Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

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TenPoundHammer

Re: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by TenPoundHammer »

I can tell when someone has uploaded a song to YouTube and thrown off the pitch so the copyright bots don't catch it.
seaborgium
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Re: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by seaborgium »

The last J! episode I missed while out of the country didn't record, and I found it on YouTube sped up. It was funny how easy it was to get used to Alex's voice being slightly higher, and how off all the music and sound effects were despite that.
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Re: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by bpmod »

thenextofken wrote:If you can't tell that one is in C not D, I question your knowledge as you did mine. And I guess that everyone else is wrong and you are right about the key.
I have already stated I don't have perfect pitch. I learn what key a song is in by playing along on the guitar or piano. So far, there is only one song I have ever come across that I can not play along to the recording on my instrument. The reason for that is that the song is not in a key that is named by one of our* musical notes' pitches.

I have heard the horrid remake of Give A Little Bit exactly once. I could not sing along with it, not (necessarily) because it was in a different key, but because the group (or at least the lead singer) was not singing the words that Roger Hodgson had written.

*'our' being the scale that most of the western world as we know it uses based on A440.

And, like SG, I experience the same thing, but not as much if it's only off by a semitone or two (or less than one).

Who is 'everyone else'? You are the only one who has said I am wrong about the key.

Brian
...but the senator, while insisting he was not intoxicated, could not explain his nudity.

If I had 50 cents for every math question I got right, I'd have $6.30 by now.
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Re: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by thenextofken »

seaborgium wrote:The last J! episode I missed while out of the country didn't record, and I found it on YouTube sped up. It was funny how easy it was to get used to Alex's voice being slightly higher, and how off all the music and sound effects were despite that.
I've seen a couple of episodes that way, and it is rather jarring, to say the least.
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Re: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Volante »

bpmod wrote:
Volante wrote:Can you just give the answer then?

Or can I at least get 13 guesses? :D
Thirteen guesses? I guess you probably don't know that there are 15 major keys. But three of them are duplicates, for lack of a better word.
I was thinking 14 and you already eliminated D. I'm lucky I can still read music these days...
Spoiler
Dirty pool of a question though. If it's "partway between keys" it's not actually in 'a' key. And if they change scales, then its in two+ keys.
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Re: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by bpmod »

Volante wrote:
bpmod wrote:
Volante wrote:Can you just give the answer then?

Or can I at least get 13 guesses? :D
Thirteen guesses? I guess you probably don't know that there are 15 major keys. But three of them are duplicates, for lack of a better word.
I was thinking 14 and you already eliminated D. I'm lucky I can still read music these days...
Spoiler
Dirty pool of a question though. If it's "partway between keys" it's not actually in 'a' key. And if they change scales, then its in two+ keys.
Yes. But I couldn't think of a better way to word the question. The fact that it is the only song I have ever come across like that doesn't mean that it is the only one like that, but it is a cute little trivia nugget nonetheless.

Brian
...but the senator, while insisting he was not intoxicated, could not explain his nudity.

If I had 50 cents for every math question I got right, I'd have $6.30 by now.
TenPoundHammer

Re: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by TenPoundHammer »

thenextofken wrote:
seaborgium wrote:The last J! episode I missed while out of the country didn't record, and I found it on YouTube sped up. It was funny how easy it was to get used to Alex's voice being slightly higher, and how off all the music and sound effects were despite that.
I've seen a couple of episodes that way, and it is rather jarring, to say the least.
If the only version I can find of something is adulterated in some way, whether pitched up/down, reversed, etc., then I just don't watch it. That's when I pirate the episode instead.

I figured out this song entirely by ear, both the main riff and the chords. Key of A♭; chord pattern A♭-Fm-B♭m-E♭. (I originally had D♭ as the third chord, but either one can more or less work there. Or you can split the difference and play B♭m7 there. :lol:)
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Re: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by bpmod »

TenPoundHammer wrote:(I originally had D♭ as the third chord, but either one can more or less work there. Or you can split the difference and play B♭m7 there. :lol:)
You should probably have used a D♭6.

Brian
...but the senator, while insisting he was not intoxicated, could not explain his nudity.

If I had 50 cents for every math question I got right, I'd have $6.30 by now.
TenPoundHammer

Re: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by TenPoundHammer »

bpmod wrote:
TenPoundHammer wrote:(I originally had D♭ as the third chord, but either one can more or less work there. Or you can split the difference and play B♭m7 there. :lol:)
You should probably have used a D♭6.

Brian
Or that. Then again, I'm the one who can't get his tiny little raccoon hands to even FORM a lot of the chords on a guitar, so...
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Re: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by bpmod »

TenPoundHammer wrote:
bpmod wrote:
TenPoundHammer wrote:(I originally had D♭ as the third chord, but either one can more or less work there. Or you can split the difference and play B♭m7 there. :lol:)
You should probably have used a D♭6.

Brian
Or that. Then again, I'm the one who can't get his tiny little raccoon hands to even FORM a lot of the chords on a guitar, so...
I should have used an emoticon of some sort. A 6 chord is simply an inversion of the relative minor 7. (For example, C6 = Am7, D-flat6 = B-flat minor 7) How the heck do you do the flat sign? Can you do a (proper) sharp sign? What about a treble clef?

Brian
...but the senator, while insisting he was not intoxicated, could not explain his nudity.

If I had 50 cents for every math question I got right, I'd have $6.30 by now.
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Re: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by trainman »

bpmod wrote:How the heck do you do the flat sign? Can you do a (proper) sharp sign? What about a treble clef?
They're available in Unicode. I'm getting a SQL error trying to post with the symbols actually in this post, but here's the info:

MUSIC FLAT SIGN
Unicode: U+266D, UTF-8: E2 99 AD

MUSIC SHARP SIGN
Unicode: U+266F, UTF-8: E2 99 AF

MUSICAL SYMBOL G CLEF
Unicode: U+1D11E (U+D834 U+DD1E), UTF-8: F0 9D 84 9E
TenPoundHammer

Re: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by TenPoundHammer »

I just copied the♭ symbol from the Wikipedia article on flats. Here, have some sharps while you're at it: ♯♯♯♯♯♯♯♯

And yes, I knew you were kidding with B♭m7/D♭6 since I know those are just the same chord inverted. If you've seen all the diminished sevenths and augmented chords in my melodies, you'd know that I have a good understanding of chords.

I wonder why A♭ is such an easy key for me to pick out? I would imagine that part of it is because it's an easy key to write a popular song in: just G with a capo. It's also apparently a good key for my sister, who can knock Sara Evans' "Born to Fly" out of the park.

B♭ is also easy for me to pick out, especially if it's a male voice or a female voice that I'm singing along to an octave lower. B2 is about the lowest note I can consistently hit, so if I find myself straining for the lowest note, then it's probably a B♭2 that I'm just barely missing.
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Re: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by Budphrey »

bpmod wrote:For those who are tired of the game, the answer is
Spoiler
It is part-way between D and E-flat.
Hey, when you stumble on that magic moment when a 12-string is in tune with itself, you stop right there and retune all other instruments to it. Been there.
Poo-tee-weet? So it goes.
TenPoundHammer

Re: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by TenPoundHammer »

Budphrey wrote:Hey, when you stumble on that magic moment when a 12-string is in tune with itself, you stop right there and retune all other instruments to it. Been there.
Unfortunately, I've stumbled across the fact that my hands didn't even FIT around my 12-string. This is why I've put more emphasis on getting better on the mandolin lately. (The strings on a mandolin are doubled, so tuning it is much like tuning the higher strings on a 12-string.)

Also, my 6-strings are in desperate need of repair. Or, as long as I've put it off, they may be little more than kindling now. Still have a bass guitar in good condition, though.
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Re: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by bpmod »

Budphrey wrote:
bpmod wrote:For those who are tired of the game, the answer is
Spoiler
It is part-way between D and E-flat.
Hey, when you stumble on that magic moment when a 12-string is in tune with itself, you stop right there and retune all other instruments to it. Been there.
I've always got my 12-string (both of them, in fact) tuned close enough that I can't tell it's not in tune with itself. (And nobody with a better ear than I has ever told me it wasn't right.) But I get what you're saying, except when you throw a piano into the mix. My assumption was always that the piano had been tuned high.

Incidentally, that song is one of my absolute favourite songs to play.

Brian
...but the senator, while insisting he was not intoxicated, could not explain his nudity.

If I had 50 cents for every math question I got right, I'd have $6.30 by now.
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Re: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by bpmod »

TenPoundHammer wrote:... especially if it's a male voice or a female voice that I'm singing along to ...
Yeah. I'd certainly hope that it's one or the other. :lol: :twisted:

Brian
...but the senator, while insisting he was not intoxicated, could not explain his nudity.

If I had 50 cents for every math question I got right, I'd have $6.30 by now.
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Re: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by opusthepenguin »

bpmod wrote:I learn what key a song is in by playing along on the guitar or piano. So far, there is only one song I have ever come across that I can not play along to the recording on my instrument. The reason for that is that the song is not in a key that is named by one of our* musical notes' pitches.


*'our' being the scale that most of the western world as we know it uses based on A440.
Just to clarify, the song can still be in D major even if the instruments are not tuned to A440. If I'm not mistaken, the Western key system predates the A440 standard by over 300 years. It wasn't until 1936* that the American Standards Association recommended that A above middle C be set to 440 Hz. And the ISO didn't adopt that recommendation until 1955. Prior to 1936, I believe classical orchestras went with the Austrian government's 1885 recommendation of A435. Prior to 1885? It was like time before time zones. You asked what the local custom was and tuned accordingly.

But musicians still used the same major and minor keys that we have today. I have e.g. a CD of Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 in D major. The orchestra is tuned to A430, described in the liner notes as "one of the historical possibilities." Those liner notes also inform me that "Pitch was not crucial...: it varied all over Europe, and even within one town." As long as the tones being played had the same intervals relative to each other, everything was fine. There was plenty of wiggle room before the violin strings started breaking after every third note or the clarinetist had to extend the barrel so far that it was no longer physically attached to the rest of the instrument.

So the song performance you mention might be in D major, but you'd have to re-tune your guitar to A452 to play along. I'm not entirely sure that "part-way between D and E-flat" is an intelligible concept in music theory, leastways not when equal temperament is being used. But I'm way out of my depth at this point. I'm not a musician in theory or in practice, so take all this with a grain of salt. It's a summary of what I think I have gleaned from my reading on the subject.

*
Spoiler
So, after the completion of Hoover Dam but before the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge.
TenPoundHammer

Re: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by TenPoundHammer »

There are notes between D and E-flat: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accidenta ... l_notation

I knew about them since the late 90s when I first discovered the scorewriter program I still use to this day (Melody Assistant).
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Re: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by bpmod »

Actually, Opus, what you have done is more-or-less proven my point that perfect pitch is a learned talent rather than a genetic thing. The musical scales have been standardized in our culture such that, when somebody plays something based on A452, it sounds to somebody with 'perfect pitch' as if he's playing between D and E-flat. But somebody in another culture can correctly identify it as D, using his innate ability.

And around we go...

Brian
...but the senator, while insisting he was not intoxicated, could not explain his nudity.

If I had 50 cents for every math question I got right, I'd have $6.30 by now.
TenPoundHammer

Re: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

Post by TenPoundHammer »

Wanna have some fun? Try tuning a 12-string to a weird tuning like DADGAD. (Or if you want to play "American Honey" by Lady Antebellum, DADGAD a half step lower.)

Now I see why that guy in Presidents of the United States of America only put three strings on his guitar…
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