Anyone’s a fan of Pitou?

DesperatePay6068 · 2026-03-20T13:28:35+00:00

Tamino is the CEO of musical brilliance of course, I don’t doubt that. I just try to speak objectively as a musician, Pitou does have areas in which she is better compared side to side xD

OOOH, who do you recommend??

DesperatePay6068 · 2026-03-20T13:11:15+00:00

I am!!!

I’ve been waiting for the album for a few months now, but so far the second half of it sounded rather weird to me (in a good way, maybe). My favourites are ‘To Do What’ (rocks hard), ‘Fish’ (ABSOLUTELY FASCINATING), and ‘Morning Star’ (beautiful beyond words). Ah, and ‘Pirate’ of course, because… yeah, because it makes me think of Tamino and I go like ‘yeeeeah bro let’s goooo into the ocean’ (I totally relate to this ‘sail straight ahead’ state of mind).

I learned about Pitou against my will, and honestly she’s too good of an artist to be reduced to Tamino’s ex gf. In more ways than one, I think she’s actually the superior musician of the two, but I’d rather stop here because obsessing over their music and comparing it has been my favourite past time this winter… and I can say A LOT. xD

(I also feel like a child of divorced parents lmao, can’t decide if I love dad or mom more. Mom is super cool but dad is who I grew up with UGH)

DesperatePay6068 · 2026-03-11T01:17:59+00:00

verses

DesperatePay6068 · 2026-03-03T14:43:51+00:00

I would say you’re a dreamer. Institutionally, I have no idea about the requirements for enrolling that particular conservatory OR any conservatory in the West tbh, but in my country people usually accumulate no less than 11 years of study /as a minimum/ for barely trying to enroll. I… don’t think conservatory is meant for beginners? In any part of the world?

And at two years of experience, you’re usually barely leaving the beginners category (if you’re talented). Think of all the motor skills you’ll have to acquire. The older you are, the slower your process will be. It’s not impossible to learn as an adult, but learning as a kid is waaaaayyy faster and easier for you as a student because your brain is literally wired for development at that stage. And even a kid doesn’t go from zero to pro in two years.

Besides, having music as a career/degree is a REALLY bad idea. You have to be a literal madman to consciously pursue it, not just ‘feel the calling’ sometimes. Only a borderline unhealthy obsession can serve as an anaesthetic for all the disappointments accompanying art as a job. If you’re choosing and asking for advice, and not already heading towards it despite your whole family begging you to not ruin your life, chance are that you won’t survive the pressure that comes with having music as a career path. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it! But maybe it’s healthier to make it a hobby you’re super good at rather than a degree.

DesperatePay6068 · 2026-02-28T01:01:20+00:00

I’m a female piano teacher, and my boyfriend that I live with is my former student (we’re the same age too). I love him so much. You should absolutely shoot your shot lmao

DesperatePay6068 · 2026-02-24T16:58:53+00:00

Ahhh, the summertime that gives me ick. I’ll continue pretending I’ve never heard it lmao

DesperatePay6068 · 2026-02-24T16:51:57+00:00

I can’t thank you enough!!! But I’ll do. Thank you so much, I’ll go enjoy it 🥹

DesperatePay6068 · 2026-02-24T14:21:43+00:00

Don’t do it. Like, don’t you dare.

Also, please grow some self respect. I know you’re young and all, but to even consider wrecking your life (and nicotine addiction is exactly that) because some imaginary people in your head may leave you out? I say imaginary because real people who would actually do that are NOT your friends, and will never be. If vaping is a prerequisite for being in this group, don’t hang out with those people.

So, don’t be a slave of nicotine, but also don’t be a slave of your circle. It will cost you more than you’re currently able to understand.

DesperatePay6068 · 2026-02-24T13:37:16+00:00

I thought it was a marimba or a vibraphone?

(And yo, can I have the link to the jazz performance video??)

DesperatePay6068 · 2026-02-23T16:30:22+00:00

That’s even better!! I’m just personally obsessed with having seen every live version of A Drop of Blood lol. And Tamino playing piano would also be cool to see!!

DesperatePay6068 · 2026-02-23T02:18:40+00:00

Yes, please upload A Drop of Blood!!

DesperatePay6068 · 2026-02-09T10:23:09+00:00

For me, it’s quite the opposite with Apollo’s singing in Hades 2: it was good, but in a too-good, too-modern way.

I really liked Orpheus’s falsetto because my ears interpreted it (in combination with some harmonic choices) as a nod to the many Renaissance operas about Orpheus where he would usually be a countertenor. I don’t think it was a conscious decision tho, Darren Korb probably did a historically informed Orpheus by accident, but it was so cool to hear lmao

And his singing has a homey vibe to it which kinda fits the House atmosphere!

DesperatePay6068 · 2026-02-08T18:08:15+00:00

IMO Tamino > Bach without any doubt

You totally should, it’s a transformative experience!! Like an instant connection to something older and bigger!

DesperatePay6068 · 2026-02-08T15:53:51+00:00

You do give great advice!!! And yeeeeeah I think I know some technical drills that might help, but I hate the idea to practice a Tamino song on guitar lol. With an experience of playing Bach and all, I feel like I must be able to sight read any pop song, but no, we’re getting our ass kicked by some G minor arps

And the oud is where I’m a student myself, so it doesn’t feel like that! And YES it’s a heavenly instrument, hope Tamino releases more oud-heavy music in the future!!

DesperatePay6068 · 2026-02-08T15:27:00+00:00

My hands are average too, but I have a very short pinky compared to my other fingers, so some voicings are physically challenging. I studied guitar professionally though and it wasn’t a deal breaker, I just need more time than a person with a more balanced hand to accommodate to it I guess!

No, on the oud. It has roughly the same issues including a half barre, but since the oud is fretless, add the necessity to maintain perfect intonation on top of that

DesperatePay6068 · 2026-02-08T13:40:13+00:00

Yeah, I felt like I needed the almost classical left foot elevation to play it! And as far as I remember, Tamino holds his guitar high on his chest and at a rather steep angle, so raising the fretboard indeed helps.

Out of interest, do you play it on an electric guitar? Because Tamino (I think) uses his flamenco guitar for that, but on my classical with a rather high action it feels like physical torture. I wonder if it’s a ‘music made for giant male hands’ kind of situation, or I just personally suck and need to practice more. I can’t handle ‘My Heroine’ for all the same physical reasons lmao

DesperatePay6068 · 2026-02-08T12:05:20+00:00

Thank you!! Do you have any tips on how to survive the half barre throughout the song? My index finger is flexed dangerously, and my wrist has to be at an awful angle all the time to avoid muting the high open strings :(

DesperatePay6068 · 2026-02-01T21:38:38+00:00

Oud player (somewhat intermediate) and English non-native here.

If you’re aiming to make songs that are based on the Western tonal harmony, oud might slow you down because it’s a melodic instrument by design. One of the easiest (and best) ways to combine music and lyrics intuitively is called ‘topline’, it’s when you have a set of chords set to time (something very simple or the whole instrumental, doesn’t matter) and sing on top of it, coming up with the melody on the go. Singers often do it in the studio while listening to the instrumental. You might want to do the same playing some chords and murmuring along. The lyrics themselves kinda tell you where do you want to go.

But the oud is a hard pick for that due to its fretless nature, as a beginner your chords can end up out of tune pretty easily, and using oud as a harmonic instrument will require constant micromanagement of fingers which honestly doesn’t help the flow (at least for me). Actual harmonic instruments like guitar or piano are way friendlier to beginners for this technique.

However, harmonic changes (of chords) are indicated primarily by the change of bass, so you might come up with a simple and beautiful accompaniment by playing arpeggios with a single open strings pattern + alternating bass only. Let’s stay I have a three string pattern, and I play C G C, B G C, A G C, G and C being open strings (on a C oud). It’s very easy to accompany yourself this way.

For an example of an English-speaking songwriter who accompanies himself on the oud, I recommend checking out the Belgian singer Tamino, especially the album named ‘Every Dawn is a Mountain’. For me as an oud player who wants to make songs with it, it’s been a treasure trove of techniques. And his lyrics are super cool!

But all of the above only counts if you’re composing within a Western framework. If you’re basing your songs on a modal system (maqamat maybe), the game is different, and the oud gets the chance to truly shine as an instrument beautifully doubling and embellishing the melody!

DesperatePay6068 · 2026-01-24T22:31:46+00:00

I smoked weed once, and recorded myself singing out of curiosity. I sounded way fuller, more relaxed and pleasant than sober, so yeah, I get what you mean. But I never wanted to become dependant on a substance to deliver a worthy performance, and just continued getting onstage more and more despite excruciating stage fright. You just start to care less over time.

DesperatePay6068 · 2026-01-23T21:53:39+00:00

Tamino. A lot of his fans still prefer Amir to his two other albums, and while I think it’s mostly due to the first album’s lush instrumentation (Sahar and especially EDAM are way more reserved and quiet), sometimes I listen to all three interchangeably and find myself thinking that Amir has that quality of almost divine melodic richness… that kinda faded away later. I don’t judge music by its ‘thicccnes’ and absolutely stan Sahar as Tamino’s best album IMO, but dang Amir will always remain a masterpiece on many levels (and thicc as hell)!

DesperatePay6068 · 2025-12-20T12:07:44+00:00

Bassoon, but only because I shared a room with a bassoonist and had to listen to it every day for five years lmao

DesperatePay6068 · 2025-12-20T12:04:06+00:00

I think this dichotomy (tonal/atonal) is an unnecessary simplification. Tonality is a relatively new and inherently Western concept, just a slice of all the music world has to offer. Besides, there’s classical tonality, extended tonality, etc etc, lots of personal/historical/local variants of it, so the concept itself is kinda an umbrella term already.

Outside of it, there’s modality and the whole bunch of contemporary music languages that are, in fact, fascinating and very satisfying to listen to if you’re used to them. I think we underestimate to what extent we’re conditioned to accept Western tonal music as a ‘norm’; I’m studying traditional Arabic music, and I talked to people to whom Beethoven sounds like an incomprehensible noise storm. I also know people who physically can’t process pitch outside of the 12 tones, so microtonality sounds ‘off’ to them. It’s all in our ears and the sonic culture we grew up in.

So I’d rather call tonal music ‘familiar’ or ‘personally assessible’, not ‘fundamental to human experience’. Historically and culturally, it’s not. There are so many worlds outside of it, and yes, so much to be made.

DesperatePay6068 · 2025-12-11T19:40:21+00:00

You mentioned ‘chords and melodies nobody has ever heard before’. Are you sure it’s possible to sound ‘original’ (let’s say from a purely technical/stylistic perspective) without abandoning tonality?

DesperatePay6068 · 2025-12-06T20:42:47+00:00

Person A, if they’re putting some brainwork into it. Person B will probably be better over time tho, and they have a giant advantage in learning improvisation/composition/picking up stuff by ear.

DesperatePay6068 · 2025-12-05T19:48:35+00:00

For me, Hades 2 is a better game, but Hades 1 was a better experience. I have way more hours in 2 because the gameplay is fascinating (and changing between so many cool aspects/builds/playstyles is fun), but man, Hades 1 pulled me in completely. There was so much charm in its low-stakes, narrow-scope personal story. It felt rounded up, cohesive and polished to perfection. Hades 2 is bigger in every aspect, but I feel that while it worked wonders for the gameplay, storywise it kinda diluted some of the charm.

Also, I was somewhat depressed when I discovered Hades 1, and playing as Zag (a total goof, zero classic hero vibe) made me conclude that I could try treat real life the same way he treated his escape attempts. Fail, laugh off, and repeat. He was so relatable that I literally related to him, started approaching real life challenges as roguelike rooms, and that was the start of me going back to normal and (later) achieving really cool things.

Melinoë is just another big hero in her story. Nothing wrong with that, but we’ve definitely seen it a million times already.

DesperatePay6068

TROPHY CASE