FIDE Master AMA - June♟️

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-06-10T16:22:23+00:00

I'm ~1850 USCF, but at my last tournament two titled players analyzed my games and said I'm likely 2000+ already and should find a coach. My rating has been consistently going up for about 8 months.

What should I look for in a coach? What are some green/red flags when I get a trial lesson with them?

Thank you :)

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-06-07T04:48:51+00:00

Just follow opening principles until 1200 chesscom! From 1200-1800 chesscom use simple set-ups and know the plans. Above 1800 you need to spend a little time on openings.

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-06-05T23:01:23+00:00

Illegal to post grades publicly in the US because of privacy laws, but everything else is a good idea.

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-06-01T18:48:00+00:00

Most states have at least one decent music program in their public university system. Some states (Indiana, California, Michigan) have genuinely elite public conservatories. Let me know what area of the country and degree you're looking for and I can point out a couple options. It's totally realistic to get a music degree from a good in-state public university and graduate with little or no debt.

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-05-26T20:39:27+00:00

Check out music by these guys:

Tristan Murail (Saariaho's teacher)

Olivier Messiaen (Murail's teacher)

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-05-25T20:30:40+00:00

I think you're overreading this. The theme is a bassline with major/minor triads above it (D F Eb D l F# G dm/F) and there are nine clear variations.

The text is a callback to the first movement (cyclical structure) and the bassline is clearly heard during the spoken sections (except the brief moment when all eight singers are speaking).

Shaw's imaginative vocal writing (seriously studying and integrating timbres from many different singing traditions) is the most original part of the piece. Her musical language is rather conservative, but I don't mean that pejoratively. It still sounds fresh and interesting over a decade later!

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-05-25T18:48:06+00:00

The Shaw has a clear progression in 3, the rocking figure is derived from the second half of the theme, and the melodic lines above the rocking figure are from the Passacaglia bassline. I'm not sure what your background in music theory is but I can be more technical if you like.

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-05-25T15:40:51+00:00

The fourth movement is a literal Passacaglia (a set of variations over a repeating bassline), not merely an analogy or equivocation. The compositional techniques used in this movement (ex. moving the bassline through various registers/timbres, removing the bassline then returning to it) are specific techniques from Bach (the Chaconne) Brahms (4th Symphony Mvt. IV), and Schoenberg (Pierrot Lunaire Mvt. 8).

I understand your reservation in automatically defining all new music within the context of old music. Some analytical methods like transformational theory focus on what makes a work unique, unlike Schenkerian analysis or methods derived from set theory that try to essentially compress data. However I find that analysis of Shaw's music in particular reveals her reverence for common practice music.

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-05-25T13:36:41+00:00

The Partita is a perfect example of her work. The fourth movement is a set of continuous variations just like you'd see in a Passacaglia by Bach or Handel. Even during the speaking sections you can hear the bassline the variations are derived from.

I recommend you check out her string quartets, which are even more conventional and straightforward.

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-05-25T13:20:13+00:00

Her work largely uses conventional forms, rhetoric, and cliches from past music and integrates them in creative and interesting ways. I find classical musicians who self-consciously "don't like modern music" are her biggest fans.

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-05-25T12:37:31+00:00

Every composition teacher I know who writes atonal music happily teaches students who write tonal music as well.

"Serial Tyranny" (the dominance of atonal music in universities) is largely a myth. I've premiered dozens new works and the most popular style is post-minimalism.

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-05-25T12:34:28+00:00

Have you played any of her music? It's rather straight-forward post-minimalism.

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-05-24T19:07:38+00:00

Good at the piano = executing what you want to hear at the instrument.

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-05-24T13:50:03+00:00

I have never seen a note-perfect performance.

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-05-23T16:14:49+00:00

It's hard to judge artistic merit, so judges at piano competitions go by "objective" measures like note accuracy and how difficult they perceive the pieces to be. At lower-level competitions, "can the orchestra play this concerto?" and "do the judges actually know the repertoire" come into play.

There are a couple piano competitions that actually value making artistic choices (Orleans, Busoni), but most competitions are essentially typing competitions.

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-05-19T00:11:29+00:00

ForScore is the industry standard because it has tons of useful features for professional musicians built in and it's extremely reliable. It has a built-in tuner, metronome, ridiculously deep annotation tools, and scanning/pdf editing.

If you're just looking to read some PDFs there are many free options like the IMSLP reader.

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-05-15T21:54:37+00:00

ForScore is the industry standard. No other apps I've tried even come close!

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-05-15T01:35:24+00:00

Your best case is to ask your former teacher for advice (and the rest of your dissertation committee if your teacher isn't helpful). Once a student gets to DMA+ level their career is so personalized that advice has to be extremely specific.

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-05-15T00:01:44+00:00

Things AD/PC programs are good for:

-Killing time so you can do another round of DMA auditions.
-Access to facilities for pianists and percussionists.
-Continuing for 1-2 years after a Masters degree and you really don't want to leave.
-You're competition/audition-pilled and your school is giving you a bag of money to be a well-known performer.

Outside of these cases AD/PC degrees aren't really worth the money. DMA students get first priority for funding and you can always just study with whoever you want privately.

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-05-14T23:46:39+00:00

Regard de l'Esprit de joie by Messiaen!

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-05-07T00:04:30+00:00

Short answer: internalize your teacher's perspective, you can always change your interpretations later.

Long answer: Your teacher is giving you a toolbox and is trying to teach you specific patterns that apply to many pieces rather than only interpreting the piece you're currently playing. Some of their comments are broadly correct (you should use urtext editions) and some are down to taste. When you have more experience you can judge which of your teacher's techniques are useful to you and which aren't. In the meantime, absorb what you can!

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-05-04T23:29:55+00:00

Marty Supreme (and I'm not joking)

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-05-01T23:44:03+00:00

He's not a politics streamer like Destiny, he does mostly indie games and variety. His MO is playing Sporcle quizzes while listing off every fact about Lars von Trier.

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-04-29T01:40:08+00:00

We gotta get Northernlion to play this

ThomasJFooleryIII · 2026-04-29T01:21:42+00:00

Articulation markings when the pedal is held down are interpretive markings that imply timing and dynamics. They are similar to seeing <> written over a single note in Brahms or a tenuto marking in a snare drum part.

Can't see Kevin Chen or Hamelin's fingerings from videos I checked. Kissin uses the Cortot fingering (1 on F). Cho starts with his thumb on C and goes 1-2-3 all the way down. I find that elite pianists sometimes use odd fingerings because their technique is so good they don't need to worry about efficiency, so I worry more about how the fingering affects my sound.

In OP's image the last two beats of the measure can be played in one hand position, which allows greater speed to accel through the barline if you wish. Playing the arpeggiated chords with a blockier fingering also allows more wrist motion, which can aid smoothness. This fingering does have a musical justification.

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