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1500 questions
29
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6 answers
How do I stop muting nearby strings or will my fingers reshape after some practice?
I recently started learning to play guitar. I cut my nails completely, so I can press the strings. Often I need to endlessly re-arrange my fingers because I'm muting nearby strings. I correct one finger with a lot of effort, but mute some other…
DetectiveShmee
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29
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9 answers
How to dramatically change the feeling of a song while keeping the melody largely the same?
How to dramatically change the feeling of a song while keeping the melody largely the same? Let's say we have a happy, upbeat pop song and we want to turn it into a sad song (or vice versa). Is it generally possible? Does the feeling of a song…
netvope
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11 answers
Are sharp keys "bright" and flat keys "dark"?
I was reading this book and on the "Circle of Fifths" chapter, it claims that keys with sharp key signatures (C, G, D, ...) are "often thought by musicians" to be "bright" sounding, whereas those with flat key signatures (F, Bb, Eb, ...) sound…
diegovb
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12 answers
Learn piano one hand at a time or simultaneously?
I've started to teach myself how to play the piano, and one of the difficulties I've found is trying to get both hands to do things at once. I either forget one hand entirely, or have one hand trying to mimic the other.
This reminded me of many…
DaaaahWhoosh
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29
votes
6 answers
Difference between "hi" and "low" on amps?
What is the difference between "hi" and "low" input jacks on guitar / bass amps? Usually bigger amps have both of them (didn't see them on smaller ones really)..
tkit
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29
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4 answers
How do you remember your music and how do I improve in this regard?
Okay, let me start with my own story. I jumped straight into playing classical pieces on the piano without much in the way of formal musical education. By now I know how chords are built (but it takes me a while to name them) and some…
neuviemeporte
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29
votes
5 answers
Examples of songs or phrases played in different temperaments
I've read about the fact that 12 tone equal temperament is a relatively recent phenomenon, and that historically, each key would have a different character due to the unequal temperament. I'm curious about how equal temperament changes the character…
Brian Campbell
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29
votes
5 answers
Boiling/washing used guitar/bass strings - is it worthwhile?
I've read that some people boil their strings from time to time to make them sound again like they were new (and save some money).
Is this really worthwhile, or are there any disadvantages to this?
phoibos
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29
votes
11 answers
Do musicians that began playing from an early age have an incontestable advantage?
If you look at the winners of international music competitions, or the biographies of famous musicians (Liszt, Chopin, Paganini, Mozart), there is one thing they all have in common that really stands out: they began playing at a very early age. I…
Nick
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4 answers
Do different synthesizers have different timbres and/or produce different harmonics for the same given waveform?
All basic synthesizers can produce the basic waveforms: sawtooth, square, triangle, and sometimes sine. Does each synthesizer "injects" its own character to the waveform? Are all sawtooths the same, or can there be differences?
For example:
Can an…
Lolo
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29
votes
13 answers
Is "You shouldn't play all 6 strings together on an electric guitar" good teaching?
Someone I know who has been playing electric guitar for many years says this quite often, as a key difference between playing acoustic and electric guitar. He claims that even playing rhythm, you shouldn't be strumming all 6 strings but only two or…
Mr. Boy
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29
votes
3 answers
What is the difference between Overdrive and Distortion?
What's the difference? They sound vaguely similar to me and I can't tell a distinct difference sound wise. What is the difference in tone, harmonics, etc.? Are they the same? Which one is better and for what?
Geroy290
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29
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3 answers
What are the limitations of the ABC notation format?
This question came up in a discussion on Meta, and I thought it might be a good question to ask on the general site.
ABC notation is a relatively simple text-based format for writing music scores and sharing them online. It was originally written…
Caleb Hines
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29
votes
5 answers
Why does the orchestra tune to the oboe?
Most of the time, an orchestra will tune to the oboe.
Why is that? What is the next instrument if, for some reason, there are no oboes?
SysDragon
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29
votes
7 answers
What tools should every guitarist have?
What tools should every guitarist have to do most small/medium projects for their guitars? (change strings, tuners, knobs, pickups)
brian
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