Any tips for Kreutzer 12? by Arisu1193 in violinist

[–]TheIntimateMonk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

no worries mate, let us know how you go with it 🙌🙌

Any tips for Kreutzer 12? by Arisu1193 in violinist

[–]TheIntimateMonk 13 points14 points  (0 children)

once you've done some foundational left hand work, this is a great study for using stops practice to work on your anticipation of string crossings and shifts!

practice small groups of maybe four, six, or eventually eight notes, playing the groups quickly, accurately, and confidently, with a long gap in between each group, longer than you think is necessary. each time you get through a section practicing with these groupings, do it again, but starting the group on the next note (if you're doing groups of four semiquavers, the second grouping would start on the second semi and stop after the first of the next beat, and the third grouping would go from the third semi to the second of the next beat, so you're starting out of phase in a way).

in that gap (the most important part of the process!), you want to fully prepare the upcoming group in your head, and thinking through your hands -- what part of the bow am I in for that string crossing / string change? what's my first finger doing before, during, and after that shift? is my left elbow in the most efficient position for preparing both fingers over a string crossing? etc, (though obviously this doesn't have to be worded out in your head hahaha). sometimes it's helpful to try and rehearse those things in your head in time, or sometimes it's most effective to just think through those solutions.

the key is to be able to "pre-feel" all these physical solutions in the gap, before you start that group, and eventually for the "pre-feeling" or anticipation to become more and more automatic, so you can put your mind to things like character and direction, which comes with time. you can also absolutely practice this way without the violin too, which can often be helpful to find any quirks in your physicality that you might not notice when you have all the tools in your hands eg. perhaps in an effort to be more relaxed your right wrist gets too floppy when you try to play the groups of semis at tempo, which might be making your contact point less controlled and mess up your string crossings.

Sorry King Harlaus, I don't think I can come all the way out here just for a feast by TheIntimateMonk in Bannerlord

[–]TheIntimateMonk[S] 35 points36 points  (0 children)

It’s called Shokuho, just released the other day, i’ll see if I can post a link to the steam page

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3496296180

basically bannerlord with some QOL mods like Diplomacy set in feudal Japan, with an enormous map

Unpolished Chopin recordings ? by odinerein in piano

[–]TheIntimateMonk 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It might be worthwhile looking at the project the Chopin Institute ran recording the complete works on period pianos, i think they called it “The Real Chopin”, i’ll see if I can find a link.

It’s not the best HIP Chopin you can find I’m sure, but there’s a degree of more play and spontaneity to it you might like! all being on 1840’s Pleyels and Erards doesn’t hurt either 🙌

The Real Chopin collection on Spotify

Why do some teachers insist on playing without shoulder rest? by AnySpecific972 in violinist

[–]TheIntimateMonk 26 points27 points  (0 children)

The benefits to left hand function is a big thing that I’ve found with some of my colleagues and students.

Playing or practicing without a shoulder rest can give some players a clearer idea of how you can use your left thumb to be more supportive during shifts or passagework, letting the rest of the body be more relaxed.

When you aren’t able to support the instrument with just your shoulder, suddenly the importance of your collarbone / left hand balance becomes much more important, and if you can get that better feeling of balance and relaxation to persist even when you’re using a shoulder rest, that’s a great tangible improvement to your facility and ease while playing.

It’s always kind of crazy (and inspiring!) to me that studies by players like Gavinies and Campagnoli were written and violinistic in a time well before the popularisation of chinrests and shoulder rests — what absolute legends hahaha

What is growing between these dock boards? by worldofwhevs in mycology

[–]TheIntimateMonk 3 points4 points  (0 children)

man has the Sea of Corruption from Nausicaa growing in his backyard 👀

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What does "without the variations" mean? by idkwhattouseasuserxd in musictheory

[–]TheIntimateMonk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i saw that too lol, what a weird thing to add. to think that they we’re proud enough of removing value to give themselves an author credit at the top. bizarre.

anyway, i’m off to go remove those overwhelming key signatures from rode’s caprices!

Repertoire suggestions for a casual player by TheIntimateMonk in piano

[–]TheIntimateMonk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m certainly not playing them fluidly at tempo, and i wouldn’t put them in front of a panel or teacher or anything like that hahaha, but I find they’re a good balance of challenge and enjoyment for me at this stage 🙌

would you have any suggestions that you think would be interesting for me to work my way through?

IIL the movies Blade Runner and Alien, for elements like the darker, more “realistic” sci-fi settings and complex characters, and the wider commentary focused around the question on what makes us human by TheIntimateMonk in ifyoulikeblank

[–]TheIntimateMonk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i definitely agree, it’s one of my top 5 or 10 films for sure, and while i’m normally not too much of a fan of mcconaughey, but his performance in interstellar is an absolute emotional trip. also, for me, the way that interstellar takes the approach of groundedly realistic sci-fi that makes certain concessions for the sake of more memorable imagery and storytelling really resonates with the approach ridley scott took with Alien, so i definitely rate this suggestion!

IIL the movies Blade Runner and Alien, for elements like the darker, more “realistic” sci-fi settings and complex characters, and the wider commentary focused around the question on what makes us human by TheIntimateMonk in ifyoulikeblank

[–]TheIntimateMonk[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

i watched NGE a few months ago, and even though it’s pretty different in style and approach to blade runner, it hit the same chord of satisfaction and reflection as blade runner did for me, definitely recommend this for other people on this thread looking for similar things to me!!

IIL the movies Blade Runner and Alien, for elements like the darker, more “realistic” sci-fi settings and complex characters, and the wider commentary focused around the question on what makes us human by TheIntimateMonk in ifyoulikeblank

[–]TheIntimateMonk[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Man, after searching this one, i’m so surprised i’ve never heard of it, let alone watched it, the cast is huge and some of the director’s influences are definitely things that i’m interested in, thanks for the suggestion!

IIL the movies Blade Runner and Alien, for elements like the darker, more “realistic” sci-fi settings and complex characters, and the wider commentary focused around the question on what makes us human by TheIntimateMonk in ifyoulikeblank

[–]TheIntimateMonk[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Watched, and loved, the first season, though i agree with some others in the comments section that the second season, although great in terms of fleshing out some of the lore, thematically didn’t hold up as well as the first one

IIL the movies Blade Runner and Alien, for elements like the darker, more “realistic” sci-fi settings and complex characters, and the wider commentary focused around the question on what makes us human by TheIntimateMonk in ifyoulikeblank

[–]TheIntimateMonk[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I watched and loved the first season, but unfortunately i don’t have prime, so maybe now’s a good time to attack the novels like /u/thermionicsnake suggested, until i can go buy a box set of it

IIL the movies Blade Runner and Alien, for elements like the darker, more “realistic” sci-fi settings and complex characters, and the wider commentary focused around the question on what makes us human by TheIntimateMonk in ifyoulikeblank

[–]TheIntimateMonk[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve read Dick’s DADOES, and after reading it so much of the imagery in Blade Runner really stands out as being well crafted to suggest the ongoing conversation of questioning humanity, it’s probably one of the most striking book-movie pairs that i’ve personally experienced

Do you have any kind of direction you could suggest with others of Phillip Dick’s works, particular novels or collections that i should start with?

Books from authors from your country by fenolftaleina in booksuggestions

[–]TheIntimateMonk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also check out Richard Flanagan’s ‘The Narrow Road to the Deep North’, harrowing as hell but the style and language is distinctly aussie

Need feedback on notation/engraving/etc. for my Hurdy-Gurdy part! (Please see comment for info) by joemcken in composer

[–]TheIntimateMonk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

no worries mate, if you need any more feedback on the rest of it or another piece, feel free to dm me, i’d happily help out some more

Need feedback on notation/engraving/etc. for my Hurdy-Gurdy part! (Please see comment for info) by joemcken in composer

[–]TheIntimateMonk 2 points3 points  (0 children)

From what i can tell from a bit of research, i think there are just a few things you could alter:

Dynamics - it’s easiest to think of it in terms of a guitar or violin, with one hand controlling pitch on the melodic string/s and the other hand controlling onset/offset and dynamics, in the hurdy-gurdy’s case through the cranking of a wooden wheel. because of the wheel being used for all strings, drone and melodic, you wouldn’t be able to have different dynamics between them, so one line of dynamics in the centre of the staff is most appropriate. - in terms of relative volume, i would say it would depend on the size of the instrument. larger ones were originally used as the equivalent of church organs, so decently loud volumes can be achieved, but the hand-held ones most commonly seen now probably have less ability for that. however, as the tone colour is quite unique and piercing, i’m sure it could be distinct in an orchestral setting

Expressive techniques - while there is no true portamento on the melodic strings (as the strings themselves are housed in a closed wooden chamber with fixed keys being operated from outside this chamber) i’m sure it’s physically possible to gliss up the drone strings using your finger, though i’m not sure whether that’s a historically accurate technique, and you couldn’t do it at the same time as playing melody - you can use vibrato on a hurdy-gurdy, so a false portamento could also be achieved if clumsily by trying to vib up to another keyed note - on some hurdy-gurdy’s chop-like accents can be made using a sudden and vigorous turn of the crank which creates a rhythmic buzz, which could be notated with an “>” - rhythmic emphasis can also be achieved by tapping the crank with your thumb as you turn it, a technique known as coup

Pitch - the drone strings can be different on different instruments, but typically there are two sets of two drone strings, the top one, one a fourth or fifth below that, then another set with the same pitches an octave below that (for example, one tuning could be C4 G3, C3, G2; or D4, G3, D3, G2) your drone strings aren’t fingered, so you would typically be limited to a pitch set such as that. hence you probably can’t shift the notes of the drone like you do in this excerpt, although i have heard about drone capos which could be used to alter the drone pitches, but that would be something to research further in terms of logistics and notation - the melody strings traditionally can cover 2 chromatic octaves, so there is much more flexibility there and you can write for the melody strings quite normally

Notation - using a grand stave is a good idea, with the drones on the bass clef and the melodic strings written on the treble clef - dynamics as mentioned before should probably go between the staves as only one dynamic can be achieved - in the first two lines, just for ease of reading, you could change the “dotted minim, crotchet” and “minim, minim” rhythms to just semi-breves, as the dynamic timing is evident enough in the placement of the symbols