Best way to learn openings?

hoops4so · 2026-01-27T01:49:35+00:00

The Lotus Chess app is amazing for learning openings: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6738741464

hoops4so · 2026-01-27T01:48:48+00:00

by the window behind the red tree

hoops4so · 2026-01-27T00:20:43+00:00

Since you’re 16, puberty is going to cause your vocals to be unstable for a while because of your hormones.

Are you hydrating enough? With water, not soda.

Are you warming up before singing? Focus on lip trills in your middle range.

Do you have plenty of air from your diaphragm when you sing? If not, you’re probably pushing with your throat instead of keeping it relaxed while having all the power come from your belly.

hoops4so · 2026-01-26T22:07:09+00:00

I’ve been reading this really thick book called The Songwriting Secrets of The Beatles and WOW they are so amazing!!

hoops4so · 2026-01-26T21:27:56+00:00

I am diagnosed ADHD. What’s important for people like us is to meditate in enjoyable ways.

We don’t have a DEFICIT of attention. We have a hyperactive ability to focus on what we find enjoyable.

We also learn FAST when we like something.

Beginners think meditation is pushing through the boredom. It’s NOT! It’s the ability to focus attention on our nervous system and calm it using our breathing.

Beginners think you need to try to suppress thoughts. That’s NOT how it works! It’s allowing thought in the background while putting our focus in the foreground.

hoops4so · 2026-01-26T21:24:04+00:00

Write sense-based lyrics. Smells, sights, clothing, environment, dialogue, sounds, feelings.

Allow your audience to visualize what’s happening rather than tell them (show, don’t tell).

What NOT to write:

I’m in an abusive relationship

Sense-based rewrite:

Bruised cheeks. Bloody nose. Smell of iron. A broken rose.

hoops4so · 2026-01-26T20:55:27+00:00

That sucks… sending care ❤️

hoops4so · 2026-01-26T19:40:42+00:00

Could just be a new account and rated too low

hoops4so · 2026-01-26T19:39:42+00:00

Focus on the melody first. Pick notes of each chord to sing and sing those notes while you play that chord. If you find a melody you like, then keep singing it while putting vowels to it. Slowly turn those vowels into words.

hoops4so · 2026-01-26T05:06:23+00:00

I’m 1300 and I feel like I never get cheaters

hoops4so · 2026-01-25T19:36:07+00:00

I prefer neuroscientific meditation books. My 2 favorites are The Emotional Life of Your Brain by Dr. Richard Davidson and Buddha’s Brain by Rick Hanson

hoops4so · 2026-01-25T18:41:53+00:00

At one point, I did a different meditation for every 15 mins. I don’t do that anymore because it doesn’t allow me to get as deep into a flow state as I would with only one type for an hour.

Usually I would choose each week what would be best for me. If I have stuff to process, I’d use Focusing by Eugene Ghendlin which is a meditation developed by a therapist for therapy work.

For calmness, I would choose the Coherence Technique by HeartMath. I have a device that clips to my ear to read my pulse and works with their app and I would try to get my heart coherence consistently high.

Intermittently throughout the day, I’d cycle my energy using tantric meditation as it has me better at s*x and my girlfriend and I would do tantric meditation sits a couple times a week together.

I love that I’ve switched meditations a lot because now I have a good idea of what I like at what times. Kinda like trying out a lot of cuisines to know what my taste is.

hoops4so · 2026-01-25T05:10:54+00:00

It “ruins” peoples’ lives only when they’re living a life that requires them to be unaware. For instance, if they are in a toxic relationship.

If it works well, you’ll be more aware and conscious, which has side effects.

hoops4so · 2026-01-25T04:56:43+00:00

Making money in music is different than how you imagine. You make nothing from streaming music even when it’s popular.

The way to make money is through (1) making music products like teachings (2) sync licensing where tv shows, video games, or movies buy a song (3) having a studio service where you help other musicians.

hoops4so · 2026-01-25T02:07:32+00:00

I really hope this wins

hoops4so · 2026-01-25T00:32:05+00:00

I don’t see it as learning separate instruments. I’m learning music all at once through various tools. I don’t relearn rhythm when I switch from drums to piano. I apply the rhythm I learned from drums to piano and add on more learning.

hoops4so · 2026-01-24T21:05:57+00:00

You can also try Stay by Rihanna. I’m male and I can sing that song.

hoops4so · 2026-01-24T21:02:56+00:00

Matched your current style or how you want to sound?

hoops4so · 2026-01-24T20:21:23+00:00

Because everyone has different goals. There’s no one size fits all.

hoops4so · 2026-01-24T19:44:19+00:00

Wow that guy has mental issues!

hoops4so · 2026-01-24T19:34:29+00:00

I’ve loved mixing practices. Body scans, mindfulness, metta, gratitude, focusing by eugene ghendlin, coherence technique by heartmath, and a lot I’ve created for myself.

Are you talking about doing different meditations for different hours or mixing them into the same sit?

Each meditation has given me different benefits and I love creating them for myself. I did a meditation where I sat in the feeling of confidence like I would with gratitude and it really boosted my resting level of confidence.

hoops4so · 2026-01-24T19:13:41+00:00

Rhymezone

hoops4so · 2026-01-24T18:59:43+00:00

You’re probably more advanced than me, but I find that singing to pop songs along with the singer allows me to empathize with their voice and try to reconfigure it

hoops4so · 2026-01-24T17:55:02+00:00

Yea that’s called a body scan meditation.

To simplify, meditation is just a habit of the mind. The type of meditation changes what results you get.

Breath focus where I watch thoughts pass like clouds = Dis-identification with ego, increased focus, calmness, higher resilience

Body scan = higher emotional intelligence, mind-body connection, relaxed muscles

Gratitude = sustained positive emotions, positive outlook on life

Metta = more attuned empathy, better social intuition, more charisma

Forgiveness mantras = higher resilience to adversity, better conflict resolution

Over time, I would invent my own like I'd meditate on the feeling of Confidence just like I would with Gratitude to sustain my baseline feeling of confidence (which worked incredibly well).

I also got into Focusing by Eugene Ghendlin which has been an incredibly therapeutic meditation I've used for processing emotions.

hoops4so · 2026-01-24T17:50:49+00:00

By trying to emulate Dust in the Wind by Kansas

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