#Lowest f sharp to highest e

[grayscale-sparks]

no way in hell that skip is healthy

[bibookmerm]

singing

trying to get in some dedicated singing 2-3 times per week at least.

this is HUMBLING. also, I'm so frustrated. I have 2 songs where the lowest note is E below middle C, and the highest is a G above it. And I hit both of those notes + everything in between while warming up today, but while actually practicing the songs, again, the highest 3 half steps just were not happening. One is by an alto and the other is a tenor, so they sound different, but are in fact singing all the same notes.

I'm proud of the bits I could sing, I guess? I'm trying to take my wins where I can get them. One song does have a lower harmony in it I can sing for now.

I'm gonna reasearch how I can best recover that little bit of my range, F, F sharp, and G because this is brutalll. I SHOULD be able to sing that, but I let it atrophy. :( When I do manage to sing those notes out, like, doing scales, it does sound good, but I can only make it work half the time.

[Image: screenshot of virtual keyboard. Middle C (C4) is labelled with text and a red dot. Three notes above it (F, F sharp, and G in the same octave) are circled in red. There are arrows pointing to these 3 notes with the text "mean to me!" because they are. End ID]

[musicalinstrumentsworld]

How Many Piano Notes Are There?

The piano, a majestic and versatile instrument, has intrigued musicians and enthusiasts alike for centuries. Central to its allure is the vast array of notes it can produce. Understanding the quantity and nature of these notes is fundamental to unlocking the full potential of this remarkable instrument.

The Basic Anatomy of a Piano

A standard piano is composed of 88 keys. These keys are divided into two main groups: the white keys and the black keys. The white keys represent the natural notes, while the black keys account for the sharps and flats. This simple yet elegant layout forms the foundation upon which the complex world of piano notes is built.

The Range of the Piano

The piano has an extensive range that spans from the lowest note, which is an A0, to the highest note, a C8. This wide range allows for a remarkable diversity of musical expression. The lower notes possess a deep, resonant quality that can add a sense of weight and drama to a composition. For example, in a powerful orchestral piece, the low notes of the piano can mimic the rumble of thunder or the growl of a large animal. In contrast, the higher notes are bright and piercing, often used to create a sense of excitement or to add a touch of delicacy, like the twinkling of stars in a night sky.

The Octave System

The concept of octaves is crucial in understanding piano notes. An octave is a series of eight notes that repeat in a pattern of whole and half steps. For instance, starting from C, the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and then back to C form an octave. There are multiple octaves on a piano. The lower octaves have a more subdued and rich tone, while the higher octaves become progressively brighter and more ethereal. This octave repetition enables composers and performers to create melodies and harmonies that are both familiar and yet can be transformed in different registers.

Sharps and Flats: The Black Key Mystique

The black keys on the piano, which represent sharps and flats, add a layer of complexity and richness to the musical landscape. A sharp raises a natural note by a half step, while a flat lowers it. For example, C# is a half step higher than C, and Db is a half step lower. These accidentals allow for the creation of a multitude of different scales and chords. In a minor scale, the presence of flats gives it a distinctively somber or melancholy feel compared to a major scale. They also enable the modulation between different keys, providing a seamless transition and adding variety and interest to a musical piece.

The Role of Dynamics in Piano Notes

Dynamics play a vital role in how piano notes are perceived. The volume at which a note is played can drastically change its character. A soft, pianissimo note can create a sense of intimacy and vulnerability, as if whispering a secret. In contrast, a fortissimo note, played with great force, can command attention and convey a sense of power and passion. The ability to control dynamics across the range of piano notes gives performers the means to shape a piece, highlighting certain phrases, creating contrasts, and guiding the emotional journey of the listener.

The Relationship with Other Instruments

The piano’s note range and tonal qualities allow it to interact with a wide variety of other instruments in an ensemble. It can blend harmoniously with strings, providing a rich backdrop or adding counterpoint. With wind instruments, it can engage in melodic dialogues, trading phrases and building musical conversations. In a jazz ensemble, the piano often acts as a rhythmic and harmonic anchor, interacting with drums, bass, and brass or woodwind instruments to create a complex and exciting musical texture.

Conclusion

The world of piano notes is a vast and complex one. With 88 keys spanning a wide range, multiple octaves, the addition of sharps and flats, and the crucial role of dynamics, the piano offers an almost limitless palette for musical creation. Its ability to interact with other instruments further cements its place as one of the most important and versatile instruments in the world of music. Whether in a solo performance, a chamber music setting, or a large orchestral piece, the piano’s notes continue to captivate and inspire musicians and audiences alike, weaving a rich tapestry of sound that has endured and evolved over the centuries.

[bittersweetresilience]

jing yuan's theme is bookended by... uhhh... guzheng? pipa? i'm very bad at instrument identification. whatever it is, it's the main instrument i associate with him but it only really features itself during the beginning and ending

meanwhile blade's... xiao? is it a xiao? blade's woodwind is present and carries a melody through the majority of his song, even when it's being outshone by that really loud mara instrumentation

blade and jing yuan share the exact same key until blade's mara overtakes him, at which point he raises by two semitones and never recovers to baseline. the implications... the shrimplications... i'm sick about their relationship...

the renjing key is e minor because they make me emo and blade's mara key is f sharp minor because his sword is really fucking sharp

at the start of the song, blade is very slightly slower than jing yuan, but as soon as the action starts they're both at the exact same tempo and stay that way until jing yuan floats off at the end

jing yuan starts and ends on the octave, but he starts at the highest note and ends at the lowest. 堂堂正正的 boy. does things by the book boy. at the end of the day he's sad though.

blade starts in the middle of the octave and ends on the same low note as jing yuan. or he would have if not for the mara... fuck me

the sound of war drums is like the indication from the commander for the soldiers to go ahead. jing yuan is the general of the luofu and his theme prominently features drums

blade and jing yuan have the same incoming battle leitmotif and they both share the same little trills marking every measure for blade and every few measures for jing yuan

at least until their point of divergence, which is also when both of their other signature instruments come in, which is when jing yuan summons the spirit lord and identifies himself with the xianzhou and when blade succumbs to mara and identifies himself against it

the mix of electronic and traditional chinese instrumentation is shared with the rest of the xianzhou music. and it is extremely sick.

okay your ship is cool but can it do THIS

[onyxedmusic]

music theory lesson 1 - note names, clefs, and the staff

hello hello!! this is the start of my (hopefully weekly) music theory lessons!

todays focus is note names, clefs, and the staff, which are the foundation of western written music.

notes

western music is composed of 12 tones, or notes, which repeat in groups called octaves. when looking at a full 88 key piano, the notes start at A0 and end at C8. C is the "beginning" of each octave, with the octave number corresponding to each note being determined by which octave C is in.

the notes circle from A to G, with additional markings known as flats (♭) and sharps (♯) slightly changing the pitch. flats make it slightly lower, while sharps make it slightly higher. flats and sharps are grouped together as accidentals, and each accidental corresponds to a black key on the keyboard.

each note has a corresponding flat and a corresponding sharp, each with an enharmonic equivalent. enharmonic equivalents are when 1 pitch has two names to refer to it. these include:

C♯ and D♭ D♯ and E♭ E♯ and F E and F♭ F♯ and G♭ G♯ and A♭ A♯ and B♭ B♯ and C B and C♭

notice the orange in that list: why is it that one of the notes in each of those pairings is not accompanied by an accidental marking? this is because there is not room for those notes to be made higher (E, B) without it simply becoming the next note name (F, C). this is seen on the keyboard, as there is not a black key between B and C or E and F.

clefs and the staff

there are 4 main clefs in western music: treble, bass, moveable, and rhythm

the treble clef, also referred to as the "G clef", is the highest clef, and it looks like this:

this is where the staff comes in. the staff is what we call the lines and spaces you see in the above image; those lines and spaces tell you what note name you are playing or singing. the clef tells you what note corresponds with each line and space.

in treble clef, the 5 lines, from the bottom up, are E4, G4, B4, D5, and F5, while the four spaces are F4, A4, C5, and E5.

next is the bass clef. the bass clef is the lowest clef, and is also referred to as the "F clef". it looks like this:

in the bass clef, the lines are G2, B2, D3, F3, and A3, and the spaces are A2, C3, E3, and G3.

these two clefs can be combined into something that is referred to as the grand staff, mostly seen in piano music. it looks like this:

but how are they connected? A3 doesn't connect to E4.

well, that's where these things called ledger lines come in. ledger lines are lines that are added above or below the staff to add more notes. this is a grand staff with notes connecting to each other:

"middle C" is also known as C4, which is how the two clefs meld so seamlessly.

next is the moveable clef, or the "C clef", which is a bit more complicated. the moveable clef looks like this:

the notes in the clef are determined by which line the center of the clef is on, and that line is always C. here are the most common examples:

the most commonly used moveable clef is the alto clef, which is pictured in the center. the viola of the string family reads in alto clef; the other clefs are not used nearly as often.

the final clef is the rhythm clef, which looks like this:

this clef is used for unpitched percussion instruments, such as the snare or bass drum. there is no actual staff, as there are no notes or pitches to be identified, only rhythms.

i hope this was helpful and/or enjoyable!! if you have any questions, feel free to ask them!!

[meltwonu]

| 🍒 CH-CH-CHERRY BOMB! 🍒 |     [CHAPTER 19]

pairing; dom!seungcheol x camgirl!reader

this chapter’s notes; camshow, powerbottom!seungcheol, brat!seungcheol, dom!reader, restraints(handcuffs), sex toys, dirty talk, degradation, dumbificiation, spitplay, yall the way i be using DDD like i’m guy fieri in this bitch ☠️ dkjfhdskh Also, merry christmas if you celebrate it!! Happy holidays!! Be safe, enjoy your day~💕 I’d say this is my gift to yall but I update every friday, I just so happen to be uploading on christmas LOL Although, Cherry Bomb has been a gift to write 🥺!! One more chapter after this, I can’t believe it... But also first chapter of DD next week 😳 Hehe~ as always, inbox roundup this weekend! Enjoy ch 19 and have a great weekend everyone!! ❤️🍒💕

chapters; 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - x

“Hyung… Are you… Okay?”

Seungcheol drops the set of skates in his hold; eye twitching when he turns to face both Seokmin and Jeongguk who stare back at him with a concerned gaze. “You haven’t moved from this spot in the last 15 minutes, Jeongguk was starting to get worried… And honestly, me too. You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Or three.”

“I, uh, yeah, I’m good.” Seungcheol laughs it off, shaking his head and letting out a deep breath he didn’t realize he was holding in. “It’s just… Well, I don’t wanna spoil anything but I’m just nervous for tonight.” He bites his bottom lip, remembering when you’d posted the notice to your homepage that basically sealed in the plans you had for him and really, what he had in store for you too.

The two younger males share a look, eyebrows raised. “Whatever’s got you this nervous must be good ‘cause you literally just zoned out and turned into a mannequin for 15 minutes. It was weird!” Jeongguk laughs; half in nervousness for Seungcheol and half in amusement. “Me and Seokmin snapped a few pics too. For posterity.”

Seungcheol rolls his eyes before he picks up the pair of skates again, “Okay, okay, enough with the teasing. Get back to work before Namjoon-hyung sees us all over here!”

“We could say the same to you!”

“Interesting setup…” Seungcheol mutters, eyes glossing over the vibrator, pink fuzzy handcuffs, and cockring that are neatly lined up on the bed. “Should I be concerned that this looks a little too normal?”

You laugh under your breath as you readjust your bra strap one last time before easing onto the bed yourself; patting the spot next to you. “Nah, trust me, it’s not gonna be that crazy. Now c’mere, we only have 10 minutes ‘til we need to start and you’re just standing there fidgeting like we’re about to fuck for the first time ever.”

“Damn, we should’ve done a show with a corruption kink or something.”

“Hey, it’s never too late!”

artist8hao: this looks relatively normal considering the notice

kitty_junjun has donated $75

gc__koo: yea… and considering how i found hyung earlier

alphagyu97: ???

alphagyu97: wdym

gc__koo: mans was a statue 

xcaliburDK: yea it was weird, it was like he was possessed 

sleepy_wonu: wait u work with him too??

therealchan99: wait is that why u almost quit?

xcaliburDK: can we not talk about me right now thank u

universe_WZ has donated $75

angelhan has donated $100

artist8hao has donated $50

“Well! Aren’t you all a lively bunch tonight!” You giggle softly, wrapping an arm around one of Seungcheol’s as he tenses up under your touch. “Seungcheol’s so tense tonight! Can we get some words of encouragement for him before we start~”

gc__koo: ayyyy my man its gonna be ok

hoshi_tiger_xx: think of it this way, any of us would pay to be in your position rn

tangerine_kwan: l i t e r a l l y

chwenon: its not like ur getting pegged 

chwenon: right

Seungcheol’s cheeks bloom a bright pink, wide eyes meeting yours as you laugh loudly. “Wait, is that what the vibrator is for ‘cause I--”

“No, no, no! Seungcheol’s not getting pegged tonight, okay?” Grinning, you ease off the bed and make your way towards the nightstand as Seungcheol watches you from behind.

You grab the item, smiling as you hide it from Seungcheol’s view for a little while longer.

“See, when we, really just I, decided to do this back to back camshow for the last time, I really wanted to try something new, y’know? But nothing too far out there ‘cause I didn’t wanna push our boundaries too much.” You move your hand, flashing the object in front of Seungcheol’s face as he raises an eyebrow.

“A gopro?”

Nodding, you show it to the camera, “Mmhmm~ The quality is gonna go down a bit but I think it’ll be okay! It’ll be worth it~” You set it down next to the array of toys, winking at the camera before settling in next to Seungcheol again.

You lean into his side, grabbing his arm and putting it on your inner thigh as you moan. “Thought that they’d like a new view of us, y’know? Instead of just the static view that we usually have. Now you can film me riding your cock and get a good view of it for the camera~” Seungcheol smirks as he drags his hand up your thigh; fingertips grazing against your panties as you mewl.

“So that’s the game you wanna play tonight, huh, baby? You wanna film each other up close and personal for everyone to see?”

He can feel his cock twitch in his sweats, already eager to see where this went.

“Well…” You bite the inside of your cheek, face hot as you pry his hand off of you. “Actually, I want you up by the headboard while I set up this gopro. Think you can shimmy up there, ‘Cheol?”

The male nods slowly, shuffling towards the headboard as you turn to the camera. “The stream’s probably gonna cut out for a sec while I set this up but please be patient with me, okay?” Winking, you quickly set up the gopro before cutting out the stream to fiddle with the settings and changing it so that the stream was coming from the gopro instead.

“Ah, good! It works!” You make sure everyone can see you from the smaller device before you’re rejoining Seungcheol on the bed; eyes twinkling with mischief as you hand the gopro to him before reaching for the toys you’d laid out.

chwenon: im rly curious about this

universe_WZ: i know, same

alphagyu97: fuck the angles we’re about to get with this for future shows tho

hoshi_tiger_xx: oh hell yeah

Seungcheol holds onto the gopro, making sure to film you as you hold the vibrator in your hand. “Let’s start with this first, huh?” You don’t waste a second before you’re turning the toy on and pressing it against his clothed cock.

“Oh, s-shit!” He almost loses his grip on the small camera when his body threatens to double over at the vibrations that quickly have shivers running up his spine. “Oh fuck, that’s---that’s so s-strong!” Seungcheol’s hips cant up, grinding against the vibrations when he realizes how good it actually feels.

“Strong? It’s only the lowest setting, baby. Is your cock that sensitive?” You smile; voice laced with a teasing lilt and the pieces start to fall for Seungcheol when you seem to spit his own words back at him.

“That’s h-how it’s gonna be, huh?” He grits out, jaw clenched when you raise the setting to the second highest. “F-fuck, you---”

“What? We’re playing like I wanna tonight, right, ‘Cheollie?” Licking your lips, you lean in close to the camera before your lust filled eyes meet his.

“And tonight, you’re just my dumb little fucktoy that I get to play with, aren’t you?”

Seungcheol tugs against the fuzzy pink handcuffs that keep him bound to the headboard; gritting his teeth when you turn off the toy for the third time.

“Ah, ah, ah, don’t move around too much, Seungcheol. Dumb little fucktoys should be good and stay still, right?”

“Right.” Muttering, he watches as you bring the camera closer to his cock again, filming the vibrator that you tap against the cock head; both covered in precum.

“Your cock is already so hard~ God you’re so fuckin’ easy~” You squirm a little from where you straddle his thighs; already wanting to sit on his cock but also knowing you still wanted to play with him a little longer while you had him underneath you.

angelhan: goddamn she’s so fucking hot when shes the dom???

therealchan99: the way i would pay her to choke me and spit in my mouth

alphagyu97: she could put me on a leash and i’d bark without question

You turn on the toy again, pressing it against his cock as he groans and thrusts his hips up. “Ah! We should use the last toy, before you end up cumming without my permission.” Seungcheol lets out a choked sob at the way you sound so cheery, eyes looking up towards the ceiling while you set the vibrator down in favor of the cockring.

Wrapping a hand around his cock, you work you hand up and down as you smear the precum down his shaft. “Hmm~ Bet you’d cum right now if I just sucked you off, huh?”

“Dunno, why don’t you sink your pretty ‘lil mouth down on me and find out?” He snarkily replies.

You shoot him an angelic smile; one that makes him realize he really shouldn’t have said anything when you hurriedly ease the cockring down until it sits at the base of his cock. Grabbing the vibrator again, you turn it onto its highest setting before bringing it back to his cock and holding it parallel to his shaft. “You’re so mouthy~ You should really be careful with that~”

Seungcheol lets out a sharp, shaky breath; eyes wider than saucers when he feels his abdomen tightening and the pleasure rapidly building up in his body. “W-wait, but---but, ah, h-hold on, it--it feels like I’m g-gonna cum!” He tugs against his restraints as his entire body squirms and thrashes against the bed at the sensations that flood his body.

“Ah, you really are so fuckin’ easy for me, Seungcheol~”

A weird feeling washes over Seungcheol when he feels his cock twitching; mouth open in stuttered breaths as his eyebrows furrow. It felt like an orgasm, but at this point, he can’t even tell. “Wh--what?” He lets out a drawn out groan, throwing his head back against the pillows just as you shut the toy off and toss it to the side.

“I think you just experienced your first dry orgasm, huh? Not so fun being on the other side, is it? Being played with~” You laugh teasingly, readjusting yourself until you’re grinding down onto his cock. instead. “Mmh, I’m gonna use your cock and I’m gonna make myself cum and you can’t do anything about it~ Just my own personal fucktoy watching me get off~”

You take the gopro and set it down right on Seungcheol’s chest, “Don’t move, or else.” He nods once shakily, watching as you lift yourself up and position his cock right at your soaking entrance. 

The two of you share a moan once you finally start to sink down onto his cock but Seungcheol knows he won’t actually be able to cum anytime soon.

chwenon: they rly said VIEWS on this one

gc__koo: honestly, i aint even tryna get off i just like watching knowing hyung is lowkey suffering

gc__koo has donated $100

gc__koo: its like a reward

kitty_junjun: he’ll be lucky if he even gets to cum again lbr

sleepy_wonu: oh how the tables have turned huh?

sleepy_wonu has donated $100

tangerine_kwan: wait but…

tangerine_kwan: if today was her idea and tomorrow is his…

chwenon: uh oh

artist8hao: oh i didnt even think about that

artist8hao has donated $100

artist8hao: for the aftercare funds  

kitty_junjun: dont be too hard on her!!

kitty_junjun: also breakfast on me when ur not too tired

You start bouncing in his lap, loud moans on your lips when his cock curves perfectly into your g-spot.

“Oh, fuh--fuck, your cock is so g-good! Fuckin’ hits me so, hah, d-deep!”

Seungcheol can’t do anything but grit his teeth and let you alternate between bouncing on his lap and swiveling your hips atop his own; jaw clenched tight. “Y-yeah? Your so-called sex toy fucks you g-good? I don’t even have to, ah, do anything, all I have to do is lay here and you’d cum, huh?” He smirks up at you, convincing himself he’s one-upped you when you pout and halt your movements.

He lets out a soft groan when you clench around him and you’re quick to grab the gopro still sitting on his chest before turning the camera towards him.

“Such a bold mouth you’ve got. But don’t forget, you’re the one handcuffed to the bed and you’ve got a cockring on, baby~ I can give you more dry orgasms if you’d like?” You lick your lips, “Be a good little fucktoy and open your mouth for me.”

Seungcheol narrows his eyes before obeying, lips parting hesitantly. “Now, stick your tongue out.” You turn the camera and hold it from the side; filming yourself as you let a glob of spit fall from your lips, directly onto Seungcheol’s waiting tongue.

A shiver runs up his spine when he draws his tongue back in to swallow the saliva, hazy eyes staring back up at you when he parts his lips to show you that he’s swallowed it all down.

“See? You can be so obedient. You just choose to be a brat.”

“Where’s the fun if I make it easy for you? And it’s cute watching you trying to dom me when we both know how much you like being under me.”

You resume your movements, swiveling your hips as you set the gopro back down onto his chest. “Ah, all the things I could do to you right now, ‘Cheol~ We should do this again so I can try some wax play on you… Or, hah, m-maybe even ice play? Since your body is so fuckin’ sensitive. Bet you’d be so fuckin’ cute cumming over and over and whining when the overstimulation starts to bite~”

It only takes a second for Seungcheol to mentally say ‘screw it’ before he uses all his strength to plant his feet down onto the bed and start thrusting up into you. Your body jerks on top of him, surprised noises spilling from your lips at the strength he exerts in his frustration.

“My body’s sensitive? You take one look at me and your panties are fuckin’ soaked.” Seungcheol scoffs, watching as you grab the gopro and set it to the side before it topples off of him. “I might be your dumb little fucktoy today but you’re mine too. My dumb ‘lil cocksleeve that only knows how to beg me for cock. Your pussy was made for me, baby. Don’t forget that.”

The pleasure builds inside your body as you meet his thrusts and for a second, you contemplate taking off the handcuffs and the cockring, but instead deciding to keep them on. Unless he begged.

“Fuck, S--Seungcheol, ‘m g-gonna cum~” You reach down, fingertips on your clit as you hurry to throw yourself over the edge of an orgasm. “That’s right, cum on my cock like the desperate ‘lil cock hungry girl you are.” He growls in frustration; wanting to cum but knowing he wouldn’t be able to unless you took the cockring off.

“Oh god, Seungcheol!”

Your walls flutter around his cock and he lets out a garbled moan at how good you feel when you cum; exhaling harshly at the frustration of not being able to cum with you. “That’s right, bet it feels good with my cock inside your tight ‘lil cunt, huh?”

He halts his movements just as you opt to grind down on him, fingertips still rubbing and pinching at your clit as you ride out your high. “Mmh, bet you wanna cum too, don’t you, ‘Cheol? Wanna, ngh, fill my p-pussy up with your cum like you always do~ But do you even deserve it? Or should I leave you here and let you cool down?”

alphagyu97: the energy we’ve created in the studio tonight

xcaliburDK: i know, holy shit

angelhan: i feel like i'm actually scared for this man im ngl

alphagyu97: if she lets u cum ur a lucky man

You let out a sultry moan; body filled with warmth as the last bits of your orgasm wash over you. “You’ve been so mouthy and bratty but I wanna feel you cum too, so I’ll be nice tonight~”

Smart move, he thinks.

Raising yourself off of his cock, you let out a whimper at the emptiness you feel; pussy clenching around emptiness as you settle back down onto his thighs that are slick with your wetness. “Mmh… On second thought… Why don’t you beg a little? Lemme hear how much you wanna cum~”

He feels his cock twitch and realizes you won’t make this any easier. “Fuck, okay, p-please.... Please take the cockring off so I can cum… I--I wanna cum inside your pretty ‘lil cunt, fuck, I don’t even care if you just jerk me off just---just please take it off! I’ll t-take it easy on you tomorrow, I s-swear!” Seungcheol almost accidentally spoils his ideas for his planned camshow and he quickly bites his bottom lip before he accidentally says too much.

“That was weak but it’s okay. Dumb fucktoys don’t need to think much, do they? Only good for being used like a toy~”  You pout mockingly at him before you’re easing the cockring off of him and Seungcheol lets out a guttural moan when you immediately wrap a hand around his cock and start jerking him off.

“You weren’t very nice with your words tonight so you’ll cum with just my hand.”

“Fu--fuck, that’s fine, just let m-me cum, please!”  You work your hand up and down his shaft, giggling when you already feel his cock throbbing in your hand when you run your hand from the base to the tip.

“Cum for me, Seungcheol~”

He lets out a small whine, eyes clamped shut when he finally cums and for the first time in his life, he feels himself momentarily black out with how hard his orgasm hits him. Ropes of cum hit his chest as you work him through it, alternating the tightness of your grip on his cock as he whines and moans in return.

“Ah, you’re cumming so much this time~ You’re making such a mess!” You tease.

Seungcheol can barely hear a word you say through the ringing in his ears once his orgasm starts to ebb away and he feels himself slump against the bed as he catches his breath.

His chest rises and falls in deep breaths and he feels you leaning over him to undo the handcuffs; tired sighs on his lips as he tries to focus on you through bleary eyes. He can feel his entire body twitching and he swears his arms have. gone numb from being handcuffed to the headboard. “You’re gonna get it tomorrow, I swear…” He mutters, no real threat to his tired words. 

“Hey, you said you were gonna take it easy on me tomorrow!”

“Yeah, well...” 

tangerine_kwan: yo im excited to see the sequel to this

gc__koo: i have some… ideas

gc__koo: things r falling into place

gc__koo: my brain is expanding

hoshi_tiger_xx: i feel like its gonna be intense lol

xcaliburDK: knowing hyung…

xcaliburDK has donated $100

xcaliburDK: if u call into work on monday i wont even question it

“Here, you need to drink this, ‘Cheol!”

The said male groans as he tugs a pillow into his arms, already on the brink of sleeping when you finally end your camshow. “But ‘m tired…” He whines. “Can’t we just go to bed and clean up in the morning? The cum on my chest is already dried, it won’t get on the sheets.” You roll your eyes in return, sitting next to him on the bed.  

“Oh, so now you’re being a big baby? I’m just trying to get you to drink some water and we need to get you at least a little cleaned up for bed. You can’t go to bed like this, y’know. And anyway, we need to be in top condition for tomorrow show too. We gotta get cleaned up and eat a little something.” You laugh under your breath, shaking your head as he only whines harder. 

“C’mon, I always do it for you, right?”

He nods only once before he’s sitting up tiredly; a shaky hand reaching for the glass of water you hold out to him. You immediately take notice of the slight redness around his wrists, pouting as you help him finish the glass before setting it down onto the nightstand.

“Your wrists got so red from the handcuffs, ‘Cheol… You should’ve said something if it hurt, I would’ve taken them off…”

Seungcheol grins at you, eyes unfocused with sleepiness. “Who said it hurt? I didn’t even feel that in comparison to that horrible dry orgasm you made me experience. God, it was like… Like when you have a dream but it feels real until you try to grab for something and realize you can’t?”

The two of you share a laugh as you help Seungcheol off of the bed so that the two of you could properly get cleaned up before he flopped back down onto the sheets.

“Yeah? Trust me, that wasn't even the worst I could’ve done! You’re lucky I took it easy for my first time!”  

[hoopdiddies]

I'm Not Over You// Ben Hardy x Reader (10.1)

A/N: The last part! Here you go! Thanks for supporting the entire series, guys. Means a lot ♥ ♥

Summary: A wedding brought you apart and it will be a wedding that will bring you back together

Warnings: Microscopic angst and FULL ON FLUFF

WC: 3k

Tags: @haendel-me-with-care

@mrsdoradominguez-barnes

@mickmoon

@lakef

@mrsmazzello

@valeriecarolinaw

@queen-turtle-boiii

@loveandbeloved29

@hazme2

@boherahpsody

Parts: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

"What- I thought Gwil- never mind, did I hurt your shoulder?" You stumble over your words and he chuckles, the curve his red lips are sporting making your insides melt.

"No, you didn't."

"Oh thank heavens. Sure I didn't add to your injuries? " You had to say it but luckily, he shakes his head good-naturedly and seems to have shrugged off the issue. "I'm okay now. I've been for so long actually." At least you've got the conversation going, against the odds of you doubting that it might've ended up awkward with how long you haven't been in touch. You smile crookedly and rub your arm, sighing profoundly to say another word but as you open your mouth to do so, Ben beats you to it. "What about you? How've you been?"

You shrug. "Same old but tortured...and pissed...at Joe...for doing me injustice like that." He rubs the back of his hair and cocks his head to one side. "Oh? Tell me about it."

You give him a brief, speculative look– thinking that it's a miracle you're talking normally like you haven't kissed each other the day you left him lamenting on a hospital bed, been in contact for an entire year and made love with your eyes during the ceremony– in that order.

You snap out of it and look around the busy reception. "I- well-"

"To make it easier, let's head out for a walk on the beach, shall we?" Ben steps aside to let you leave before him and you tuck a tendril of your hair behind your ear, nodding as you walk ahead. He follows you out and you glance over your shoulder, looking past him and seeing Joe wiggle his brows at you from their table– to which you widen your eyes in annoyance and a little gratitude.

Your walk has been graced with the twinkle of a thousand stars and the calm splash of the evening waves against the shore. You've let your hair down from the tight bun you've put it in and taken off your sandals to traipse along the water while Ben remains along the dry sand to stay practical– not that you aren't. He just has his shoes on while you're holding onto yours.

You haven't strolled far from the party with the lamps spanning from the vicinity within the reception still present as you tread along. You've told him all about Barcelona and your studies and everything else concerning your life there; so far it's been good and jolly. He's taken a new project and is in the process of filming, something you've congratulated him on as well– the previous one being his full recovery and you didn't bother to bring up the prior events to that, it might just lead to something you'd lose your voice to talk about. It's a relief that you are able to share a few laughs in between, something you thought wouldn't be possible anymore. You haven't talked to each other like this is ages.

"I guess we're both working our fingers to the bone." He chuckles and stops in his tracks to enjoy the breeze. You involuntarily mimic his stance and stand semi-still on the water, tossing your sandals onto the driest part of the sand.  "I guess. Business before pleasure they say."

"Well my business is my pleasure so it seems like it only applies to you." The smile on his face widens thoroughly and you scoff underneath your breath, swinging your leg back and forth, creating mini splashes. "Excuse me, it applies to neither of us. I love working for something I know will finally lead to my dream."

He hums and bends down to pick up a pebble, casting it smoothly against the water and makes three skips. "It just occurred to me that you never once told me anything about your dream to become a doctor or anything." You give him a fleeting smile and shake your head, crossing your arms as you begin admiring the sky. "If I had told anyone, it wouldn't come true."

"Seriously?"

You raise your hands up briefly in defense and let out a chuckle, bending down to pick up a pebble to skip as well. "I'm living proof that it's effective, you should try it sometime." While you cast your pebble and watch it skip, he studies you intently and with great focus, drawing in a sharp breath before taking off his shoes to join your spot in the shallow water. He sets it aside and stands next to you, lifting his gaze up to the sky and then to you as you take in the cluster of stars dotting the heavens.

The gleam in your eyes as you beam at the starry view puts him under a spell and you sense his piercing stare, encouraging you to catch his fixed look. "What is it this time?"

He gulps, his mouth going dry. "I've sent you a message a couple of weeks back. Never got a response from you..."

You angle your head to one side amusingly. "I replied? Maybe you just don't check your inbox that much- and wait, I changed my number, how did you-"

"Our boy, Joe."

Of course. Joe really needs a new girl in his life, he must be exhausted from being such a mediator.

"And yes, I don't check my inbox a lot. Busy as a bee lately." He adds with a defeated smile present. You weave your fingers together, keeping your vision limited to the horizon yet sensing his eyes penetrate through you.

A little shy to let him see your blush creeping up your cheeks, you tear yourself away from his gaze and sigh inwardly. "I know that look somehow."

"For the third time asked in this lifetime, would you care to finish the dance we had at the after party? A dance to satisfy all the dances we never had the chance to finish. "

Your mouth shamelessly hangs like an attic door with loose hinges at how he was able to remember that. You recall his attending physician say that there would be no risks of amnesia or any sort of memory loss, although he shouldn't be able to recall minor details.

But then your dance wasn't a minor memory.

Ben's still waiting for your answer and you recompose yourself from the jaw drop, stuttering in the slightest as you speak up.  "Uh y-yeah. I mean, we never get to finish dances, am I right?"

Without tethering himself from taking your hand in his, he draws you close to him, the movement of your legs making small ripples and swishes in the water. You can't keep a firm eye on him and as he understands your uncertainty due to how long it's been since the pair of you have closed a distance, he manually positions your arms around his neck, putting a little forethought into snaking his hands around your waist to ease you into it again.

"Hey, like old times, right?" He cajoles softly and you look up at him.

"Like old times." You repeat after him and find it easy to stare into his eyes again, once more submitting yourself to the metronomic beat of your heart. He initiates with light sway, feeling the crashing waves beneath your feets put an effect to how you're moving. With you studying every detail of his face adoringly, you notice the small yet noticeable scar on the near left of his forehead; a small residue of his injury. You frown as you reach up to trace your finger smoothly across his scar, your heart breaking at the memory of that night.

Ben takes notice of your flitting expression and cups your cheek to alleviate the worry you've put yourself in at the sight of his scar. "Hey, hey. Don't worry about it, I'm okay now."

You hang your head apologetically, chewing on your bottom lip with the urge to bring up what you wanted to suppress out of guilt.

"I'm sorry if I left you like that. At the time you really needed me the most, I scrammed and ghosted you for an entire year. I broke my promise, your arm and a small fraction of your skull," as inappropriate as it is to laugh a little at it, you let it slip past your lips anyway to give it a stretch and lighten the weight on your shoulders, "and it's all thanks to Joe for making up that worst case scenario."

Joe did say you'd hurt him on every possible level– ranging from physical to spiritual. Though you didn't afflict him physically per se, your carelessness on the highway did. "I'm so sorry, Ben, for letting my emotions get in the way of what we had. Our friendship. You loved someone else then and being in a way cursed with unrequited feelings, I-I had to distance myself."

He assures you with a loose smile, twirling you under his arm and leisurely pulling you back to his body. "Every bit of it is alright. I had sworn on the day we met that I'd protect you with every fiber of my being and I should be the one that's sorry. All you ever did was love me," he stares down at you intimately, lifting your hand to his lips and kissing your knuckles, "though how clueless and unbearable I was," a kiss to your wrist, "through all my complaints and nasty fits," a kiss to your cheek, the sensation making you giggle slightly, "through my clumsy tendencies, " a kiss to your nose, "through all my mood swings after a bad day on set," an elongated kiss on your forehead, parting away deliberately before flicking his eyes to your lips and back to your Y/E/C orbs. He gulps audibly at how he's asking you for permission to do it. "When I couldn't return that love to you because I was blind enough to let Rosy stay. For loving me...in both my lowest and highest."

He's risking a few inches in but you can tell he's holding back. You slacken your arms from his neck, little by little dropping them to your sides as his green eyes finally overwhelm you.

The corner of his eyes crinkle as he smiles, breathing out the words you've long waited for. "You've held my heart in your hands even when you were miles away and though you won't be staying for long, I'll always be waiting." In the same way you had when you left, you tip your head back to let his lips meet yours only this time it doesn't take him by surprise. Your lips don't move against each other for a few seconds and you pull away, breathless.

His green eyes are wide yet flecked with awe, unruly brows lightly creased together with small strands of his combed back, blond hair falling into them but they soften as the smile on his face widens. "You're not with Joe, are you?"

You chuckle, shaking your head and heaving out a defining exhale. "I never was. You're not with Rosy anymore, are you?"

He shakes his head as well and it appears the blissful grin on his face won't be coming off anytime soon.

"Long done. I love you, and you alone."

You'll be blaming him later for the ear-splitting grin now etched on your face.

"I love you too, Benjamin."

He throws his head back in relief and lifts you up in his arms, tilting his head back as he savors the full feeling of your lips on his, the kiss gradually becoming open-mouthed.

As if on cue, the fireworks meant for Rami and Lucy come launching up into the sky and bursting into bright colors, the sparks raining down and vanishing into thin air shortly after. Cheers of the people emanate from the party as Lucy and Rami share the same kiss from outside at the same time you and Ben are. You pull away with unridable grins on your faces and share the magical sight of the fireworks lighting up the night sky with no other disturbances to ruin the moment.

"You think they'd start wondering where we are?" You hum with your head rested against his chest. He kisses your hair and smiles as he tightens his hold around you, revelling deep in the moment.

"They'd get the idea, babe. They'd get the idea."

Lucy was right, Ben has always been your soulmate; the three dances you've had in your lifetime somehow always brought you back to each other. Hopefully the one you just had will be the one that will never tear you both apart ever again.

You've yet to thank Joe for tricking you into thinking that it was Gwilym he wanted to spin you off to.

How magical is that tape you used to stick the polaroids together?

It somehow pieced you and Ben in the same manner and stood the test of time.

-Fin-

[obliterus]

REVERSE AU//MVA part 1

It’s been a while, but now it’s coming back. Some things have been completely re-vamped, some things have gotten darker and more sinister here. I’m going to begin re-telling the story of this AU on this blog since Shion will be involved, and then offer all other exclusive in-depth character profiles (several key characters that are vital to the plot, and who I want to write again or introduce) on my upcoming multi-muse blog. Since... I’m sure there will be questions and there will be answers. 

                WELCOME TO MY VILLAIN ACADEMIA!

Please enjoy your stay and remember to do your best, because an attempt isn’t tolerated. Let’s get started, shall we?

        Everything that you’ve come to love and cherish, those storybook heroes and their happy ever after endings don’t exist here. This is a story in which raw power and glory run the show and all that heroic bullshit? Well, let’s just say it doesn’t exist! In this world, your abilities dictate your entire life, how you attend school, and even the friends you make! If you’re born quirkless, from the moment you take your first breath, life will be especially hard for you, because you’re as good to dirt in this society. Villains are the top dog here, and your life can only get a little bit better if you entrust yourself into the hands of those with abilities greater than your own. You’re considered a disability to the system if you’re quirkless, you may as well just kiss your life goodbye or die trying! 

         There are no happy endings here, only the struggle to come out on top, and become the best Pro Villain you can. Corruption is encouraged, using your abilities to get ahead and manipulate are all welcomed here, so is physical violence. Not too much though, we don’t need to mop up blood off campus every single hour on the hour. We have a battle arena if you need to fight out your differences, but please book that in advance. Most of your peers will be anywhere between Green and Orange ranking, so please respect them once you encounter them and their ranking. This is the opposite of the hero stories you’ve come to understand, so please make sure you’re familiar with all of the rules and where you, yourself fall! Have a GREAT year!

--

My Villain Academia is an alternative universe in which tells takes the canon storyline and completely reverses it! Yes, that’s right. Everyone you know and love is actually a heartless villain in training in this. I shouldn’t say completely heartless, but they’re pretty close. Also, your heartless canon villains are actually morally wonderful underground Heroes. UA Academy is a school that prides itself on producing some of the best Villains not only in Japan but across the globe. With its excellent selection of courses and rigorous acceptance exams, one can only dream of being accepted to UA. The story is narrated by the resident King of UA Academia, Midoriya Izuku, and his journey in becoming a Pro Villain.

The school is separated into two classes when it comes to the Villain Course, A and B. These are considered some of the top aspiring students in all of Japan. They’ll do just about anything and everything to get ahead, but they will not turn on each other. They are required to work together in some fields because powerful quirk users combined can be a beautiful thing in the face of battle, or in establishing dominance, right? It’s designed to set you on the right path and separate the powerful from the weak hearted.

General Studies is offered to students that have failed the Villain course exam but still have the potential to join the Villain course during the spring of their following year. However, General Studies students can usually be seen in one of two lights: Scrubs and targets, or potential villains based on how students present themselves in those classes. They’re sorted into C and D, and E categories.

Support Course are students that have been gifted with extreme knowledge and craftsmanship. These are the individuals that instead choose to support their future pro Villains along their course by designing weapons that can enhance not only their quirks but their combat abilities. Support students are highly treasured at UA, and often shown an extra level of respect so that villain course students can ultimately get what they want to be made. There is no limit to what they can make, and their stock room is filled to the brim with assorted tools. Some legal, some very illegal. Anything goes when you’re in support course territory! They are sorted into F, G and H categories.

Lastly, but certainly not least, the Management Course. They are the individuals single-handedly responsible for starting a Villain’s career. They deal with all marketing, opening up agencies, and provide a line of direction for newborn villains. They are sharp individuals, with great problem-solving skills and are masters of working the system in their favor. They’re a more isolated group of students, who choose to keep their secrets to themselves. They are sorted into I, J and K categories.

Much of the Discourse that should arise in UA isn’t handled by the teachers but handled by the ranking system that is established among the Villain Course students. It is called The Royal Flush and composed up of a King, Queen, Jack, Ace and Ten of Hearts. Each title is worn by a Villain Course student, and with it, comes specific duties that are to be obeyed around the school. Before I outline who this is made up, I’ll explain how society’s ranking system works based on what type of quirk you’re born with. Or NOT born with.

When a child’s quirk manifests, they are immediately classified into a color that will dictate how the rest of their life will go. Let’s start from lowest to highest! Now, these are subject to change if a quirkless child is a late bloomer and their quirk manifests later, OR an individual that was already sorted has a quirk change or an enhancement in their abilities that calls for them to be sorted into a different classification. This is done by the government in which the person goes through a series of tests to be passed on to a different classification.

--

COLOR QUIRK CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM ;;

QUIRKLESS (Black) If no quirk manifests in a child, they are tapped as black and are donned as a disability to the society overall. They are shunned and mocked, these are the people who have a very hard time finding suitable jobs and education for themselves. They tend to stick together to survive and are virtually non-existing to society unless they do something to prove themselves. A lot of them do the services that many quirk users do not want to do, and this buys them protection and a safe space. The highest suicide ranking is among the quirkless.

LOW TIER (Blue) The weakest on the quirk totem pole. Low tier quirk users are registered under the color blue to signal their ranking. These are the people who are offered the lowest ranking jobs and education. They have a chance to climb up the pole if their quirk changes after they’ve already been tapped as a child. Otherwise, these are the people who are easily taken advantage of and who often deflect for the Hero underground.

MID-TIER (Green) The middle of the pole. Once sorted into this category, I would consider this the middle class of the quirk ranking system. A lot of citizens are mid-tier users. They have the ability to hold decent jobs, can become advisors to higher ranking quirk users, are offered good education, and are respected enough to be left alone. They don’t help the weak if they know what’s good for them and their safety. A lot of UA students are Green users that are trying to advance to Orange if their ability allows, but honestly, being Green is a good thing. It doesn’t get you looked at like the Blues, and it takes some of the pressures of Orange off you.

HIGH TIER (Orange) The second highest ranking on the quirk pole. They are the world’s leaders, offered the highest ranking jobs, exposed to the absolute best education system. The police tend to turn a blind eye to high tier users who act out in society because they are seen as the best of the best. Their power isn’t something to be questioned. High tier users can offer protective services to mid-tier users.

SUPREME TIER (Red) Extremely rare. 5% of the population. These are people that are considered walking Gods because of their quirk abilities. Both feared and praised, they are hunted down for their abilities and turned into lethal villain machines. They can offer protective services to just about anyone they choose and it will -never- be questioned. It is very much a thing that children born and tested as Red, will be registered as Orange and their quirk abilities fairly suppressed.

--

Now that that’s outlined, going back to The Royal Flush squad. The Big Three were the top dogs of UA while they were there, Mirio becoming King in his second year, along with Nejire as Queen and Tamaki as Jack. The Big Three came to dominate the school, they were the people that aspiring individuals looked to for advice. They handled a lot of disputes, while not only increasing their profiles as Villains but also letting people know that they were not the ones to be questioned. Izuku inherits the King title, reluctant to do so after he inherits his ability, None for All, and was now tasked with building his own elite team to wear the Royal titles through the years at UA. Izuku is the only one to become King during his first year.

Who he picks are a total secret, and one you’ll come to discover later on.

Now, what about the Hero Underground? Is there a silver lining in all of this? Of course! The Hero Underground, known as the League of Heroes, is a widespread society that was started by one man, known as All For One. However, in the Villain realm, he’s known bitterly as Robin Hood. He can steal quirks from the most sinister of Villains and gift them to aspiring Heroes who are desperate to try and make society a better place. There have been rumors floating around forever that Shimura Nana has killed him, but in reality, AFO is safely hidden in an unknown location that’s under intense security.

The League of Heroes fights for everyone. They do not discriminate against Quirkless and Low Tier users and are always welcoming to any Villain that chooses to deflect. Once somebody chooses to deflect, they are stripped of their ranking and are considered as good as dirt to society. Heroes are seen as vermin, with their want for equal rights among everyone else and to have quirks liberated rather than controlled by the government and other systems. Hero Agencies exist in locations spread all over Japan, some greatly hidden behind walls, underground, within a maze of tunnels, or through extensive passwords. 

Three misfits, ostracized and hunted for their abilities joined the Hero ranking and own one of the most successful Agencies of all time. (Also a real pain in the ass for the Villains of the society) Chisaki Kai, Todoroki Touya, and Shigaraki Tomura. Three individuals who were born RED, who deflected from villain society and built an Agency from the ground up in honor of liberation.  They are walking messiahs to those on the lower end of the deal, and they’ve already saved countless people. They have dodged great difficulties to get to where they need to be. The question is, the government wants them, but more so have been forced to turn the other cheek. The system is just as much afraid of them. 

They operate out of an office that’s disguise as a Speakeasy, hidden behind a door with a peephole that Touya maintains. Those looking for their aid are given specific instructions to this door, and will only be let in if their password is said correctly. This office also operates as a safe house for those who just are looking to escape the gruesome system they were born into. Welcome to the Hero world! Let Todoroki Touya be your guide. 

--

(Part 1 end)

[exspiravited-a]

//gira is actually really picky about what she wears. not so much in terms of brand (she does lean towards expensive, designer brands, though), but in terms of what it is. she doesn’t like to wear pants. she finds pants to be restrictive and she dislikes having fabric over her legs. despite her average height, her legs are quite long and slender. she prefers skirts to anything else, as long as they dont go below the knee. plaid skirts, solid colored skirts, leather, really anything is fine as long as it’s not too restrictive. she relies on kicks over punches since her legs are much stronger than her fists are. shorts are also acceptable, again, as long as they aren’t too long. she does wear skirts in the winter, no matter how cold it is. with her skirts, she usually wears a pair of leggings. with colder temperatures, she wears fairly thick leggings.

while her body does appear slender, she has a decently large bust. she tries not to wear anything overly revealing at times, while other times she doesnt really give a shit about it (it mostly depends on her mood really). her choice of tops range from v necks, to sweaters. all of it is fine and good for her. colder weather pushes her more towards longer sleeved outfits, though it’s not uncommon to see her wearing a jacket during the summer. in the winter, she often dons a black scarf with her outfit, and at times, black gloves. while a huge chunk of her wardrobe is designer, her bras arent simply because 1. finding her size (e to f) is really REALLY annoying and is usually way more expensive than any of the standard sizes, and 2. there really arent too many designer bra brands that really catch her eye or appeal to her. she has to custom order things anyways if she wants an actual design on her bras instead of a standard tan or white, so she’d rather just put her money there. her body type overall can be described as hourglass, with generous curves around her chest and hips. her arms and legs, while appearing to be somewhat slender, are toned. she has muscle in her thighs and lower legs, and her biceps do appear toned when she flexes.

her shoes are MOSTLY comprised of high heels. the sizes vary, with the lowest being 2 inch heels and the highest being 6 inches. a lot of the heels she owns are black, red, silver, or pink since these colors often go well with whatever outfit she wears. she wears heels all the time when she goes out, regardless of the weather or if the ground is icy. she is a master at walking in heels and can run in any heel she wears that’s under 4 inches. if she needs to run while wearing 5 or 6 inch heels, she will just take them off instead because she doesnt want to break the heel by mistake. the other shoes she has are mainly just combat style boots and steel toed shoes, though she is RARELY seen with these on. lounge shoes typically are just slippers or a pair of really fuzzy socks.

dresses are also a bit of a rarity due to the slight restricting nature of them, though most of the dresses she owns does have a slit for her leg to peek out of. the dresses she wears are slender and accentuate her curves well, though she reserves her dresses for special occasions. most of her dresses are black in color, though she owns a few red ones as well.

when it comes to make up, she does wear it and has the best that money can buy. she’s good at blending eyeshadow colors, and making her eyeliner sharp. she always wears lipgloss or lipstick, both being either red or pink in color. that’s really as far as she goes with makeup, though. jewelry is a lower priority, and all the jewelry she wears is jewelry she’s gotten from others as gifts for her birthday or christmas. 

[musicalmadhatter]

Reading Music, How?

I recently learned that someone quite close to me doesn’t know how to read music, which makes me a bit sad. I’ve been reading sheet music since grade school and playing the Tuba for 6-7 years now, so I thought that most people could do likewise. More surprisingly they have full education, and still seemed to have not picked up this interesting skill.

First comes the staff, which has 4 variations. First being the Treble, second being the Bass, third being Alto, and lastly the Tenor. For the purposes of simplicity, I’ll focus on the Treble and Bass. 

Above is the Treble Clef, the basis of higher toned sections and generally what you learn about first. Notably, the order of notes goes from A to G and counts down the alphabet as you go up the staff. This pattern is the same for all Clefs and the main difference between them is their range of tones or notes. This is important when playing certain instruments, such as woodwinds. The “C” at the bottom of this scale is actually special, named C4. It marks the mid-point between the Treble and Bass Clefs, and is located 1 line above the bass Clef and 1 below the Treble.

The Bass Clef is much like the last Clef, but is shifted by 2 lines relative to the pattern above. While slight, this does make it more complicated to scale notes into different octaves. Octaves are simply the space between 2 notes of the same letter, like A3 and A4, being 8 notes. Side note, the number after the letter just refers to its position on multi-octave scale, the lowest being 1 and the highest usually being 8. For instance, as a tuba player, I usually play in the realm of the 1st through 3rd octaves. 

Next we have the notes themselves and how far they really are from each other. Lets start with C, since its responsible for setting the octave number. From C lets go up to D, this is what is called a full step. This is the same for D to E, but not E to F. E to F is a half-step. Then F to G, G to A, and A to B are whole steps and B to C is a half-step. While they look equally spaced the real distance is expressed in accidentals. These are just the measure of if a note is distinctly too high or low pitched, while remaining stable. In the case of a whole step there is middle note between the 2, but in a half step the difference simply skips right to the next note. To show this difference in tone you use a “#” for sharp or higher notes and “b” for flat or lower notes. For example an A-flat would be written Ab. 

These accidentals are extremely common due tot he use of scales. Scales are a set of directs for how notes should be played throughout a section of piece. There are many of them, ranging from 0 flats and sharps to 7 flats or sharps. Here’s couple to look at.

That covers a good chunk of the basics or reading music, although there is much more. Perhaps I’ll cover keys signatures and some of the miscellaneous symbols at a later date. Anyways I hope you learned something and I’ll be writing more some time next week.

[guitarcontrolonlineguitarcourses]

Epic Sweeping Arpeggios With Tapping

Guitar Control presents instructor Darrin Goodman with an Epic Sweeping Arpeggios With Tapping Lesson. Be sure to get the tabs so you can easily follow along with this killer free Epic Sweeping Arpeggios With Tapping guitar lesson.

Introduction

Hey everybody how’s it going? This is Darrin with GuitarControl.com bringing you this video lesson and today I want to show you some Epic Sweeping Arpeggios With Tapping that just uses an arpeggio and then one note that we’re going to tap. So I’m going to show you how to do it as a major shape and I’m going to show you how to do it as a minor shape and this is a movable shape. So we’re going to be doing it with the D major and we’ll do the shape with D minor, but it’s a movable shape so you can just move it around wherever you want. This is just a nice neutral place where the frets are a little closer together to make it easier when you’re first starting it, but not so close together that everything’s cramped. So be sure to click on the link so you can get the tab so you can follow along with this Epic Sweeping Arpeggios With Tapping lesson. Let’s get close up and take a look at what we’ve got going on in this Epic Sweeping Arpeggios With Tapping.

The Arpeggios

All right so the first thing we’re going to go over for this Epic Sweeping Arpeggios With Tapping is just the arpeggio shapes themselves. So these are arpeggios that are based just off of the first five strings so we will not be using the low E in these shapes, we’ll just start on the A string and ascend up to the high E and then descend back down to the A string.

Major Arpeggio

So let’s first let’s look at the major shape for Epic Sweeping Arpeggios With Tapping, these arpeggios are in the root position meaning that the lowest note is going to be the root note, so in this case it’ll be a D and then the next note will be the third and the next note will be the fifth. So for those of you that don’t understand what I’m referring to is when you play a major chord or a minor chord it is what is called a triad, so it has three notes, so it’s the for the major it’s the first, third and fifth notes of the major scale and then for the minor we just take the third and flatten it a half step. So in root position they are in that order the lowest note is the root, the middle note is the third and the highest note is the fifth. So you have also what are called inversions where you mix that up, but we’re not going to get into that today, we’re just going to look at these root position. So we’re going to start off here on the 17th fret of the A string, which is D, and then 16 on the D string with your third finger. So I’m using my fourth finger for the A string and then my third finger for the D string and then my first finger is going to go to the G string on the 14th fret, so that’s D, and then we have our third which is f sharp and then our fifth which is A. Now moving on to the B string, now we’re back we’re up to the 15th fret, I’m gonna use my second finger. So we’re back to one again here we’re on D again, so we went one, three, five, one and now to the high E, we’re at the 14th fret, first finger and that’s our third to the 17th fret with our fourth finger, that’s our fifth, so one, three, five, one, three, five. So the first thing you’re going to want to do is just memorize that sequence.

Now like I said it’s a movable shape, so the reason that this is D major is because we’re starting here on D, so if we moved it down to the 12th fret, that’s an A and we did this same shape, now we’re playing in A major. Okay so that’s for our major shape for Epic Sweeping Arpeggios With Tapping.

Minor Arpeggio

Now let’s look at our minor shape for this Epic Sweeping Arpeggios With Tapping. Now like I said the only difference between the major and the minor is that the third is flattened a half step. So here we’re going to start off the same place on the 17th fret of the A string fourth finger and now when we move to the D string. Instead of going to the 16th fret, because that’s our major third, we’re going to go to the 15th fret, that’s our minor third. So now we’re going to use our second finger, so the A string 17th fret, fourth finger, to the 15th fret of the D string with my second finger, to the 14th fret of the G string with my first finger and then back to the 15th fret of the B string with my second finger and now that’s our one again. So our third before was on the 14th fret, but now it’s minor, so we’re flattening it a half step, so 13th fret of the high E with your first finger, 17th fret of the high E with your fourth finger. So the first thing you’re going to want to do is just memorize those two shapes and get them to where you’re not having to think about it so that just like you have a good muscle memory of what the shape is for Epic Sweeping Arpeggios With Tapping.

Sweep Picking

Now what we want to do is we want to take a look at what we’re doing with our picking hand is doing in Epic Sweeping Arpeggios With Tapping. So for this we’re doing the sweep picking technique. So what that means is that we’re starting on the A string and we’re doing a down stroke from there and then we go to the D string it’ll be another down stroke. So what you really want to do is you want to is when I hit the A string with the down stroke I let the pick come to a rest on the D string and then when I play the D string I let it come to rest on the G and so on and so forth. So it’s you don’t want like several down strokes like that. You want one long continuous down stroke. Now since there’s two notes on the high E, if you wanted to pick all of it you’d be down, down, down, down, down and then an upstroke when you go to there, but what I generally do is I just do a hammer-on, so I’m down, down, down, down, down, hammer, pull and then when we go back the other way, it’s up, do the same concept, so we’re going to pick and let the pick come to a rest on the G string and then when we pick it let it come to a rest on the D string and then let it come to rest on the a string. Okay so getting the sweeping technique down is probably the most challenging part of this, so if you already know how to do this, then you know this will be pretty simple, but if this is a new thing for you I really recommend that you put in some time, really focus on that go nice and slow so everything is that one motion.

When I first tried to do this I just didn’t think it would be something I’d ever be able to do, but just like all things in life, anything that’s worthwhile you have to work for it, just like this Epic Sweeping Arpeggios With Tapping lesson.

Tapping

Okay so now for the Epic Sweeping Arpeggios With Tapping what we’re going to do now is we’re going to add in one more note on the high E. So we’ll start off here with our major shape. I do that hammer-on and now I come up and I tap the 20th fret with my middle finger on my picking hand so that way I can still hold the guitar pick. So ascend, tap, pull, pull, and descend. Now as you can see when I come over here I do the tap and then I come back to pick. So sometimes you see people are doing it up here, you know they’re picking up higher so that way they don’t have to move their hand back and forth. While there are some things that I think that could be really good and beneficial for, as a general rule I think it’s a bad idea because you really want to be able to get back into the correct place. So we’re tapping that 20th fret which is D, so we are we’re just starting the process over again, if you had more frets you could like slide up to the third or whatever. So if you play this in a lower place on the neck you could actually do that. Now when we go up here the last note in the arpeggio is on the 17th fret and then we’re tapping the 20th, so that’s one, two, three, four, five frets away. Now you’re going to want to remember that so that way you can play this in a different key. So if I try it here, in A, starting on the 12th fret; one, two, three, four, five, seventeenth fret and it’ll always be that same space. So if you wanted to do that other thing I was talking about you tap 17 then you’d slide up to the third, which is two whole steps away, so the 21st fret, then back down and pull-off. So I would really recommend working on it the way the tab shows just to get that down and then you can spice it up and add some other stuff in there. Okay so now let’s look at the minor shape. So for the minor shape it’s the same idea, starting here on 17 again and again I’m tapping the 22nd fret because that is our tonic, that’s our root note, and from there one, two, three, four, five frets away just like with the major, so it’s really the same thing. Now I know that sounds a little bit strange to play a major and a minor back and forth rooted from the same place, but this is a really good way to practice this and get it down for this Epic Sweeping Arpeggios With Tapping lesson.

Conclusion

So I hope you enjoyed Epic Sweeping Arpeggios With Tapping and you got something out of it. If you like this video be sure to give me a thumbs up leave a comment down below if you like the video and if there’s something that you’d like to see covered in a future lesson. Be sure to subscribe to the channel and hit that notification bell so that way you won’t miss out on any of the content that we put up weekly.

All right and that is all I have got for you today. Thanks for watching Epic Sweeping Arpeggios With Tapping and have a great day.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this article and please remember to check out our entire database of videos here GuitarControl.com

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[illicitfifths]

The relationship between counterpoint and orchestration

Sometimes, orchestration can either mask or exacerbate voice leading issues. This post is going to explore some examples in Brahms and Tchaikovsky.

Consider this example from Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta:

Look at the outer voices for the first two beats on the page. The lowest sounding notes are first D (in the cello), and then C (in the viola, which jumps underneath the cellos!). As this composite bass line moves from D to C (albeit in different instruments), the melody (in the clarinet and corno inglese), moves from (concert pitch) A to G. Those are technically parallel fifths, but Tchaikovsky “hides” them by having the viola jump underneath the cellos. Tchaikovsky uses this technique extensively in his orchestration. Rather than stacking all the instruments in order from lowest to highest, he frequently has them cross, putting the clarinets between a low and a high bassoon, having low horns fill in a chord between tuba and trombones, etc. This is a general technique of the Russian School of orchestration, that results in a pleasant mix of timbres. Read more about this in Rimsky Korsakoff’s Principles of Orchestration.

Notice that also in the final bar of the above example, the composite bass line starts in the viola on B-flat, and then the cellos “continue” that line with an A-flat. Against this motion of B-flat to A-flat, the melody in the first flute and oboe goes from F to E-flat, again generating parallel fifths. Above the cellos and violas, the violins engage in some acrobatic voice leading, crossing and exchanging notes. This is tangential, but Tchaikovsky’s use of the violins in such a matter strongly suggests that in his time, the two violin sections in the orchestra still sat split on the left and the right, rather than lumped together to the left as they are in many modern orchestras. By passing lines between the two antiphonal violin sections, Tchaikovsky was creating a stereo effect. The best example of this is the final movement of his Symphony no. 6. If the violins sit split, then the descending line from F-sharp that starts in the second violins gets passed back and forth between the two sections.

Back on track, I must confess that in the previous bar in this same section of Iolanta, Tchaikovsky presents the same material, but this time has unapologetic direct parallel fifths between the bass line (which does not jump between instruments, but just stays in the cellos), and the melody in the flute and oboe.

Why? It’s hard to say. But I think that Tchaikovsky had a keen ear for overall orchestral sonority, and he valued the spacing of chords and the mix of timbres of any specific situation above strict counterpoint and independence of voices.

Later in the same passage he again writes direct fifths by keeping the bass line in the cello rather than transferring it between the cello and the viola. It’s really hard to say why he uses the orchestration to split the bass line in some situations and doesn’t in others....

To demonstrate Tchaikovsky’s priority of spacing and timbre, consider another example. This one from Onegin.

Going into the third bar of this passage, the bassoons have direct parallel fifths. Tchaikovsky could have avoided this by having the first bassoon on A-flat, resulting in a line from A-flat to G-flat, or by having the F as written descend to E-flat. But notice that the bassoons interlock with horns one and two, and double horns 3 and 4 (which resolve without parallel fifths). The overall effect on the ear is not offensive in the slightest, perhaps because the specific timbres of the instruments on these specific notes blend well.

This is admittedly a very subjective process. When does it sound better to avoid parallel fifths? When does it sound better to prioritize the spacing and timbres, even if it generates parallel fifths?

Consider this example from Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem:

Going from the second bar into the third, we have a German augmented sixth chord that resolves to a dominant “5/4″ chord (in figured bass notation). This is usually a no-no. Because the bass of the German augmented sixth almost always resolves down by a half-step, the voice a fifth above the bass cannot also resolve down, so German sixths usually resolves to dominant 6/4 chords. However, in this situation, Brahms does something very Tchaikovsky-esque. Bassoon 1 leaps from a B-flat to an E-natural, as does oboe 1. Similarly, clarinet 1 leaps down to the concert E-natural, from D; only the flutes approach the E parsimoniously, from below, which does not generate parallel fifths. Whereas Tchaikovsky masked his parallel fifths by passing them between two different instruments, Brahms passes the composite line “F, E” between two of the same instrument; so one can still kind of hear a bassoon timbre playing “F-E,” an oboe timbre playing “F-E,” and a clarinet timbre playing “F-E.” However, because the flutes resolve upwards to the E, and they are the outer voice, I don’t think the parallel fifths in the middle timbres are very apparent. In some sense, passages like these represent the tension between the “letter of the law” (not writing parallel fifths between two instruments), and the “spirit of the law,” (maintaining independent contrapunctal lines instead of “power chords.”)

What do you think? Do you like how these passages sound?

[plastic-mold]

Quick Tips Regarding Reinforced Plastics Molding

Reinforced Plastics Molding

The term “reinforced plastics moldings,” as used here and in the plastics industry, refers to parts produced by impregnating a reinforcing material, in the form of cloth or mat, with a liquid thermosetting or thermoplastic resin, laminating the material into multiple layers, and curing with heat and pressure to form a dense, hard solid. It does not include materials discussed later as “high pressure laminates, which are available from stock as flat sheet, rod or tube.

Materials. Resins used for reinforced plastics moldings include polyesters, phenolics, epoxies, melamines and silicons. Reinforcements include cloth or mat made from cotton, glass, asbestos and nylon. Glass reinforcements are most commonly used. Recently, there has been much interest in reinforcing thermoplastic resins, such as vinyls and acrylics, with cloth or mat made from thermoplastic synthetic fibers such as nylon. However, the bulk of reinforced plastics moldings today utilizes thermosetting resins. Contact molding-A low cost mold is used. Layers of reinforcing material are placed by hand against the mold surface; and resin is added, either by spraying or brushing after each layer is located. After sufficient layers of mat or cloth have been saturated with resin, they are allowed to harden without external application of heat and without applied pressure. Vacuum bag molding-Procedure is similar to contact molding except that when lay-up is completed, flexible sheeting, usually polyvinyl alcohol, is placed over the impregnated reinforcement and a vacuum is drawn between the sheeting and the mold surface. This provides about 12 psi pressures on the part, permitting higher glass content. Pressure bag molding-Similar to vacuum bag molding except that a tailored bag is placed against the sheeting, and pressure is applied inside the bag to expand it against the impregnated reinforcement (sometimes pressure is applied directly on the sheeting). Pressures up to 50 psi are usually used, making high glass contents practical. Sometimes the entire assembly is placed in a large autoclave that contains hot air or steam at 50 to 100 psi pressure (“autoclave molding"). Flexible plunger molding—A metal female mold is usually employed and glass and resin are placed in the heated cavity. The plug portion is made of medium hard rubber, and is the approximate shape of the part to be molded. The rubber plug provides uniform, high and fluid pressure. High glass contents are possible. This method is not practical for large moldings because of the high pressures and the limitations of the flexible plunger. Vacuum injection molding—Two molds, often made of glass-reinforced plastics, are used. The

reinforcement is laid between the two molds and the resin is poured in a moat around the bottom. The resin is then sucked by vacuum up through the reinforcement. This tends to give air-free parts, and is used primarily for large parts. Glass contents arc usually low. Matched die molding-Can be used for parts up to about 60 sq ft in area, and is generally used for high production runs. Uses two metal molds which have a close-fitting, telescoping area to seal in the resin and trim the reinforcement. The molds are heated (with steam or electricity) to about 240 F. Where the length of run is sufficient’ this method gives the lowest cost moldings and the highest production rates. Design rules

Designing molded reinforced plastics parts is difficult because of the large number of variables encountered in the material and the process, and the difficulty of controlling some of them. These variables include: - composition of the resin, including fillers, catalysts and gardening agents, - geometry of the reinforcing material, - resin-reinforcement ratio, - degree of saturation of reinforcement by resin, and - temperature and time of cure. The cardinal design rule, which cannot be overemphasized, is: consult the custom mold maker in the primary design stages. In addition, follow these general design rules: - Integrate parts. - Make prototypes. - Mold to dimensions; parts cannot be “sprung” after they are molded. - Use stress formulas valid for fiber-reinforced plastics. - Know the conditions of use. - Consider effects of the molding procedure. - Use sandwich construction for maximum strength-to-weight ratios. - To increase rigidity in stressed areas: a) increase the glass loading, b) use unidirectional reinforcement where practical, c) place flanges and lips on edges, d) use ribs, corrugations, beads and dimples, e) increase wall thickness, f) use curved sections rather than flat areas where possible, and g) use sandwich construction. - Avoid drastic changes - Avoid sharp comers; - Use maximum draft. - Avoid undercuts. - Consider use of molded-in holes. - Consider mold shrinkage. - Design to practical dimensional tolerances. - Design to avoid warpage. Read the full article

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The Complete Guide to Music Key Signatures

What is a Key Signature?

Have you ever noticed that at the beginning of some pieces of music, there is often a group of sharps or flats before the music even starts like this?

Key Signature

This is an example of a key signature. A key signature is a symbol at the beginning of a song that tells us which piano noteswill be sharp or flat for the rest of the song, but even more than that, it tells us what scale the song got its notes from. With the above example, we can see that every B, E and A in the song will be flat. The scale that has 3 flats (B♭, E♭ and A♭) is E♭ (E flat) major, so the key signature is actually telling us that this song was created using the notes in the E♭ (E flat) major scale. Cool, right? I knew we learned all those scales for a good reason!

Why is it important to know what the Key Signature is for a song?

Not only does the key signature help you understand which sharps and flats to use in a song, it can also help you to understand what chords you might encounter while playing the song. Since each “key” or “scale” has certain sharps or flats associated with it, there are certain chords that are also associated with each scale. For example, C major scale doesn’t have any sharps or flats in it. So when you are playing chords for a song in C major, the chords won’t have any sharps or flats either.

C Major Chords

These are the chords that are most commonly seen when playing a song in the key of C major. As you can see, there are no sharps or flats in any of these chords. They are labelled by number based on what note of the C major scale they start on. When playing pop songs, we often will see these chords labelled like this: C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, Bdim. In other words, if you are playing a song in C major (which has no sharps and flats) and you see a chord labelled “Dm”, you can easily figure out how to play it on the piano by building a chord with D on the bottom and simply playing only the white notes on the piano. This is one of the reasons why knowing your key signatures is so important.

Where does the Key Signature come from?

A major scale sounds like it does (do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do) because it is built of a pattern of tones (T) and semitones (S). This pattern operates kind of like a recipe. If you follow the recipe of tones and semitones, any scale you build will sound like a major scale. A semitone is the smallest space between two notes. On the guitar, each fret is one semitone. On the piano, a semitone is the space from one note to its next closest neighbour (either a white note or a black note). A tone is simply two semitones put together. Here is the C major scale as it looks on the piano.

C Major Scale Intervals

Notice the pattern of tones and semitones: T, T, S, T, T, T, S. Let’s apply this recipe to build another scale by starting on another note. Why don’t we use the E♭ (E flat)  major example from the key signature example we used at the beginning.

E Flat Major Scale

If we start on E♭ (E flat) and move up one tone, the next note in the scale will be F. Move another tone, and we are on G. Now it is time for a semitone. This puts us on a black note which we can either call G# or A♭ (A flat). Since we already have a G in our scale, we need to use A♭ (A flat). We can only use each letter name once in a scale. After A♭ (A flat) we move a tone which brings us to B♭ (instead of A#). Another tone after B♭ (B flat) brings us to C and then we move another tone to D. Finally, the last semitone in the pattern brings us back to E♭ (E flat). So, the notes of the E♭ (E flat) major scale are: E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭, C, D, E♭. If we look back to the key signature at the beginning, we can see that it has 3 flats notated: E♭, A♭ and B♭, just like our scale! Key signatures are like a short hand symbol to represent these different scale patterns.

Key Signature Rules

There are a few key signature rules to help us:

There is only one major scale for every key signature.

Major scales use either flats or sharps but never mix the two.

The highest number of sharps and flats you can have in a scale is 7.

The order of sharps and flats follows a specific order and that order never changes.

When writing key signatures, the sharps and flats are always written on specific lines/spaces. For example, the F# in the treble clef will ALWAYS be on F♯5 (F sharp 5) (the highest F) and not F��4 (F sharp 4) (the lowest space).

The Order of Sharps

When you are working with key signatures involving the order of sharps, the sharps always occur in a specific order. A good way to remember the order is the mnemonic Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle. When you have a scale with one sharp in it, that sharp is always “Father” or F♯ (F sharp). A scale with 2 sharps would have “Father Charles” or F♯ (F sharp) and C♯ (C sharp). The key signature with 3 sharps would have “Father Charles Goes” or F♯ (F sharp), C♯ (C sharp) and G♯ (G sharp) and so on. Here is what the sharp key signatures look like. Notice which lines/spaces have the sharps:

The Order of Sharps

The Order of Flats

When you are working with key signatures involving the order of flats, the flats also occur in a specific order. To remember this order, take your “Father Charles” mnemonic and say it backwards: Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles’ Father. Just like with the sharp scales, if you have a key signature with one flat in it, it would be “Battle” or B♭ (B flat). Two flats would be “Battle Ends” or B♭ and E♭ (E flat) and so on. Also like the sharps, each flat is on a specific line/space. Notice that E flat in the treble clef is ALWAYS on E♭5 (E flat 5) and not E♭4 (E flat 4). Here is what the flat key signatures look like:

The Order of Flats

How to use The Circle of Fifths

Now that you understand how the sharps and flats work, it’s time to learn how to figure out which scales have which key signatures. To do this, many people use the “Circle of Fifths”. The Circle of Fifths is the way these key signatures are organized. It is based around the principle that each key signature is the interval of a perfect fifth away from the next. For example, if C major scale has no sharps and flats, then if you move up by a perfect 5th, you should find the scale that has one sharp. That would be G major. If you go up by another perfect 5th, you will find the scale that has two sharps. That would be D major. For the flat scales, you start with C major and go down a perfect 5th to find the scale with one flat. That would be F major. Here is a diagram of what the Circle of 5ths looks like:

Circle of Fifths Key Signatures

How to memorize The Circle of Fifths

Confusing, right? Many musicians have just learned to memorize the key signatures because the Circle of 5ths just seems too complicated. Here is an easier way to figure out the major key signatures. To do this, all you need to remember is the “Father Charles…” mnemonic and that C major scale has no sharps or flats.

Start counting your sharps on the word “Charles” to represent 0 sharps for C major. Now add one sharp as you continue through the words until you come back to Charles, which represents C♯ (C sharp) major and its 7 sharps. Another handy trick is the saying “C is all or nothing”. C♯ (C sharp) major has all the sharps and C major has nothing.

Let’s use the same trick for the flats using the “Battle Ends…” mnemonic.

Just like the sharp key signatures, you start counting from “Charles’” or C major, since we know that C has no flats. In this case, it just takes a little farther along the mnemonic to reach “Charles’”. Notice that all the flat scales actually have a “b” beside their names except for F major. In this way, F major is “funny”. It is the only flat scale without a “b” in its name. Also, notice that in the flat key signatures, C is still “all or nothing”.

What about Minor Key Signatures?

Not all songs are written using major scales/key signatures. Have you ever heard a song or chord that sounds “sad”? That song is probably written using a minor scale/key signature. Don’t worry! You don’t have to learn a whole new set of key signatures for minor scales. Minor scales actually just hijack the key signature of a major scale. They are like musical freeloaders.

Rules for Minor Key Signatures:

Every major key signature has a minor scale that shares its key signature.

We call these major/minor pairs “relative” majors/minors because they share the same notes just like relatives share the same genes.

To find a minor scale’s key signature, you simply go up 3 semitones to find its major relative.

Use this house diagram to help you figure it out:

Minor Key Signature

 The Sad Story of a Minor Key Signature

Once upon a time, in the house of 0 sharps/flats, there was a happy scale/key signature that lived in the top of a house where life was good. It is sunny up there and things are happy. But if you went down 3 semintone stairs, you would find yourself in the basement of the house. It is darker down there and a little depressing. In this basement, lived a sad relative called the relative minor. They didn’t have their own key signature, but had to borrow the one from their happy upstairs relative.

Since both key signatures live in the same house, both scales have 0 sharps/flats.

Using this house, we know that C major is the scale that lives at the top of this house because it has 0 sharps/flats. If you go down 3 semitones from C, you will be on A. So, the minor scale that lives in this house is A minor. A minor scale has 0 sharps/flats. If you play from A-A on the piano using only the white keys, you will notice that the scale sounds a little sad.

Now you’re ready to go! Using these helpful hints, you should be able to figure out any key signature that comes your way.  Speed up the music theory learning process with a professional piano teacher at Merriam Music, Canada’s #1 Piano School.

Key Signature Chart

We have put together two handy key signature charts for both Sharp Major Scale Key Signatures and Flat Major Scale Key Signatures.  Use these charts as a guide to helping you learn to identify major Scale Key Signatures as you progress in your journey learning music theory.

Key Signature Quiz Materials (PDF Download)

When you feel comfortable that you are able to start identifying most of the key signatures you can download the worksheet PDF document “Major Key Signatures Quiz PDF – Questions”, print the document, and fill in your answer under each key signature image.  When you finish that you can download the PDF “Major Key Signatures Quiz PDF – Answers” to review you answers and see how many you got correct.

Download: Major Key Signatures Quiz PDF – Questions

Download: Major Key Signatures Quiz PDF – Answers

The post The Complete Guide to Music Key Signatures first appeared on Merriam School of  Music

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[asfeedin]

What is ISO (and how to use it) in photography

In recent weeks, we’ve covered two of the three basic elements of creating a proper exposure in-camera—aperture and shutter speed—so let’s take a closer look at the third and final corner of the “exposure triangle,” known as ISO.

While your aperture and shutter speed settings will determine how much light enters your camera, ISO refers instead to the sensitivity of your film or your digital camera’s ability to capture light. In some ways, this is an oversimplification, but it works well for conceptualizing this term, especially in the beginning.

For most of photo history, ISO, and formerly ASA, served as a measure of “film speed.” Popular films frequently have their ISO values in their names. Kodak Ektar 100 has an ISO of 100, while Kodak Portra 400 has an ISO of 400, and so on. On film cameras, there’s usually a wheel that you can use to set your ISO to match the film you’re using.

Higher film speeds require less light to get the same exposure as a slower film.

The higher the number, the more sensitive the film will be to light. Fujifilm Fujicolor Superia 1600, for instance, requires much less light than Lomography Color 100 does to get a good exposure. More sensitive film stocks are called “fast films” because they don’t need a long exposure or a wide-open aperture to create bright photos.

For digital photographers, ISO works similarly. For convenience, the numbers are the same on your digital camera as they are for film, with common ranges varying from around 200 to 1600, though some cameras offer ISOs as low as 50 and as high as three million-plus (it’s true).

A higher ISO results in brighter images. The photo above was created at ISO 12,800.

Common values include 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, etc., with some cameras offering 1/3rd stops in between. You can usually change your ISO in your digital camera’s menu, though some models have designated ISO buttons. When we refer to a camera’s “base ISO,” we’re talking about the lowest native ISO setting; for most cameras, it’s usually around 100 or 200.

If you keep your other settings the same, changing your ISO will have a direct effect on how bright your photo is, just like it did in the days of film. ISO follows a simple, linear scale: ISO 800 is twice as sensitive (and requires half as much light) as ISO 400, which is twice as sensitive as ISO 200, and so forth.

You don’t need a high ISO to shoot in bright light.

For simplicity’s sake, let’s say you need a fast shutter speed to freeze motion and a narrow aperture for a wide depth of field. Maybe you’re photographing a sporting event or a bird in flight. You want everything in focus, without any blur, and as a result, you’re letting very little light into your camera.

If you’re shooting outdoors with lots of bright daylight, it might be possible to get a good photo with a lower ISO, but that same situation could easily result in underexposed images if you’re shooting indoors in low light. That’s where a high ISO comes into play, allowing you more flexibility in terms of shutter speed and aperture.

Concert photos are often shot at high ISOs due to low light. The one above was made at ISO 6400.

Similarly, for concert photography, you might be photographing a wedding at an indoor venue or a concert at night—everyone’s moving around, and the light is less than ideal. These are two cases where you’d have to bump up your ISO to brighten your images. If you switch from ISO 100 to ISO 200, you can then halve your exposure time or stop down and still get a proper exposure.

As we know, aperture and shutter speed affect your exposure, but they also have unique “side-effects”: aperture influences depth of field, and shutter speed changes the amount of motion blur in your photo. ISO also has a signature “by-product,” and that’s grain (film) or noise (digital).

Film grain can add texture to your shots.

Film with a higher sensitivity has larger light-sensitive grains, resulting in that “grainy” look that’s so popular these days. If you look at black and white photos from the punk rock era, for example, you’re likely to see a lot of grain. That’s because those photographers were shooting at nighttime in low light with lots of active, moving people; they had no choice but to use a film with a fast speed and larger grains.

On digital cameras, bumping up your ISO won’t result in that textured, nostalgic grain but digital noise. You’ve seen noise before; it’s a distortion that can make your photos look splotchy or discolored. This loss of detail happens frequently with compact cameras and mobile phones because they have smaller sensors; that’s also why they have more trouble performing in low light than, say, a DSLR.

Landscapes with a long exposure time can generally be shot at lower ISOs, resulting in less noise.

If you view your photos at 100% or print on a larger scale, any noise issues will become apparent. This can be especially tricky with landscapes and large-scale portraits meant for exhibition. Luckily, modern cameras are getting much better at handling noise at higher ISOs, and post-processing software is also getting smarter about reducing noise as well.

As a general rule of thumb, though, you’ll want to keep your ISO as low as possible to avoid getting noise in your photos and degrading their quality, but as with aperture and shutter speed, it can be a subjective decision. You might love the grainy look you get with an old high-speed film like Ilford Delta 3200 Pro, and that’s a valid artistic choice.

Faster films produce more grain for a gritty, nostalgic vibe. The image above was shot with ISO 400 film.

On the other hand, if you’re shooting a portrait outdoors, there’s no need to introduce noise when you can just adjust your shutter speed or aperture to let in more light. Your choice of ISO depends on the conditions of your location, your access to additional light sources, and your style overall.

In low light, you might need a higher ISO.

For documentary and street photos, for example, it might not be necessary to avoid grain or noise completely—and adding grain can even add grit and texture—but for commercial product, portrait, and still life photos, you’ll want to keep your ISO low to preserve the highest possible quality.

Similarly, if you’re able to use a tripod for landscape photography, you’ll have the flexibility to use a longer shutter speed, so you might not need to boost your ISO at all. If, however, you’re shooting the milky way at night and want to get sharp pin-pricks of light rather than star trails, you’ll need a faster shutter speed, and therefore, a higher ISO.

Night photos tend to require a higher ISO, especially if you don’t want star trails. The photo above was shot at ISO 3200.

By switching to manual mode—or even aperture or shutter priority—you’re giving yourself more control over these three settings and determining the look, feel, and mood of the images you produce. Change one element of the exposure triangle, and you’ll be able to compensate for it using another.

The photo above was shot at an aperture of f4, a shutter speed of 1/6 seconds, and an ISO of 720.

In general, many photographers prefer to set their apertures or shutter speeds first, depending on the depth of field and motion blur they want, and then they set their ISOs at the lowest possible setting needed to get a good exposure with plenty of detail in the shadows. Juggling these three elements will help you get properly exposed, higher-quality images, and ultimately, they’ll also give you more creative license as an artist.

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coronavirus: Hotels may see 20-40% fall in occupancy rates in Mar-May due to COVID-19: Report

Mumbai: Hotels in India are staring at a steep 20 to 40 per cent fall in occupancy rates during the three months ending May as lockdowns due to COVID-19 (coronavirus) escalate, a report has said.

This is two to four times the impact the industry had seen during the 2008 global financial crisis, India Ratings said in a report.

While the plunge in occupancy could be 30-40 per cent for mid-scale and two-star hotels, the same for four-star hotels and above categories could be 20-25 per cent for the next three months beginning March — which is peak season due to summer holidays and weddings, the report said, citing the increasing number of cities going under full or partial lockdowns.

On revenue side, hotels under the four-star or above categories could see 65-70 per cent fall in revenue per available room, while for two-star hotels it could be 50-60 per cent.

“Occupancy rates across hotel categories are likely to fall to their lowest levels in the last decade, materially impacting earnings. The industry in general may face challenges in debt servicing. The crisis comes at the peak occupancy season due to vacations and weddings before the onset of the monsoons,” the rating agency said.

During the global financial crisis, the average absolute occupancy rates fell by over 9 per cent, with the highest fall being 10.40 per cent for four-star and above hotels, followed by three-stars at 8.5 per cent, it noted.

“If we consider the global financial crisis as a benchmark, the magnitude and the impact on the drivers of occupancy rate due to the pandemic is much larger,” it said.

Markets like Singapore, Indonesia and Hong Kong, where the outbreak began in January, have seen sharp decline in occupancy rates — much higher than seen during the SARS outbreak in 2003 when it fell to sub-20 per cent from around 70 per cent in China.

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