A light swoosh is a good way to put it. You can hear it a little bit when they take off and land, but otherwise it’s really quiet. They’re impressively big up close.

It looks so pretty like that. The eagle owls are striking too. Their orange eyes don’t stand out as much as you might think.

That’s an interesting piece, and what a tempo. I had forgotten that Bach (CPE anyway, I forget about JS and the others) wrote those really short piano pieces. Seems like they would take quite a bit of skill to play.

I like the style of the channel you linked. Direct, no fluff, lots of useful info. The kind of thing it’s getting harder and harder to find, unless you already know about it. I watched one of his videos on Für Elise. That’s one of the first songs I remember hearing on the piano, and the first one I tried to play.

I originally just wanted a cheap-ish keyboard so I could learn the pitches for singing. That’s really what I’d love to learn. But the piano is starting to win me over.

What song are you working on? I’d be curious to look for the sheet music on Musescore and try to look for the things you mentioned. It’s one thing to read about it, and another to sit down and try to read/play through it yourself. And then it’s usually easier to hear in other songs too.

Have you learned about this just from piano lessons, or are there other places (online or otherwise) that you go to learn or get inspiration?

Ohhhh. That makes sense and answered one of my other questions too (how do you change keys). There’s probably a lot more to learn about that too, but for now I’m just happy that that clicked. Sometimes you just need the right explanation:)

I was going to write more, but I’ve been up way too long and I gotta go conk out.

I’ve heard that a lot, and I always thought it had to do with lazy talking (not moving your mouth much). I do think that’s part of it, and some people do that more than others.

But the thing about having a potato in your mouth is it pushes your tongue down and back, into your throat. Which is something you need to say the American “r” and a lot of other sounds, like “w” and the dark L like in “pull.” It’s hard to teach, and very hard to unlearn. It’s part of the characteristic American sound.

German is basically the opposite. You can see the difference here, with a German speaker talking in an MRI. There’s a lot of space between the back of the tongue and the back wall of the throat. And here’s a picture of someone saying an American “r”. The base of the tongue is all bunched up in the throat.

Funny, I was just learning about dominants. I think I get the idea of secondary dominants, but the technical language kind of makes my head spin.

I used to think I didn’t have a musical bone in me, but it turns out I do. It pretty much got started because a friend showed me his keyboard that felt almost exactly like a real piano. And let me fiddle with his electric guitar. It just sounded so cool.

Well punned :)

And yeah, I like the juxtaposition when opposites intersect.

Fascinating! Maybe I’ll get a chance to stop by there if I’m ever in Pittsburgh.

It looks so small in that picture, but like a lot of small birds, they know how to project. The one around here is pretty active, and you can tell how far it goes by how the sound changes. It moves pretty fast.

How did you come across a feather? Just luck, or at a rehab center or something?

They’re both pretty. Those big dark eyes. Speaking of night sky, I miss being able to see the Milky Way at night.

I tend to find screech owls a little less cute than some others. I think because they look more angular, which is probably partly because of their coloring (excellent camouflage). This little guy is adorable.

It looks kind of ethereal, with the pale feathers and the light shining through the wings. Great pose.

Interesting! The dark ones are pretty too. Dark critters don’t always get enough love.

Yep. That works well unless you’re cooking at altitude, then an overnight soak is the best and easiest way. Unless you own a pressure cooker.

Some beans you can get away with not soaking at all, just cook them low and slow for a couple hours. I’ve done that with great northern beans.

I didn’t know they came that white. That’s really pretty.

I’m sure people just want to be left be.

For me, it’s mostly just life happening. Getting sick, working a lot, both at the same time. Plus I tend to sort by subscribed > new, and sometimes I miss stuff. Especially lately cause there are a lot more posts. I’ve been trying to come directly here to see what new stuff you’ve posted.

And sometimes I just fall down a rabbit hole. Lately, music theory. But I know what it’s like to put effort into something and not get feedback, and it’s just nice here, so I try to comment more than I would other places.

I have a new appreciation for crows now that I’ve started feeding the ones that live nearby. Their shiny black feathers are pretty, especially when they come close. And they’re really smart.

Were you pretty sure the price would go down, or did you just roll the dice? I’ve watched prices at the places I’ve lived, and they only ever seem to go up. As in, I’m paying $1600, about to get raised to $1800, and the unit next door is listed for $1900. But one place used RealPage, and I would bet the other one used something like that too.

Both ways can work. Looking up words, and trying to guess the meaning from context. I use both, depending on my mood and the situation.

I like trying to guess the meaning because you have to think things through. That helps you remember the answer. Doesn’t matter if you got it right or wrong. It’s not always easy, but it gets better with practice.

You can usually look at the situation and narrow it down to a few possibilities. If my guess seems decent enough to get the gist, I keep going. Usually, you’ll find something that helps you figure out if you were right.

If I see a word several times, I usually look it up. Otherwise, it’s probably not that important (unless I happen to be curious).

And if I look up a word and forget it, no big deal. Happens all the time. I’ll either come across it again, or it wasn’t that important.

It can be slow going, no matter what option you choose. But if you keep at it, you can get to a point where you rarely have to look things up.