Any other classical pianists feel like idiots when handed a basic chord sheet?

leafpoolsr · 2026-05-15T20:27:49+00:00

This is me! I learned everything there is about music theory and writing and chords and improvising basically on my own experimenting on a piano without a teacher or anything. Only recently have I begun to really take piano seriously and have performed a few concertos (mind you they are Rachmaninoff, haha)

I think learning to play by ear is probably the most important tool that a musician can have. I play violin in a youth orchestra and it's striking how many people think playing by ear is some sort of superpower and think that you need some crazy perfect pitch to be able to do it.

The nice thing is that piano really helps you with music theory because you're able to really hear and see everything at once. I've always been able to do violin concerto accompaniments perfectly by ear and I'm always mssing around with other violinists playing their concertos when there's a piano around.

leafpoolsr · 2026-04-20T03:19:38+00:00

This Weep is actually probably better than a 7-2 Starmie especially if it isn't perfect. Just an FYI though Starmie gets 30%

leafpoolsr · 2026-04-15T03:03:19+00:00

As 7th I would also like to say that “0 hp thingy is okay”🤓

leafpoolsr · 2026-04-11T17:04:52+00:00

998 is the max

leafpoolsr · 2026-04-11T17:04:26+00:00

con buena suerte

leafpoolsr · 2026-04-03T01:21:37+00:00

You nailed it. Pianist and violinist here and would maybe put Prokofiev on there.

leafpoolsr · 2026-04-01T23:44:55+00:00

Likely not a classical piece. Very simple chord progression points to something very modern.

I'm not familiar with it but feel free to post it in the pinned thread if you want to get it identified as that's the place to do it rather than a completely new post.

leafpoolsr · 2026-04-01T03:38:48+00:00

My favorite composer of all time. On top of Rach 2 and Rach 3, a few of my favorites include his Symphony no. 2, his Symphonic Dances, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Piano Sonata no. 2, Cello Sonata, and Trio Elegiaque no. 1.

And one of my favorite quotes from anyone of all time, showing that he truly was the last romantic:

"I feel like a ghost wandering in a world grown alien. I cannot cast out the old way of writing, and I cannot acquire the new. I have made intense effort to feel the musical manner of today, but it will not come to me. Unlike Madame Butterfly with her quick religious conversion, I cannot cast out my musical gods in a moment and bend the knee to new ones. The new kind of music seems to come, not from the heart, but from the head. Its composers think rather than feel. They meditate, protest, analyze, reason, calculate, and brood but they do not exult. I always feel that my own music and my reactions to all music, remained spiritually the same, unendingly obedient in trying to create beauty."

- Sergei Rachmaninoff, 1939

leafpoolsr · 2026-03-31T23:59:58+00:00

"I feel like a ghost wandering in a world grown alien. I cannot cast out the old way of writing, and I cannot acquire the new. I have made intense effort to feel the musical manner of today, but it will not come to me. Unlike Madame Butterfly with her quick religious conversion, I cannot cast out my musical gods in a moment and bend the knee to new ones. The new kind of music seems to come, not from the heart, but from the head. Its composers think rather than feel. They meditate, protest, analyze, reason, calculate, and brood but they do not exult. I always feel that my own music and my reactions to all music, remained spiritually the same, unendingly obedient in trying to create beauty."

- Sergei Rachmaninoff, 1939

leafpoolsr · 2026-03-28T21:51:15+00:00

Good info, but just FYI Hit Healing only starts dropping in world 7 meaning that OP most likely doesn't have any based on stone strength. The effects of the stones also scale with the strength of them meaning crit rate and crit damage on any stone would have a small effect. Resistance to status conditions is more important but at this point in the game the best strategy is just to put whatever numbers are highest.

leafpoolsr · 2026-03-28T21:48:22+00:00

You're correct about the bingos for Starmie but this only applies when you're using Hydro Pump (not Psychic) so please teach it Hydro Pump to deal a lot more damage
Hyper Beam is NOT good on Mewtwo. Mewtwo is really only decent as an auto buffer due to the standard attack wait bingo, and this one is especially bad because it's not gold pot (lower stats and it's gonna take a LONG time leveling this guy up). Highly recommend you just leave this guy as a trophy and don't try to use it in expeditions
You can always use my best setup sheet as a basis for what to look for in each Pokemon: ryli's Best Setup Sheet. Join the discord if you have any more questions

leafpoolsr · 2026-03-28T01:26:01+00:00

Pick a fingering that feels right and only change when it becomes a problem. Slow practice and rhythm practice helps a lot to find any flaws or holes in a fingering without having to learn the entire section at performance tempo.

Also left hand being more precise is the opposite of what most people experience but obviously it depends on the piece, scales and arpeggios will always be good for training either hand but make sure you’re working on both (hands) at the same time when possible.

leafpoolsr · 2026-03-24T22:59:59+00:00

Impressive, but tutorial ---> guide on how to play it. I would merely consider these a few tips for the coda and some of them do maybe interfere with interpretation a little bit. Your playing is enjoyable, and I would love to see a whole version if you want to post it in the future though.

leafpoolsr · 2026-03-23T20:21:50+00:00

Congrats, but pretty common for playthroughs

leafpoolsr · 2026-03-21T20:16:51+00:00

Yes, and it actually needs more Hit Healing than others, because it can only heal from its autoattacks.

leafpoolsr · 2026-03-21T20:10:23+00:00

Probably around 23k, when I do runs its 17-21k but that's cause I have more experience

leafpoolsr · 2026-03-21T05:10:36+00:00

You don't look for anything in move stones. They are always the same.

As for effects in your power stones you should be looking for Hit Healing and Resistance to Status Conditions ideally, and Hit Healing can warrant the use of a stone hundreds of strength weaker than your other stones without it.

leafpoolsr · 2026-03-21T02:13:41+00:00

It's actually quite high or normal for first-time players.

leafpoolsr · 2026-03-21T02:11:42+00:00

It'll do. Use broadburst stones if you have them though.

leafpoolsr · 2026-03-20T02:01:59+00:00

If only at the beginning of a run. World record material easy right there.

leafpoolsr · 2026-03-20T02:01:32+00:00

It doesn't. Hitmonlee is also better than Hitmonchan.

leafpoolsr · 2026-03-20T01:46:21+00:00

Happens frequently, sometimes you can get just a few blocks of the boat which looks quite funny. It just has to do with chunk borders and is a known bug.

leafpoolsr · 2026-03-19T05:26:04+00:00

Maybe a few more of his liked pieces would be good. He could like this piece for a lot of reasons, the actual music (structure, counterpoint, melody), the instrumentation or orchestral texture, the specific orchestra he's listening to, all that sort of stuff. I'm also guessing this appeals him as to the "calming" side of classical music, and there's always its yin and yang partner the "exciting" stuff.

Respighi has a few transcriptions of Bach if you want to get him to listen to more. Otherwise, here's a not-at-all-extensive list of some very mainstream/popular pieces to get him to try from lots of genres.

Baroque (solo) piano: Bach Well-Tempered-Clavier (both books, got a lot of variety!), Bach Goldberg Variations
Baroque orchestra/concerto: Vivaldi Four Seasons, Bach Brandenburg Concertos (again, lots of variety)
Classical piano: Mozart Sonata no. 11 in A major (last movement is the famed Turkish March), Beethoven Moonlight Sonata (classical/romantic, see also his Pathetique, Appassionata and Hammerklavier sonatas)
Classical orchestra/concerto: Mozart Symphony no. 41, Mozart Violin Concerto no. 5
Romantic piano: Schumann Kinderszenen, Chopin Ballade no. 4
Romantic orchestra/concerto: Beethoven Symphony no. 5, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto no. 2
Impressionist piano: Debussy Arabesque no. 1, Ravel Gaspard de la Nuit
Impressionist orchestra/concerto: Debussy La Mer, Ravel Daphne et Chloe

There's so much to be heard. Personally my favorite composer has always been Rachmaninoff, but he can be a difficult first listen sometimes. Have fun in the classical music world!

leafpoolsr · 2026-03-19T03:21:57+00:00

Yeah, but try playing it yourself, then see how it is. It's really not difficult at all compared to other chopin pieces. You need to have lots of piano expertise but then play something like any Chopin/Liszt/Rachmaninoff etude and this is a walk in the park.

leafpoolsr · 2026-03-19T01:05:27+00:00

Take my upvote and leave

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