What's on your mind now?

[Bob]

[Bob]

How to capture strength(or pushing any edge like speed), and how to make that usable in daily life.  Like more, but permanently (impossible) more and always available.

And how to make muscles springy.

[j_tour]

I'm going to piggyback off Bob here, but it's true. 

After the day job (and thinking up schemes of how to avoid it), all I think about is how to play better pool on seven foot bar tables.

And then I get wound up about playing people who insist on biker's rules/hillbilly rules "straight eight," which of course vary depending on how far up the hill you are against them.

Profound thought of the day:  making a strong closed bridge with your shooting hand, and your weak hand.  Good piano practice.  Better than those little spring gadgets you used to see in guitar magazines and such!

It's not dissimilar from playing at a keyboard.  Right down to the precision intelligence to read a table in real time, and to picture each shot leading two or three ahead.

[anacrusis]

How to capture strength(or pushing any edge like speed), and how to make that usable in daily life.  Like more, but permanently (impossible) more and always available.

And how to make muscles springy.

I have good experiences with either of Yoga, Qi-Gong, or Alexander Technique for more supple muscles if that is what you are looking for. Supple muscles seem to offer more strength/speed with less effort as well, at least in playing the piano.

[Bob]

Proof it's me posting.  This won't display, and I'm giving up on it.    Now the whole post is ruined...

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/InexperiencedDefiantBlackrhino-mobile.mp4


Now it's just awkward.

[Bob]

About 4:33 on this video.

=274

A piano note on the pitch of E... but played 440 times per second.  Do you get the note A?  I've never seen/heard of this idea before.

[Bob]

If I fluff up bedding before sleep, does it all actually stay a little puffed up and I sleep better?  Or did I get better sleep recently due to less stress and physically being more relaxed?  Or, is that a yes on those questions?  If it's just bed stuff, I'd buy all new stuff to get sleep like that again.

[Bob]

[Bob]

Soon...

And the balance of healing vs. stressing.  To make progress, you'd have to stress thing.  But that's also hurting them.  So it's a question of how much to push/stress/hurt if it's both and good and bad and when to pull back to capture progress.

[Bob]

Another piece in place. 

[Bob]

Nice.  A good two weeks.  Two pieces in place.   

[Bob]

https://www.unknownlist.com/2014/09/most-toilets-flush-in-e-flat/#:~:text=If%20you%20drop%20a%20deuce,before%20listening%20for%20the%20tone.

[Bob]

The "f word" has become my default swear word, so now it's essentially been degraded and lost its omph.  I've also lost the level of swear words above that the the f bomb used to hold.  There's no word that I'm going to use at that higher level now.

[Bob]

I haven't heard of this before.

[jacobson747]

Thoughts about Beethoven and his nephew Karl: Beethoven was far from perfect as a person, however.... 

As a child, Beethoven was physically and brutally abused by his drunken father.  Beethoven made up with both his sisters in law in the last couple months of his life while he lay in his death bed.  Karl’s mother Johanna (one of Beethoven’s sisters in law) sat by Beethoven for many days and nights during his final days.  Beethoven left his entire estate to Karl and Karl lived a successful upper middle-class life.  It is true that Karl attempted suicide because “my uncle has tormented me too much”, but I am unaware of any physical abuse by Beethoven on his nephew.

[jacobson747]

Additional thought and possible correction on Beethoven and his nephew Karl after a little research:

From Elliot M. Abramson who cites M. SOLOMON and E. STERBA & R. STERBA:

As it became clear over the years that Karl would not break his bond with his mother,
Beethoven occasionally became physically violent with him. When
ten year old Karl asked for his mother during a hernia operation and
the pain that followed it, Beethoven was deeply hurt. He wrote to
Karl after the operation, disappointed because "so far as [Beethoven
could] see, a certain poison [was] still present in [Karl]." The poison
Beethoven referred to was Karl's love for his mother.

My thought: Karl had a hernia operation.  We are not sure what kind of physical abuse Beethoven occasionally engaged in.

Edit:  My research on STERBA's book: Beethoven and his nephew:

Let's be clear: the Sterbas have an agenda that stinks of sensationalism and scandal. There's absolutely NOTHING in Beethovenia that remotely hints to his so-called "covert homosexuality", particularly in relation to his nephew.

Solomon is of course a great biography.

[jacobson747]

Beethoven – The greatest composer that ever lived IMO!  Until 50+ years after his death, some of his music was thought by many/most to be ugly due to being written by a deaf composer that was not of sound mind.  Late piano sonatas and quartets, Missa Solemnis and Diabelli variations.  Listen to the Grosse Fugue and portions of the Agnus Dei from Missa Solemnis for example.  These works were 70+ years ahead of his time!

Beethoven was brutally abused by his drunken father in his childhood.  Add in the large list of health problems that plagued Beethoven his entire life.  Add in losing his hearing starting at around age 26 and completely deaf by around age 48.  These undoubtedly affected Beethoven’s judgement and help explain his paranoia, illogical thinking at times and strange behavior. These do not excuse his unfair treatment of his sister-in-law Johanna, or his occasional abuse of his nephew Karl for example, but may help explain his behavior.

Beethoven was nevertheless forgiven by his sisters-in-law before he died and was loved by most at the time of his death. His funeral was attended by 20,000 people — about half the population of Vienna's inner city.

[Bob]

Baby steps, persistence, and true progress.

[Bob]

Being stuck in a rut/plateau but being able to back off and refocus.  And being able to mentally keep that in mind, in as little effort as possible.

[Bob]

Too much going on. 

I'm wearing out, which isn't good.  I'm tired.

Losing sight of goals.  Which interesting enough, could be the difference of maybe 30 minutes to an hour of time per day, as a difference.

And variation towards those goals was the idea.  Capacity push, endurance push, etc.

[Bob]

Something more with this idea, although this isn't complete.

Push for capacity.
Push for endurance.

To make progress, that requires stress, a strain, and moving the body into an inbetween zone where it's not healed.  It's damaged.  But if you keep pushing like that consistently, it's overuse.  So maybe on the other slope of the inbetween area, but moving toward more damage... Which leads to more in that direction, eventually nerve pops and loss of mobility.

So backing off is the obvious solution.  Back off, heal, keep/reset form.  Stretch, relax.  Which can also be directions to push.

Seems like I had more of an insight before I started typing though.  It could just be relaxing, an O2 boost with breathing, and conscious control of relaxing the body.  That's definitely a plus for relaxing muscles.  Also for getting that oiled feeling, which is probably just a sign of relaxing muscles in this case.

[Bob]

I wonder if to get to the next level you essentially have to push (push[capacity] and capture the progress/endurance) enough that the results will be chaotic and haphazard, similar to just beginning.  A beginner's environment/results vary.  But maybe just pushing things hard enough would produce a similar effect.  After enough of that, as a beginner or at a new level, maybe it eventually balances out. 

That's also essentially being willing to destroy what you created too in order to improve it.

[Bob]

The balance/need for endurance vs. capacity.  Along with good form/resetting/control and the need to push/damage/stress.

And wondering why things sometimes still just flop.  Possibly from neglect.... Recovering, but too much?  Just not enough practice or not enough pushing?

And the need for intelligent practice.  Although stupid practice does maintain things at least.

[visitor]

spam

[Bob]

Piano Street (then Piano Forum) had dark mode before dark mode was a thing.

[Bob]

If a push for capacity isn't possible because things are worn, you may be in an endurance push. 

[visitor]

Thinking about Sam Barber and his doggo i

[Bob]

[Bob]

If you have a fish that's the kind of fish you eat, and that fish lives in saltwater, is the meat of the fish automatically salty?  They live in a salty environment, so their bodies just have salt in them because of that?  Or would a saltwater fish's body eliminate salt and just a normal body/meat?

[Bob]

My music listening has been reduce down to a cheap radio/cd player.  That's not good.

[frodo1]

Looking forward to spring.

[Bob]

Can I still post?

[frodo1]

Test post:  Testing 1, 2, 3, 4.  Testing 1, 2, 3, 4.

[frodo1]

What's on your mind now? - Lupe

Yes. Lupe. I'm blaming Lupe.

[Bob]

Wondering if there's anyone from Ukraine or Russia here.

[frodo1]

Spring has arrived.

[Bob]

Progress through easing things instead of pushing them but I haven't figured it out as much as I'd like.  Instead of pushing, when things have thinned out from being pushed so much, you can make progress by just not using things, resting up, letting muscles soften, resetting good form, etc.  It's a longer term planning view for sure.

[Bob]

Healing up from resting for a whole day or two.  I'd forgotten about that.

And something about having to take the state of things in mind for determining doing the regular routine vs. a push or ease.

[Bob]

I didn't watch the whole thing and wasn't going to post it, but then I realized who one of the performers is.  He went from this in 2016 to the current situation now.

[musikalischer_wirbelwind_280]

I didn't watch the whole thing and wasn't going to post it, but then I realized who one of the performers is.  He went from this in 2016 to the current situation now.

Once a buffoon, always a buffoon...

I certainly don't blame you for not watching the whole thing.

[Bob]

A static routine vs. pushing or easing.

Except it's probably not really a static routine.  That could be more of a push once calendar time is invovled.

Which means it's more something like this...
hard ease? -- ease -- static -- push -- hard push

And also means it's not easy at all to tell what's a push when calendar time is involved.  It might take a month to notice a push wearing things down.  Or it might even take six months to see a push effect.

In terms of steering, a static routine is easy to think of. 

And then there's varying the routine, but apparently that's more difficult to keep in mind, to keep track of.

[Bob]

Might be something interesting here.  It looks like 101 ear training though.

www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/u0ax1y/practicing_polyrhythm/

[Bob]

And varying a routine so it's a push in a different direction while resting in the first direction.  But how to keep that in mind?  And that a static routine is just neglecting pushes in other directions and is probably atrophying in some unused direction.

[Bob]

I predict.... Russia will do a parade on Monday, but something about it will be really half assed.

[Bob]

Something about recovering, getting back on track, having a plan, finally figuring out how to really push things although that might be more of a calendar time thing....

[Bob]

https://www.businessinsider.com/boris-johnson-brits-should-return-work-distracting-cheese-at-home-2022-5

 

[Bob]

[Bob]

How to breath some life (which would mean new or making true progress) into stagnant workflows.

Answer -- Healing up faster, doing something new, a better way forward which might mean something like fixing form (ease maybe) instead of just a push....

[Bob]

Copying my other post so all the ideas are here.

Taking the status of things in mind, along with the general direction for a push, when figuring out what to do each day.  That might end up being a push.  Or it could be ease or resetting form.  Or it might just be going through the motions, not driving in terms of any plan.  Having things (the path, a plan) slip away a bit isn't great though.


And then potentially just practicing a new routine so alternating a first and second routine is easier.  Not writing anything down with that.

[bwl_13]

I just got covid for the first time... didn't test positive yet but my household has it and it couldn't be anything else.

hit me like a truck despite having all vaccines. I've just recovered from a nerve compression and now don't have the energy to play for another undetermined number of days...

It could be worse for sure, but this has been a hell of a past few weeks. Been listening to a lot of late Beethoven and Schubert.

It's also hard to not see my partner of nearly 3 years. I'm used to seeing her every day and it's been a fair few days.

Anyway, things aren't all that bad, just wanted to get it off my chest. Happy practicing everybody