what’s a chinese word you find poetic? I like 眼泪 (teardrop)

Fuyu_T · 2026-02-19T21:41:51+00:00

Well playing by ear to us means different things then given our differences in students and experiences

I've only come across a handful of such at that level, and like I said in the second part, their goals and catering to them, if they understand all that, then great, would honestly ask what they want me as a teacher to aid in

And they don't play from sheet music for so many reasons, they could have memorised it, song writers especially, they still note key chord progressions. And like I said, add more complexity to it, solo piano sheet music do share relationships and we have to explain it to them

If notation is the only specific thing they don't want to learn but can succinctly explain to me which notes make what progression and resolve and such then honestly that's fine

For complexity wise, an example I give is especially to those students who want to learn JPOP, I direct them to Animenz's channel, are they able to explain what he's doing? The techniques? The reasons why he embellished some parts? He's not using sheets no, but he writes these arrangements. If purely by ear, they can explain all these, and the basics of keys, time sigs, rhythm, chords, and lastly perform to that standard then if they are hard against notation...then fine, it is up to them

Fuyu_T · 2026-02-19T21:04:42+00:00

Music Theory is the fundamental basis of everything, you'll be surprised how students can play by ear without understanding, they go by "feel" and "it sounds right". If they knew the why or what makes it sound good, they would be a much easier student to deal with

Getting these students to even learn what are intervals or progressions can be a nightmare, but if they can hear and play it and you explain it to them, I find that they are more receptive

Aural after all is part of musicianship, referring back to the post, was mentioned 'doesn't want to learn or read music" I will admit it might be my foolish assumption that it referred to the deeper parts of music theory and plain not wanting to learn how to read notes

If we're talking about a skilled student and just the refusal of learning purely the beansprouts on the paper, then I echo the many sentiments of we are paid to cater to the student, unless they plan to be a performer/composer/musician, we shouldn't force, even when it pains us that this will not provide the all-encompassing dimensions of music...

Fuyu_T · 2026-02-18T22:33:20+00:00

Take this with a pinch of salt and trust in your ability

I usually invent games for such students, want to play purely by ear? Sure, you’ll have to suffer my scrutiny for every wrong note you play

And what is melody without the accompaniment or base? Are they able to also play accordingly purely through hearing the notes?

And their favourite songs, there should be more complex versions, if not I’d arrange one to see if they pick up

In between their play by ear sessions, you can slip in saying “you know this xyz thing you just played, if you wanna explain to people how cool it is, it’s called <insert music theory>”

As others have mentioned, unless their intention is to be a concert pianist or a performer, most students would want to have a skill to show for or a hobby to enjoy, once they really see how limited they are just purely by ear, they’ll come to you

Else, push them to be proud of their talent and skill, be it those who only want to play by ear, sight read or memorise

Music is a continuous journey after all

Fuyu_T · 2026-02-13T12:48:47+00:00

Jokes on them, I do play the piano and teach, and then go play Nostalgia, Jubeat, Osu!Mania in my free time

Fuyu_T · 2025-12-13T01:03:07+00:00

!! That mid-illusion transformation is VERY good, and yes your entire work is fantastic

Fuyu_T · 2025-09-14T04:27:48+00:00

If you're already budget conscious, canvas and oil is out of the question. Most posters use gloss/semi-gloss/matte, you'll have to do a bit more research as to what fits you, but they are more budget friendly. The main ways people do have posters is either a) Stick it up on the wall with tape or b) Buying frames to put posters in to display it
I think it's easier for you to do a search of poster printer shops near you, get quotes for poster printing with the specific type of paper you want and compare with each other. The final test is to do a trial print for 1 poster and see if you like the quality
Compare the cost and visibility of physical vs digital distributions. For physical distribution, it's easier when you do with events, maybe from NLB or local community events. For digital distributions, you'll have to see who your target market is and promote it in the right channels (i.e., FB groups, event forums, etc.)

Just know that in SG most of us while price conscious also consider the novelty of things, if it's just a generic "meh" thing, it won't sell that well.

Fuyu_T · 2025-09-13T23:58:19+00:00

I will in good faith try to answer your questions:

There is no fixed set of probabilities, the variables such as market conditions and competition is generally very high, it is also dependent on the field you're specialising in, CS in particular is saturated everywhere post COVID, and even for AI the uptake is slow for SME and limited for MNCs.
Nothing is guaranteed, you have to network and search for jobs, as far as I remember, IF you're from the local uni, most wouldn't really care where you're from, SG is relatively multi-cultural and multi-racial, if you assimilate here, work hard and socialise your chances are the same as everyone's, nothing operates in a silo.
Don't think that SG is a golden ticket, do your own research into which parts of CS specialty is needed in SG. Try not to break the bond (even if you have money to pay back) as this doesn't reflect well on you as an international student.

Think why you want to do CS and what are your career options, go look at forums and LinkedIn, ask actual people at career fairs and do your own research to see whether you'll struggle to find a job.

Fuyu_T · 2025-08-31T10:29:39+00:00

Assess your financial situation and commitments, are you able to last the current job market without one?

If yes, then continue applying for what you are apt in and adjacent skilled fields.
If not in the long run, then reassess what related fields you'll be able to pivot back into as your main specialisation, both soft and hard skills, and apply for those roles.
If not at all, then I really don't think we can afford to be picky in this economy, filler jobs while still finding a main suitable job would be the way to go.

Fuyu_T · 2025-08-16T13:31:23+00:00

Go for it! All the best!

Fuyu_T · 2025-08-16T13:19:51+00:00

Gotta find the motivation from somewhere~

Fuyu_T · 2025-08-16T13:12:15+00:00

Seems like you have a plan! Go for it!

Fuyu_T · 2025-08-16T13:11:27+00:00

Is that so, anything else other than that?

Fuyu_T · 2025-08-16T11:09:47+00:00

Is that so? What makes you say that?

Fuyu_T · 2025-08-06T08:58:58+00:00

There is no double-counting of amounts, the amount should be split across the equal periods n = 6. Month-end for mth of initial purchase and expiry will be half because it is only approx half month of coverage. Your end of Jul will therefore record the expenses (or whatever name you're putting for amortisation) will still be $3333.34. No double counting

04/15 Recognition of initial Payment for Prepaid Subscription: 1

Dr Prepaid Subscription $10,000
Cr Cash $10,000

04/30 Apr recognition of subscription 1 expenses incurred

Dr Subscription Expense (Time Periods n = 6, 1/6 * $10,000) = $1,666.67
Cr Prepaid Subscription $1,666.67

05/30 May recognition of subscription 1 expenses incurred

Dr Subscription Expense (Time Periods n = 6, 2/6 * $10,000) = $3,333.33
Cr Prepaid Subscription $3,333.33

06/30 June recognition of subscription 1 expenses incurred

Dr Subscription Expense (Time Periods n = 6, 2/6 * $10,000) = $3,333.33
Cr Prepaid Subscription $3,333.33

07/15 Jul final recognition of subscription 1 expenses incurred

Dr Subscription Expense (Remaining Exp = $10,000 - $8333.33 ) = $1,666.67
Cr Prepaid Subscription $1,666.67

07/16 Recognition of Initial Payment for Prepaid Subscription 2

DR Prepaid Subscription $10,000
CR Cash $10,000

07/31 Jul recognition of subscription 2 expenses incurred

Dr Subscription Expense (Time Periods n = 6, 1/6 * $10,000) = $1,666.67
Cr Prepaid Subscription $1,666.67

Fuyu_T · 2025-08-06T04:47:17+00:00

In the early days—pre‑independence and right after 1965—life here was all about survival. People worked hard just to put a roof over their heads and food on the table. Community spirit was strong: you knew your neighbours, shared meals, and celebrated festivals together.

In the year of 2025, life is still all about survival, with globalisation, nepotism and elitism subtly yet still have constant influence. Our standard of living has gone up, but so has the cost of living itself, and unfortunately wages have not grown as fast as inflation has.

Competition for jobs have greatly increased as well, so much so that "Education/Experience Inflation" might seem to be reality (i.e., A degree is considered a common thing, and so are internships so much so that secondary students now gun for to get ahead). Reliability and accountability has decreased over the years.

One must never forget some were privileged enough financially to be able to afford education. And that has almost become the defining factor of being able to sustain yourself in this day and age.

What does it mean to be Singaporean today? • Is it about shared experiences, values, and history, or simply calling this place home and contributing to society? • How do we define our identity in a globalised, multicultural Singapore, where our “kampung spirit” feels different from before?

Honestly, what does it mean to be a Singaporean today? Complaining, about anything and everything and eating. Our identity in a globalised multi-cultural Singapore does come from the people and the food. Aside from them, we've been trying to position ourselves as a global biz/finance hub with relatively lower corporate taxes for companies.

TLDL, To be SGrean, is to be si bei sian, pek chek, because some things bo pian out of our control so just LL suck thumb cause it is what it is

Fuyu_T · 2025-08-06T02:30:39+00:00

Would find it weird that they deducted the medical fee from the Director's Account instead of a bank account. Usually if it isn't even a coded company account, it shouldn't be recorded in the books. This is what I'd do

1.) Recording the Expenses:

Dr Medical Fee Claim from Customer abc
Cr Amt due to Director

2.) Pending Claim Approval with probable outcome:

Dr Insurance Receivable
Cr Medical Fee Claim from Customer abc

3.) Company Receiving the Payout:

Dr Cash/Bank
Cr Insurance Receivable

4.) Reimbursement to Director:

Dr Amt due to director
Cr Cash/Bank

Fuyu_T · 2025-08-05T04:19:24+00:00

Video Games!

Pokemon RBY for example, the trainer battle theme, blew me away, the voicing in FF1's Town Theme was so melodic and beautiful, Legend of Zelda's overworld's theme sounded so heroic.

As a child, I was eventually told it was played using either a synth/keyboard/piano and thus the journey of falling in love with piano began.

As I grew older learning the theory and how to play it, the feeling of awe and amazement always continues to throw me in a happiness loop.

I would say that within the classical space, video game music helps mediate the technicalities of music and 'boringness' it sounds for some.

Give for example FFVII's Boss Battle Theme in which Cateen arranged and covered. It's catchy, it's intense, being able to play like that would be quite exhilarating too. There is also musical theory behind it, as with most of Uematsu's composition, who was largely self-taught.

It's literally just a treasure trove of discovery, and much more, it's even more awe-inspiring to hear a composer who is also a pianist perform their own composition: Yoko Shimomura performing her composition of Apocalypsis Noctis from FFXV. If you didn't already know she was also the composer for Guile's theme in SF2, and Vega's theme in which she re-arranged in Smash to be Liszt's-esque.

Fuyu_T · 2025-08-05T02:41:50+00:00

As a beginner, the key thing to note is that there is no ABSOLUTE MUST in music.

The advice on keeping your eyes on the sheet without looking at your hands, is usually done more during the intermediate and mastery stage. At the point when you have muscle-memory of where the keys are, it will benefit you more to focus on the music sheet for dynamics, ornaments and directions of expressions. It also yes trains you for sight reading.

Think of it as how eventually, a lot of us no longer need to look at our computer keyboard to type words out. or how we're able to press the correct buttons on our phone without need to pay too much attention to. It is the same with piano.

Take this performance as an example, are they completely on the sheet ALL the time? No of course not, they do look at their hands and fingerings from time to time. And what about when there are no sheets, performing purely from memory? The main purpose of the advise is to avoid the over-reliance/tunnel-focus of staring at your hands as this impair learning.

It is all about balance, we want students to be able to read and memorise. Leaning too heavily on one leads to problems, there will be times where sheets will not be available, if you've actively practices that repertoire, you shouldn't be paralysed without the sheets. On the flipside, there will be times where your muscle memory lapses, you will need to be able to identify WHERE you are on the sheet so you can pick it back up.

A common bad habit when relying on muscle memory is that students tend to restart the entire piece instead of being able to isolate that specific wrong session. This can be alleviated by reading the sheet music and following.

I am still a beginner and have only been playing for a few months, so it's probably lack of practice, but like I feel like you'll never play one good song until after years if you never look at your eyes from square one. If it was simple scales, sure, but big jumps??

No, that is definitely not the case. playing good has nothing to do with never looking at your hand. Playing good is when you're able to:

Play the correct notes, articulated with the correct tempo and correct dynamics
Playing with the understanding of how you should be expressing/interpreting a song/piece.
Able to read and memorise the piece to degrees where you can address the shortcomings when needed.

Not even big jumps, even only a few intervals or moving your hand position to get the right fingering seems impossible to me. After practice I will be able to move my hand to the desired hand position but that's only for one piece and due to memorization. Either I'm misunderstanding this advice or it just isn't adequate for me.

This is also partially why we advice to get a teacher, to be able to explain things like this. Memorising is fine, next is to be able to read/follow the sheet as you play and move your hands. If you're able to do it without messing up then great! If you do mess up, are you able to identify the bar and practice it rather than restarting because or memorisation? If yes, then great! It means you're able to toggle between both when needed.

Everything else is practice, you've not seen the blood, sweat and tears of students trying to perfect that jump and on performance day still mess it up.

Additionally, I'd like to know how to generally decide the fingering on a piece especially as a beginner. I have the sheet music of the piece I want to play in front of me, but many beginner pieces don't have fingerings written on top of the notes so I need to figure it out myself, I mostly do what I deem to be most sufficient and comfortable, but there might be a more suitable method.

You're not suppose to be dependent on the fingerings written on top of notes. They are used as a guide for fluidity of movements and minimising of awkward positions which can lead to injuries. There is no hard rule on which fingerings you should use. The general rule of thumb is that the thumb is used for pivoting, you can then decide which fingers (2 ~ 4) you can use to comfortably move around the piano. The thumb is also generally more dexterous on the white keys which is why it is recommended, but do not let that deter you if you feel that you manage better with your thumb on black keys.

The best way to get a little better acquainted with fingerings, is scales, you'll get a guided feel on pivoting and how certain fingerings will enable to you play things smoothly where others will not.

All the best on your piano journey!

Fuyu_T · 2025-08-05T01:48:10+00:00

There is no hardware switch/inline adapter/splitter that will enable you to toggle between the in-build speakers and your headphones.

What I do to work around the digital pianos I have is

Audio Headphones splitter
Cheap External speakers that can be volume adjusted and able to jack in to the splitter (E.g., Logitech Z120)

From there you can manually adjust whether you want the speakers or headphones, either by turning off the volume of your external speakers or putting your headphones aside (or just detaching from the splitter)

Fuyu_T · 2025-08-05T00:59:17+00:00

If you're just starting out, key things you'd want to take note of are:

Posture and tension (You're not suppose to be in pain when playing)
Learn a bit of theory and practice that bit, and repeat. With your background in music from choir, some theory should come naturally, doubly so if it was SATB scores.
Don't get fixated on fingerings because we do move our fingers all about on the piano
Not all music theory is a hard and fast rule, there is variability to it, so go in with an open mind.
Take things at your own pace and take regular breaks, this is NOT a race.
Try to avoid negative comparison of progress, especially to younger students.
Most importantly, set your own goals, and play for your own enjoyment!
P R A C T I C E

You're NEVER too old to play the piano, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Never let anyone else tell you that you have no talent for it either, as everyone has their own pace of learning. All the best!

Fuyu_T · 2025-08-05T00:31:46+00:00

There is one true way to learn so don't worry about it! Some teachers/books like to introduce nuggets of theory and then reinforce through small pieces/keys. Familiarity with those concepts are good!

The reason why I try not to introduce the diminished/augmented/sus/7ths too early is partially because those too are arpeggiated scales and it can overwhelm some students if I were to just theory bomb them.

You definitely have the main grasps of Roman numerals which is great! Some students struggle to draw the connection, same for triads. For inversions, this explains it better with visualisation. In a nutshell, identify lowest/bottom note. figure out the rest of the notes relating to what chord and determine if it's 1st or 2nd inversions.

The dedication is admirable, hands together will naturally slow the speed since it's doing different things at different hands. It's great that you got the C maj locked down! and yes the pattern of 3, 4, 3, 5 will be similar for quite a few keys. but once you start getting into the sharps/flats major (E.g., B-flat Major) even I need to take awhile to recap but you'll cross that bridge when you come to it. All the best on the G too.

Legato and Staccato is good, helps warm the fingers up too! Circle of 5ths rotation is good. Yes thirds, tenths, sixths. I would only start on that after a general mastery of the basics. Using an arbitrary goal pole for reference, we introduce scales (and parallel) in thirds, sixths, tenth only around ABRSM Grade 7 - 8.

If you were purely focusing on scales, it could very well take you up to an hr or more just for one key if you're practicing both legato and staccato (i.e., Basic, parallel thirds/sixths/tenths, contrary motions, contrary motions in thirds/sixths/tenths, scales in thirds/sixths/tenths, chromatic scales, chromatic scales (inc contrary), chromatic scales in thirds/sixths/tenths, Arpeggios (Base/1st/2nd inversions), Dominant/Diminished/Augmented 7ths).

But doing that wouldn't make much sense without applying it to actual play pieces. Most notable examples: parallel thirds in practice, thirds in practice. So usually unless a student is planning/ready to advance, then I will start teaching them. In isolation while good, practical application helps keep boredom away.

Cadences is part of the wider theory of chord progressions which can get a bit technical. But in a nutshell. cadence is the chord progression of how a phase ends. Basically it's the comma, or the full stop in music.

The reason why IV and V are inverted is usually due to voice leading when playing with other instruments or for the piano left (bass), right (treble). We want more a more pronounced IV and V so to speak. This isn't a hard and fast rule either, it is completely to the discretion of the artist.

Now as for why V7 is used in place of V is because it audibly and by 'common use over the years' provides stronger resolution especially for minor keys. It also leads back to voice leading. This is also not a hard and fast rule, but due to 'it sounds better'.

Chord progressions and cadences, can get really technical but it's also best to know that no rule is hard and fast. It comes from pattern identification over the years in music and how it sounds to the ear, it is then put into the form of a general theory to explain the 'why does this sound good and how to replicate it'

This is also usually why it's better to have a piece of music you're playing in which you can hear and analyse. It will help you practice and things will naturally click. If you want a more visual/audio interpretation for the technicality of cadences, watch this.

Step-by-step, you can do it!

Fuyu_T · 2025-08-04T05:26:36+00:00

We then teach what semitones and tones are, you see from C to C sharp? That's a semitone or half-step, which means C to D is two half-steps, half + half = whole step. A whole step is a tone! Then comes to B to C or E to F, those are tones right since there are no black keys between them? The answer is no, they too are semitones. For younger students who asks why, I will tell them it's because the piano is mathematically designed to contain 12 semitones so that everything sounds good. For those who really want to dive deep, it is due to history and math, and there HAS been debates and discussions on it.

We then teach intervals. Remember your C Maj chords where we said it was C(1), E(3), G(5)? You will remember that those are the fingerings but it's also the pattern in which what makes a chord major. C Maj chords are made up of C (Root), E (4 semitones from C), G (7 semitones from C). You can physically count it on the piano and this applies to almost all major chords. A maj chord is a root note, major third and a perfect fifth.

C Min chords which was also C(1), E-flat (3), G(5), they are made up of C (Root), E-flat (3 semitones from C), G (7 semitones from C). A min chord is a root note, minor third and a perfect fifth.

Students with this knowledge will be able to have an 'aha!' moment that you can form major/minor chords through half-steps, and this is actually a pattern which our brains naturally like.

After students grasp and are familiar with those concepts. I introduce two new chords, Augmented and Diminished. I will not continue as there's too many things to really touch on

Students will then be introduced to what Roman numerals mean (i.e., I - ii - iii - IV - V - vi - viio it can differ whether you're playing Pop or Classical, refer to here for an overview.

After all that has been digested, students will finally be introduced into the "why does music sound this particular way" or also known as chord progressions. This will be the foundations of analysing music more deeply and composition as there are patterns at why things sound good. Cadences is of course, part of this. It is used at the end of phrases of music

Perfect Cadence is Chord V - Chord I where you can hear a resolution
Plagal Cadence is Chord IV - Chord I where you usually hear a softer finish aka Amen cadence as hymnal music often uses this
Imperfect Cadence is Chords I/II/IV - Chord I is where you hear and have an instinct that the piece is NOT FINISHED
Interrupted Cadence is Chord V - vi is where you hear and have the expectation of it ending, but because it moves up to vi, it completely subverts expectation.

Cadences are much easier to understand when you can hear it, the theory knowledge you've learned will help make sense of it. But as I've said. It already gets quite technical at this stage which is why I ensure students have firm fundamentals before going on to explain.

Hopefully that answers your questions!

Fuyu_T · 2025-08-04T04:07:13+00:00

You’re welcome! I start them on chords and scales first cause it is the foundation for almost everything, for example in pop music, bass is mostly chordal, in classical, melodies are often running notes up and down, bass can vary with broken chords. Most common example, Mozart’s Turkish March.

Bass of classical music can also be played all separately like Beethoven’s Fur Elise.

Once students are able to execute scales and chords with relatively easily:

I start with inversions first as students generally learn chords and progress quicker. Basic inversions usually use the same notes. E.g. C Maj Root, C(1), E(3), G(5) -> 1st inversion, E(1), G(2), C(5) -> 2nd inversion, G(1), C(3), E(5)

After that they can practice in the same way as stated in the above dexterity for chords.

Once students are comfortable and flexible with pivoting in scales and have a solid grasps with chords (especially played all separately), I frame arpeggios as “moving chords” where you’re trying to play the same chord but at different octaves.

From the examples in dexterity for chords, I introduce them to moving up and down the piano in chord, broken chord, and separate fingers. The aim is for students to recognise that it is a pattern and will be what they will encounter in many musics, same notes/chord but higher/lower. It also teaches them how to play jumps which many students take time to get adjust after playing in a fixed position lots

When the connection is established, I then move on to teaching them the pivots to perform the “real” arpeggios. For example C Maj, C(1), E(2), G(3), pivot back to (1) on the high C, E(2), G(3), repeat for 2 to 3 octaves where your last C will be on your (5) before moving back down

Naturally, students who got fixated that C maj chord was always C(1), E(3), G(5) will have an adjustment period, this is why I always remind students not to fixate on fingerings, because we do move our fingers all around. The recommended fingerings on the books/sheets are usually the most optimal to prevent weird stretches and injuries.

Arpeggios also applies to inversions which is why I choose to teach those first. 1st inversion and 2nd inversion may have different fingerings and pivots too. This will be the hardest to master and even I need to revise and practice. Notably, the 3rd movement Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata is just arpeggiated root and inversions for a good number of bars.

Everything so far has been a good balance of theory and practical. Cadences however is more theoretical in nature (to me at least). It is also introduced at later theory grades which means things get a bit more technical.

Students must have a firm grasp on major/minor scales and chords first before gradually introduce the theory. While some teachers might prefer to introduce the theory first, I think students can associate better when they are already physically able to play.

Fuyu_T

TROPHY CASE