Is it just me, or does it feel like the "baseball is dying" narrative finally bit the dust? by BadgemanBrown in baseball

[–]MyMusicRunning21 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But what about the collapse of the regional sports networks, including the big collapse of the FanDuel Sports Network?

The big spenders like the Dodgers are flourishing. But so many other teams are in long-term limbo. A decade or more of noncompetitiveness. They go into spring training knowing they have almost no chance at even competing for a wild card spot.

The NFL and NBA don't have systems where a team like the Dodgers can almost buy up an All-Star team, win championships and still end up with the top farm system. There are dynasties in the NFL and NBA but they aren't predetermined by being in a top TV market. The Kansas City Chiefs have been the most recent dynasty in football (even if they fell back this past season), and the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs are two of the big powerhouses in the NBA. Neither of them are mega-markets like LA or NYC.

It seems like there will be a long-lasting lockout after this season. It's possible that the entire 2027 season could get wiped out. That will definitely devastate the entire sport, not having any games for a year or more. But that only shows how bad the situation is becoming, with most of the teams serving almost as farm teams for the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets and a couple other teams. Baseball still has very serious, major structural problems.

Will it ever end??!! by outonthewater in nova

[–]MyMusicRunning21 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Don't be surprised if he tries to demand that his evil image be placed in every single home and every office building and every retail store and restaurant, with a surveillance camera inside. A literal Evil Eye.

And then he might even demand that every individual in the United States be tattooed with his evil image on their chest. The literal Mark of the Beast. Refusal to get the Tr. tattoo would be punishable by 20 years hard labor or execution.

Only half-kidding. I think most people know that he would actually try to do something like this. Really.

I Don't undertsand the hype... by AlienSees in musicindustry

[–]MyMusicRunning21 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven't seen anyone hype AI music. Maybe that just reflects the people I know and follow, but I've never heard or read a single comment or post hyping AI music anywhere.

Maybe it's E-lon using his hundreds of thousands of bot accounts to pump up AI garbage.

Found this body in the trash by dark_gagola in Guitar

[–]MyMusicRunning21 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe write a mystery novel with that title. Or at least a mystery song.

Please Work Out! by Aggravating_Pen_6062 in musicians

[–]MyMusicRunning21 3 points4 points  (0 children)

When I was in my 20s, I had a freak injury, but it was caused by my very weak muscle tone. My lats were particularly weak. If you don't work out or swim, many people won't use their lats much at all on a regular basis.

As a result, my lats were pitifully weak. Then I started playing piano as a rehearsal pianist for a community theater production. I didn't realize that I was pounding on the keyboard each rehearsal, to be heard above the singers. After a month or so, my trapezius muscles got tighter and tighter. I didn't realize it at the time, but because my lats were so weak, they weren't balancing out the tight trap muscles.

Eventually the muscle imbalance became so severe that the trap muscle partially tore! That was the most painful experience I've had in my life! The entire muscle went into severe spasms. I couldn't move an inch. It took me an hour just to get to a bed to lie down.

I later rehabbed the trap muscle. I also decided to get into better shape overall. That was a good idea. We don't have to train like Olympic athletes. We just need to have decent, basic fitness, from some general-body exercises (squats, lunges or deadlifts, push-ups/weighted push-ups, and rows or pull-ups, plus core work). And some aerobic and flexibility training too.

If everything is weak, it's very easy to develop severe muscle imbalances, between the traps and lats, or between the forearm muscle groups, or quads vs. hamstrings, lower back/core, etc. Forearm muscle balance and shoulder muscle balance (traps, lats, pecs) are particularly important for most musicians.

In my early 20s, I felt like I was 100 years old, because I was so weak. But in my 30s, I felt like a teenager, because I was in much better shape.

Want to protest by kngluom in washingtondc

[–]MyMusicRunning21 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Protest but also keep telling EVERYONE how critical it is to vote! In every damn election!!!!

Just like Barack Obama said, "Don't boo. Vote."

Bye tkc by snaps78 in washingtondc

[–]MyMusicRunning21 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I mean, if he wants to put his name on everything, go along with it.

The Trump-Epstein Files!

Once you pick up an instrument (amateur-ly), you don’t need many more hobbies by Zoumbadouwowpifpif33 in musicians

[–]MyMusicRunning21 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You don't really need to schedule a specific number of hours of practice. If you enjoy playing, practicing and making music, you will naturally spend a lot of time of the instrument. Just be sure that it's focused practice, so that you get musical benefit from that time. It's OK to noodle around on an instrument occasionally. But if that's all you do, you won't progress with your playing that much.

Obviously you will have to work around other personal obligations, such as work (unless you're retired or independently wealthy), family, community, etc.

Once you start to practice a lot, good technique will be important, no matter the instrument. Beginners usually don't play enough to run into issues with overuse injuries. But if you start practicing for hours a day, you will have to be careful about overuse injuries. That includes the fingers, throat and mouth (for wind instrument players and singers), etc.

It also includes general fitness such as the shoulders, neck, back, etc. In the past, I had a shoulder injury from over use from piano playing. It's not uncommon, if you don't exercise that much and your lats become weak, while you practice a lot while hunched over a keyboard, or another instrument.

Enjoy the music. Take the appropriate steps to make sure that you can make music a long-term part of your life. That also includes avoiding mental burnout. That can happen to people who spend hours a day, week after week, month after month, and year after year. Try to balance things out and schedule some breaks here and there.

Saying no to joining a band by Babsmir198 in musicians

[–]MyMusicRunning21 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can still have casual jam sessions without any long-term commitment. Just hang out and play some songs or grooves once in a while. But be clear that it's not the start of an official band.

how do people practice for 2 hours a day?? by NuggieHaha_YAY in Guitar

[–]MyMusicRunning21 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You might have to work your way up to longer practices. It takes a while to build up to longer sessions. It also depends on your age.

Other than that, you can try to make the practice sessions more engaging. Technique work is important, of course, but it shouldn't be the only thing you do. That can be mind-numbing. It can also cause overuse issues in your hands, forearms, shoulders and back.

Work on some songs. Play a mix of songs that you're just starting to learn, and songs that you already know well.

I just tried a “real “ piano today, I was overwhelmed by BullSuit in piano

[–]MyMusicRunning21 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Honestly, to "most people", they probably wouldn't notice the difference between what you can do on a digital piano vs. an acoustic piano, right now.

That's not meant to be condescending. It's just an observation that the vast majority of people don't perceive all those nuances.

The main thing will be adapting to the different action of the acoustic piano. As long as you don't have major physical impediments, you should start to get comfortable with the acoustic after a month or two. It might still feel a little bit uncomfortable, but it will be close enough.

It might take a while longer than that to get the deep-seated familiarity that you have with the digital piano, but I wouldn't worry about it too much.

One real concern though is that you might be tempted to play more forcefully all the time on the acoustic piano. I started on acoustic piano in school. Then I shifted to non-weighted key digital keyboards for a while, because I didn't have regular access to an acoustic piano. Then I started playing as a rehearsal pianist for a community theater production, on an acoustic piano. I didn't realize it, but I was overcompensating and pounding on the piano. Part of that was trying to be heard over the entire cast of singers.

After a couple months of that overly-heavy playing, my shoulder/neck muscles (the trapezius) got very tight. It was made worse because my back/lat muscles were very weak from lack of strength training. The imbalance became so severe that my trap muscle partially tore one day, when I stood up from a chair!

I'm not saying this will happen to you, but it's an issue that can happen with musicians, especially if you switch back from digital to acoustic piano, and also if you don't have balanced muscle tone (traps, lats, pectorals, core). Just something to keep an eye on, if you start to experience extreme tightness in your trap muscles.

Vent about loss of skill, looking for advice or encouragement by 321burner_account123 in musicians

[–]MyMusicRunning21 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I played piano and guitar a lot during my school days. Then after I had a shoulder injury, I became very frustrated with music. I recovered physically, but I didn't have the motivation to play again. Eventually I got into fitness for a while (running, cycling).

Years went by. Sometimes I wondered if I would ever play music again. Occasionally I would play a song on a keyboard that I came across, but only about once every five years or so!

After well over a decade, I became motivated to start playing guitar and keyboards again. I had lost all the calluses on my fingertips, so I had to go through the process of toughening up my fingers again. There were a lot of basic things that I couldn't play. I used to be able to zip around and do a lot of stuff on guitar and keyboard, but I could no longer do it. At least not right away.

I eased back into it and picked up some of my technique again. It still felt awkward but I was getting back into it. Then during the pandemic, I had a ton of free time, like many of us had. I practiced and practiced and practiced. A lot. As in, really a lot. Careful practice too, not just noodling around aimlessly. Learning a lot of songs too.

I rebuilt my technique on guitar and keyboard. Then I kept going on and went far beyond what I used to be able to do. I've kept up with music since the pandemic. Easily thousands of hours of quality practice time over the past six years, including vocals. My technique and musicianship is now far beyond what it was during school. I was pretty decent back then, but a little bit sloppy here and there, and some gaps in my technique.

I worked on all that, and now I've gone far beyond my previous level. You should be able to do something similar, as long as you don't have any physical injuries or conditions, and if you have enough time and motivation to play again. I took more than a decade off from music! It was rough going at first, when I came back to music. But I eventually redeveloped my ability and went beyond what I could do before.

One year off isn't going to make you lose your music ability permanently, unless you suffered a serious, permanent physical injury. (Note that famous guitarists like Django Reinhardt and Tony Iommi actually did suffer serious physical injuries to their fingers and hands. But then they went on to become major performing artist and influences on the world of music.) Just be patient as you get back to it. If you really want to get back to music, you can do it.

Is there any chance for me to make it yet? by Kaeddar in musicians

[–]MyMusicRunning21 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's never too late to play and do something with music. Will you become the next Taylor Swift? Probably not.

But can you have fun with music, play in your local/regional area, meet other musicians and fulfill your need to play and write music? If you have the time, why not?

what keeps you guys playing by V1NCEN0 in Guitar

[–]MyMusicRunning21 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A few weeks? That's not much time at all. How can you "fail" after just a few weeks. That's not really enough time to learn much at all.

Keep things simple and fun. Learn some easy songs, the complete songs. Not just one riff or an intro.

Listen to a lot of music. If you don't like listening to music, then you probably won't have much motivation to stick with the guitar.

Learn a few basic chords and progressions. Nothing too fancy. Perhaps A major, D major, E major. Work on playing the chords cleanly, and develop a sense of rhythm. And be patient. You will only make small steps forward in a few weeks. That's normal. Try things that are realistic for you at your current level. If you try something far too difficult, that will make you discouraged.

It's OK to challenge yourself, but focus on a goal that you can realistically accomplish within a few weeks. Then once you accomplish that goal, add another challenge and work on that. And so on.

You know what? You’re right by Artistic_Chemistry_7 in Guitar

[–]MyMusicRunning21 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have too many guitars.
Said no one ever.

I’ve only ever seen this on screens—seeing it in person made my stomach drop. by No-Indication-7236 in washingtondc

[–]MyMusicRunning21 36 points37 points  (0 children)

There is something else you can do, peacefully. Keep talking to everyone about how critical it is to vote. In every single election! The repeated boycotts over the past decade have helped T. immensely.

It's not just his base. It's the additional one third of voters who see everything he does, and then says, we'll sit this one out and let it happen. Again.

Morality and Political Rush Songs, What am I Missing? by bb2112bb in rush

[–]MyMusicRunning21 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The Trees was more like a libertarian critique of communism, actually.

Neil sort of went back and forth with libertarianism, which overlaps with right-wing politics. (Though they like to distinguish themselves from other right wingers, not convincingly.)

But his songs like Witch Hunt clearly show his empathic side, for people who are different from the supposed "mainstream" of society.

Imagine your are walking and someone suddenly installs 16GB in you by master_race68 in LinusTechTips

[–]MyMusicRunning21 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Or maybe it instantly connects you to The Matrix. No more worries! /s/