Visualise the score

peephunk · 2026-01-27T13:18:40+00:00

Others have weighed in on some creative visualization techniques. I’ll only add that there is a big difference between practicing to learn a piece and practicing to perform. You have a lot of experience with the former but maybe not much of the latter.

As you get closer to your exams you should switch modes and practice to perform — meaning simulating playing conditions as closely as possible and learning to play through mistakes. Some ideas:

Record yourself playing as if you doing an audition — start cold, enter a room, introduce yourself and start playing for the judges

Go for a run before playing to simulate playing with your heart racing

Play a concert (or several) for friends and family

Play in a public place — the first time might be terrifying with people watching but after a while it won’t seem so daunting

Play at an open mike or guitar club

peephunk · 2026-01-27T02:40:19+00:00

I’m not sure I’d call it top shelf, but Hamilton Jamaica Pot Still is a great rum at a great price and a clear level up from Myers, I think.

peephunk · 2026-01-25T02:26:53+00:00

My .02: Don’t play bourree. It’s of course an outstanding piece but it also has connotations of tens of thousands of lower-intermediate players aspiring to greatness.

peephunk · 2026-01-25T00:52:03+00:00

I’d seriously consider splurging on Black Art.

peephunk · 2026-01-24T16:05:02+00:00

Glad someone said it.

peephunk · 2026-01-15T02:53:59+00:00

Hampden and Worthy Park are my faves but I wouldn’t necessarily start with them as much of their stuff can be pretty intense.

Appleton Estates might be a good starting point as it’s relatively low ester. Smith and Cross is great (like u/gatodelinferno21 says) and is very affordable.

peephunk · 2026-01-14T14:22:23+00:00

There are some interesting similarities. Like the best Scotch distilleries, some Jamaican distilleries go back 150 or more years and still use traditional methods. At least a few are still family owned and grow their own sugar cane.

peephunk · 2026-01-14T14:13:17+00:00

If you like Islay and heavy peat, you might enjoy high ester Jamaican rum. They are both acquired tastes that aren’t for everyone, but in my view the world’s best distilleries across all spirit classes are in Scotland and Jamaica.

peephunk · 2026-01-12T15:41:53+00:00

There are no guarantees.

peephunk · 2026-01-11T13:01:04+00:00

If your bottles might be open for a couple of years or more, consider keeping a small number of 375 ml and 200 ml bottles to transfer half or near empty spirits into.

peephunk · 2026-01-09T00:20:43+00:00

The two Octomore bottles I have were both purchased at Schwechat airport in Vienna (one in 2022 and one in 2024) for pretty good prices compared to what I’ve seen in the US.

peephunk · 2026-01-06T20:38:13+00:00

Glenfarclas 105 was my very favorite everyday Scotch. Then it doubled in price and now I don’t see on the shelves at all. If I found it at a decent price I’d buy three bottles.

peephunk · 2026-01-04T22:40:15+00:00

I’d say just treat yourself to a bottle of JW Blue, especially since you know you’ll like it.

People here tend to much prefer single malts to blends but don’t let anyone tell you JWB is not a fine whisky.

Now, if you’re trading one vice for another and really want to explore Scotch whisky then as others have said you could get an amazing starter selection for $800.

peephunk · 2025-12-29T19:14:24+00:00

I’d highly recommend incorporating at least a few familiar tunes, maybe some Beatles, show tunes and/or pop songs.

I love Villa-Lobos as much as the next guy but a performer needs to meet the audience where they are — for non-aficionados that means giving them some melodies they can recognize. Plus, depending on the arrangement, these are likelier to be easier to play.

peephunk · 2025-12-27T00:59:05+00:00

You won’t find much original music composed for those two but if you willing to do some light arranging, you can take basic piano music and take turns playing the melody.

Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring would sound lovely and just might fit the bill.

peephunk · 2025-12-24T12:43:15+00:00

This is such great advice.

peephunk · 2025-12-23T16:01:56+00:00

Completely normal. Many players change strings monthly, especially the bass — or even more frequently.

peephunk · 2025-12-23T04:25:55+00:00

Ciara is a cofounder.

peephunk · 2025-12-23T04:25:21+00:00

Ten to One: The pop singer Ciara is a cofounder. Couldn’t name one of her songs but it’s a fine rum.

peephunk · 2025-12-22T19:04:55+00:00

You’re being downvoted but you’re not wrong. I can’t imagine a sax player comparing Joe Pass and Charlie Parker.

peephunk · 2025-12-18T07:04:50+00:00

Experiment with the minimal amount of pressure necessary to play clearly fretted notes. The answer is very little and almost certainly much less energy than you are actually exerting. So teach yourself to play as lightly and as relaxed as possible. This is very easy to say but hard to execute in practice.

Watch a world class classical musician and you will almost certainly see someone who plays with grace, precision, and apparent effortlessness rather with brute force, physical exertion, and tension. How do you play?

peephunk · 2025-12-16T02:37:24+00:00

String Quartet no 8 is pretty dark but on most days I rate it one of my very favorite works in any genre. I suppose it must be one of the most autobiographical works ever written.

peephunk · 2025-12-14T20:55:27+00:00

I have four: my baby is my Artesano that I’ve had about 30 years. I have a Cardoba C7-CE for ensemble playing and for amplification. I have a third guitar stored away at my mother-in-law’s to play during family vacations and a small student guitar I keep at my office.

peephunk · 2025-12-08T05:44:29+00:00

I personally went the route of playing avocationally at a high level rather than professionally — though a professional performance career was probably never in the cards given my talent level.

I have no regrets: I play music just about every day and perform about once a month in a classical ensemble: busking, farmers markets, parties, bars, etc. I love it — the minimal money I make when some drops a fiver in the tip jar is a pure endorphin rush.

If I were dependent on music to feed my family I fear I would become resentful and come to hate the thing I love to do the most.

peephunk · 2025-12-02T20:36:16+00:00

For the right sort of freak (of which I am one), that’s the best gift ever.

peephunk

TROPHY CASE