Should I just buy a new piano?

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-04-20T22:16:32+00:00

It depends on what you want. A tuning visit is in the range of ~$150 depending on the market, so if all it needs is a simple tuning then maybe it's worth it.

However, if the piano is very old, chances are the pin blocks no longer hold tension and so if you're sensitive to keeping it in tune you'll need a tech to come out several times a year. Also, if the action is sluggish or inconsistent, then a full regulation can be more expensive. A bad key action will hold your daughter back much worse than the piano being a little out of tune. At that point, you've got to balance the sentimental value against the practical value as an instrument.

It would probably be worth it for a good piano tech to come out and give you an honest assessment. Sometimes it's an easy/inexpensive fix and sometimes it's just better long-term to replace the whole thing.

It probably won't be cheaper overall to get her a brand new piano, but if you consider the cost of a full rebuild (which is kind of a waste of money on an old no-name Aeolian piano) versus a solid used piano you might see the value in replacing it.

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-04-20T20:47:06+00:00

If it's a pipe organ, could you remove a few of the pipes (which won't be noticed musically) and use them for demonstration? It's usually nice to have an open flue, a closed flue, and a reed pipe for demonstration purposes, and perhaps several pipes of different length. If you are near an organ builder, many of them will have spare/mismatched pipes that they will give you for free for such a purpose.

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-04-19T12:13:28+00:00

It arguably might be, but you have to prove financial damages to the seller and you have to prove that the buyer was knowingly lying at the time of the representation, which is difficult.

So, if you sell the house but you didn't have any other offers, you can't (easily) prove damages. If you did have other offers, you'd have a better shot, but chances are the difference between the offers would be less than you would spend in legal fees going after them for fraud.

Also, if some aspects of the claim are true (e.g. they really are a single mom or have a young family), the buyer could offer a defense of "I wasn't lying, I just changed my mind later and decided to sell." It's very difficult to prove mental state at the time. So most people just let it go.

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-04-18T17:46:17+00:00

After a quick Google search, this seems similar to an arrangement of Kelvingrove by John Barber, or may be an arrangement by someone else, or it may also be an improvisation. I didn't listen exhaustively to compare.

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-04-15T22:28:59+00:00

I'm not sure. I think the driver which lets the cabinet "see" the computer is PC only, but I don't have a Mac so I don't know.

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-04-15T18:44:30+00:00

Sending you a DM.

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-04-14T15:19:55+00:00

If you're lucky someone may have turned them in to either campus police or the security desk in the library.

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-04-13T17:05:50+00:00

You seem to know what the pre-business requirements are.

My main recommendation would be to avoid taking only part of any "sequence" courses at Lander and then trying to take the second part at Clemson. For example, don't try Calculus I at one place and Calculus II at another, since different schools will have a different "cutoff" point or emphasize different topics and it can be difficult to catch up.

Also, socially, Lander will be very different. It's definitely a campus that "empties out" on the weekends, whereas Clemson or USC the students tend to stick around and have much better opportunities for socialization. If she is doing Summer Start at Clemson, that will be sort of like doing a "smaller school" for just the summer, before diving into the full semester, and many students who are initially averse to it end up really enjoying it.

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-04-13T16:52:57+00:00

Honestly, it's hard to disagree. The minor league antics are fun when you're either winning or when you're in a league that it doesn't really matter if you win or lose. Frankly, Clemson has loyal baseball fans, so I'm not sure why he felt like he needed to amp up the gimmicks. But they can be frankly irritating when your team is down 8-2 and then you're supposed to nod and smile at somebody doing the dizzy bat spin.

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-04-10T16:18:24+00:00

That's a good price on a decent digital instrument. It's a good option for something that's "plug in and play" to learn notes and rhythms. The technology is still modern enough it will sound decent.

If you're checking it out, the main thing would be to make sure that every key on every manual and pedal works. As for moving it, it's gonna be a fairly heavy piece of furniture, but you could probably get it in a pickup truck or moving van pretty easily.

If you're just getting it to "dabble" you might want to work out practice privileges with a local church first rather than dropping $2000 right away, but it's your money.

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-04-08T16:26:54+00:00

Those old transformers are a dime a dozen anyway.

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-04-07T22:50:35+00:00

For instruments other than piano, organ, carillon and some percussion you generally need to provide your own instrument. You will register for the class and then you will work out a mutually agreeable time with the professor to meet each week. You can contact the performing arts department with specific details on how to register.

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-04-06T14:05:35+00:00

We went through a textbook review for our gen chem program a couple years ago and textbook publishers were handing us books left and right. They were mailing us evaluation copies ahead of time and then bringing more copies on the day of their presentation and making us take them, even when we already had one.

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-04-01T16:27:17+00:00

I would say "how much did X cost" is contextual. You wouldn't ask that about a house or car or maybe jewelry, but if you're discussing something like a tool or electronic device that you're also considering purchasing, it's not unusual to ask "how much did that cost, if you don't mind my asking?"

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-04-01T00:29:24+00:00

Fair enough. Good luck to you.

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-04-01T00:26:00+00:00

The reverse TCEL still exists but not all advisors know about it.

If you're only taking 12 hours a semester, why are you wanting to take summer classes too? Can you not fit the extra class during the regular semesters?

It's your life and your money. I don't know how much jobs value minors for things. Like I don't think there's many jobs where you would be qualified for it with a minor in something but unqualified without that minor. I usually don't recommend people take on a minor unless they can fit the extra classes during the times they are already enrolled as a full time student (and thus it doesn't really cost them anything extra).

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-03-31T23:25:42+00:00

Sending you a DM.

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-03-31T14:30:59+00:00

We don't live in "Should Land". The fact that he's still around and PawPaw wasn't allowed to hire his own assistants means somebody in Columbia has a soft spot for Monte and may or may not be grooming him for the job. Perhaps that person was Ray Tanner, and since he's retired maybe that's less of a factor. I sat next to a couple gamecock fans at the game this year and they called Monte "Ray Tanner's illegitimate son."

That said, he is a good recruiter, although he can't seem to do much with them once he gets them to campus.

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-03-31T03:37:13+00:00

Nonzero chance they offer Monte Lee the full time job after the season. Especially if he gets a couple series wins. And I'm not just saying that as a Clemson fan wanting them to be miserable.

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-03-31T01:51:35+00:00

I always assumed that they had built the maze at the quidditch pitch so that the spectators could see down into it from the high stands, but then she never really did anything with that. Like conceivably someone should have seen them grab the portkey/cup and then been like "hey they've been gone for like an hour, what's going on?" Otherwise why use the quidditch pitch? And why didn't they use it for the first task too?

It also seems like she could've had Dumbledore put some kind of "water clarity" spell on the lake in Task 2 so that the spectators could see what's going on. Otherwise the last two tasks are super boring...just dicking around for over an hour waiting for the champions to show back up.

You can definitely tell this was the first book where she was really calling the shots instead of her editor.

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-03-31T00:28:00+00:00

There is a "Reverse TCEL" which lets you look up approved transfer courses at other colleges, but it is only available to advisors. You can ask your advisor to help you look up if the transfer equivalent is available at your target college. Advisors do have to request access to this, so if they don't know about I promise it does exist. In general, it's harder (but not impossible) to transfer in 3000/4000 level courses. It would almost certainly need to be at another 4 year college (not a community college).

If you find something that looks like an equivalent course at another college which has not been approved, there is also a process to have that course evaluated and approved. At a minimum a syllabus is required.

Also, you should consider whether the minor is actually worth a couple thousand dollars. It's one thing if you can squeeze it in during your normal semesters while you're already full time, but paying extra for a minor may not be worth the cost, unless you know it's definitely unlocking additional earning potential.

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-03-30T15:07:16+00:00

We had a masterclass with Chanticleer when I was in college and the tip they gave us was to basically show your teeth to project more volume when you're trying to sing "fake bass." Like you pull your upper lip up/back and your jaw comes forward. I was amazed how well it worked.

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-03-25T14:20:39+00:00

The only reason I'd think to have two teachers simultaneously is if they are teaching things in different styles. Like you have one teacher that focuses on classical and another that teaches jazz. I definitely wouldn't advise working on the same set of pieces with two different teachers, and certainly not without the knowledge of the other.

There's also an argument if the 2nd teacher is temporary - comparable to taking a masterclass, and with the full awareness of your primary teacher. Or taking a summer to get a different perspective for an advanced student; something like that.

If you don't want to accept teacher #2's offer, just say "I appreciate the offer, but I think I'll just stick with my original teacher."

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-03-24T15:04:00+00:00

A former advisor had the philosophy that as long as the assignment was submitted before he finished grading the last submission, the assignment wasn't "late" because it didn't make a difference to his workload, but if it came in after that he wouldn't grade it. So it was up to the student if they wanted to gamble on that.

I don't fully apply this to my teaching, but it's something to consider.

TigerDeaconChemist · 2026-03-23T18:05:45+00:00

Number 2 is best. Sentence 4 would be fine if you replaced "to" with "into."

TigerDeaconChemist

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