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1500 questions
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8 answers
Does the difference in harmonic series between instruments have a significant effect on the consonance of the sound?
We all know that an instrument's timbre is uniquely determined by its harmonic series. Harmonic series are also very effective in describing whether an interval is consonant or not. For example, the perfect fifth (say C to G) is consonant because…
Ma Joad
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11 answers
Is there any practical difference between 3/4 and 3/8 time?
Is there any practical difference between 4/4 and 8/8? regards a common and unusual time signature;
both 3/4 and 3/8 time are pretty common.
What difference in performance is implied in the the difference between 3/4 and 3/8 time signatures?
What…
Dave
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45
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6 answers
Why do I yawn while singing?
Singing almost always make me yawn. I've heard this is due to not breathing correctly, but I'm not sure what that means. What's the correct way to breathe while singing so I don't yawn?
BenV
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9 answers
Does an accidental apply to all octaves?
I've been playing French Horn for 20 years, and thought I had most basic concepts regarding accidentals understood. But the other day I came across the following image via Wikipedia, which had me questioning what I thought I knew:
Wikipedia…
Siyual
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8 answers
How to transcribe music by ear?
Often times we find ourselves enjoying a piece of music that, for whatever reason, we are unable to find appropriate documentation/tablature for. What are good practices for transcribing music by ear if one does not have perfect pitch? Is there a…
Nathanus
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45
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11 answers
Why do octaves sound equivalent?
It is, I think, a perfectly clear observation that one note an octave above another note sounds as if it were the same in a certain sense; while they are by no means the same exact note, they are named with the same letter, and one can for example…
Ronald J. Zallman
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44
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16 answers
What instruments are inexpensive, portable and not too loud?
I'm a college student, and I'd really like to start playing an instrument. But I want to find something that is:
Inexpensive
Small and portable enough to fit in a backpack
Quiet enough to practice in my dorm room
I'd like to find something that is…
cstack
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44
votes
5 answers
Is there any "research" in music theory?
A researcher in, say, mathematics, conducts research in the form of proving theorems, laying out foundations for new theories, etc. But what do, for example, PhD candidates do in music theory? Split into several questions:
Is music theory complete,…
Daccache
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10 answers
As a guitarist, how can I learn to sight-read music?
I'm learning guitar right now, mostly from Justin Sandercoe's free online lessons, starting from the beginner's course. He has a lot of good tips for how to practice and drill chords, and scales, but he doesn't have much information on how to learn…
Brian Campbell
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44
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8 answers
Why do notes have multiple names?
I've seen the same note called different names for example the note F# can also be written as Gb. Why is this the case and are there times to use one name over another?
Dom
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8 answers
What are some useful and effective exercises for training absolute pitch?
I think by now most people agree that perfect pitch is not genetic. We understand that most people who do possess perfect pitch acquire it very early in life, (around the same time most people acquire language) which makes techniques for training…
NReilingh
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8 answers
What is the origin of the up bow and down bow symbols for bowed string instruments?
My brother is a beginning cellist and I was helping him annotate "up bow" and "down bow". I find it particularly strange that the "up bow" symbol is similar to a V. Intuitively, I would have thought it would be ^ or an up arrow.
I thought I would…
Lou
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43
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7 answers
Can a flute soloist sit?
I am a 60 year old flutist and I am about to perform a humble concert in my community. I have plantar fasciitis in my left foot, and I wonder if it is acceptable for me to sit on a high chair (like bar chair height) instead of stand for my…
Kristine Kirby
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43
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3 answers
How to interpret half notes combined with thirty-second stems?
I want to play Also Sprach Zarathustra (IMSLP PDF), but there is something I don't understand there. In the first few bars there are 4 half notes beamed in pairs as thirty-second notes. Because the time signature is common time I deduce each of…
iddober
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43
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6 answers
Why doesn't my synthesized note sound natural?
I'm currently developping a game, and I'm trying to synthesize a music note from various instruments in C++. For now, I'm only trying to replicate an A4 440Hz with the help of an existing audio file as a reference. I've tried my best to make my…
Nereid Regulus
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