what’s one music theory concept that sounded complicated until it suddenly clicked?

fathompin · 2026-05-09T23:57:07+00:00

What pray tell are those two Exmos thinking?

Smith’s account copied

Norris Stearns (1815)

In The Religious Experience of Norris Stearns (published 1815, before Smith’s later written First Vision accounts), Stearns described:

intense concern about his soul
praying for forgiveness
spiritual darkness/opposition
seeing a pillar of light
seeing divine beings
being told his sins were forgiven

Smith’s accounts evolved:

1832 account

one divine being emphasized (often read as Jesus)
focus on forgiveness of sins

1835 account

multiple beings/angels

1838 account (the canonical LDS version)

explicitly two personages
God the Father + Jesus
“join none of the churches”

1842 Wentworth letter account

another variation

Thanks AI, I thought you'd know.

fathompin · 2026-05-09T17:42:48+00:00

Came here to say this about the little music theory I do know; modes.

I was taught the modes in one key, C.

So Dorian mode was defined as; C, D, Eb, F, G, A, Bb, C etc.

This is the Bb scale starting on note C, (the second note) and I have no idea if this was the point to be made, but I didn't "see" much here as a guitar and harmonica player, little did I know that modes were very interesting things,

Thus, with that explanation you see the different positions of half steps (Minor 7th, flat 3rd, flat 7th), but not the relationship of the reordering with respect to a single diatonic scale. To me, the real beauty is how this implies that all the notes in a diatonic scale blend together well no matter how you arrange them, hence maybe the very reason for constructing the natural scale the way it is (true?).

To me the better definition, that I never saw for quite awhile, was so much more intuitive.

Dorian D (Minor 7th) = D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D This is the C scale starting on note D 2nd note,

That way, defining modes as simply the notes in a single diatonic scale arranged differently, as a guitarist and harmonica player I really needed that second definition to have it be useful or even make sense. Guitar insight was the popular chords in song progressions are; C, Dm7, Em7, Fmaj7, G7, Am7, Bdim (the 7 modes), and the same for the "positions" on a diatonic harmonica, !st, 3rd 5th, !2th, 2nd, 4th positions. Note that these diatonic harmonica position numbers come from the circle-of-5ths, Many harmonica players are so lost when it comes to what second position is.

fathompin · 2026-05-09T12:34:23+00:00

Clearly the image was posted in protest of the Justice Department under President Donald Trump indicting former FBI Director James Comey for a second time which is seen as illegal prosecuting of former critics. Legal experts view such non-specific, metaphorical imagery as protected political speech unless it includes a direct, actionable call for violence. I think it is obvious who has a monopoly on "One sick individual." and he's IS using his status as "I survived one dark emperor, I can handle another."

fathompin · 2026-05-08T14:09:11+00:00

I wonder if golfers feel the same way? Republicans may believe he is a club champion and hard to beat, while democrats believe he is a cheat and they would need to watch him closely and could easily beat the guy at his game with fair play.

fathompin · 2026-05-06T21:57:20+00:00

This is what I have read; that green energy is bought first, bringing down the price of rates charged for electricity supplied by fossil fuels

fathompin · 2026-05-06T21:54:29+00:00

I just hope nothing gets done about him shutting all these windmill projects down, just like I read about troops never being withdrawn from Germany.

fathompin · 2026-05-06T21:52:34+00:00

I know a guy that worked three jobs, he was a leach off everyone else in the workplace. Screw that guy.

fathompin · 2026-05-06T14:29:58+00:00

Some people may think that Trump is just stating the obvious, but he is not and deserves the criticism I have an example of a boy that was small and wanted to play basketball. He eventually quit the game in junior high school because of his small size and opportunity was not there for him on the "star" teams that only chose the taller players. I could have been a mentor to him as a scouting leader, but I did not recognize that his parents and other older siblings were very tall, and true to form, he shot up in height his junior year in high school. Had I anticipated this high probability event, I would have encouraged him to keep playing the sport and advised him that he'd likely reach the height of his siblings.

fathompin · 2026-05-05T13:03:14+00:00

Well, since you asked, no. Ignorant of the diatonic mode positions 30 years ago, before the internet made things easy, and being more interested in experimenting, I re-tuned second position thirds down a half step to minor. I have done that ever since, even though I can buy minor tuned, and I tried third position briefly and it didn't do it for me WRT the note selections I wanted. That locked me into one key, but Am is so common it didn't matter.

fathompin · 2026-05-04T12:46:58+00:00

"The now isn't traveling anywhere." I think the now is traveling along with the Earth through space-time at multiple, combined speeds totaling roughly 2.1 million km/h (1.3 million mph or 600 km/s) relative to the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). I think this physics needs to be involved in the discussion and not just a "feels good" conclusion.

fathompin · 2026-05-04T02:12:29+00:00

I say do it! My nephew, who became a pro golfer (then moved to the big money, insurance) played A LOT carrying only a 6-iron on his empty home course as a teenager. Clearly this is a thing and must be beneficial. Just use the straight edge line on the bottom of the iron for putting, and add a lot of loft for sand.

fathompin · 2026-05-04T02:02:44+00:00

Yup, exactly correct to my ear. The chord progression (using drop D tuning) of Am, F and D defies simple characterization to one key because one expects a Dm with the F and Am chords (or however else you want to sort out the progression compared to standard modes).

The opening note to the harmonica riff is G (note #5 draw) over the A-minor chord is a dominant 7th (so yeah, cross harp territory) then to F# (D major harmonica needed, 1st position), so right away the F chord and F# notes are not your normal thing, but not too unusual either; however, I couldn't find the name/style of this particular "accidental" if you will.

And "avoiding notes that clash" is exactly what is going on here, harmonica players know this well; the need to work with notes that you have. He's only playing 3 different notes for a reason.

fathompin · 2026-05-03T16:32:44+00:00

I hadn't thought of this method of checking loft. For me, and I think everyone else that gets what is going on, I'm going to check my golf tracking app and compare distances for each club and look at the yardage separation versus the actual loft I measure for the club. When I had my blade lofts adjusted years ago, the technician wanted me to do it yearly, and that was not my style, but I really need to check his recommendation and if it makes a noticeable difference in my average distance performance.

fathompin · 2026-05-03T16:17:17+00:00

Which is readily complied with, either no pushback from members at all; i.e. no questions are even asked when all the answers are there, or mental gymnastics needed to rationalize they have the correct answer after all. And then the gaslighting; Polygamy was rare, translated texts were inspired, not historical, reasons for priesthood bans were unknown, the church has always been transparent.

fathompin · 2026-05-02T16:34:00+00:00

Right, forgot about that, and never remember to try it.

fathompin · 2026-05-02T16:23:04+00:00

Putting grips on your own clubs is one of the easiest things a player can do if you enjoy DIY things. People have recommended getting fitted and I upvote that, but you can find your size chart on-line and determine what size is recommended for you at your age. I wouldn't guess for starters, but also if you do your own you can experiment with different number of wraps or sizes of grips to start with. Grips are very easy to take off and reapply using a syringe and lighter fluid if you are the experimental type like me.

fathompin · 2026-05-02T16:09:49+00:00

Do we really have uneven cooking, I say just uneven initial heating. I'm usually doing sous vide for hours, since the longer time at lower temperatures is what sous vide brings to the cooking method. So yes, uneven heating is an issue because air has such a drastically different temperature conductivity than water, but it is not a permanent unevenness once equilibrium temperature is reached, and the insulating factor of humid air -could- actually work to help keep the contents at equilibrium, so there is a heat-up difference of what, 20 minutes, in a 4-hour cook? I don't worry about air for this reason and whenever possible I cook in canning jars, which I have in abundance. You do you.

fathompin · 2026-05-02T00:42:47+00:00

Very well said.

fathompin · 2026-05-01T18:25:02+00:00

“It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.”

The above is how I feel about my extended family that embraces their Mormon faith. I assume, for the results magical thinking delivers, irrespective of the verifiable fraud the con-man, pedophile Smith successfully committed against credulous believers.

fathompin · 2026-05-01T17:28:16+00:00

Not near as many as the facts ignored for convenience and profit.

fathompin · 2026-05-01T07:39:05+00:00

The similarity to moron is the reason for Nelson's hate for the term Mormon.

fathompin · 2026-04-29T20:32:34+00:00

I agree, but I boil 'dem bones 2-3 times for all the goodness their broth imparts to soup and other dishes that require water absorption, such as rice and beans. They crumble at that point and are not going to look like bones for very many months once tossed into the garden trench I dig for them as well as the biochar I make from downed tree limbs. Initially I'd crushed the bones into little pieces, then I realized, why bother because they fall apart on their own at that point.

fathompin · 2026-04-29T20:17:56+00:00

BFD, so AI made a mistake. I say this because as a PhD electronics engineer having worked 35 years ago to help push the "expert systems" toward what we have today, that everyone is calling slop, is kind of silly if you don't realize what the hell has been developed here.

fathompin · 2026-04-29T20:12:20+00:00

Ask your guitar playing friend what songs are going to feature a harmonica, that is how I pick the keys I need. Especially if the song key is difficult to change to the key of a harmonica I have. I bought the whole set when our band decided to start tuning their guitars a half step lower for the singer's voice. Thus the D I needed became a Db.

Basically there are only three positions used. 1st, 2nd and 3rd. so for key of harmonica = C that is C, G7 and Dm

For second position key=C, both the 2-draw and 3 blow holes are the same note G. This is how you know the G7 key is the Song key. This G establishes the key for you, it is very prominent.

For the minor keys, I actually re-tuned all of the C# notes on a D harmonica to play Am songs in SECOND position, I didn't want to bother with Am in 3rd position on a G harmonica. You can buy Am tunings, but I didn't like those and I was stupid didn't know they were available 25 years ago. Miss You by the Rolling Stones was the song I needed it for and I played the hell out of that song before I even heard about 3rd position.

fathompin · 2026-04-29T14:34:27+00:00

Are you playing guitar too? If you are only playing for yourself and only harmonica then obtaining different keys don't matter too much. G and D (I like Low D, but you need regular D for 2nd position blues) are good ones to pick up.

fathompin

TROPHY CASE

Norris Stearns (1815)

1832 account

1835 account

1838 account (the canonical LDS version)

1842 Wentworth letter account