There's no reason to be afraid, J.T. The people at your last job, especially your then-boss, were idiots. He/she clearly doesn't understand the SFF genre, especially since AI cannot improve it. By commenting on things he doesn't know, your previous boss clearly showed that he/she is jealous of your achievements and a pretentious, moronic twat. "Look at me! I know so much about SFF! Blah blah blah!" You have ten times the talent for writing, in your little finger, than your previous boss ever had or ever will have. Your current workmates sound like a good bunch. As for sharing your achievements with the board ... well, you can't please everybody, so you don't have to. I think this will make you look good to your boss and to the board, so don't be nervous! Yay! New shiny! Speaking of which -- I'm part-happy (Yay! ) and part-unhappy (Boo! ). Last May, I bought myself a little fan heater from Coles, a big chain Supermarket, for $25. This thing had a 12-month warranty and worked fine until a few days ago. It broke down, it's obviously out of warranty, and it's winter. BRR. I took it back to Coles last night, and they said to come back today, when the manager would be in, and he would be able to override the policy and refund my money, since it's only a month out of warranty. (OK; I was a little surprised at that, but that's fine. Money is money). I came back today, and the manager wasn't in (surprise, surprise), and the person I spoke to said I should call the support line. Sigh. Fine ... I can call the support line tomorrow (Monday), since I'm WFH. But what am I supposed to do in the meantime? Shiver? So, I went to a home goods store and bought myself a new (and better) heater, plus a new home phone. (Yay, new shinys! ) I'd be surprised if Coles will do anything for me, but I'll give it a try anyway. Like I said, money is money. If they say no, oh well. But I'm very surprised that this thing stopped working not long after the warranty expired. Grumble. What made it even worse was the fact that the whole run-around -- trying to return the old heater, going to buy the new heater and phone, testing them to ensure they worked, disposing of the old phone (and pausing in the middle for lunch) -- took nearly seven hours. Sigh. There went my Sunday!
I can understand the anxiety you feel. You and your writing are joined at the hip. In a past life my work; not writing; received some recognition. I am not a people person; dealing with shows, clients, and money made me at 20 years in, just walk away. So it was either a starving artist dealing with the multitude, or a starving tomato grower/fisherman. When you put your work out in public; you are along for the ride as well. Here's hoping you have great trip!
So happy. Sang- not trilled/bubbled- a D6 (D above High C) a few weeks ago and even with the new technique from my singing teacher, it's still there! And actually sounds better thanks to the technique. YAY!
Yes, it is. It was quite unpolished and shaky, but it was there. All my high notes started out that way. The real life goal is E6, like the last note sung in Phantom of the Opera. But I will be happy if D6 is the highest I can go. Because that's still the general max cap for Broadway songs. (Andrew Lloyd Webber is a MONSTER for putting E6's in Phantom. But that's what makes it sound so great. I love that play and him.) (Picture Above: https://www.bigcomposer.com/module/lectures/notation2.pdf)
Cool. I'm not familiar with the piano/choral style of denotation, but that makes sense to number the notes across the 8 octaves. When you say D6 I think of jazz chords with the B (sixth/thirteenth of D) coloring in the spaces. So I'm assuming then that middle C is C4, which puts the guitar between E3 and E7 depending on the number of frets, so I'll take your high D and raise you an octave! Easy for us guitar players, who live in the upper register if we're smart and let the vocalist handle the middle and the bass player hold down the low. Red Hot Chili Peppers are the best example of this. Anthony Keidis has a great voice but no range. Like, literally zero. But Flea and John Frusciante often left a three octave gap between their parts so he could slide down the middle lane with an empty octave on either side so they could move around without crossing into his register. Righteous and the Wicked is a good example of that--you could drive a combine harvester between the bass and guitar. It also has that crazy cool breakdown (the praying for a better dayyyyy part) where Frusciante plays those descending triads while Flea colors them into dominant and diminished 7th chords. Pretty much anything you want to know about harmony can be found in those few measures.
Funny, I am not as familiar with guitar and chords. So I guess we're even. Anyway, yes. Middle C is C4. And ugh, I looked up Anthony Keidis' voice range and was like.... that's 8 notes. Ouch.
I love Chili Peppers. I do, but I feel John Frusciante and Flea finally outgrew Anthony Keidis around Stadium Arcadium. The two of them continue to grow and innovate with their compositions while Keidis is still randomly throwing in fun but clumsy raps far better suited to their 90s work. Just my opinion.
I'd agree. You can probably say that about a lot of singers. The development path is... shorter? And the voice definitely gets worse with age, unlike instrument prowess. Save for arthritis, guitar players almost never get worse.
Voices. First I lost my high D. Then I lost my high C. Then I lost my patience and said the hell with it. I don't have any desire to pick up my 12-string guitar after so many years, so I bought a baritone mountain dulcimer when I was in the Ozarks in April. July is the first month in years that I don't have 10,000 things scheduled, which makes it dulcimer time.
Yeah, it's in D. I like D. What is it with people and D? My husband always griped about me liking D. I had them for a lot of decades. What I really regret losing is my mind.
Hmmm. Not sure. It's got an F# and a C#, relative minor is B, dominant is A, it's only the second step on the circle of fifths... all very popular and comfortable things in the guitar world. Maybe it's not comfortable in his world? He was in the orchestral/big band world, right? Ask him, please. I'd love to know. I'm only recently versed in the higher-ish jam of music theory and my newfound proficiency gets me into trouble more than it gets me out of.
Meanwhile, I recently reached a steady-as-a-rock D2 not long ago. I'm pretty happy about that. It is ... satisfactory. *puts that in his pipe and smokes it* I don't have a singing teacher, and I'm not a true bass; I'd have to reach a B♭2 for that. OTOH, having performed for 20 years, my range is now nearing 3 octaves, which is pleasing.
"Gripe" was the wrong verb. "Tease" is a better one. I suppose I favored D because it was suitable guitar accompaniment for my voice. He teases me about it, but I'm not sure why it is tease-worthy. I will ask him. He is one hell of a flat picker guitarist when he's in practice in addition to having orchestra/band/choral ensemble capabilities, so I doubt the key of D is a matter of discomfort. His first bachelor's degree was in music and he continued to perform and take lessons while he studied for his second bachelor's in geology. He absorbs musical knowledge like a sponge and (more amazing to me) remembers it all. I taught myself guitar in junior high school. Once upon a time, I did a pretty good job of reading choral music, but I'm out of practice. I wasn't faced with music theory until I picked up a cello in my early thirties. Whenever I ask my husband about something musical, I am careful to preface the question with, "In twenty-five words or less..." to avoid getting far more than I'm capable of absorbing.
Haha. Nope. Same with my teacher. He'll be like, well, if the bass player is hitting the G you're forming the dominant 7th but if he's on the A flat you're on the diminished 7th unless the piano has everyone in mixolydian which flats this chord but not that chord....
That's so amazing! Congratulations! Honestly, you may be a bass, because you are in that range. I know I didn't consider myself a soprano until my teacher was like, "uh, yeah you are. Because a mezzo's range ends here. And you're up here."
Hmm - I might be a bass, but OTOH, I can easily sing baritone, and I can also sing almost the full range of a tenor 2. I'm jealous as hell of basses who can reach a B♭2, though. The floor is shaking ... Anyway, what made me happy? Last year, after nearly 12 months of tearing my hair out and trying to think of a topic for my next novel (and thinking of two, but abandoning them after running into insuperable difficulties), I finally settled on a rough plan for the story. And it took me nearly 13 months to write the outline and the beat sheet, because I had to keep changing and rewriting the plan, because I kept coming up against logical errors and contradictions. But having said all that ... after a very long planning-and-rewriting-and-tearing-up-and-replanning-and-cursing-at-the-fershlugginer-thing-and-rewriting-it-again-etc. stage (phew! ), I finally finished my beat sheet, and outline, for my next story, and earlier today, I wrote the first chapter in about three hours!!! I put so much effort into the outline and the beat sheet, the actual chapter more or less wrote itself. I'm so excited to be back in the game. Yay!!!
77,500 words since 16th May, and finished with my first draft. I need to go back and really work on it, but for the first time in years I've completed a novel. Awful, sudden endings and all. Very proud, but do need a break from it!
Congrats, Dante Dases! Just wondering: are you "outlining" your novel, or "pantsing" it? (Pantsing, in my experience, takes a much shorter time but produces more problems. It's fine for first drafts, though). Also, are you open to critiquing or critique partners? I have a critique partner and we swap our WIP with each other weekly, to see what's good and what needs work.
