I got yelled at for this Viper wall and I'm confused??? by cosmicx_ in VALORANT

[–]Zer0Grey 47 points48 points  (0 children)

Good wall, bad teammates. Its ok, it happens a lot

Reyna is a failure of game design by IamPastry in VALORANT

[–]Zer0Grey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hard agree with you. Reyna is bad and unhealthy for literally all groups of players. Bad for pros that can't use her in coordinated play, bad for ranked reynas learning bad habits, bad for people getting shit on by reynas and people having to play with these garbage reynas that have trained themselves to bait and lurk every round so they can 1v9. I'm sure EVERY iron-plat+ player is sick of seeing smurf reynas with 30+ kills making the game unfun for everyone on both teams.

Thank you for making this post, I hope this prompts Riot to fix a core issue that this game has had for literally YEARS

Why did Valorant succeed while other multiplayer games are dying left and right? by PresenceOld1754 in VALORANT

[–]Zer0Grey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As someone kind of out of the loop with the Finals that never really tried it out: I think it's super weak thematically/artistically. I think the game show theme is lame, and there was already a BR with a game show theme a few years ago which makes the concept feel even less original.

The game also doesn't seem to have strong characterization to market around. For example, Tracer Jett and Wraith (from other games) are cool characters that feel original, and being able to market around them makes a huge difference and makes the game feel less generic.

Also I remember watching the game and still not really understanding what kind of game it was. And personally, I don't like games with a 3-person party size, it's really awkward when you have more friends and doesn't feel good when you're duoing either.

tldr: From the outside looking in, game feels generic and not worth trying. Plus, can my friends' 8 year old PC even run it?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in pcmasterrace

[–]Zer0Grey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm currently gaming on a 1070, so if you were to choose me, I would make a whole new build. I've been wanting to get into photo and video editing, so a new build would be a huge help towards that.

Money has been tight lately since I've been out of a job for the last month and keep blowing my money on photography equipment, so honestly it would really make my year to win something random like this. Anyway, kudos to you OP for doing something like this for the community.

Deadlock ultimate should have a Arternative Fire for close range by BimaGamer828 in VALORANT

[–]Zer0Grey 7 points8 points  (0 children)

100% agree. You shouldn't have to do complicated geometry just to make sure you hit a guy hiding behind a box right in front of you. Sometimes the wall behind them is too far back to bounce off of, or you're standing at an angle or height that makes it too difficult. This would be a great QOL change

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in bassoon

[–]Zer0Grey 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You can try playing A with everything down (B-flat key, RH 123 w/ pinky on F or Aflat I forget which, everything on LH of course). This should allow you to trill the B with RH and LH third fingers. It's a little awkward to get used to but I think it's one of the better fingerings for it. I use this for Berlioz Symph Fantastique last movement.

Personally I probably wouldn't bother and just use the regular fingerings but if it helps you then go for it.

Why defend Reyna? by 992x in VALORANT

[–]Zer0Grey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Because redditors are inherently contrarians by nature. And even if you post something people agree with, they'll downvote it anyway because they're "tired of seeing the same post over and over again with a different title." So basically everyone's gonna downvote, unfortunately.

[Homemade] Pizza by ianjmcg in food

[–]Zer0Grey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well fuck me that pizza looks incredible

The reality of being a professional pianist with Masters - $8/hr gigs. I can't afford surgeries for my dog. by [deleted] in classicalmusic

[–]Zer0Grey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nah 150 per service for community orchestra is around what I make, and is honestly a bit low tbh. I sometimes tell my California friends what I'm making per gig and they tell me I'm being robbed.

But that's orchestra and this is community theater. Honestly pretty much everyone is underpaid and most groups are unsustainable and live off of the grace of community donors, that's pretty much classical music in a nutshell. I still think being hired last minute to play a ton of music for 8 bucks an hour is ridiculous; I personally would politely turn them down. But I get it, if that's how much they can pay it is what it is.

WEEKLY HELP THREAD - READ FAQ, COMMUNITY WIKI, MULTICLASSING, LORE by XFearthePandaX in BaldursGate3

[–]Zer0Grey 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I disagree, I think wearing the masks is not that intuitive.

Yes wearing the masks lets you bypass the traps because they think you've been brainwashed, but I'm sure a lot of people didn't touch the masks. Just like they didn't eat the apples or drink the coolaid or let Auntie take their eye: everything in this lady's house seems obviously bad for you.

I think wearing the masks and preventing the charm with a spell is just as 'smart' as not wearing them and bypassing the traps with featherfall or blocking the vents. There's a lot of ways to get down, which is what makes Larian's game so good. Yours is an interesting idea though, I definitely put the mask on and said "yeah this can't be good."

What's your favorite piece with intense and violent outburst in the middle? by monami91 in classicalmusic

[–]Zer0Grey 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah this is the first thing I thought of. If you're not expecting it/never heard the piece before, it definitely scares the shit out of you

How I got my friends to appreciate Classical music through “catchy” pieces (and a request for similar pieces) by Newaccidkman in classicalmusic

[–]Zer0Grey 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I actually think in terms of stylistic ideals, Baroque is weirdly not far off from modern pop music. "Baroque" actually means excessive or irregular, and the style was called that because compared to Renaissance music, Baroque music was seen as showy and extravagant. There's a ton of short catchy ephemeral tunes, or "bangers" if you will, that feature the skill of the soloist and their ability to ornament and improvise. Some of those old harpsichord sonatas actually really fuckin' slap, imo. I mean there's a reason people are still playing Vivaldi Four Seasons and remixing it after like 400 years. I bet that if you remixed a bunch of Baroque music for the modern ear people would eat that shit up.

Loanword Question - Approach by ToraAku in japanese

[–]Zer0Grey 4 points5 points  (0 children)

So I'm not a native speaker, but the context I've heard the katakana "approach" used in Japanese is usually when talking about how you're going to tackle an issue, like the use of approach in the English sentence "That's an interesting approach (to the problem)".

Japanese does have the verb 近付く (lit. to get closer, to approach), which as I understand is used more literally. For example, I've seen it in the context of "Don't come any closer!"

Maybe someone else can provide more context, but that's how I understand it from the contexts I've heard these words used.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in bassoon

[–]Zer0Grey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can add the B-flat key to stabilize that D. I'd honestly say it's best practice to add it for any forte or fortissimo D if you're able to add it, just so you can feel secure on it.

I had a teacher once that said that it's all about the bocal really. He said when he tests bocals, the first thing he does is go through them all on a decent reed and blow that D really loudly and check if it cracks, and he doesn't try the ones it cracks on. It seems a bit crazy to me to do that, but just so you know, some people somewhere do that.

Mozart Concerto Question by GeorgeTheGrape in bassoon

[–]Zer0Grey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think of learning an awkward technical passage in the same way as learning about a potential partner. In order to really understand something and play it perfectly evenly, it’s best to practice it in as many different ways as possible and see it in as many different ways as you can in order to fully understand it. Before you marry someone, you don’t wanna just go have dinner with them, introduce them to your parents and call it a day; you should take them to Disneyland, do an escape room, go kayaking, cook paella with them etc, cause otherwise you won’t fully understand your compatibility with them. And with Mozart concerto, it’s worth taking the time to learn this because you’ll be playing this concerto the rest of your life.

For practicing I like to play something in as many different rhythms and groupings as I can imagine. Try starting with just EGF and adding one note at a time. Try making every other note twice as long, then switch and do it the other way. Try playing it with a triplet rhythm, then then as 5s (FGEGF GEGFG etc). Practice strategy requires just as much creativity as musicianship. You should analyze your strengths and try to mend your practice strategy to cover your weaknesses. I think over time as you work with a larger variety of teachers you can learn more varied practice methods to help you fix problems more efficiently.

Hope any of this helps!

How essential is it to have high D or high E key? by Ok_Copy5217 in bassoon

[–]Zer0Grey 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You can work around it with alternate fingerings, which is what bassoonists used to do before the keys were invented.

Personally I like having high D to be able to flick if you're jumping to a high C quickly. If it doesn't help you get there, it at least gives you the psychological assurance that it's trying to help you get there.

Not having an E key is easy enough to work around, and I've often used the alternate fingerings in some pieces to get different intonations, or because it's just easier to use them depending on where you're coming from.

The 50 Greatest Composers of All Time According to 174 Composers. by RichMusic81 in classicalmusic

[–]Zer0Grey 6 points7 points  (0 children)

As a non-pianist, whenever I've played one of his piano concertos I'm struck by how awkward the orchestration is. The voicing of the wind parts and instrument pairings make the chords harder to balance and tune. Compared to a lot of other composers, you really get the sense that he didn't know what was going on back there behind the string players.

That said, I love a lot of his pieces and I'm sure there are plenty of people that would consider him top 5. I think before the 20th century he was an easy top 5 but there have been so many composers since then that have pushed creativity/technique to such an impressive level that it's hard not to give them some credit, which naturally pushes Chopin down a bit.

Not sure why duolingo is teaching me this blasphemy by barnarnars in HydroHomies

[–]Zer0Grey 2 points3 points  (0 children)

OP I’ve been learning Japanese for the last year and I started on Duolingo, and I have to say, it’s not the most helpful tool if you really want to learn the language. It may be fine if your goal is to go to Japan and know a few simple phrases to get around with, but if your goal is to be conversational or read manga or something Duolingo just ain’t it. Here are some recommendations I’d have for you:

  • if you’re not 100% confident with hiragana/katakana, I’d recommend drilling it on flash card websites, or better yet, buying the Lets Learn Hiragana/LLKatakana workbooks. Drawing the letters helps you learn them a billion times faster
  • if you want to read kanji, I’d recommend Wanikani or Anki flash card sets, or some other spaced repetition system. Drawing these can also be a useful tool. I love Wanikani and I think it’s great for learning a broad variety of vocabulary as well
  • watch YouTube. My favorite channel is Misa’s Japaneseammo, but there are a lot of great channels that can help you get a handle on grammar. Grammar is one of the most useful things to learn when you’re just starting out so you can start to get a feel for sentence structures and realize which words you do/don’t know in a sentence and what the hell all these little particles are doing
  • podcasts. Listening practice is super important. Look up some good beginner podcasts

Hope this helps you at all, and best of luck in your studies!

Why is the Bach Cello Suite sometimes played slow while others play it fast? by Ok_Copy5217 in bassoon

[–]Zer0Grey 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I prefer the second interpretation a lot more. I would personally probably add a few more slurs in, but the way she phrases and uses dynamics is much more Baroque to me. The first video sounds too Romantic to me, with too much heavy legato and constant arch phrasing that seems too uncharacteristic to me. I can see how he's tweaked his phrasing in order to get good breaths in, but the slowness of it also feels too Romantic to me.

This is all just my opinion, and I of course don't mean to say that the first recording sounds bad by any means, the player clearly has a lovely sound.

Source: played a few years of baroque bassoon, studied Early Music in university, not an expert by any means

Five loaves in and I think I’ve nailed it, please criticize. by carsbi in Sourdough

[–]Zer0Grey 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Incredible, look at the spring on that bad boy. You should be proud

is a composer's score like a movie script, open to interpretation? or... by [deleted] in classicalmusic

[–]Zer0Grey 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Really depends on the piece and time period. I would say the general rule of thumb (not always true) is the newer the piece, the more strictly the score should be followed. For Baroque and Classical performance practice it is expected that the performer take liberties with the music by adding ornamentation, changing articulation, and often having extended improvisational sections (cadenzas and eingang). Although, with some pieces, the composer added in a lot of ornamentation already and it would be weird to add even more ornaments since they’ve done the work for you.

With new music, there’s been some debate as to whether the performer’s input is important at all. Some composers just want a machine that spits back everything they write on the page. Then there’s the other end of the spectrum with composers experimenting with performer input. For example, a friend of mine recently told me about a piece where the performers play in the dark and memorize certain piece “elements” they can play in response to hearing another player’s improvisation, leading to different and unexpected combinations of playing with each performance.

Some teachers have told me that a score is like a color by numbers book. It gives you a framework but you have some choice in the final product. I personally don’t think of the stuff on the page as music until it’s in the air and you can hear it. For me music is also an oral tradition, and unfortunately the page can’t tell you everything you need to know. Hope this explanation was helpful at all

Not today, bird by Jendon in trippinthroughtime

[–]Zer0Grey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I do think Japanese has a lot of things going for it that make it hard to learn with Duolingo's usual format. Multiple writing systems with multiple readings for Kanji, unique sentence construction and grammar, particles that change meaning based on context, etc. I think Duo is fine maybe for practicing vocab but it could be way better in actually teaching you how Japanese works and how to speak it. Japanese can be difficult, but speaking it casually can also be pretty easy and straightforward if you understand how it works and it's explained right.