[Grammar] There was some music playing upstairs.

[kadioguy]

There was some music playing upstairs. Otherwise the house was silent.

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/otherwise?q=otherwise
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Why not There was some music played upstairs.?

I think it is There was some music (that was) played upstairs.

 

[J&K Tutoring]

There was some music playing upstairs. This is past continuous tense. The music began before the time of speaking and was still going on.

There was some music played upstairs. This is simple past tense. Some music began and ended before the time of speaking. This is very unusual construction and would require some background information to make it sound natural.

 

[kadioguy]

There was some music playing upstairs. This is past continuous tense. The music began before the time of speaking and was still going on.

The voice is active, so dose it mean the music was playing itself?
(Because I would think the music should be played by somebody/a device)
(Or does it just mean the music was playing?)

 

[Tarheel]

The voice is active, does it mean the music was playing itself?
(Because I would think the music should be played by somebody/a device)
(Or does it just mean the music was playing?)

No. It doesn't mean that the music was playing itself. It means the person heard music. And it was coming from upstairs.

 

[kadioguy]

There was some music playing upstairs.
= There was some music that was playing upstairs.

So it means some music was playing upstairs. Am I right?

 

[Tarheel]

Somebody was playing music upstairs. Use the first sentence, not the second (and not the third either). (It suggests that the music was indeed playing itself.)

 

[emsr2d2]

Although it does suggest that the music was playing itself, common sense tells us that that wasn't really the case. This construction is used frequently (in BrE at least).

I can hear music playing but I can't work out where it's coming from. :tick:
I can hear music but I can't work out where it's coming from. :tick:
I can hear music being played but I can't work out where it's coming from. :tick: (This is the least likely of the three, in my opinion.)

 

[Tdol]

The voice is active, so does it mean the music was playing itself?

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/middle_voice

 

[Tarheel]

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/middle_voice

I have been using that one. I just didn't have a "word" for it.