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

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1500 questions
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7 answers

"slash" chords, e.g. B/F♯ - are these only for inversions, or can any note be the bass note?

I'm trying to work out whether it is technically correct to have a "slash" chord where the bass note is not one of the notes in the chord. I thought the main reason for slash chords is to show which inversion of a chord to play. However, someone has…
asgeo1
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A chord is three notes? What do you call just two notes?

Until very recently I'd though a chord was any group of notes played together. However, I just heard a chord defined as "three or more notes played together." If this is the case, what should I call just two notes played together?
minseong
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Why crescendo or decrescendo over one long note in piano music?

That C-chord on measure 6 of the system, from Grieg Piano Sonata, Op. 7, IV. Finale - Molto Allegro: Why couldn't they just mark that D7 chord with a p? That G chord is marked pp. Once you press a key on a piano and hold it, you cannot modify the…
Mickael Caruso
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How is it that 12 eighth notes fit in a measure labeled as common time?

I am looking at Franz Liszt's Consolation S.172 No.3. I have checked out two different music scores of the same composition and they both have the same time signature (standard), however the base line includes 12 eighth notes (making it a 3/2 time…
KJ Price
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Why can't I whistle and hum different notes at the same time?

I can whistle and hum at the same time, by making the breath from my humming go out through lips formed into a whistling pucker. I've found that no matter how hard I try to do otherwise, whatever note I hum is the same note I whistle. Is there a…
Isaac Moses
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9 answers

Why would a teacher ban the metronome altogether?

So when I was a kid I had this piano teacher who was completely against even owning a metronome. He was adamant that using a metronome to practice was a bad habit and insisted that pupils always count "internally". In retrospect, several years…
Some Dude On The Interwebs
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10 answers

What are the practical advantages of keyboards with non-weighted keys vs. weighted hammer action?

This is not a question about what type toy keyboard a beginning piano student should learn on if a real piano is not an option. I am talking about professional quality keyboards in the above (to well above) $1000.00 U.S. range. I have seen many…
Rockin Cowboy
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8 answers

Relationship between 3/4 and 4/4

I understand the meaning of music notations such as 3/4, 4/4 and so on. The first number is the number of beats per measure, while the second number is the note-duration (quarter, half, one-eighth) for each beat in the measure. Does this mean that,…
a c
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Do ear plugs have a big effect on ability to hear the music?

Ear plugs are likely a good idea for anybody performing amplified music (or even enjoying amplified music). But what is the effect on the ability to hear your fellow musicians when playing in a collaborative setting (i.e. a rock band)? Has anybody…
Ryan Kinal
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What is the difference between an amp and a head?

At the moment I currently only use a basic guitar amp, but a few of my friends have 'heads' on top of their amps. What is the purpose of these? What do they do that the amp doesn't do?
rich2165990
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Learning the musical concepts in the book "Gödel, Escher, Bach"

I am reading the book "Gödel, Escher, Bach", in which the author tries to present concepts in mathematics, drawings and music as instances of a certain "pattern", that he calls "strange loops". He makes several comments about Bach's music, in…
Otavio Macedo
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6 answers

What is a secondary dominant chord?

What is a secondary dominant chord? What's the theory behind them? How are they used in composition?
TaylorSwiftFan5932
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Techniques for remembering a pitch without reference

I'm wondering what ways there are to remember a note. For example, as a guitarist it'd come in handy if one can hum an E note so you can tune your E string according to it. Are there common techniques to remember a note? Or is it just practice and…
strudelkopf
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Why does plucked and bowed string of violin produces slightly different pitches?

I know that when plucked as in pizzicato, the violin produces a muted sound. However, I was surprised to find out when I checked with my tuner that if I tune my violin by plucking, it seems somewhat flat when I double check it by bowing! So there's…
Sazid Ahmad
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Finding the Shadaj (tonic) in Hindustani Sangeet (North Indian Classical Music)

This question pertains to non-Western music and hence a bit of explanation before a question is stated. I listen to and play Hindustani Sangeet (i.e., North Indian Classical Music) which does not use chords. A singer is accompanied by tabla (two…
S V Pathak
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