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With the recent news of our site graduating from beta, we need to decide if and how our site name should change. This question was raised shortly after we entered beta over three years ago, and nearly that amount of time passed between when the #1 and #2 voted answers were posted.

In light of this, and the fact that it will be some time before SE's designers have some work for us to look at, now is the perfect opportunity to revisit the site rename question with our current membership, so the existing options can be voted upon from an equal footing.

A couple of notes:

  • If a rename is agreed upon, this will NOT change our subdomain and URL.
  • If you have a suggestion of your own, add it as an answer!
  • This is not a discussion about scope -- we should be addressing this within the context of our current scope.
  • Editing answers to include more supporting information is OK, but use a comment if you're not sure. If you have a variation of an existing answer, add it as a new one.

Upon posting this, I will supply answers for the existing options and also close the old question. Happy voting!

Update:

From this post: As of right now, this site's name is set to change to Music: Practice & Theory.

10 Answers 10

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Music: Theory & Practice

I think our DNA is in approaching music from a theoretical perspective--this is StackExchange after all, and education/learning relies on theory to be most effective whether you're a classical violinist or a bluegrass fiddler! So, I support the addition of the word "theory" to the site's name.

I also think this would be a good site name for the following reasons:

  • Could encourage more questions about theory and composition
  • Almost all of the site's scope can be considered in these terms
  • There's a bit of a play on words between "Music Theory", "Music Practice", and "Theory & Practice" being common terms on their own.
  • It fits with our chat room being named "The Practice Room"!
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    This is a good suggestion, especially given that "Practice" covers "Performance". I do enjoy the simplicity of Musicians though, tough choice.
    – user28
    Commented Sep 27, 2014 at 16:39
  • Who came up with 'the practice room'?
    – Tim
    Commented Sep 30, 2014 at 14:51
  • @Tim I came up with it the same time I came up with this site name, and it was voted on here. We can always change the chat room name; a bit harder to do that with the site name.
    – NReilingh Mod
    Commented Sep 30, 2014 at 19:03
  • @NReilingh - No, I like it. It's apposite. Wish I'd coined it !!
    – Tim
    Commented Sep 30, 2014 at 20:16
  • Does this mean we need a separate "The Theory Room"?
    – luser droog
    Commented Oct 10, 2014 at 4:32
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    Some nitpicking: while the suggested name is great, I should argue about the use of the & instead of and. As for native English speakers this is fairly common, for people who are not used to English style of writing (especially Latin Americans) this is somewhat counterintuitive. There could be a issue with search engine indexing, as non-native speakers tentatively searching for answers in a foreign language will do mostly basic phrasing, not using any "strange" characters (I know google can handle this difference, but I'm not sure about other engines. "And" should cover all the bases).
    – SeuMenezes
    Commented Oct 17, 2014 at 10:53
  • @luserdroog: Or call the theory room for "The music class"
    – awe
    Commented Nov 26, 2014 at 6:02
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Musicians

This is similar to using Music but (perhaps) makes a more "academic" impression.

I note that there are other SE sites named like this: Webmasters, Android Enthusiasts, Database Administrators and Writers.

Originally posted by user 8128.

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    As an electronic producer, I'm not a fan of using the name Musicians. I don't play an instrument, but I pay a lot of attention to theory, composition, and software questions. The word "musician," though, is often understood to just mean "instrumentalists." As a result, I feel that the name "Musicians" would suggest our site has a smaller scope than it actually does. (And personally, I'm afraid that the parts of our scope it would deemphasize are the ones I'm most interested in.)
    – Kevin
    Commented Sep 26, 2014 at 19:36
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    I'm also an electronic music producer, as well as an instrumentalist, and I think Musician fits both nicely. Producers make music, hence they are Musicians. I also love the simplicity of Musicians.. it incorporates Theory and Practice by definition.
    – charlie
    Commented Sep 27, 2014 at 7:32
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    I like this suggestion for its simplicity, but fear it might discourage people from joining the site. I don't see myself as a musician, for one example...
    – Meaningful Username
    Commented Sep 28, 2014 at 12:52
  • I like it for its simplicity but issues pertaining to professional musicians such as touring, contracts, copyright and royalties, record labels, negotiations and hiring/firing band members appear to be absent or discouraged. So I'd stick with Music: Theory & Practice.
    – empty
    Commented Oct 8, 2014 at 20:13
  • @kevin I'm an instrumentalist but I would include anyone who creates music a musician, be it electronic or otherwise. Interesting how words have different connotations for different people
    – CurlyPaul
    Commented Oct 14, 2014 at 16:52
  • @CurlyPaul, so would I. I mean no disrepect. However you have to admit that Theory posts greatly outnumber performance posts. Hence I'm in favor of the name "Music Theory and Practice" which I think covers what we do here better.
    – empty
    Commented Oct 14, 2014 at 17:06
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    The purpose of this discussion shouldn't be scope, but I was under the impression that music business questions weren't being closed as off-topic, they're just asked less frequently.
    – NReilingh Mod
    Commented Oct 14, 2014 at 17:09
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Music: Practice & Theory

I spoke with the Community Team and it was readily agreed that NReilingh's proposal of 'Music: Theory & Practice' fits the scope of this site better than the current name does. We're happy to make this change, but are recommending one small tweak; 'Music: Practice & Theory'.

We're suggesting the switch because we think putting 'Practice' first will filter for people who are spending their time on the real life act of making music. There are no courses or exams required to learn how to play an instrument so, when it comes to music, pretty much everyone goes from practice to theory.

As of right now, this site's name is set to change to 'Music: Practice & Theory'.

If you believe there are any showstopper issues, now is the time to surface them for consideration. Otherwise this will be announced in an official capacity in a few days.

Thanks to everyone who weighed in on this process!

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    I think the rationalization behind this small change is pretty good, and it's better than the current name.
    – Meaningful Username
    Commented Oct 16, 2014 at 10:28
  • This sounds good to me. Thanks for working on this Ana.
    – user28
    Commented Oct 22, 2014 at 22:29
  • I don't feel this tweak of names has been fairly voiced to members of the community. It's in a low down answer on the rename post - nobody's going to go hunting over something they've already voted on, and the justification is sketchy at best.
    – Alexander Troup
    Commented Nov 7, 2014 at 14:20
  • Theory and practice rings better and covers the exact same topics. You're not going to get someone mulling over the decision to put practice first before deciding they're not a practical enough musician for this site.
    – Alexander Troup
    Commented Nov 7, 2014 at 14:22
  • The way something like this should be decided is by a vote of both names, not by the high rep team getting together and just deciding that their name is better than the community chosen one.
    – Alexander Troup
    Commented Nov 7, 2014 at 14:24
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    Alexander - this is nothing to do with high rep users!
    – Doktor Mayhem Mod
    Commented Nov 7, 2014 at 16:32
  • @AlexanderTroup: Which rings best is very subjective, and may even differ on your mood of the day. I actually feel that "Music: Practice & Theory" rings better.
    – awe
    Commented Nov 26, 2014 at 5:54
  • I also prefer "Theory and Practice", but only for compulsive reasons, mainly to be consistent with published literature titles. However I up-voted because this is the first post that I saw, in my mind-numbing stumbling around the site following this issue (I just joined), where the reasoning of putting practice first was given.
    – Wilbur Whateley
    Commented Jun 10, 2015 at 21:07
  • So, this wasn't voted on? This answer says "We took one of the suggestions, independently tweak it, and set the gears in motion. Wave your hands if you want off the ride." I'm new here, and can't tell, from the surfing I've done, how this all happened. Maybe that's why some people are sore. Just my observation, but it doesn't matter to me, I'm new and whatever name is fine with me. EDIT: oh, I see, the up-votes counted as voting. Probably should have edited the OP with this update, not made it an answer and it is conflated with voting options. Confused me.
    – Wilbur Whateley
    Commented Jun 10, 2015 at 21:10
  • @WilburWhateley Yep, this happened awhile back and stirred up a little conflict at the time. After a good bit of back and forth I came to roughly the same conclusion you did here; this should have been its own post.
    – Ana Staff
    Commented Jun 10, 2015 at 22:01
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Music-making

This zips it all into one (hyphenated) word. Then we can have a fuller sentence as an accompanying description

The Theory and Practice of Music

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  • I think that people will assumed that "Music-making" is just a site to ask about "How to make music", not "How to play/practice/do something with music".
    – seseorang
    Commented Oct 18, 2014 at 3:48
  • I have difficulty answering that objection because I cannot seem to understand it. I see the second idea as the definition of the first; so it appears to me as a distinction without a difference; ergo, I don't understand. ... Does Music-craft have the same problem?
    – luser droog
    Commented Oct 22, 2014 at 5:04
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Rhythm and Melody

Attempting to be less descriptive and more evocative.

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    Or, to be truly esoteric, Terpsichore and Caliope.
    – luser droog
    Commented Oct 9, 2014 at 9:40
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I wonder somehow, if the titles suggested aren't too descriptive and insufficiently evocative. Considering the cool sites like Arqade and Cross-Validated and Seasoned Advice. It should show not tell, like any good musical title. In that light, I offer for your consideration:

The Stage & The Pit

or, with more aliteration and synecdoche,

Scales and Stages

As Shevliaskovic rightly observes, Theory & Practice could refer to anything, hence requiring the Music to distinguish it, but then, just, meh, you know?

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  • While catchy, the Stage & The Pit, for me, carries heavy connotations of being strictly for professional musicians - and only those who fit in a "classical" context, at that.
    – Jolta
    Commented Oct 11, 2014 at 7:48
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For The Love Of Music

This was my first thought. While I realize it may be a touch 'hippie', I believe this does encompass everyone here.

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Creating Music

We all here strive to do just that.

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    I'm not so sure it applies to everyone. Some people just wants to understand existing music from a theoretical standpoint.
    – Meaningful Username
    Commented Oct 16, 2014 at 10:29
  • Agreed. Which leads me to post what was my first instinct.
    – Jason P Sallinger
    Commented Oct 16, 2014 at 14:23
  • But this site gets more questions about the practice and the theory of music, rather than the creation of it.
    – Shevliaskovic
    Commented Oct 22, 2014 at 10:56
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Musical Practice & Performance

(No change)

The current site name, that we've had since entering beta from Area51! If you think this should stay the same, vote here.

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    Whilst I'm not particularly attached to the name itself, I do think there's some value in keeping an existing, recognised name.
    – Chris
    Commented Sep 25, 2014 at 8:34
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    True, but the hope is that our name recognition and traffic will continue to grow post-graduation beyond what it did in our admittedly very long 3-year beta period. I think the model is such that betas rarely last long enough to get name recognition in the first place before graduating.
    – NReilingh Mod
    Commented Sep 25, 2014 at 18:42
  • There's a lot more theory than performance questions on the site.
    – empty
    Commented Sep 30, 2014 at 22:36
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Theory & Practice

A variation on this option. I think it flows a tiny bit better, but dropping the word "Music" may or may not be problematic, and there may also be a conflict with an academic journal of the same name.

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    Theory & Practice could refer to anything: Physics, Quidditch, Math, Music, Athletics, coitous...
    – Shevliaskovic
    Commented Sep 24, 2014 at 20:37
  • @Shevliaskovic Haha. I guess I forgot to mention that the academic journal is about music theory, but you make a good point.
    – NReilingh Mod
    Commented Sep 24, 2014 at 20:38

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