I have feels like it might fit a C&W style. But I have no idea how that would be achieved and I'm not really a big C&W fan. Is it a musical thing with the instruments, or a vocal melody thing, or both? I'd be writing/playing…
Mr. Boy
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Is there a name for the way George Strait phrases his lines?

When looking at the sheet music I have noticed that most of his phrasing is at the end or beginning of a Measure in a very short choppy line. Is there a name for this style of phrasing? For example, "Amarillo by Morning, the first measure of singing…
hatmanbatman
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What are common western saloon instruments?

This is a question that popped in my mind, but the funny thing is, I couldn't think of a lot of instruments that played during the Western Saloon period. Here's all I can think of: Upright Piano (out of tune) Accordion Harmonica Clarinet (not…
Gino Gamboni
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Picking equipment for learning Country Guitar in an apartment.

I want to learn to play country guitar. Right now, I'm at a point in my life where I can dedicate a few hours a day to practice. (3+ hours) But I'm a total newbie to music period and live in a dreaded apartment. I get that I should get an electric…
MostEthicalPimp
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