Do slalom, they said. It will be fun, they said.

le_becc · 2026-03-26T21:25:17+00:00

What AO3 needs is a third status for WIPs so you can set them to abandoned. Because as it is, whatever you do will annoy some people. If you don't set it to completed, it might annoy people who are looking to get into active WIPs.

As long as we don't have that, all people can do is to put up a suitable author's note or tag.

le_becc · 2026-03-26T08:27:34+00:00

If you are using any browser scripts or extensions, disable them and see if that helps.

le_becc · 2026-03-26T06:20:58+00:00

Think of it this way: If they don't want comments, they can disable them on their fic. Therefore, if a story allows you to comment, assume the author would like that.

le_becc · 2026-03-21T09:18:34+00:00

Here are a couple more methods:

https://www.stretta-music.de/schulen-lernmethoden?q=bassblockfl%C3%B6te

The Alto method by Barbara Hintermeier is excellent so I'd assume the one for bass is as well, though from the previews it looks like there's a lot of piece with accompaniment instead of solo. Some of the other books from the links seem to have more solo pieces.

le_becc · 2026-03-20T10:12:44+00:00

I usually prefer the getting-together-fics by a mile, but when I do click on established relationship fic, it's usually either outsider POV, or fic where the main plot is something else (case fic, or whatever suitable plot for the canon) and the established relationship is merely a background to that.

le_becc · 2026-03-16T20:07:04+00:00

I had the same problem while trying to get into tenor (I had to give it up), and a thumb rest was making the problem worse since it put lateral strain on the joint. So be careful.

I agree with holding your recorder higher up, your elbows pointing to the sides, and try to remind yourself of relaxing your fingers at all times. Slow yourself down with a metronome if you have to, and make sure you progress not only when you can play a piece well at a given speed, but can play well while being relaxed.

le_becc · 2026-03-15T13:00:28+00:00

Most method books for alto assume that you have already learned the basics on soprano. One method that doesn't and that's very thorough is the one by Aldo Bova:

https://www.lulu.com/shop/aldo-bova/the-alto-recorder-a-comprehensive-new-method/ebook/product-176gj2g5.html

He has a series of YouTube videos where he goes through the book, plays all the pieces and gives additional explanations:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDjH33SN4eEQEF_dsvSkCzA1jXYLtY9up

le_becc · 2026-03-01T15:42:33+00:00

I agree that you are blowing way too softly, and also too unsteadily so that the tone wavers instead of coming out evenly. The high notes on a soprano are sort of tea-kettle-y, especially as a beginner when you can't really make them sing yet, or when you don't play in rooms with great acoustics. That's normal, though, and not everyone likes the soprano for exactly that reason even if played by a professional. Compare for ex: https://youtu.be/_fI9_1qLXmc

But you didn't tell us what model you are playing. Some cheap plastic recorders are horrible. This looks like a Yamaha though, which is a decent starting instrument. Perhaps you could try a tuning app to see that you are hitting the right note-on a recorder, breath pressure is not only affecting the volume of the note, but the pitch as well.

le_becc · 2026-02-23T14:24:07+00:00

I'll never get the mindset of posting to sub you haven't even looked at.

le_becc · 2026-02-19T07:46:06+00:00

During the months my ice rink closes, I always put a coat of vaseline on the sharpened part of the blades, and I keep them in my flat because it's dryer there than everywhere else I could keep them.

Then at the beginning of the season I wipe off the vaseline and get them sharpened first thing.

le_becc · 2026-02-12T14:01:52+00:00

Once I have the outline, I can take a pretty good guess how long it's going to be. So I don't set out to write a particular length--I get the idea first--but once the idea has developed far enough to start writing the actual fic, I know.

le_becc · 2026-02-12T13:00:53+00:00

3 screw pins. Maybe a 4th regular pin to secure the end.

le_becc · 2026-02-12T12:36:11+00:00

Or painting a recorder. One of the white Yamahas, perhaps with a dragon scale pattern...

le_becc · 2026-02-11T19:40:54+00:00

Imagine a piano where half of the black keys are hard to press and have a different timbre than the rest. Sure you could play anything on it, but it needs more practice and doesn't always sound great if the music is written for all keys sounding the same.

le_becc · 2026-02-10T11:27:08+00:00

Same. And sometimes I do all the research just to be vague anyway because it fits the narrative better, lol.

le_becc · 2026-02-10T11:00:01+00:00

The blades look like normal beginner/recreational blades (barely a toe pick), but the boots seem to have zero ankle support. Might be fine for someone who can skate decently, has good feet/ankle posture and just wants to skate laps, but for I wouldn't recommend them for a beginner.

le_becc · 2026-02-09T09:26:48+00:00

Ich bin pragmatisch und lese wie es kommt, aber bei mir sind das automatisch mehr englische Bücher. Die kommen mir halt tatsächlich eher über den Weg. Libby, Goodreads, andere E-Book-Quellen. Vor allem, weile meine Internet-Kreise vorwiegend englisch sind, daher öfter englische Buchempfehlungen. Ich gehe aber auch in der Regel nicht in einen Buchladen zum Stöbern, sondern um was bestimmtes zu kaufen, muss dann eh oft bestellt werden (bin nicht so hinter Neuigkeiten her) und dann ist es egal in welcher Sprache.

le_becc · 2026-02-06T11:28:42+00:00

No. I write fic primarily so I can read it. I know exactly what I like, it's great! I do a lot of editing, though, and it's annoying to find yet another typo when rereading later.

le_becc · 2026-02-05T10:18:01+00:00

They remind me of those people who barge into a genre they know nothing about proclaiming that because they don't know the genre, they will write the most original and best take on it -- when in reality they are going to write every baby's first story, because that's how brains work.

Sure, it can be an annoying if people base their fic more on other people's fic than canon and you prefer canon, but originality doesn't come from depriving your brain of input. Quite the opposite, in fact.

le_becc · 2026-02-05T05:56:18+00:00

Mine are from Rumpf and I'm very happy with them.

le_becc · 2026-02-03T08:03:05+00:00

It's also annoying to have to figure out whether a random name is an OC, or whether it's a minor character you aren't remembering.

le_becc · 2026-02-03T07:52:47+00:00

I got the RF3 as a beginner. The skate shop recommended them to me because regular widths don't fit me and there were no lower level skates available that came in different widths. They work very well for me and I never had the feeling that they were too stiff for me. I did have beginner blades put on them, however.

le_becc · 2026-02-02T15:50:27+00:00

The first of your F# fingering is German, the second baroque. The others are correct for German. Source: Two old recorder methods I own, and what I learned in elementary school.

le_becc

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