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

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1500 questions
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6 answers

Breaking out of pentatonic scales for guitar riffs

I've been playing guitar for about 9 years now. From a young age, my teachers focused a lot on pentatonic scales. So that's what I'm defaulting to when improvising, soloing, writing stuff, etc. Recently, I learned the modes (from switching to a…
DavidSalib
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"Only open voicing below middle C!" Really?

Every resource I've seen and person I've talked to has said that putting low voices, usually trombones, in close spacing anywhere below C4 is to be avoided at all costs, due to muddiness. As I arrange, though, this rule is causing me some grief, as…
JAF
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How do I read this text-only musical notation from Wikipedia

I have practically no music notation experience, so please consider me a dummie when answering. I am reading this Wikipedia article, about the clave rhythm. They use a text only notation looking like this: 1 & a 2 & a 3 & a 4 & a || X . X . X . . X…
Soren Ventegodt
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3 answers

What are "nodules" and how do you avoid them?

I've heard from singers (I'm primarily a guitarist) that it can be dangerous to try to make your voice deeper because you might develop "nodules". Is it true? What are they? How can you avoid them?
luser droog
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How can I evaluate the quality and value of a violin?

I want to start learning the violin, but I don't know what's a good price for one. Should I get a used one or a new one? How can I tell that a violin is of good quality and worth the price asking for? What's a good brand?
Caleb
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Why play out of scale notes as part of a chord?

So, I'm learning 'Stray Cat Strut' right now and came across something I'm not sure I understood. I have to say, I've only just begun to learn theory, so maybe that's why. Anyway, as far as I can tell, the song is in the key of Cm and the intro…
LarissaGodzilla
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Is there a name for the screeching sound made when changing chords on a guitar?

When listing to the song "The Only Exception" by Paramore (see YouTube), there's a screeching sound when changing chords, which I find quite unpleasant. Question: Is there a name for the screeching sound made when changing chords on a guitar?
Douglas S. Stones
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Is there a technique to help you memorize the notes on the guitar?

The title says it all. Is there no escaping memorizing the neck note by note, or is there a nice technique for this?
EpsilonVector
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Four dots over tremolo minim (half note with slash)

I'm working on National Emblem by E. E. Bagley. In the second strain, there is a minim with the tremolo mark. Above it are four dots. What do they mean? Here is a picture. The mark in question is found in the third measure of the second line. It is…
American Luke
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Is there a good way to denote nested repeats?

I'm arranging a song and I have a jam section in it that could be repeated an arbitrary amount of times. The problem is that the jam section itself contains repeats, so I have "nested repeats". What I want to accomplish can be illustrated with this…
klutt
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Is there a definitive notation for multiple repeats?

Is there a definitive notation for repeating a section more than twice? Say you want a section to be played four times. I have mostly seen this: x4 .... meaning "play four times", but I have also seen this: x3 .... meaning repeat…
Len
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1 answer

Can't sing high notes anymore after a bad cold

I'm a twelve year old female that sings with a choir (I'm a mezzo soprano that sings alto when there is no sop 2 part). Around Christmas last year, I got a really bad cold. Like, so bad I could only sing three notes (they were in my mid range). I…
user52107
13
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2 answers

Meaning of dots below note heads

I’m learning music theory and I found a music sheet that I attach one part in a picture. If you see in the Treble Cleff, there are 8 eighth dotted notes and is a 4/4 signature. Like is a 4/4 is not supposed to be only the eighth notes alone without…
coerrace
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Trumpet Peculiar Frequency spectrum

So I made this frequency spectrum analyzer and tested various instruments playing a certain note. There doesn't seem to be any problem with the 'equalizer'. However, I found the spectrum for trumpet rather unusual. So the fundamental frequency…
Black Jack 21
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Piano questions from a former bass player: Is it better to think in note names or think in intervals?

So I was a (mostly Funk/Jazz) bass player for a long time, and as a bass player, I had a strong understanding of music theory. The reason that I had such a strong practical/intuitive understanding of music theory on the bass was because intervals…
William Oliver
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