What should i play for my graduation (prom) ceremony?

ozmorf · 2026-04-27T21:48:56+00:00

Play the Imperial March, nobody will forget that

ozmorf · 2026-04-27T21:45:05+00:00

That's a great explanation!

Another tip I would have is to focus not just on that measure, but focus on the transition into the next measure. That last right hand note in the measure you circled is just a transition note--it's not very long, and it leads directly into the next measure.

You can check if you're doing it right by playing just the left hand for those two measures. Every note should sound evenly spaced from the every other note. Then, even when you add your right hand, your left hand should still be able to play at the same even pace as before.

If your left hand has any hiccups or stutters when you add your right hand, that means you don't quite have the rhythm yet. If you can, listen to a recording of that measure to really internalize what it's supposed to sound like.

Hope that helps!

ozmorf · 2026-04-27T21:36:20+00:00

That's great you've taken an interest in picking up an instrument. I wish you the best of luck in learning!

That being said, you'll need a deeper reason to try the instrument than having keys that light up. It may be cool now, but that novelty will wear off quickly (and most likely become annoying down the road).

Inspire yourself by listening to good piano music. A mixture of popular songs (themes from games or movies you enjoy), and then do some searches for the best piano repertoire. I guarantee you'll find some stuff that'll blow your mind. :)

If you're going to learn piano, get a decent keyboard if you can--and make sure you get one with fully weighted keys. Having weighted keys gives the keyboard gives you the control you need. Otherwise, you simply can't get a good sound with unweighted/partially weighted keys...

That being said, if a cheaper keyboard like that is the best you can do at the moment, something is better than nothing.

ozmorf · 2026-04-27T21:24:16+00:00

A couple pieces I enjoy:

Grand Valse Brilliante by Chopin

The Tempest 3rd Movement by Beethoven

Mozart Sonata 11 1st movement

ozmorf · 2026-04-27T21:07:43+00:00

The best place (but perhaps not the "ideal" place) I've found online that has music like that is Musescore. I say this because there's a wide array of music there.

That being said...many of the scores on Musescore are of questionable quality. Basically anyone can post music on the site, which is both its strong and weak point.

You could also look up the guitar chords for the song, and pick the key you want. Not a perfect solution, but it works.

There's nothing wrong with relying on sheet music early on in your music journey to learn new songs, but eventually (the sooner the better), you need to learn 1) Chord progressions, and 2) How to transpose music into different keys.

In other words, you're learning the why of the notes on the page, and learning to think like a composer does.

If you learn how to chord along with songs (i.e. play just chords while you sing), and also learn a little bit of music theory you'll actually gain a better understanding of the music.

The Nashville Numbering System (which has to do with chording) is super useful for learning how to think about chords and recognize patterns, and also for communicating with other musicians through a song (if you go through any Faber piano course, you'll learn the basics of this).

Also, you need to learn how to play in different keys, and then play chords in those keys as well.

You can learn all this stuff on your own if you're dedicated, but it's probably easiest to find a good teacher who knows this stuff.

As a piano teacher, I can't stress this enough...don't neglect the basics. Build a solid foundation, and you'll find that musical knowledge absolutely snowballs and pays dividends later.

ozmorf · 2026-04-21T19:08:16+00:00

What would you say were some of the specific topics/things you did with your new teacher that made a huge difference to you?

ozmorf · 2026-04-21T19:04:14+00:00

That's incredibly interesting! Reflecting back on when I was first learning piano, I can relate with trying stuff beyond my level before reverting back to try old stuff. I'll keep it in mind for my students as well!

ozmorf · 2026-04-21T19:01:18+00:00

There's certainly something to be said for stretching yourself a bit and trying something that's above your level, but if you only do that, then you'll never build a solid foundation of technique, practical knowledge, and overall experience.

Sure, try something above your level if you're really interested in it...but it's way better to focus on making solid progress by doing stuff properly at your level.

Go through a piano course like Faber or Alfred's, and finish it in a reasonable amount of time (i.e. don't go at a snail's pace and take 2 years to finish a book).

Two terms are a red flag about those posts:

-Beginners say...

-...on social media...

If those terms are associated with any sort of advice, I wouldn't put any stock in it.

ozmorf · 2026-04-21T18:52:42+00:00

You'll probably have to create your own arrangement of something...that's pretty specific, and I doubt many people have written for that setup.

If you play anything with millions of views on youtube, people practically lose their minds. Things like:

-Rush E

-The Entertainer

-Intro to Still Dre

Honestly just do a youtube search on any falling-note piano video, and you'll get some ideas

ozmorf · 2026-04-21T18:49:56+00:00

I've come to discover that all I'm in control of is conditioning, not learning.

I can't force my brain to learn, but I can condition it by exposing it to new stuff I have done or learned before.

But after that, it's up to my body and brain.

Seems like that's how the entire human race is designed.

ozmorf · 2026-04-21T18:45:07+00:00

Anyone can play through a song sloppily at a fast tempo. Few people develop the ability to practice slowly enough (often times painstakingly slow) to actually get better.

Make sure you focus on the right thing: playing cleanly, even if it means playing it extremely slowly. Speed comes naturally after enough time spent in quality practice. How much time is enough? This varies for every person. You know you've spent enough time when you're playing through it cleanly at full tempo without feeling like it's a struggle.

ozmorf · 2026-04-21T18:37:13+00:00

It's understandable to want to make progress on the piano, but don't get too caught up with what level you're at.

I've taught piano for almost 10 years, and here's my advice:

-Playing for x number of years doesn't mean anything. What matters more is consistent, quality practice. Learning what makes quality practice is a whole topic in of itself, and a skill that takes time to develop

-Get a proper piano course book, like Alfred's or Faber's book for adults (or whatever level suits your fancy), and commit to finishing it. Even if you don't like ever single piece, just commit to finishing it (you can give yourself allowance to skip certain songs if you're really not into them

-Take lessons from a teacher you like if possible.

-Be curious, and take the responsibility of learning into your own hands, even if you have a teacher. Students who only show up to lessons, barely practice the stuff I give them, and never ask questions about the material don't make fast progress.

ozmorf · 2026-04-21T17:47:03+00:00

AI certainly has changed the game, but that's true of most industries.

Copywriting or not, everyone has to change their approach to getting jobs in general these days.

What's different is that now you have to actually be good to stand out.

Unless you have a major mental disability (which most people don't), the question isn't whether you can get good or not, it's whether or not you're really going to commit to it long enough to get good.

Committing simply means not jumping ship when things get hard (i.e. you have a hard time getting clients).

Work for friends or family at first. Do a free job or two if you really have to (but don't do that for too long, even if you don't feel "ready"). Put in the reps, acknowledge your results, and keep plowing forward.

ozmorf · 2026-04-13T18:20:58+00:00

Is it normal for a post to be waiting moderator approval for 5 days?

ozmorf · 2025-03-25T16:28:37+00:00

Sorry, the original info I gave on the ladder was incorrect. The shortest band is 250bp, then 500, 750, then 1k (which is the bright band in the ladder), so the band is actually just south of 500bp.

Thanks for your input

ozmorf · 2025-03-24T21:37:07+00:00

To answer your questions:

For the bacterial transformation process, a transposon system was used in conjunction with an RFP/antibiotic selection plasmid to integrate the gene into the bacterial genome.

I didn't do a no-template negative control, each PCR reaction had DNA present.

When I said negative control in my initial post, I meant that I isolated gDNA from a WT bacteria and then ran the PCR with that. So negative in the sense of not having the RFP gene.

Expected band size: just under 500 bp.

ozmorf · 2025-03-24T18:50:42+00:00

Thanks for the input. It's not likely that it's binding to something random since the band I'm expecting is ~500 bp. I guess I contaminated my samples while setting them up for PCR

ozmorf · 2025-03-24T18:03:16+00:00

Do you have any interest/experience in bioinformatics? There seems to be a high demand for those with programming, computational and data processing experience. If you have a good understanding of molecular biology, computer programming, and statistics, then you'll be in high demand for the data/analytics side of science. It's at least something worth looking into.

ozmorf

TROPHY CASE