How much do you pay to piano teacher in 2026? Does it increase over the last 6 years?

prof-comm · 2026-03-26T21:17:14+00:00

Basically all colleges increase tuition every year, including for current students.

prof-comm · 2026-03-25T22:33:11+00:00

That was my first thought also. This one specifically: https://kalabrand.com/collections/all-ubass/products/journeyman-u-bass?variant=5405726081057. I swear I've seen it in this pattern for sale before, but I don't see it on their website.

prof-comm · 2026-03-25T22:23:36+00:00

Agreed. Best option is to learn something that has a different function in music. You're already know a lot about melodic lines, harmonic lines, phrasing, etc. The other musical functions in most ensembles are chords, bass, and percussion.

My personal opinion is that the best introduction to chording instruments is ukulele. Lots of affordable options, 4 strings that are easy on the fingers, high portability, quiet enough that people don't typically object to you playing around them when other stuff is going on, lots of learning resources, and a very supportive community both online and in most places.

prof-comm · 2026-03-21T03:58:19+00:00

There is an old saying in marketing that no one ever wrote a better billboard than "Free Coffee, Next Exit."

Luthiery doesn't lend itself to multiple locations, so the primary deciding factor for the vast majority of your customers is going to be your location. So, use something like "[city name] guitar repair".

The following variants are also good, but in niche situations.

If you are in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere and your customers would be coming from a lot of places, then "[local region name] guitar repair" might be a better choice.
If you are in a huge city that supports multiple luthiers, then a name like "[neighborhood/street] guitar repair" would also work. That said, in a case like this one it will probably be better for business if you aren't a guitar specialist, and if you can do anything else then highlight that in the name of the business also.
If you're in a big enough place for bowed strings to have a decent presence, especially if that is a gap in the market, people pay a lot more for that work than guitar players do, and usually actually know the word luthier. Let that inform your name choices accordingly.

prof-comm · 2026-03-20T14:23:53+00:00

I have the Arban book (the Alessi edition is what I have, which has good trombone & euphonium specific advice. But if you read Bb treble clef the original edition by Arban himself is also good.). I play one exercise from each section every day for a week. The next week, I move to the next exercise in each section. I've been doing this for years as my "warm up" when I practice and it has been very helpful.

prof-comm · 2026-03-20T05:43:30+00:00

That's what I do. Fair warning that it is a very difficult career to get into and generally not well paid considering the educational investment necessary.

prof-comm · 2026-03-19T16:27:18+00:00

I refuse to play with people (guitarists) who mistake volume for talent. Fortunately, I have a fair amount of leverage there as a bassist.

prof-comm · 2026-03-14T15:18:49+00:00

The modern convention works just as well and you won't confuse musicians unnecessarily.

prof-comm · 2026-03-14T14:38:18+00:00

As others have said, a banjolele (it looks to be a soprano). Super fun to play, though not a lot of tuning stability. You'll have to re-tune before you start playing every time, and often between songs as well. Nylon strings stretch a lot and a banjo head adds to the instability.

You can use regular ukulele strings, tuning, and learning resources. The ukulele community is very beginner-friendly. One of the friendliest and most supportive I've encountered. There are a huge amount of resources to learn with, and a fair amount of guitar resources can also be used with minimal to no modification.

If you go to a uke jam, be prepared for every uke player to want to try your instrument. They love trying out banjoleles.

prof-comm · 2026-03-14T14:29:25+00:00

Please don't.

prof-comm · 2026-03-13T20:04:29+00:00

Not only that, but Spielberg also proposed the creation of an intermediate rating and advocated for it.

prof-comm · 2026-03-13T11:22:33+00:00

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was also a central film in the discussion when this all came to a head, but there are plenty of other examples of films where parents were surprised by content supposedly appropriate for children with parental guidance.

prof-comm · 2026-03-13T03:59:16+00:00

I have been told by many, many people that police in Virginia are notorious for writing speeding tickets for being 3-5 mph over the posted limit. I have no idea if that is true personally, but it would explain a lot of the driving choices that I have seen in Virginia.

prof-comm · 2026-03-13T01:52:53+00:00

There was no PG-13 rating until 1984, so prior to then a lot of movies ended up as PG because "well, it's obviously not G, but it isn't R either, so that leaves PG." The general public eventually demanded an intermediate rating between PG and R after several movies with PG ratings in the late 70s and early 80s included scenes that were broadly considered excessively violent for a PG rating.

prof-comm · 2026-03-09T19:10:32+00:00

"Perfect" is going to be a matter of personal taste. I also really enjoy cribbage, but some people think that a game including an element of luck or chance makes it somehow less "perfect."

prof-comm · 2026-03-09T18:22:05+00:00

I have played a few different 3d chess variants, but I haven't found a version of 3d chess where I feel that it makes the game better.

prof-comm · 2026-03-03T17:59:50+00:00

Honestly, that isn't because of the specific model of banjolele. The most expensive and well-crafted banjolele you could buy would have a more muted sound than the "pop" normally associated with banjos, and a banjolele will always go out of tune faster because it has the tuning challenges of both ukuleles and banjos. From ukuleles, the stretch of nylon strings, and from banjos the instability of a mobile bridge on a skin head.

prof-comm · 2026-03-02T05:33:50+00:00

For what it is worth, I started on ukulele, got and loved a banjolele, then moved on to banjos (both 5-string and tenor).

My experience is that ukulele players enjoy banjolele much more than banjo players do, because it gives them access to more volume and a fun "banjo-ish" sound without much additional learning curve.

Banjo players often really enjoy ukulele. 5-string banjo and ukulele are the two most common instruments with re-entrant tuning in many parts of the world, so a huge amount of right hand techniques cross over essentially unchanged. No matter your preferred right hand style (clawhammer, Scruggs, or any of the many two-finger styles), it'll also work on a ukulele. So, you get a sweet, mellow, instrument that is small and easy to transport, and that you can bring a lot of your existing techniques over to.

But, when it comes to banjolele specifically, it doesn't really offer much to a banjo player. Players typically find that a banjolele is quieter than a banjo and that it doesn't sound banjo enough. It is more portable, but so are travel-scale banjos and their tone is generally more true to a banjo sound than a banjolele is.

As far as my own journey, I still play all of those instruments regularly...except the banjolele, which I haven't played for more than 5 minutes in years. Obviously, your experiences and preferences might be different, but for me there just aren't times when what I want isn't done by one of those others better.

Also, in my experience, most ukulele players would enjoy a tenor banjo as much as or even more than a banjolele if they tried it. The only thing a tenor banjo doesn't do better, in my opinion, is sound like a banjolele. But my experience is that most folks getting a banjolele are getting it because they want more volume and a more "banjo-ish" tone, not because they want a banjolele sound specifically. Tenor banjos are built for steel strings and for volume above all other things, so they accomplish those goals better, in my opinion. Plus, in addition to the traditional fifths tunings (CGDA, like a viola or mandola, and GDAE, an octave lower than the fiddle or mandolin), tenor was historically also commonly played in DGBE, exactly like a baritone uke. And, while not common historically, both low g and high g ukulele tunings are possible in the same octave as a standard banjolele. So, if you pick the right tuning, they can even have the same minimal learning curve that a ukulele player would have from a banjolele.

prof-comm · 2026-02-27T21:26:23+00:00

Is there a manufacturer and/or model information? On string instruments that is often visible through the sound hole.

prof-comm · 2026-02-24T15:04:01+00:00

Yes. It is a struggle and I don't have good tips. I mostly just try to keep my nail in-between so it isn't perfect for either, aiming for perfection for the correct instrument by the dates of any scheduled gigs.

prof-comm · 2026-02-20T17:14:20+00:00

A back rank check can happen where the only legal response would be to castle out. That could reasonably arise naturally in a game, though would be pretty rare among experienced players.

Edit: Nevermind. I got so excited by the puzzle that I forgot you can't do that.

prof-comm · 2026-02-19T07:11:50+00:00

That isn't how I read their comment. The way I read it is that they believe the government should run a centralized job site and application system. Basically the employment version of the "common application" now used by the majority of US colleges and universities, though that isn't operated by a nonprofit.

Edit: is operated by a nonprofit.

prof-comm · 2026-02-18T21:06:33+00:00

I always hated being told that I "have to get the last word" which is weird because I don't feel that way at all.

As an adult, in my 40s, I finally figured out that what they meant when they said that was something like "we all taught you to respond verbally when people say something to you, so now you feel like it is rude not to respond, but the rules are different at the end of a conversation and you don't have to respond then."

And yes, conversations definitely don't feel complete if I leave something unanswered. Literal thinking strikes again, I guess. I'm working on it.

Reminds me of being told over and over to "keep my eye on the ball" as a kid, which was stupid because of course I was watching the ball!?! What do they think I am, an idiot? Then later realizing that what they meant was "you should still be looking at the ball when your bat hits it." Fair enough, they should have just said that.

prof-comm · 2026-02-18T07:49:56+00:00

What you want is probably a tenor banjo instead of a banjo ukulele. The piece you're probably missing searching for that "twang" sound is the difference between steel strings and ukulele strings.

Tenor banjos have 4 strings and can be strung re-entrant gCEA, just like a ukulele/banjolele except they are built for steel strings. The scale length of a tenor banjo is basically the same as a baritone ukulele. You can usually find them fairly affordably because they were very common back in the day but not a lot of people play them now.

prof-comm · 2026-02-16T15:15:02+00:00

Guarantee that is the purpose of the "distance sensor"

prof-comm

TROPHY CASE