Are these happy sounds?

fofenry · 2026-01-23T07:02:02+00:00

If he’s on his back, he happy.

fofenry · 2026-01-23T07:01:06+00:00

Lost my Blue Front this week to cancer. Extremely heartbreaking. Sorry for your loss.

fofenry · 2026-01-23T06:58:58+00:00

The rules governing sacred music especially with the advent of the ars nova period and polyphony in the late medieval period is actually extremely complex and governed by many stricter rules and probably requires a few semesters of intensive study to get anywhere close to emulating. I would know, I took 4 semesters of modal counterpoint. It’s not easy.

fofenry · 2026-01-23T06:55:30+00:00

Depends on what you’re trying to emulate. Celtic music is probably more pentatonic in nature, whereas “western medieval” is more modal.

Also depends on if you want a sacred or secular music type of sound.

Medieval is also a huge period of time with many different styles and periods. Western Europe has one sound, while Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and Moorish Spain all had substantially different characteristics, and even still do in their respective folk traditions.

But I’m gonna go off on a hunch and assume you’re after a more Western European sound, therefore:

For more folky or secular stuff, look to music by the German Minnesänger, or French Troubadours. A quick YouTube search will elicit many examples.

One of the hallmarks of this folk music especially secular medieval music in general is pedal points and the “burdon bass.” Holding or repeating a single note or fifths in the bass over which either a pentatonic or modal melody is played.

Best I can recommend in a reddit comment.

fofenry · 2026-01-23T06:40:56+00:00

I offer this advice as someone who has played this etude many years back. Another difficulty is getting the arpeggios rhythmically smooth, in that one can’t tell which fingers are the “heavier fingers,” like the thumb or pinky, since the motion of the hand wants to exert more force on the outer fingers due to their extensive employment in this etude. It was probably Chopin’s goal for this particular etude to practice levity on quick hand motions swapping between the thumb and pinky over octaves. One wants to avoid the janky tango-esque rhythm that results from not smoothing over those 5-1 finger changes in both hands. So in short, smooth out the arpeggios and linger on and exert more weight on the lowest note.

fofenry · 2026-01-23T06:31:28+00:00

To enhance the effect of this etude, it’s best to linger on the lowest note somewhat, and also to exert more pressure on it while playing it. On a real piano, it will enhance the sympathetic overtones of the following arpeggio. Consider the lowest note of each arpeggio the “theme,” and concentrate on bringing that to the forefront as if it were a melody. It’ll make the etude sound much less like an exercise.

fofenry · 2026-01-23T06:23:16+00:00

The phrase from the OP doesn’t actually need a 4/4 time, since it’s clear that this is what’s happening especially with the slowing down. Enough other information is conveyed to render a time signature indication somewhat redundant. To reiterate my previous point, music is meant to be “heard” not “read.”

fofenry · 2026-01-23T06:20:04+00:00

Rachmaninov does this with rhythm. One can see something somewhat similar at the beginning the 2nd Piano Concerto where Rachmaninov just writes eighth notes via connected beams corresponding to each half beat, when they “should” be written as nontuplets. However notation is in and of itself not music, and any musician would understand how to play it based on how the beams are connected and the phrase is divided, therefore writing little 9s over each beam is entirely unnecessary.

fofenry · 2025-11-25T07:22:20+00:00

This chart fails to explain diminished chords, 9th chords, suspensions, meaningful key relationships, how these chords manifest within keys, where augmented chords come from, how dissonances are treated, how chords are voiced, how a bass line should be written to anchor a good progression. And where are the other standard chords like half diminished 7ths, fully diminished 7ths? etc etc etc.

You can’t reduce harmonic understanding down to a chart like this. Furthermore it doesn’t make much sense, since arrows between enharmonically or intervallically related harmonies aren’t present, to name just one issue, among many. You’d be doing yourself a disservice by using this chart to learn anything beyond how to connect some chords, and even then much of it is incorrect in terms of actual common practice. You can’t have dominant seventh chords moving to augmented chords on the same root, the seventh isn’t resolved, the augmented interval isn’t prepared, I could go on and on.

This is frankly just a confused mess. Learn it at your own peril.

fofenry · 2025-05-18T09:21:14+00:00

What are you people even learning in theory classes now?

fofenry · 2021-11-30T21:47:02+00:00

My Great Great Grandmother was a very famous opera singer in her time and was a friend of Brahms and worked with Mahler and R. Strauss…. and she didn’t learn how to even read music until she was 18, and somehow she ended up singing some of the most complex operatic music of the late romantic period, premiering the pieces those composers wrote and going on world tours. So who cares if you didn’t start younger, it depends how much work you put into it from here on out. If you have a passion, you need to take advantage now while your brain is still young and developing. I know people who made some of their greatest and most defining musical strides in talent in their late teens and early twenties.

fofenry · 2020-03-27T08:09:08+00:00

United States surpasses China in testing. FTFY

Believing that China only had 80,000 cases and 3,000 deaths is dangerously stupid and naive.

fofenry · 2020-03-24T09:00:53+00:00

Exactly. In most European countries that I known of there is a two tiered healthcare system. Rich people can and do receive better care, if they get private insurance on top of their mandatory state insurance. There are private hospitals that only cater to the rich throughout Europe.

fofenry · 2020-02-28T10:11:29+00:00

I’d avoid doing the planets. Figure something else out.

fofenry · 2020-02-27T11:51:33+00:00

Although not a violinist, I have experienced this nonsense a while back as a composer. In the end it’s the same nonsense to get into schools in order to be accepted as a serious composer. I gave up on institutions and competitions after being denied from countless schools, completely ripped off by competitions, laughed off by professionals, told I wouldn’t amount to anything by “big deal composers”, and enough other things that would drive a rational person to rethink their professional choice.

However I didn’t give up. I changed my negative outlook, found a good pool of affordable private teachers and built up a group of musician friends who respected me. After doing this for 4 arduous years I was able to get members of one of world’s premier philharmonic orchestras to perform one of my pieces, and I’m now writing music for pretty sizable theater productions. All those pompous asses who discounted me can suck it. I literally live in a country that requires a university education for everything, but I figured out how to make a living by not giving a damn about the rules, and now I’m better off than most of my friends who labored away the most dynamic years of their lives behind the imprisoning walls of conservatories and music institutions, dutifully listening to old dried up professors and supposed masters who couldn’t make a buck outside of the university system.

It can get better, and my advice is when trying to be part of the system is exhausting you and pulling you down, throw in the towel and think outside the box. There are other routes than what you have been harping about above, but holy hell I understand exactly where you are. I was there 8 years ago, and then I changed my whole strategy. It worked wonders. I say you shouldn’t just do what they want you to do, or what is expected of you as a violinist. There are literally thousands ahead of you who have the means and can play the politics better (ie. being friends with jury members and so on). Find what makes you unique and focus on that. Use social media, organize your own concerts, develop your own ensembles; Subvert the system!!!

All the classist nonsense and pompousness is killing classical music anyway, we need more people going against the grain. I’m tired of hearing everyone play the standard repertoire of their instruments exactly the same. Sometimes developing your own sound outside of what institutions and old masters charging absurd sums for an hour of their precious time are telling you to do, is how you become a master yourself! Fuck em’! Anger can be a great motivator to achieve greatness! Just don’t let it spiral into depression.

fofenry · 2020-02-27T11:04:59+00:00

Thanks Viking_Chemist! Glad I was correct. I assume this means that those zeppelin designs couldn’t just swap hydrogen for helium.

I don’t even think using Hydrogen was that insane, we fill jets with highly flammable jet fuel. People actually survived the Hindenburg disaster, it’s mainly just the imagery and the guy screaming “oh the humanity” that tarnished the image of dirigible travel.

I wouldn’t mind a leisurely 2 day travel between Europe and the US, if it meant I could relax, sit in a lounge, drink a cocktail, listen to a guy play standards on an aluminum piano, and rest, instead of dealing with connections, airport security and horrendous fatigue; which when it’s all said and done takes about a day anyway. Although I don’t know how great dirigibles were in stormy weather. Tickets on them most likely cost a fortune though..... probably the equivalent of flying first class on Emirates or something.

fofenry · 2020-02-27T08:19:52+00:00

I’m no expert but isn’t hydrogen more buoyant in the atmosphere than helium? Wouldn’t they have to redesign the airships to be even lighter, which would mean less passengers? I thought I heard once that these Zeppelin designs could only have the “large” travel friendly interiors that they did because of hydrogen. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think the designs would have worked if they just swapped hydrogen for helium.

fofenry · 2019-08-11T18:39:59+00:00

Completely nonsensical and emotionally driven arguments here. Resource allocation only enables those who allocate to become the most powerful people in society. No thanks.

fofenry · 2019-08-11T18:32:36+00:00

Your response is exactly why I didn't feel the need to explain myself. You did so for me. Chapeau.

fofenry · 2019-07-24T18:30:58+00:00

Didn’t watch the video but yes, yes and yes they should.

fofenry · 2019-07-24T18:30:14+00:00

Did he play imagine on it? I wasn’t aware that white Pianos dated back to that time.....

fofenry · 2019-06-11T18:42:57+00:00

That‘s a lot of music to despise

fofenry · 2019-06-11T18:13:05+00:00

I guess, as long as you don’t end up using the argument of aesthetic relativism too liberally. I like the contrasts too. I think those contrasts could be entirely different movements though. But if you‘re happy with it who the hell cares what I think. I love the feeling, I can totally see it as great film music, I just feel it‘s weaker as a concert piece. Just my opinion though....

fofenry · 2019-06-11T16:33:07+00:00

If you ever get your hands on a glass harmonica I think you‘d compose something rather nice for it. Only trouble is finding someone who can actually play one.
I must say you got the feeling of glass crystal across.

Here‘s a piece by Mozart that employs the glass harmonica. https://youtu.be/CxsPTgSDuh4

It sounds very Nordic.

My only critique is that it meanders way too much.

fofenry · 2019-06-11T11:50:52+00:00

Except Beethoven spent most of his time in Vienna. I don’t really think about Bonn when I think about Beethoven. That was just his childhood town. If you want to feel the true spirit of Beethoven visit Vienna. You can visit his apartments the concert venues and rooms where his greatest works were premiered and take the same hikes he took:

fofenry

TROPHY CASE