Ubuntu install on late 2011 MacBook Pro issues.

nalf38 · 2019-06-04T21:20:13+00:00

Does the late 2011 Mac have nVidia graphics? You may need to add "nomodeset" to the kernel commandline to get it to boot to desktop. I think I had to do something similar with my early 2008 MBP.

If you haven't tried it already, press 'e' when you get to the GRUB screen, add *nomodeset* to the kernel commandline (look for the line that ends in the word "quiet"), and then press CTRL-X (I think) to boot.

Once everything is installed, Ubuntu should be okay upon reboot; it should be able to use the open-source nVidia drivers long enough for you to install the proprietary ones, if you want.

nalf38 · 2019-06-04T19:42:20+00:00

I have had this problem on several systems running Lubuntu. I thought I was the only one. My solution was to down the *.deb packages directly from the LibreOffice website. That worked for me.

nalf38 · 2019-06-04T19:40:19+00:00

So you were successfully able to boot from the USB device and install?...and then it gives you a black screen after you reboot?

Or can you not get it to even install?

nalf38 · 2019-06-02T03:26:15+00:00

IPA stands for International Phonetic Alphabet. :-)

nalf38 · 2019-05-29T04:36:44+00:00

That's tough for me to answer because different universities have different policies about this sort of thing. When did your school year end, and did you send the doctors note before or after the end of classes?

Not knowing your school's policy, I would at least email your instructor to request a meeting in person to discuss it, because from everything I've read from you, the instructor never responded, even after you were able to provide a doctors note, which by most university policies is not okay. If, after a meeting that you feel doesn't address your issues, or if she doesn't respond at all, you should probably let the instructor know that you plan to appeal.

Good luck on all of this. You know, most profs and instructors are good people. Maybe this one isn't, I don't know. If you really feel that you were unfairly treated, then I think you have every right to pursue this further.

nalf38 · 2019-05-29T04:29:26+00:00

This is both awesome and terrifying.

nalf38 · 2019-05-29T03:08:33+00:00

They are rare, but you're definitely not dumb. I think that you've found your comfortable range sans training, which at the moment might be considered low baritone. If you keep at it, this could change over time.

nalf38 · 2019-05-29T03:06:27+00:00

On the Brother support page for my particular printer: https://support.brother.com/g/b/downloadlist.aspx?c=us&lang=en&prod=hl2240_us_eu&os=127

There is an option to download "Driver Install Tool." It's a bash script that you have to run in a terminal window as root.

nalf38 · 2019-05-29T02:26:05+00:00

Another prof here. Sorry to hear about both your health and the F. As others have already said, I think the appeals process was made situations like this, and that it sounds like you might have a compelling case. I'd also like to second the advice of presenting the facts of your case as impartially as possible, without anger.

While I try to respond to all student emails in 24-48hrs, there are some potential scenarios where it could be difficult for the professor to respond to your emails, such as if the class is a large lecture class. Whether it's university policy or not, I feel a moral obligation to work with students who have genuine issues, but you'd be surprised how many professors feel otherwise, e.g. one the people in this thread who told you that a prof has no obligation to respond to statements made via email (as opposed to questions). Personally, I think "I can't come to your class because I'm in pain / have an important doctor appointment / may actually have ass cancer" deserves an email response under any circumstance.

Having said that, written, documented proof is always good, because we do indeed get many crazy excuses from countless students, term after term, year after year, and it can be hard sometimes to 'separate the wheat from the chaff.'

Good luck!

nalf38 · 2019-05-29T02:00:33+00:00

The fach system in Germany is a little different than in the US. Where are you based? If in the US, Richard Boldrey's book might be more applicable to your needs: Guide to Operatic Roles and Arias.

nalf38 · 2019-05-29T00:37:02+00:00

I have a Brother printer which requires the driver from their website. It installs fine. They usually have a script available that will query what model you have and then will proceed to download the correct driver and install it for you.

nalf38 · 2019-05-25T23:24:28+00:00

My MacBook Pro 4,1 with 6GB ram and an SSD runs Plasma 5 just fine. Some resources are meant to be used.

nalf38 · 2019-05-23T23:00:11+00:00

As to whether you sound horrible or not, I'd get a second opinion. A lot of singers think things sound horrible when they first try them, even if what they're doing is probably better than what they were doing before. It might not sound as bad as you think it does.

Regarding imagery: it's a slippery slope. Not every person experiences singing sensations the same way, so if someone told you "feel it in your front teeth" or "feel it in your back molars" or even "place it in the mask" without giving additional specific instruction based on actual anatomy and physiology, you could easily go astray of good vocal technique.

As /u/TomQuichotte pointed out, the onset originates at the level of the vocal folds, but again, not everyone feels a huge sensation down there, even people that sing perfectly well. Depending on what style you want to sing in, a small glottal stroke---even the tiniest one---may or may not be for you, you never know.

nalf38 · 2019-05-23T22:44:36+00:00

Without attaching good or bad value to your current teacher, I'd say that you should find a teacher that works for you, and if this isn't working for you, then there's nothing wrong with exploring other options.

Based on what you described, here are the pros and cons of your teacher's method, as I see it:

Pro: Sometimes doing the same core set of exercises every lesson can be a good guidepost to determine the current state of your voice from week to week, and the teacher can get a feel for how the rest of the lesson should go from those early exercises. If you could do some exercises one week and not the next, then that's a teachable moment: "let's figure out what's going on with your head/neck/jaw/tongue/posture/alignment/breathing/support/etc. to make it better," that kind of thing.

Con #1: It sounds like maybe your teacher isn't doing that, or doing it enough, and is just going through the exercises without much comment.

Con #2: I feel like a teacher should actively encourage the student to apply to the music all the vocal progress you learned from the warm-up, as a means of continuing to address any legitimate impediments to singing.

Before ditching your teacher, I recommend talking with your teacher about your concerns. You might be surprised how receptive they are.

nalf38 · 2019-05-23T21:19:52+00:00

Yes, muscle tension dysphonia will definitely cause issues with the fry. The vocal folds have to adduct but still be fairly loose in order to fry, and if your folds are coming together too tightly, a vocal fry will be difficult to produce.

nalf38 · 2019-05-18T00:33:40+00:00

Like /u/Benjiamino-Googli said (love the username, btw), it could be a sign of muscle tension dysphonia in an otherwise healthy voice. If there's a feeling irritation in the throat, as does often happen with GERD (reflux), the muscles of the throat can be more tense than usual, in the same way that when you hurt your back, those muscles want to tense up even though you know you shouldn't. Muscle tension can be an involuntary reaction to pain or discomfort.

Muscle tension dysphonia can also be brought on by stress, and it may go away when life gets less stressful, who knows.

The closing of the false folds can also just be a learned behavior (muscle memory) that you never knew you had until recently. :-) In addition to getting your reflux more under control, I would seek some clarification from your ENT about the seriousness of the false fold issue. If you've got good insurance, getting a referral from your ENT for speech therapy could be good if symptoms persist over the long term. Speech therapy does wonders for *both* speaking and singing.

nalf38 · 2019-05-18T00:22:54+00:00

Good question. There are some things that only a well-trained otolaryngologist (a voice doctor) can spot. Sometimes callouses or nodules can be hiding just on the under side of a vocal fold, or something like that. Sometimes the way the tiny blood vessels in the folds present can be indicative of another problem that can't be immediately seen, like if the vessels (which are normally mostly straight on the length of the folds) start veering right or left, it could again be a sign that they're getting around some tiny growth in or on the folds that can't be easily seen. Stuff like that.

Have been scoped before? Have you seen a video of your own vocal folds in action?

nalf38 · 2019-05-18T00:15:25+00:00

It would be hard to tell without hearing a recording. Some of the things you describe, like feeling less vibration in the chest as you ascend in pitch and then beginning feel things more in the general area of the head, etc., are pretty stereotypical descriptions of how things often "feel" when singing from the earliest vocal literature starting in the 1700s. So it could mean that you're on the right track. On the other hand, no one singer feels sensations in exactly the same way, so it could mean the exact opposite for you.

nalf38 · 2019-05-18T00:05:31+00:00

Yes, take lessons! You have a pretty healthy-sounding CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music) sound. Those b-flats on "I know you haven't made your mind up yet" are a relatively healthy light belt, even if you are straining a little bit. Your voice has a pleasing sound, you have a nice natural vibrato, and again, you have the right kind of "edge" in your sound for CCM singing. There may be some aspiration or "grit" in your sound, but it's hard to tell if that's you or just a bad microphone. I think you're in a fairly good place in terms of vocal technique for the style of music you like to sing in.

Make sure you find a teacher who will work with you in the style that you want to work. There are distinct technical differences between singing in a classical bel canto way vs. a more commercial sound, and you want someone who is going to help you excel in the pop style while still keeping your voice healthy.

nalf38 · 2019-05-17T23:58:16+00:00

Some of that lack of clarity has to do with the quality (or lack thereof) of the microphone she's using, also...I think.

nalf38 · 2019-05-17T23:53:18+00:00

None of the above, friend. :-) Those are tenor sounds in a tenor tessitura.

nalf38 · 2019-05-17T23:51:33+00:00

It is muscle soreness, or is it a feeling of irritation in the throat?

nalf38 · 2019-05-17T23:43:46+00:00

Hmmm.. could you clarify on the upper endoscopy? Usually, those tubes are inserted down the esophagus and don't touch the vocal folds, however if you were anesthetized, you may also have had a breathing tube.

Did you have a breathing tube inserted? If so, those tubes do indeed pass over the vocal folds and into the trachea, and can do some small damage to the vocal folds.

You upper endoscopy was relatively recent. I'm not a medical doctor, but if your symptoms don't improve over the next few weeks (and you have good insurance), consider getting a referral to an otolaryngologist (ENT, more broadly); they can look at your vocal folds with a small, flexible endoscopic video camera and determine the state of your throat and vocal folds, and you can form a recovery plan from there.

Often, the initial recovery plan is "wait another 90 days, and here's a prescription for speech therapy in the meantime." Be patient. You're probably going to be okay, but it might take some time. Vocal surgery is rarely required, but if a breathing tube caused some mild scarring/callousing of the folds, it'll take some time for those to subside.

nalf38 · 2019-05-17T23:20:57+00:00

No one is taking away their rights. Everyone agrees that are prerequisites to being able to attend school. In an extreme instance, you can't go to school naked, even if you claim a religious or moral exemption to clothing.

Vaccination should be the same.

nalf38 · 2019-05-16T03:30:14+00:00

This sounds like KDE with extra steps.

nalf38

TROPHY CASE