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ZorbaTHut  1yr ago (text post)   3254 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for September 30, 2022

Be advised; this thread is not for serious in depth discussion of weighty topics, this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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How many different instruments/parts do you prefer to hear in a piece of music?

I am inclined to feel that anything in excess of three, or maybe four, is overkill/bloat. But maybe I just listen to too much chiptune/MIDI stuff.

What is a part? Is a chord on a guitar six or one parts?

Is a choir one part, 4-8 or ~8-48?

If I have an orchestra using a bunch of different instruments to produce a single chord is that one or multiple parts?

Is the guitar and bass guitar different or the same part?

Maybe I should differentiate more clearly between overkill and bloat. When I listen to a piece of music that has overkill, I wonder why there are so many different sounds playing at once, when it would sound less confusing/overwhelming/bad to have just three or four sounds. When I listen to a piece of music that is bloated, I wonder why there are so many different sounds playing (whether simultaneously or in sequence), when it would have been so much simpler/cheaper for the composer to use just three or four sounds.

What is a part? Is a chord on a guitar six or one parts?

I guess that's one spot where the synthesized instrument and the physical instrument can diverge significantly in bloat, even though both compositions have exactly the same position on the overkill meter. Many physical instruments, of course, can create a chord standing alone—but an electronic tracker may require one synthesized "instrument" for each note in a chord.

Is a choir one part, 4–8, or ~8–48?

Similarly, a choir would (I assume) be around four instruments in terms of overkill regardless of its physical or electronic implementation, but a physical implementation could be horribly bloated, with dozens of members beyond the minimum.

If I have an orchestra using a bunch of different instruments to produce a single chord is that one or multiple parts?

I would say that, if an entire physical orchestra is being used to generate a single chord, it's horrendous bloat, but not necessarily overkill. MIDI, of course, has the "Orchestra Hit" instrument that can be used to eliminate the bloat.

Is the guitar and bass guitar different or the same part?

I don't know much about musical composition, but if they're playing the same note then I imagine I probably wouldn't be able to tell that there were two instruments. However, if they're playing the "same" note at different octaves, then I might be able to tell, and to wonder what the point is.

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