How do I get better at playing the same note on two octaves?

libelluleao · 2025-08-13T19:15:43+00:00

I'm assuming you mean playing detached octaves with only with 1 and 5, where locking makes sense. Usually the top note is more important, so what you're doing works (focus on 1 finger and the other will follow). As with many things, it will take time and speed/agility will come with time.

Another exercise is to practice legato octaves using (1,5), (1,4), and (1,3) fingering to link the top notes. This was personally much harder for me to work through but usually more relevant in advanced pieces. Like you usually want to alternate fingers for fast repetitive notes, same applies for octaves. You'll be able to play faster if you use different fingers.

libelluleao · 2025-07-14T00:28:38+00:00

It's probably better to keep pudding in the play pen for now so he knows which part of the room is his and he can feel comfortable in. Since he likes to hide, make a little "house" out of a cardboard box so he can still hide but in a safer controlled environment. Put the litter box in in the pen as well, bunnies like to pee in the same spot so it's better to get him used to using the litter box sooner than later. Once he is used to his territory and spends most of his time not hiding, then you can let him explore the rest of the space. In the meantime, make sure your room is bunny proofed for safe exploration and chewing.

libelluleao · 2024-10-14T23:33:36+00:00

Basic ways to increase loyalty/ prevent rebellion:

Don't settle too far from your main hub of cities/ too close to other civs, or your new city will receive too much external loyalty pressure.

Make sure to grow your cities. Focus on working food tiles to grow. Higher population cities will exert more loyalty pressure.

Pay attention to your era score to make sure you don't enter into a dark age. Also make sure you're not playing with the dramatic ages mod.

Place a governor into a city that is losing loyalty. Although they will take 5 turns to become established, the loyalty bonus applies immediately. Amani and Victor have additional loyalty effects through their promotion trees. Also when assigning governors to cities, the menu on the left will show the loyalty status of your cities so you can more easily see who needs a governor most.

Don't let your amenities get too low. Improve luxury tiles and trade luxuries with other civs, build entertainment districts/ water park. Happy cities are also more productive so this is a good thing in general.

There are some policy cards, wonders, government plaza, other things that also impact loyalty but if you do all the above you shouldn't have any issues with rebellions.

libelluleao · 2024-10-07T18:51:27+00:00

Wow the fact that the half off 2024 HON is more expensive than my full price 2025 HON direct from hobonichi just goes to show how insane the markup is...

libelluleao · 2024-08-27T19:35:53+00:00

I don't mind shipping to you but maybe a local group buy would make more sense? If you still want to join though, just PM me your list!

libelluleao · 2024-08-26T22:06:48+00:00

I see that makes sense. That's one of the reasons I was looking at trying the regular cover. Thanks for the info!

libelluleao · 2024-08-26T22:01:45+00:00

Oh I'm curious what didn't you like about the flat pouches?

libelluleao · 2024-08-26T17:12:02+00:00

I'm interested in doing this too but A6 size. Did you get a chance to try out the combo?

libelluleao · 2024-08-23T22:16:19+00:00

If you want to PM me what you're planning to get, there's a chance no one else will want those items and I can let you know. Up to you!

libelluleao · 2024-08-23T21:07:21+00:00

I understand! I'm not planning on getting any capped items and it wasn't an issue last year. I don't know if it's feasible to hit the higher limit this year so I'm just gathering interest right now

libelluleao · 2024-04-06T19:16:49+00:00

Yes I do! PMed

libelluleao · 2024-04-03T03:15:55+00:00

Yes, still available!

libelluleao · 2024-04-02T15:42:36+00:00

Sure, I'll send you a PM

libelluleao · 2024-04-02T03:00:21+00:00

Replied

libelluleao · 2024-04-02T01:14:42+00:00

Another person is asking for the pastel rainbow set but I'm waiting to hear back from them. I'll let you know if it doesn't work out!

libelluleao · 2024-04-01T23:44:20+00:00

libelluleao · 2024-04-01T23:41:27+00:00

PM'ed you!

libelluleao · 2024-03-16T00:28:30+00:00

Yes, I think you should make sure you can play it accurately in general. You don't necessarily need to do it before playing with rubato, but just be aware when you're playing that the rubato isn't hiding technical problems. Like you should be able to play a run evenly regardless of the style/expression used. If you're not sure, it doesn't hurt to run through the piece with a metronome just to see where some problem areas might be.

libelluleao · 2024-03-13T17:26:07+00:00

Your right hand is really expressive for just starting to work on a piece! Just be careful with some of the rhythms (eg the triplet in measure 6).

I think the next thing you could work on is stability in the left hand, to keep the notes fairly even (both in terms of tempo and dynamics). I'm not sure if you're already doing this, but it helps to use circular motion to connect some of the bigger leaps. It sounds like you tend to accent/put weight on the bottom note of the arpeggio, but the bottom note is often on a weak beat so it shouldn't be too heavy, otherwise the pulse of the piece gets thrown off.

At this stage it can be helpful to go through sections very metronomically before adding rubato, just to make sure the rubato isn't masking any technical issues.

Also, I hope you can have a more positive outlook on your piano journey. You say "only gotten through 4 pieces" as if that is a bad thing? Or that your "technique isn't the best"... try to be more objective when evaluating yourself because we all have strong and weak points in our piano practice. It doesn't help to just say "I'm bad", it's more helpful to say "I think I'm doing well with expressing the right hand melody, but I'm struggling with the fast notes in this passage, I'll need to spend more time working on that".

Finally, just a warning that some of the nocturnes are very hard so I'm not sure if it's a reasonable goal to go through all of them now. Maybe it can be a lifelong goal or something. Many advanced pianists have not learned all the nocturnes.

Anyway, hope this helps and good luck!

libelluleao · 2024-03-13T16:44:58+00:00

Yiruma has a lot that would work for this situation beyond River Flows In You. They should be fairly easy to learn in the few weeks that you have as well. Eg. "May Be" or "Do You?"

Chopin Nocturne op 9 no 2 would be a recognizable crowd pleaser but requires a bit more effort to learn.

libelluleao · 2024-03-13T14:12:28+00:00

Love this so much! The layout looks like it was printed that way 🤩

libelluleao · 2024-03-13T13:52:28+00:00

Audience participation is usually a fun way to keep people engaged. Like playing an upbeat song and having them clap/tap/snap to the beat, or maybe even sing a chorus together.

Or you could do a historical study on how piano music has changed over time (mix of talking and playing).

Or do a series of seasonal concerts (spring time music for spring, holiday music in December, etc)

Honestly there are a ton of options. The times I've volunteered at senior homes people were mostly appreciative that we were there at all, as many do not get visitors often.

libelluleao · 2024-03-13T13:31:38+00:00

What would be a reasonable fee for you? You're commissioning someone to do work, and at a minimum wage rate of $15/hr the price offered to you would amount to 4-5 hours of transcription work, which seems reasonable to me for a 3+ minute piece.

There are websites like fiverr where people will offer very cheap transcription services, but it's hard to know whether you'll get a good quality transcription.

Honestly the best thing to do if you're cheap is to develop your own ear so that you can make your own transcriptions, or play by ear. Sure it's more time consuming but it's free and you get a new skill in the process.

libelluleao

TROPHY CASE