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1500 questions
31
votes
5 answers
How can a non-musician recognize anacrusis?
I need help understanding anacrusis (pickup notes). I'm no musician - I'm more of an anthropologist. I was reading some articles on ethnomusicology, and one of them makes reference to anacrusis in some indigenous musical traditions. In some cases,…
Teusz
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31
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4 answers
Physics behind why a bugle can play several notes, while a whistle only plays one note
A bugle and a whistle are essentially both tubes open at both ends. A bugle has no keys, yet you can play several notes on it. A whistle also has no keys, but it only plays a single note. Why is this?
What's the physics behind it?
Lama
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31
votes
5 answers
Recycling guitar strings
This one goes out to all my eco-friendly shredder pals. Does anyone know of an organization that takes guitar strings and recycles them? I run through quite a few packs per month on a heavy gigging cycle and I feel kinda bad tossing all that nice…
Jduv
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31
votes
15 answers
Coated Strings—Gimmick, or worth the money?
Never used them myself, but I had a friend who used to swear by the plastic-coated strings he bought for his electric to try and help keep them cleaner. While I realize this probably does do something to minimize corrosion, it seems it doesn't do…
Kaji
31
votes
8 answers
Are doubly augmented and doubly diminished intervals practical?
In music theory when naming intervals, a lowered diminished interval is a doubly diminished interval (dd) and a raised augmented interval is a doubly augmented interval (AA). One example is a C♯ to a G♭ would be a doubly diminished 5th…
Dom
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31
votes
7 answers
Chord naming conventions: add2 versus add9
I'm confused about the chord naming convention for the chord C-D-E-G.
Is it Cadd2 or Cadd9?
Similarly, I'm confused about the chord C-E-F-G.
Is it Cadd4 or Cadd11?
EDIT: I understand what the difference is. I am talking about the chord notation…
Whimusical
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30
votes
7 answers
Is CD audio quality good enough for the final delivery of music?
According to Wikipedia, the audio contained in a CD consists of two-channel signed 16-bit Linear PCM sampled at 44,100 Hz.
Of course, both the sample rate and the bit depth could be increased to improve the quality e.g. according to Wikipedia BluRay…
badjohn
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30
votes
1 answer
What do the letters D and E above the staff represent here?
A mystery from a musician friend of mine:
In the Alpine Symphony by Strauss, the oboe, Eflat clarinet, and bass clarinet/C clarinet have these D's and E's scattered throughout the back half of the piece in the parts and scores. He doesn't think it's…
GotDibbs
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5 answers
Where do the double accidentals go in "theoretical" key signatures?
Recent questions led me to discussions of theoretical keys, which are defined by Wikipedia as keys with at least one double accidental in the key signature. (Unfortunately, the source of that definition is not given.)
The key signatures on Wikipedia…
Richard
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30
votes
4 answers
Why is a 440 Hz frequency considered the "standard" pitch for musical instruments?
I was reading the Idiot's Guides: Music Theory (3rd edition), and I read:
The "standard" pitch today that most musicians tune to is the A above middle C, which equals 440 Hz; all the other notes are pitched in relation to this note. In earlier…
O S
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30
votes
6 answers
Is there any way to find a key of song somehow mathematically/algorithmically?
There are many scales with different keys for the same notes.
For example, with the notes C D E F G A B C,
we can have: C major, C Ionian, A natural minor, D Dorian, E Phrygian, F Lydian, G Mixolydian, A Aeolian, B Locrian.
I understand that music…
Sergey Kravchenko
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30
votes
11 answers
How to play a long sustained note on an electric guitar?
I've seen such effects on Santana, Robert Fripp and Steve Hackett. They produce a clean sustained sound and I don't know how to create it.
crimson_sprite
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30
votes
10 answers
Can I just tune my guitar how ever I like?
I wrote a song, and have a guitar I never got to using, and I decided to write a guitar part to the song. The thing is, I know what intervals and harmonies sound good so I just got my guitar out, and started playing with the tuning until I found…
Lilie Jorgensen
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30
votes
3 answers
What does a straight line connecting notes on different clefs mean?
What is the meaning of the straight lines between notes in opposite staves, as shown in the picture? I keep seeing it, but Google and Wikipedia are not helping me.
user85798
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30
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21 answers
How do I get out of my song writing rut and compose something new and fresh for a change?
I have been writing melodies for my original lyrics since 2008 and have written quite a few songs in that time. But the more songs I write, the more difficult it becomes to write melodies that don't sound like one of my other songs.
Sometimes I…
Rockin Cowboy
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