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

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1500 questions
14
votes
9 answers

How to keep music books open?

You know, many sheet music books are quite springy and would rather close than stay open on the music stand while practising. How do you keep them open while allowing to turn the pages easily?
Esteban Martinez
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4 answers

Distinction between same notes played on different strings

While playing a particular piece (not chords, fingerpicking/single note playing) on my ukulele (or as far as the question is concerned, any similar instrument), I use the standard notation and then play the different notes by engendering the…
stochastic13
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3 answers

A,B,C,D,E,F,G and H in boxes in piano sheet music, how do I play it?

Sorry I probably just too new but all of those letters are in piece I want to play. What is that letter and how should I play it?
Andrej Zelman
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8 answers

Which would benefit my band the most, learning covers or writing originals?

I've been playing the guitar for nearly four years, and I think I'm getting better at it.My brother plays the drums, and our two cousins play the guitar well. When we had all met last time, we wanted to do something fun. Two of us wanted to write a…
Cherubim
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14
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11 answers

Why is music in music schools taught the way it is?

Let me briefly tell you my personal story with music as a hobbyist. TLDR : Got taught technique as a child, had no fun and quit, learned music by ear by myself later in life, having fun now and playing. I don't get why music is taught the way it…
darkblue
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11 answers

Theory behind the change from a major chord to the same in minor

In many songs I hear the change from a major chord to the same, but minor. For example F A Bb Bbm. It sounds really nice to me and I'm wondering if there is a theory behind it. Is there a genre where this is used more often? Is there a name to…
Carlo
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1 answer

Deciphering the series of numbers shown for songs in a hymn book

Consider almost any song in a church hymn book. Either at the top just above the ledger lines or at the bottom near the credits is a series of numbers usually a set of four to six numbers such as 87 87 87 or 10 10 10 10 10 or 88 88 88. They are not…
zundarz
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14
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1 answer

Most efficient way to silent read 2 or more voices (audiation)

I would like to become able to silent read music. I am interested in renaissance and early baroque organ composition, which usually means two to four voices. As now I can recognize intervals (melodic & harmonic), read silently simple melodies in…
Emilie89
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14
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1 answer

Does Chinese music avoid counting in 4s?

Many East Asian cultures consider the number 4 to be unlucky, because their words for that number are highly homophonic to the word for death. Quite often you will see companies skipping the number 4 in their product numbers to avoid being unlucky…
Cort Ammon
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14
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4 answers

Exact pitch of blues scale notes

Wikipedia gives multiple candidate definitions for the blues scale. A musician showed me how to play blues e.g. in C by smudging say Eb and E. The actual note lies somewhere between. But where? Is there any rationale for placing this note? Is…
P i
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9 answers

Is it important to have three pedals on a digital piano?

My son (7 y/o) is learning piano. Currently, he is using my crappy keyboard I bought over 20 years ago. I am looking at buying him a digital piano with proper key weightings and key velocity (something my keyboard lacks). My question is: do I need…
dave
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14
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5 answers

Why are four-chord songs (I-V-vi-IV) so prevalent?

Over time, many musicians have experimented with various chord progressions, but none has stood the test of time as the four-chord song. What is it about this progression (and its variations) that are so appealing to the masses? Is there any…
Erich
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14
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5 answers

How can a shy singer get feedback?

I like singing, and while I've got more comfortable with the sound of my voice over time, I still don't really like it, and I'm massively self-conscious about anybody hearing me sing. I'm so jealous of people who don't have great voices but have no…
Mr. Boy
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2 answers

Statistical Average range for a Male singer

I understand that there are different ranges of singers, ie Bass, Baritone, Tenor etc etc, but what is the average pitch range of a male's singing chest voice?
Barney Chambers
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14
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6 answers

Any quick way to know if my tune is already used?

When I come up with a lick/melody, there always lingers that question of "Has this melody already been used?" Should I worry about it or is there a way to find out without too much hassle?
manejar
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