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Why do instruments have a key?
There are many instruments that have keys other than C. For example:
The Eb Alto Saxophone
The Bb Clarinet
The Horn in F
Why do these instruments have a key in the first place? Here's a more specific example:
On the alto saxophone, in order to…
SirPython
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What to look for when buying a digital piano for a beginner?
My wife has recently started learning to play the piano and needs something at home on which to practise. I'm inclined towards a digital piano as it is more practical (Mainly space but also no tuning required and transport).
Knowing very little…
Simon P Stevens
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What is the difference between a xylophone, a glockenspiel, a marimba, a xylorimba and a marimbaphone?
What is the difference between an xylophone and a marimba? What about a glockenspiel and a xylophone? Is it just the material and size of glockenspiel?
relome
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What Does a Compressor Pedal Do?
Quite often, when I see a pedalboard of guitarists I admire, there is a compressor pedal in the chain. How exactly does this pedal affect the sound?
sfrench
49
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9 answers
Why are orchestras tuned differently?
In 1936 American Standards Association (and the International Organization for Standardization in 1955) accepted that A would be tuned at 440 Hz (or cycles per second). Yet despite the fact that a standard has been accepted, orchestras frequently…
SRiss
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49
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14 answers
Why does the scale have seven (or five) notes? Why not six?
I'm a programmer by trade, and I have always felt that music was arbitrarily difficult. Please forgive my inexperience with musical notation. I had a little thought experiment with my wife today, and I wanted to ask why we don't do it the way I…
Caleb
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When were the terms "Major" and "Minor" applied to keys?
In 1547, Heinrich Glarean published Dodecachordon in which he posited that in addition to the 4 existing pairs of church modes (plagal and authentic versions of modes with finals on D (Dorian), E (Phrygian), F (Lydian), and G (Mixolydian)), there…
Caleb Hines
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How do I make piano chords sound interesting when playing along with popular songs?
I'm wanting to start playing along with popular songs and the easiest way to find lyrics and music only has guitar chords. I can play those chords on the piano but it just sounds boring. How should I be filling the space between chords to make it…
mrstein2
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In live performance, what is a "monitor"
In discussions about live amplified performance, I have heard the term "monitor" or "monitor speaker" - what does this mean?
slim
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47
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What are the practical reasons for still having transposing instruments?
I understand that historically there was a need for transposing instruments. e.g. Brass instruments would use lead pipes to change their key and players in brass bands would like to stick to the same fingering when swapping between instruments. …
JohnLBevan
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What does it mean to write a song in a certain key?
I have been searching for a while to try to correctly understand this.
What exactly does it mean if for example a song is written in C Major? Does it mean the song's notes cannot contain any sharps or flats? Does it mean the song can only have…
jmasterx
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WHY do harmonics happen?
The answers to the question 'How do harmonics work?' were most interesting.
OK, that's the HOW it happens. But WHY does it happen ? What is the physics here ? Why doesn't a guitar string vibrate at one frequency only?
Punksta
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2 answers
List of average genre tempo (BPM) levels?
I've been told before that a genre such as drum and bass averages a BPM of 160-180, whereas dubstep is around 140 BPM and hip-hop is around 115 BPM.
Does anyone know where I can get a list of popular genres with their average BPM?
Curtis
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10 answers
Why learn scales? What are they for?
I tried Googling but it seems there is no answer for this one. So the internet assumes everyone knows what scales are for? Why should I learn them? Are they important to be a good guitarist?
J Roq
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How can I improve my piano sight reading?
I am 25 years old, and I started learning piano about 6 months ago. I really want to play the piano well, but it takes me so long to be able to play any piece of music. In the meantime, I'm using a pencil to write the note letter next to the note I…
iddober
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