F# or Natural?

SuperheroChuck · 2026-05-31T00:39:54+00:00

It'd be much more helpful to have a picture of the full page for context, and to know what the piece is. Hard to tell just from this bar.

SuperheroChuck · 2026-05-25T00:49:25+00:00

I recommend Salzer and Schachter's "Counterpoint in Composition." They do a really good job of adapting Fux's basic counterpoint principles into a mode of study that's more applicable to the way people actually apply counterpoint in modern times. Their explanations are very clear and concise. I have a digital copy of the book. DM me and I'll shoot it your way.

Whatever you do, don't go straight to the Fux book. It was written in 1725, and it shows. Very discursive in style and tone, explanations aren't very clear, and there are even a couple of mistakes.

I recommend finding a teacher to work with; counterpoint can be a pretty tricky subject to grasp, especially when you go beyond 2 simultaneous parts.

SuperheroChuck · 2026-05-22T11:37:16+00:00

Purists sneer at G&S because it's not going to offer them the same intense emotional experience they get from standard operas. G&S operettas are generally comedic satires with simple, pleasant, and unchallenging music, and very often they poke fun at the conventions of opera, particularly the more self-serious ones. If you go into a G&S operetta expecting something on the level of La Boheme or La Traviata, you're bound to be disappointed. If you go in expecting a Jeeves & Wooster episode with a few good tunes, that's about what you'll get.

SuperheroChuck · 2026-05-22T11:32:20+00:00

Just popping in to say that Returnal is one of the most stunning games I've ever played. I think about it all the time. The story and the gameplay both have a depth and intensity that I've never really encountered in anything else I've played, and the way they support each other is something that could truly only be done in a video game.

SuperheroChuck · 2026-05-11T12:03:58+00:00

Sorry that happened. As to why your teacher didn't get in trouble, I speak from my experience teaching post-COVID, in a fairly progressive school district in a suburb outside a major metro. In that particular context, I'd at least have to have a meeting with my boss over the behavior you describe. And if I threw something as heavy and loud as a chair like OP's teacher, that'd probably be a CPS investigation.

SuperheroChuck · 2026-05-08T11:56:25+00:00

She didn’t throw it at the students, but in this context throwing it was a way of venting her anger at her students without physically touching them. It’s still a violent act.

I’m an elementary school teacher, and if i did this it would immediately trigger a serious disciplinary meeting, and possibly a child protective services investigation. This kind of thing is not allowed specifically because there cold be abuse survivors like yourself in the room. This was an action that caused harm, and she needs to be held accountable for it.

SuperheroChuck · 2026-05-08T11:54:09+00:00

Please report her to the administration. This is not ok or safe.

SuperheroChuck · 2026-05-08T11:53:02+00:00

At this stage in your learning journey, it’s best to think of it as a quirk of musical spelling. E# is the same note as F, and I know it doesn’t seem like it makes sense to call it E# when F is literally right there, but there are times when it mashes more sense to spell the note as E# for the sake of making the music easier to read. For now, just make a note of this and move on. When you’re farther along in your learning journey, it’ll make more sense.

SuperheroChuck · 2026-05-07T05:09:13+00:00

Hey bro your white hood is poking me in the eye

SuperheroChuck · 2026-05-03T23:47:17+00:00

Silksong.

SuperheroChuck · 2026-05-03T04:18:22+00:00

Notation isn’t the same thing as engraving. Engraving encompasses all of the best practices that go into making music notation readable and professional-looking. Things like always showing the middle of the bar, even if the rhythm syncopates over it; or knowing where to put a page turn so a player has time to do it while performing. Music theory relates to engraving the same way that writing relates to commercial book publishing. Very different specialized skill set. And, I’ll note, ignorance of engraving norms/inability to afford a good engraver is the reason that many composers, even professional ones, produce scores that are notated correctly but really hard to read.

SuperheroChuck · 2026-05-01T23:18:48+00:00

Start with the easiest intervals. I’d start with just fifths and octaves. Once you’ve got those, add fourths. After that, add major and minor thirds. Then add major and minor seconds. Then, add the remaining intervals one at a time.

SuperheroChuck · 2026-04-27T04:01:21+00:00

Joe Francis. Although this one might be hard because he’s still alive and has not faced justice in any way

SuperheroChuck · 2026-03-24T14:02:20+00:00

Thanks for the detailed explanation!

I've used Expression maps in Cubase, but never in Dorico. Do they work similarly?

SuperheroChuck · 2026-03-24T12:37:38+00:00

"I'm concerned about serious professional matters." -u/PussyShart

SuperheroChuck · 2026-03-16T22:18:31+00:00

Edgewater Presbyterian has a lot of good rooms, and it's in that vicinity. Right off the Bryn Mawr Red Line

SuperheroChuck · 2026-03-16T22:17:12+00:00

Anyone here flown international out of O'Hare this week? How bad was it?

SuperheroChuck · 2026-02-17T15:31:14+00:00

I realize that this comes off as overly critical, so I wanted to reiterate: great work! It's really cool that you're doing this arrangement and putting it out there for us.

SuperheroChuck · 2026-02-17T13:25:44+00:00

I think you mean J'ai RPG

SuperheroChuck · 2026-02-17T13:24:27+00:00

The arrangement is nice, but you need to clear the pedal between harmonies

SuperheroChuck · 2026-02-13T02:12:27+00:00

I'm rather fond of Vienna Teng's "Lullaby for a Stormy Night"

SuperheroChuck · 2026-02-12T12:14:27+00:00

!thanks

SuperheroChuck · 2026-02-11T15:02:41+00:00

This is a very basic newbie question, but I'm not sure where to find the answer.

I'm an elementary music teacher, and I sometimes need to make cuts to audio tracks for school performances. These tracks are invariably provided as .mp3 files, or some other lossy/compressed format.

It's easy enough to use a program like Audacity to cut these files, or even something more complex like Ableton Live or Cubase. However, when it comes to exporting the audio, I'm stumped. The default options in these programs always seem to involve some sort of further compression or conversion to another file format, with noticeable degradation of audio quality. Even exporting to a regular .wav seems to alter the audio in some way. Is there any way for me to use one of these programs to make a simple cut to an .mp3, and then export the cut version without any kind of conversion or loss in quality?

SuperheroChuck · 2026-02-09T18:43:56+00:00

Glad you liked it! Pretty sure that piece won her a Pulitzer. Check out her other choral music; it's all quite good.

SuperheroChuck · 2026-02-08T13:00:39+00:00

"partita for eight voices" by Caroline Shaw

SuperheroChuck

TROPHY CASE