WTF-Beta

Wow. Some beautiful creations here...

"Position yourself so as to be able to reach both ends of the keyboard without leaning to either side." -- Chopin

I don't see a ballroom . . .

Looks really good. Nice room sizes. I can't get over the price. Why so low? (Up here, much smaller prefabs would be ~150K, nicer ones well over $200K).

@kluurs That's very interesting.

I did play the Polonaise today and got through the whole piece (without repeats due to class time limitations). Before I started, I wasn't sure I would actually make it to the end. So it was productive. Got some good advice.

@kluurs Her 'sits bones' (ischial tuberosities) seem firmly planted on the seat. My fear would be the chair not having enough friction against the floor and suddently flying backwards. (I'd almost wager to bet it's happened to her!).

There's a lot of show in this video, and some music.

I am not shocked.

Yeah, Congress's first job is to uphold the Constitution, regardless what a lot of brain washed fools want. The members of Congress swore on oath to perform their Constitutional duties. If so many people want a different Constitution, there are mechanism for that which do not involve breaking the law or neglecting solemn duties.

That red tree is stunning! I love ones like that. Beautiful!

@ShiroKuro Oh, that's too bad about the class. It goes that way some times.

@AndyD That is, indeed, the one. So beautiful, but Chopin was adamant that it never be published! I've wondered about that a lot. I wonder why? I believe it was his sister and publisher who decided to publish it after his death. There are two more opus posthumous Nocturnes which I'm also learning. All three are very beautiful, imo.

We're a little over half way through now. I've spent up til now on the Nocturne. Luckily, the class is small and we all usually get a chance to play each week. It's been challenging (yay!). The teacher is very knowledgeable (Eastman and Harvard) and has lots of valuable input to contribute. He is all about studying what the composer (Chopin in my case) wrote, and analyzing not only the explicit instructions (if any were given) but voice leading, harmonic progression, etc., in a word: theory. It's tough, but I consider it a gift to get this exposure.

I am naturally inclined to go with "how does this music make me feel" rather than theoretical analysis. Of course a large part of the reason for that is my lack of theoretical knowledge! None of the teachers I ever had could expound at length about the importance of certain chords in context, etc. At times in this class I've felt a tinge of getting lost in the details. And the urge to 'forget it all' and simply play what I feel tugs at me. But I know, somewhere within, the value of thinking about the information being given and trying to incorporate it. It's been a bit of a struggle at times. But it's good work.

I wish I knew more theory. I wish I knew it well enough to let go of it, to transcend it. Because in the end, theory can inform us, but it's not the ends. Making music is the ends.

At the very least, this class has made me think, and exposed me to another way of working on a piece. Not forgetting that analysis is only one facet of approaching a piece of music.

I mentioned last Tuesday that I wanted to give the Nocturne a bit of rest in class (I will play it again before the semester ends) so I expect to play the first Polonaise next Tuesday. That should be fun!

The repukes in congress are responsible for all this. ALL OF IT. They've abdicated their responsibilities to the Constitution and the American people. One man, alone (orange face) can't do all this, it takes a tremendous group effort.

I sit so that I straddle c-d-e at middle c, like you, Andy. Only slightly to the left of d.

That's in the plaza hotel. Very posh. That's a very well appointed condo with a price to match.

Are we a shit hole country yet?

Possible explanation for republicans' ability to remain alive while having their heads so far up ...

As much as I loathe much of what Reagan did, this is a poignant ad, and one which apparently has orangeman in a tizzy.

I see she went for the crown of thorns look.

Another diversion from Epstein and Trump's invasion of blue cities.