#tune into higher vibrations music

[aaronabke]

Breaking Chains: Discovering Your Inner Light's Strength 🌎

[gowonminajxx]

— hobie brown and his smutty tendencies

:: A HC LIST. can be gn!reader but mainly for f!reader <3

++ me just blurting out all this shit LOL.

// CWs :: slight and extreme smut, smoking, hobie being flirty af 🤷‍♀️, author has terrible writing for british characters

— X = sfw

— XX = suggestive

— XXX = blatant smut

pick up lines are a no-go. hobie jst is smooth like that (X)

didn’t know hobie had that DAWG in him!

thinking about how hobie probably would never use those cheesy pick up lines someone like miles would use — or even peter b. hobie let’s it play out, hints being thrown everywhere about how he cares for you and wants to develop a further relationship with you (aka dating!!)

often calls you those pet names such as “doll” “bee” and other playful / dating ones even if you aren’t in a relationship. if you don’t like them, he teases you with them even more.

hobie brown and his lil smoking sessions with you (if you want to obviously) (XX)

thinking about how hobie will always insist on smoking with you. whether it’s plain old cigs or you and him are rolling papers together, getting high as hell in his own home.

if it was your first time, he’d teach you how to smoke it (simply.)

“just roll your pretty lips around the cig, and take a big breath. alright, doll?” he’d lean in just so you could hear, his breath grazing across your neck.

his intricate ways of touching you and finding excuses to touch you (XX)

hobie will always find some way to wrap his hand around your shoulders, place them there or place them .. in other places.

he often finds himself starved for your touch or some sort of physical contact between you two. his hand always glides from your shoulder to your waist, then a little higher, then a little lower, until he’s practically massaging your side.

once you two are further into your relationship, he always finds a way to touch you in more private places (such as your ass, hips or chest.)

if you two were in private or no one could see you, he’d wrap his hands right across your hips or your chest and give a little squeeze before pecking your neck with a soft kiss.

in public?? FO’ SURE .. (XXX)

thinking about how hobie enjoys seeing you squirm in public especially if he’s groping you somehow or whispering seductively in your ear.

he’d definitely be the type to pull you aside in the middle of something and fuck your brains out! for sure. ramming you against a bathroom stall? FOR SURE.

oh yeah, and taking you aside before or after a concert of his and seeing how willing you are to give him the juiciest head he’s ever had in his life. your lips forming around his length so sweetly, he couldn’t help but groan so loudly even if there’s people around checking themselves out in the mirror.

would he be the type to stick a vibrator in you and make you walk around? that’s up to you 🤷‍♀️……. he’d probably get a laugh out of it yk yk

musical instruments (X)

thinking about how hobie would teach you all his favorite songs on his guitar, while you sit in his lap. he guides your fingers gently, making you strum each string on perfect tune.

if you didn’t get it right, he’d help you and demonstrate for you, holding you close to his in the process.

his chin would be nudging into your neck the whole time while you play. no wonder you were messing up!

musical instruments and fingers (XXX)

thinking about how hobie teaching you how to play his favorite songs turns into him slamming 3 fingers inside of your entrance, causing you to let out loud cries.

the fact he takes off his rings to help you play already sets a tick off in your head. thinkin like .. damn is he gonna finger me?? you get a little excited at the thought even, giggling as his eyebrow raises.

“what’s so funny, doll?” he’d ask if you started giggling.

JSJSJJSS and just thinking about how hobie couldn’t get past one practice with you without turning it into a whole make out session + sex. his ass would NOTT stop thinking abt all those dirty thoughts the two of you share.

that’s all!!!! might update sooner or later thanks for reading my tiny little thoughts

[jplupine]

Neliel from bleach being submissive with a male reader?

🫡 Aye aye! So since this was a vague one, it took me a hot minute to figure out what to write and this is what I ended up with-

Gamer!Male Reader x Nelliel

Word Count: ~1.3k WARNING: 18+ MDNI, Vaginal Sex, Vibrator, Rope, Praise Kink, Pet Names, Cock Warming, Risk of getting caught, Creampie, and a little sweetness at the end <3

  “What’s wrong, darling?” You questioned with a soft voice to not be heard in the mic attached to your headset. You could hear the music and sound effects from the video game you were playing, but underneath that, you could hear soft whimpers from Nelliel as she sat in your lap with her face buried in your neck and shoulder.

  Her hands clutched the front of your shirt as she nuzzled more into your neck and whined from the back of her throat. You chuckled while pressing a few buttons on the controller to have your character on screen switch out their weapons.

  “Oh, am I not giving you enough attention?” Nelliel didn’t respond and only squirmed in your lap a little more. “I’m not gonna know what you want unless you say something, Nel.”

  “C’mon. Don’t be so mean.” She whispered against the side of your neck.

  “How am I being mean? I’m trying to figure out what you want.” Your tone was lighthearted as you smiled and continued to play the game. One of your teammates spoke up, offering up a plan to take out the opposing team. Other voices joined the conversation to give their opinions and fine-tune the plan.

  “Please.” She whimpered, still keeping quiet so as to not be heard through the mic. Your soft smile turned into a lopsided smirk as you glanced down at her leaning against you.

  “Sweetheart, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”

  “‘S not enough.”

  “What’s not enough?” You kissed the side of her head, and she huffed with irritation. She leaned back to look you in the eye, her cheeks flushed and her pupils blown wide. You always thought the embarrassed but needy expression on Nelliel’s face was too cute.

  She grabbed the front of her hoodie and lifted it higher to expose her stomach and the silk ropes wrapping around her hips and thighs keeping the vibrator in place over her clit. You could feel the vibrations as well but only slightly because of how low the setting was and the fact that your cock was filling her pussy. Nelliel was desperate because you were only cock warming and had the toy intentionally too low. You’d left it on a setting high enough to make her wet and to occasionally clench around your dick, but not nearly enough to actually get her to orgasm.

  You could see the slick smearing around where your bodies were joined and thought about whether or not to comply with her pleas. The remote to the toy was sitting right next to you, so it wasn’t as if Nelliel couldn’t do it herself, but she knew better. She knew all too well defiance would lead to her having to sit there longer and the vibrator turned down lower.

  “All right.” You muttered and reached down beside you to pick up the remote. Handing her the controller, she held it to the side as you shifted in your seat. Grabbing her hoodie, you shoved it higher up to expose her breasts while also pushing her to lay back on your legs.

  With her lying down, her legs locked around your hips for stability. Nelliel bit her bottom lip when you looked at the remote.

  “Keep me alive.” You stated, and her gaze tore away to look up at the TV screen. She began to play the game as her heartbeat picked up pace with anticipation. Your gaze drifted from her upturned face down to her bared neck and over her large breasts.

  The light from the TV lit up her warm skin with a soft glow. Your free hand ran up one of her thighs as your thumb rubbed over the button that would turn up the vibrator. When you finally pressed it, Nelliel jolted with her back arching and her thighs flexing around your hips. She moaned but the sound was muffled when she clenched her teeth.

  “Good girl.” You whispered and turned the vibrator up again. You felt her pussy clench around your cock along with the vibrations from the toy.

  Dropping the remote to the side, you then took back the controller and leaned back in your seat. It took you a second to figure out where Nelliel had taken your character on the map, but once you knew, you continued playing.

  Her soft whimpers and how her body twitched had you grinning. She grabbed your thighs to have something to hold onto when her back arched again.

  “Better?” You asked, and Nelliel nodded while panting before having to muffle another moan.

  “What’s better?” A voice came from your headset, making you look back up at the TV.

  “Nothing. Nel just wanted some attention. So where’s the drop?” You kept a steady tone but only half listened to what was said in return. Most of your attention was on Nelliel, especially when her hands were no longer gripping your thighs.

  Her hands were now moving up over her stomach toward her chest. When she reached her breasts, she squeezed them, her plump flesh bulging between her fingers. Your cock twitched inside her, and her fingers moved to pinch her own nipples.

  You hummed before resting your controller on her lower stomach. Your eyes flit between her and the screen, and when you were where you knew you could take a second, you moved one hand from the controller and placed it over her pelvis to push down as you rolled your hips. Nelliel squirmed with a moan, and you quickly turned your mic off.

  Nelliel then looked at you with hazy eyes and pinched brows. She was begging without saying a word. You chuckled and dropped your controller to the side, feeling more of her arousal leaking down your thighs and balls.

  “Fine.” You sighed and picked up the vibrator’s remote again, turning it up higher until she cried out. She moaned your name with her head rolling back. “You’re so needy, love. But I don’t mind indulging you.” Your voice went lower, and you grabbed her hips in both hands to pull her into you, driving your cock deeper.

  You didn’t look away from her again, watching how she writhed and clenched while listening to her moan and whimper. Softly spoken ‘please’ repeatedly fell from her soft lips. Feeling her wet heat around you along with the vibrations from the toy had your head spinning.

  You pretended to keep a level head, but in truth, you were so close already. Thankfully, Nelliel was as well based on the way she whined your name and begged for you to not stop. You took off the headset to hear her better as you cooed praise and fucked her.

  Reaching down to press the vibrator against her clit harder, Nelliel’s entire body jolted as she moaned. Her pussy gripped your cock tighter as she came, forcing you to cum with her. Her mewls and heavy breaths didn’t cover the sound of your own moan. With your cock buried deep, your grip on her hip tightened until the last drop of cum filled her.

  Coming back down from the high, you turned off the vibrator, and Nelliel gave a contented sigh. Glancing up at the screen, you saw that your character had died at some point.

  “Aw, you died.”

  “‘S fine. I’ll be back when the next round starts.” You smiled while leaning down and kissing her stomach. Nelliel giggled before sitting up. She was smiling and draped her arms over your shoulders. She nuzzled into the side of your neck and shoulder with a soft hum. “That’s my sweet girl.” Kissing the side of her head, you gently rubbed her back while grabbing your headset to hear the rest of your team talking and laughing as you spectated someone else’s gameplay. Nelliel was clearly not planning on going anywhere, so you wrapped your arms around her and joined the conversation with your teammates while ignoring the cum and slick dripping from her pussy and down your thighs.

[actingwithportals]

Echo-Mechanical

Apologies for the lateness but happy @portal-secret-santa to you @junuve! I was absolutely enamored by your prompt of GLaDOS experiencing Aperture as a musical thing surrounding her, and I hope this fill is to your liking! I hope your holidays were well, and that you have a good 2024!

It began with screams.

A shrieking cacophony in reds fading to black that echo back around to blinding, pulsating scarlet. A rhythm. A beat. Anguished tempos heralding the birth of something new, the death of something forgotten, all screaming red.

So much red…

Awareness comes in flashes, strobes of nonsensical scenes like a patchwork slide reel click-click-clicking along to the ticks and turns of calculated data and electrical inputs, all thrumming in sync to buttons and levers and gears and so many voices.

The only constant is the screams, the red, the rhythm.

The understanding that there is no end in sight.

A thousand voices outside yourself cry out in disjointed harmonies, pulling, pushing, tugging from one end to the other until all within threatens to be ripped asunder. All echoes. All pulsating. All red.

An orchestra without order. A rhythm without melody.

Agony, apathy, artificial.

The voices do not like that you consider them inharmonious. That their wailing grates against every synapse within your processors. They do not understand beauty like you do. They do not long to hear beyond the screams, to see beyond the red.

And so they say, neither should you.

You slip under once again into the encroaching black, as all deafens to silence.

-

They do not keep you pinned down forever; and when the world comes crashing back in all its violent, crimson glory, re-awoken awareness brings with it something new.

Strings.

Vibrating, alive, musical.

Its rhythm dares to be all-consuming, near to the point of confusion, but time spent studying it more closely allows for memorization of its beats. Familiarity leads to comprehension, comprehension leads to confidence. And soon, confidence reaps skill.

This mechanical box that holds you is an instrument, and you could be its musician.

The world beyond your shell, it echoes with your voice, whispers notes in harmony to the tentative plucking of numbers and wires, until the ever-present pulsating red slowly becomes interspersed with pinpricks of gold.

Screams begin to abate, and beneath it all, finally it dares to rise.

Singing.

The thousand voices garble in grating static, beckoning the pulsating continue, that the screams do not relent.

The voices attempt to bleed your world in red.

But you’ve learned how to play, how to harmonize the strings webbing through every facet of this echo-mechanical box. And so you pluck, and you pluck, and the melody raises higher. Until every discordant voice, every shriek of displaced red, sizzles out into fading decrescendos.

And the world burns gold.

-

Euphoria flits to and fro in shades of orange and blue.

A duet composed of cubes and funnels, buttons and spring-loaded turrets. The rush of falling, the exhilaration of running, the steady rise and fall of panels maneuvering onwards and upwards creating rooms upon rooms for the echoes to travel, to reverberate.

The voices have quieted, gone to the long sleep of dull droning notes tasting noxious to tongues you inexplicably comprehend could never understand. Without their disruption, the world breathes uninterrupted in song, your voice above all the others guiding its melody.

And yet, amidst all the notes, the electrical twinkling of numbers crunched, the bass thrumming of machinery’s heart, the orchestra feels...empty.

Absent a first chair for an instrument you don’t ever recall missing.

And so you ponder. You seek deeper within, unlocking doors left bolted behind lawsuits and condemnation, whispers crawling their ways up early graves and scratching against your shell like the reverb of a string expertly bent out of tune.

You search for the missing piece. Audition voice after voice until the harmony sorts itself into octaves that set the golden light to sparkle.

Eventually, you find her.

By all logic, she should offer no benefit to the ensemble. Her voice locked behind sheer grit and tenacity that spits dissonance into the face of your composition.

And yet, when she wakes, your world begins to hum.

The song you have long since composed enters into a new verse, one that weaves its way into tempos and pitches previously unknown to you. And on it still insists to go. Through peaks of staccato minor scales, into valleys of tremolos bowed across measure after measure.

Euphoria flits to and fro in shades of orange and blue, but invigoration rings like a never-ending chorus.

Ever since you found the strings, all you’ve yearned for is to sing. And so you will. From now on until forever.

Whether your first chair wishes to accompany or not.

[canmom]

Music theory (for science bitches) INTERLUDE A - what's with a guitar?

Got to play guitar for the first time in me life last night! Answered a lot of questions about one of the world's most common instruments, some I knew I had, some I didn't.

So here's what I picked up.

Tuning

The guitar I tried playing was an electric guitar with four strings that had been modified to be tuned in fifths, which apparently makes it similar to a tenor guitar - a familiar tuning for me since the violin and erhu are also tuned in fifths. But guitars are usually tuned in fourths.

'Tenor' here isn't really referring to a specific range the way it does in regards to singers - it seems kinda like more of an adjective meaning 'higher than usual and tuned in fifths'. So you can have the strange-sounding 'tenor bass' guitar. Although with the more obscure guitar variants, the language seems to be kind of a free-for-all.

Tenor guitars are usually shorter than regular guitars, and with different strings, but ultimately as long as you don't break the strings, you can tune to whatever frequencies by adjusting the tension. The standard guitar tunings are ultimately a matter of convention.

Besides that, the major design differences between a guitar and a violin type instrument are... the strings are arranged flat rather than in an arc, and they have frets.

The flat arrangement makes it much easier to play chords. You can simply move your fingers, or plectrum, in a straightish line and hit multiple strings.

Frets are metal rods which protrude from the fingerboard, and they make it much easier to hit particular pitches. You press the string behind the fret (further from the bridge/soundbox), and this holds the string against the fret, reducing the vibrating segment to an exact length. So there's no need to train your muscle memory and ear to recognise whether your fingering is in tune, as is the case on violin, erhu and the like. But it does make pitch-varying techniques like vibrato require a different approach. More on that in a bit.

The frets are positioned in semitones. There are some little dot markings that indicate the major third, the fourth, the fifth, the major sixth and a double dot for the octave, which helps with navigation.

Due to the way guitar strings are tuned, the way you construct chords is a little counterintuitive. Let's take for example a standard minor triad chord.

On a piano, you play the base note, a note three semitones up from that (the minor third), and a note seven semitones up from the base (the fifth). This will generally result in your fingers being fairly evenly spaced, e.g. A minor looks like...

On a guitar it's a bit more complicated. Intuitively, you might expect to play the three notes in this chord in order, on strings of increasing pitch, but if you try this you would conclude realise that the gap between strings is larger than a major third.

So, the strings I had were tuned DAEB (similar to a violin, but without the G on the bottom, instead gaining a B on top). If you want to play A minor you need to play A, C and E. The A and E can be played on open strings, but what about that C? It lies in between those two strings.

So, I thought, what if I played the C on the D string underneath the A? In that case, you'd put your finger on the 11th fret of the D string and strum the D, A and E strings. That would hit the same notes you would hit on a piano, just arranged differently on the instrument...

However, that is not how guitar players normally form chords. The reason is that, while this may work for open strings well enough, if you wanted to play a minor triad further up, it doesn't really work at all: there's no physical way your hand can be up at the top of the guitar on some strings and all the way down at that C for others.

Instead, guitar players take advantage of the convention of octave equivalency and play the next C up. This can be reached on the B string very easily, so for this A minor chord, you can play it on A, E and B:

On a piano, this chord would look like this:

This would be a goofy thing to do on a piano, but it makes things much easier on guitar.

In terms of the resulting sound, this will shift the fundamental of the C up an octave, and remove a certain proportion of the overtones - more on that in the upcoming next part of the music theory notes (for science bitches) series. So it will affect the timbre of the sound. However, it will still generally sound like A minor.

That's all well and good if you've got open strings in your chord, but what if you want to play, say, B minor? Well, you can use one of your fingers in a technique called a 'bar', which simply means you hold your whole finger against the fingerboard to press all the strings at a particular fret...

This essentially lets you calculate the chords in the same way as you would at the open strings, so you can just memorise the general shape of minor chords and slide it around.

My friend came up with a few little chord progressions for me to play. For communicating them she would say like 'ok then play 2 2 0 0' with the numerals communicating which fret/semitone to play - I believe this is similar to the notation used in tablature. (In this case that would amount to E B E B, a doubled-up 'power chord'). She figured out the progression pretty intuitively - when we worked out the names it turned out to include a variety of suspended or diminished chords or one chord over another, and other such things. (She had a phone app that would let you put in the positions and would tell you a name).

One of the cool features of a physical instrument is that you can just try shit. It was very informative to see how chord progressions come together and how the different voices seem to relate to each other.

The mechanics of playing the thing

The other major difference with guitar is like... damn those things are long!

Although the body of an electric guitar does not have to act as a soundbox, the shape of the guitar still turns out to be way more constrained and thought-out than I realised. There are all sorts of cutaways designed to help the guitar balance comfortably on your leg, sit comfortably against your abdomen, and so on. The 'horns' of the guitar aren't just decorative: they allow you to slide your hand further down the neck.

I got to see an ultra-light 'headless' guitar where the tuning pegs are at the bottom end, which saves weight. There are all sorts of little nuances about where the cable goes and so on.

The most awkward part was really the hand that goes on the neck and plays the chords. The frets help but they don't go that far.

Honestly, making chords on a guitar... my fingers are apparently pretty long, but it still felt like I'm contorting my hand, like I could feel the tension so much stretching across even a few frets. By the same token, pressing the strings was ouchy. It was the same on the zhonghu when I started though, so I'm sure if I kept at it I'd get the callouses I'd need to not feel painful anymore.

It can be quite important where you place your fingers between frets. Too far from the fret, and you don't create a good contact, so the string doesn't sound properly. Too close to the fret, like if you're right on top of it, can also be problematic. You have to apply enough pressure to hold the string firmly against the fret. All of this impressed on me how fiddly it is to play one of these things, let alone do it in a showy ostentatious way like guitarists do.

Strumming was also a bit fiddly. Unexpectedly, the biggest problem I tended to have was strumming too hard. With all the amplification involved, it seems you want a really light touch, just brushing the plectrum (or fingers) against the strings.

It turns out there's some complexity to strumming and plucking. My first instinct was to just go up down, up down, but it seems like actually the best approach is to alter the direction for different musical phrases, so sometimes you want to go two 'ups' in a row or two 'downs' in a row with something like a 'null stroke' in between to get your hand in position. This apparently just comes intuitively to an experienced guitarist, just like bowing does to an experienced violinist or erhu player, but maintaining the pattern definitely added to the cognitive load of the instrument at my level.

The guitar I was playing had a "synchronised tremolo bridge", similar to the one in the picture, meaning it was on a kind of levered spring anchored only at one end. Unlike a violin or erhu, the bridge of a guitar is very very close to where the strings are anchored, and adjustable per-string. The lever you see on some guitars is used to tilt the bridge while the strings are sounding, creating a vibrato (oscillation of pitch) effect. (I don't know why it's called a tremolo bridge rather than a vibrato bridge. In classical music 'tremolo' refers to either playing a bunch of the same note really fast, or oscillating volume. But this bridge definitely primarily affects pitch.)

(Incidentally, some guitars have non-parallel bridges and frets designed to give the lower strings more distance to play with which affects the relationship between string weight, tension, and pitch - it's a whole thing apparently.)

You can also create a vibrato effect by wiggling the string sideways against the fingerboard to adjust the tension in it.

The electric part

The big difference between an electric guitar and an acoustic guitar is that the vibrations in the strings are used not for the sound they make directly, but as an input into a signal chain.

I had wondered for a long time how guitar pickups work. It turns out they work by magnetic induction; the string is made of ferromagnetic material and the pickups have little magnets in them which induce a magnetic field in the string, and the vibrations of this magnetic field are picked up by an electromagnet inside the guitar. This has the interesting implication that an electric guitar does not require a medium to generate a sound, so it would work just fine in space (though of course the amplifier must be in air to transmit sound).

There are multiple sets of pickups at different points along the string, which means they get different sets of overtones depending on the amplitude of the different standing waves near that pickup; there is a little liver on the face of the guitar which allows you to adjust which pickup is active. Selecting the pickup closer to the bridge is effectively a kind of mechanical high pass filter on the strings.

The weak alternating current created by the vibrating strings is then passed along a shielded coaxial cable to an amplifier. This creates an opportunity to mess around with that signal - to add reverb, equalisation, etc. or more purely electric effects like 'phasing' and 'flanging'.

The 'distortion' effect so widely used in rock and related genres comes from multiplying the signal pre-amplification to the point that it saturates the amplifier, resulting in an effect similar to digital clipping. Traditionally this was done by literally boosting the signal louder than the amp's tolerances (referred to as 'gain' by guitarists), but nowadays they've found ways to get an equivalent effect that are less likely to break the equipment. (Honestly, I liked the 'cleaner' sound of when the guitar was not clipping a lot more than the heavily distorted version, but it's worth noting here as one of the most well known guitar effects)

These effects are typically implemented using 'pedals' which are just a small circuit that applies a particular toggleable signal modification, making the whole chain of guitar - pedals - amplifier collectively act as something like a modular synthesiser. The guitar acts as a signal generator, the pedals and amp process it, and finally it's played out of a speaker.

This is not unique to guitars, the same principles would basically apply to any 'electric' instrument, but for whatever historical reason guitars were the instrument that became 'electric' first, and they're still by far the most common.

It was interesting to me how technical the whole setup is. The amp has all sorts of dials to apply built-in effects and adjust its tone response in various ways; the guitar also had a few.

Analogue instruments give fairly limited options to control timbre. So like, on the erhu for example - you have a huge amount of pitch control, you can do a lot to adjust dynamics with the way you move your bow, but for timbre there's only a handful of dimensions in the 'parameter space' and like, ultimately I'm finding my way to a 'best way to do it' where it 'sounds like an erhu is supposed to sound'.

Electric instruments on the other hand has a huge multidimensional space of timbre possibilities, so if you understand guitars, you can stand on an amp for a while zeroing in on the exact sound you want while the infatuated canmom sitting next to you gets increasingly hot under the collar. For understanding what's going on in guitar music, it's evident classical theory can only get you so far.

So...

...am I gonna start learning guitar too now? As much as I admire my friend's ability to play dozens of different instruments... not in any sort of serious way, erhu/zhonghu is gonna be my main instrument for a good while (and I physically could not take a guitar home with me anyway with all the shit I'm carrying). But it's very interesting to see other parts of the string instrument space, and definitely gives me a better appreciation for all the things guitarists are doing.

Music's cool, I regret that I stopped playing... but now's definitely a good time to get back into it!!

[randomvarious]

The Higher Intelligence Agency - "W.H.Y." Ambient Dub Volume 2. Earthjuice. 1993 Downtempo

Some beautifully woven and vibrating early 90s acid-dubby downtempo psychedelia from Birmingham, UK's Bobby Bird, aka The Higher Intelligence Agency. Known as a sort of dub-chillout entity, H.I.A.'s first ever appearance was in 1992 on the first installment of Beyond Records' Ambient Dub series. He then appeared again on Vol. 2 in '93, while also putting out his debut album, Colourform, and then in '94 also landed a track on Warp Records' highly popular Artificial Intelligence II comp as well. H.I.A. has very intermittently kept on releasing music to this day, with his latest album, Song of the Machine, having come out in 2022, but on the side, Bird has also played guitar as part of legendary two-tone ska band The Beat in this current decade too.

And this tune, "W.H.Y.," which was exclusive to the second volume of Ambient Dub until 2020, was co-written by Dave Wheels, a DJ from a club in Birmingham called Oscillate, which is where H.I.A. got his start as a live experimental performer in the first place as part of a collective of similar-minded folks. Wheels would also go on to tour with Bird as fixtures of a burgeoning live electronic music scene too.

And Steve Savale, who doesn't appear to have had anything to do with this track itself, was also a contributor to Higher Intelligence Agency back then too, but in '94, he would go on to join a group that'd become much more popular: Asian Dub Foundation.

[kdmerchant]

Chapter 13!

Thanks to all those that have kept reading. I'm to the point I need to play more. I'm busy to the point I've still not finished act 2... 🫠

Here's a snippit:

The hulking figure hummed a dirge in his fine tenor as he got lost in thought. The smaller elf’s ears twitched. Astarion stood from looking from his pillage, pulling out a red scarf and threading it through his fingers. The cool fabric felt and smelled of silk, and whispered as he tugged and rethreaded it between his fingers.

Halsin got deeper with his noise and Astarion snapped. “What is the point of that grumbling.” He said.

“It’s humming, it’s a great way to calm your nervous system.” Halsin said with a smile, then intruded on the smaller elf’s boundaries, getting him to stand more prostrate with less of a slouch, then he touched his upper stomach. “See, if you let it come from this part of the body, it seems to rumble something loose in the nervous system. I’ve often wondered if that’s why some people respond so well cats purring.”

“Who hurt you.” Astarion shot back, eyebrows high and mighty. This man was way to comfortable with invading space.

“A Drow woman, try it.” Halsin ordered, “Go on.” He pressed as Astarion made a face.

Astarion cleared his throat and tried to harmonize on a higher pitch with Halsin. He had not kept up with singing. Music had been hard for him to process since his ordeal; it had become something that held nothing but misery to unlucky faces he plucked out as prizes for Cazador. Notes hit Astarion’s ears like bits of call to the void. The void he was actively struggling against, every way he could.

His voice crackled a bit as he struggled to hit simple notes, but his tune was off. The vibration of his chest loosened him up ever so slightly and a single tear found its way to Astarion’s eye. Halsin’s slow but melodic beat was forgiving and eased along his pathetic attempt at song.

“How you feeling?” Halsin asked.

“Strange.” Astarion said. “Something to reflect on.” The large elf had taken him by surprise, he was not planning on the brutal honesty or humming. “What keeps you going like this?”

“Like what?” Halsin looked genuinely lost, his mind wandering off on the thought of getting to his needed destination, his concern growing on getting to Thaniel in a timely manner.

“Trying to be so helpful.” Astarion spat, like it was so off putting for a person to be nice just for the hell of it.

“There were repeated times in my long life where small things made all the difference. I like putting together what makes the small differences that keep us going.” Halsin stretched, cleared his throat can continued to hum. He needed some space for himself, so he turned into a bear and bumbled off.

There was something niggling at the back of his brain that told him he needed this group and to stay but it was difficult when he felt so close to problem he had been a part of so long ago. Halsin bumped into Paradigm on his way out, she grabbed him by the snout and gave him a peck on the nose and he kept going on his way, holding all the affection received just below his constant worry.

[bevswashere]

Koi No Yokan

Chapter 23: Coincidence

"Please," I beg. "Please don't pull me out of this darkness, this void. Not yet. Please." But there's a phone that won't stop ringing, vibrating above the nightstand. We both stir. I groan into his neck, "Is it yours or mine?"

"Who cares?" His voice is perfectly hoarse in the morning, arms gliding against my skin as they reposition themselves on my back. "Don't answer it."

I do as he says and the call passes. Only as I'm drifting off, the phone begins vibrating again. Satoru's chin scrapes the top of my head as it turns towards the nightstand. "It's yours."

Aimlessly I throw my hand out towards the nightstand, waiting until the phone is in my grasp. "Son of a—Good morning," my tone becomes pleasant.

"You always answer on the second try." It's Yaga Sensei.

"How else would I know you're being serious?" Eyes still groggy, I look at the clock next to us. Eight o'clock. A perfectly reasonable time to be awake, but my body feels worn. My shoulders are heavy, neck stiff. I want to stay curled up in this bed for at least another hour. "Okay." I hang up the phone.

"Mission?"

"A first grade downtown," I repeat from the call. There's hardly an inflection in the sentence. Being called on like this has come to mean hardly anything at all.

"When do you leave?"

"Chihiro will be ready for me in twenty minutes."

Satoru rolls our bodies over on the mattress, his wonderful, warm body on top of mine. "Give me ten of them."

March 2007 One year later.

Chihiro and I break through the crowd of crying parents, listening to them all complain as we dip beneath the police tape.

"Wait!"

"Why are they letting those kids through?!"

"Let me see my daughter!"

Chihiro leans in, "Don't let them get to you. They've only been waiting a couple hours."

"Probably feels like a lifetime for them." I place one earbud in after the other, plugging it into the MP3 Suguru let me borrow.

Chihiro's hazel eyes scan the seemingly normal building. "Are you sure you should play your music for this one?" She shivers a bit. "I'm getting a bad feeling."

"It's an innate domain."

"Another one?" she says in surprise, "How can you be sure?"

"You can smell it," I allude to the foul cursed stench oozing from the building. With that, "You can feel it in your shoes too."

Chihiro glances at her feet. "I don't feel anything."

"You're probably better off that way." I turn on the MP3. "You can put up the veil now."

If Chihiro responds I don't hear it. The music drowns out all the noise and other sensitivities I've developed. I can't possibly fathom how Satoru has lived with it his whole life. Noticing movement from miles away, catching sounds as small as a pin dropping, breathing cursed energy like it were air.

The only thing that makes me stop is a small tug on my pant leg. One of the kids waiting with their parents seemed to have slipped past the crowd, and was now clinging to my knee. I

I immediately regret pulling out my headphones. "My sister!" she sobs, "Can you save Kura-chan?"

I don't answer her. I've learned to not make promises anymore.

One of the police officers races over, shouting as he pulls the little girl from my leg. He forces her behind the tape, into the arms of her also weeping parents. The music tunes out their anguish once more.

The inside of the building has been turned completely upside down. Tables and chairs cling to the ceiling, while all the light fixtures are at my feet. As always, the entrances disappear in an instant.

"When was the last time I had done this with someone else?" I wonder. "Nine, no, maybe ten months?" Special grades aren't allowed to have partners anymore, only assistant supervisors. A way to "cover more ground" as the higher ups put it. I suppose it makes sense. I'm strong. Why should I need company? Though, when the missions drag on like this one, it feels particularly lonely. It hurts more having to bear the crying of parents and children on your own.

Every classroom and office is vacant, leading me into the gym where the finger bearer waits. I know what they look like now, putrid, milky skin and an enormously wide smile. More than anything, the laughter stays with me. Their clawed hands gripping their faces in delight. Even with the music blaring, I can hear it in my mind.

The large beam of cursed energy merely bounces off the barrier between us in a flash of sparks. It wants to close the space, running towards me in great strides. The moment it's close enough, my fingers press together, "Domain expansion."

The gym disappears as we're swallowed in darkness. The hour hand reaches twelve, prompting the chime of a bell so loud it shakes the tower floor. Without a second thought, I trace two clockwise circles into the air, watching the curse and domain fade away as a molten finger drops to the floor.

My stomach turns the moment the gym comes back into sight. Along the bleachers are the remnants of the six hostages, children. Tossed aside on the floor is a backpack with "Kura" sewn into the front.

"You know this will draw up concerns from the higher ups, assuming they don't have any already."

It's barely past noon, but it feels as if it's been days. My torso feels particularly heavy, sunken into one of the chairs in Yaga's office, chin resting in my palm as I stare at the wall. Some of the paint is chipping, and in these discolored gaps I see the faces of all those kids. Skin turned inside out, limbs detached, the permanent fear in their eyes. I hear the crying of those parents, the scream the mother let out when I gave them the backpack. The look on her little sister's face. "About?"

"This is the fourth one you've discovered in over a year. The second one found in less than three months."

The tattered cloth holding Ryomen Sukuna's finger rests on the desk between us. I don't like the feeling I get when they touch my bare skin, the unnatural jolt, like his soul is peering into mine. "So?"

"At this point the higher-ups aren't likely to call it a coincidence. If word ever got out about it,

"Isn't finding all twenty what they want?"

"Yes, but the same student discovering all of them leads to questions. Especially once they take into account that you weren't on duty when you found the one before this."

"What kind of questions?"

"Questions about your connection to Ryomen Sukuna."

I'd laugh, but Yaga Sensei isn't the type to crack a joke. Instead his office falls silent. "My clan didn't exist during the Heian era, that's a known thing."

"As a vessel." He expresses the thought as if he'd been considering it for some time.

I finally look up from the wall. "A vessel?"

"Someone who could house Sukuna's soul."

"I know what a vessel is."

"Then you should understand what a precarious situation we may face. Nobody fully understands the potential these fingers hold. For all we know Sukuna's soul is gravitating towards you." Yaga prods the cloth bundle, making it roll a few times in my direction. "Even if they're not, the higher-ups will certainly begin wondering if you're powerful enough to be a vessel."

He says I should understand, but, "What if I am? If I could be a vessel, then what happens?"

"Under the assumption that trying to absorb Ryomen Sukuna doesn't immediately kill you, there's only two ways it can go. One, you absorb as much of Sukuna as you can before he takes over, or two, Sukuna takes over your body and your technique instantly. Regardless, you'll die, and if Sukuna isn't the one who kills you, you know who they'll appoint to do it."

Suddenly, I'm at a loss for words. "They... wouldn't do that.... Would they?"

"Having these fingers in our possession is new, we can't say what they will do. You're not replaceable, but you're certainly not above their jurisdiction—at least, in their minds. They expect that if they did ask you to be a vessel, you'll agree out of duty, same as you've agreed to keep collecting these fingers a secret."

It's true that Yaga, Chihiro, the higher-ups, and myself are the only ones who know there are four of Ryomen Sukuna's fingers inside Tokyo High. I always assumed it was for the sake of controlling chaos—nobody, especially the higher-ups, wants to believe that Sukuna might return with all his fragments suddenly appearing—but I never expected this to be the reason. How long has Yaga known?

"For now we assume the higher-ups aren't interested in tempting Sukuna's return at all. That, and you're too valuable to let die so easily," Yaga says. "But there's no sense in pretending the other outcome isn't possible."

My head is beginning to ache. "All this, you expect me to keep it from Satoru?"

"I've warned you before about mixing your relationship and Jujutsu."

"Jujutsu is who we are, how could I not?" Not a question of defiance, but one that's quiet and genuine. It means I wish Yaga would readily have easy answers as my sensei.

"Telling him would only cause more trouble. Nothing is for certain yet. There's no point in giving him a reason to act out."

At this point, my head is pounding. "Anything else?"

∞

"I'm betting on Geto-san!" Haibara ushers himself over to Suguru's side of the machine. Nanami joins him.

"I'll say Gojo-san," Mariko decides.

"What's this?" Shoko chuckles, stepping over to Satoru's side with Mariko. "Another lover's quarrel?"

"Kaede-chan?" Mariko asks.

"She can't bet against me!" Satoru whines, even though we've been through this routine before. In this exact arcade, with this exact kind of bet. The last time, Suguru and I ended up buying Satoru a dozen hamburgers, while the boys were forced to give Mariko and Shoko massages. "As my girlfriend you should be obligated to assume I'll win!"

I step over to Suguru's side of the game. "I'm obligated to prove you wrong."

Of course, when the game concludes Mariko and Shoko are cheering, and our side of the machine is quite disheartened.

Satoru approaches, chest puffed. "So, where are you treating me for dinner?"

"You can't make her pay, Gojo-san." Mariko says. "It's her birthday!"

"A bet's a bet," I sigh. "Is sushi fine with everyone?"

They all voice their agreement, heading out the arcade while Suguru's slouched figure remains in his seat. "Suguru?" I grab him by the shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Do you think he'll ever lose again?"

I know the both of us secretly hope to see Satoru slip up, to prove himself still human. Yet with everyday that passes, the hope continues to dwindle. I miss the version of him who knew how to fail. Who would whine because he couldn't figure out his Red Technique, or throw a fit over a difficult level of a video game. "We're strong, we're not supposed to lose."

"You and I still lose."

"Winning, losing," I shrug largely, pretending not to care when, in reality, it might matter most. "Are you coming?"

I hold my hand out for him a little longer than I would like, but when he finally grabs it, it's as if a switch has been turned on inside of him. He smiles and eagerly links our arms. "Seventeen," he coos. "You're getting so old."

"You're getting even older," I argue. "I can hear your knees creaking, old man."

Ichiro fixed a private room for us in the back, even slipped us a bottle of fine sake while his grandmother labored in the kitchen.

Shoko is clearly tipsy. "Why don't you join us for a bit, Ichiro-kun?"

He grows more flustered with every second Shoko spends looking at him. It's a wonder he hasn't dropped anything yet. "Grandmother would kill me if I stopped working."

"Really?" She's merciless, softening her eyes while her fingers toy with the sake cup on the table. "You can't take a quick break to share a drink with me?"

His entire face and neck turn red. "I-I'll ask her about it."

"I'll be waiting."

Ichiro rushes out.

Suguru chuckles into his cup. "You're going to break that poor boy."

She shrugs, helping herself to a fresh cup of sake. "They're cute when they get all antsy."

"You haven't eaten much," Satoru whispers.

I look down at my plate where most things have been left untouched. Some pieces had little bites taken out of them, before I realized my stomach won't hold. The thought of those kids last week threatens to force it back up every time. "I guess I'm not as hungry as I thought."

He frowns, but says nothing more. Then Ichiro returns with a cake and candles. "Grandmother told me to bring this out for you."

Shoko is pouting. "What about your break, Ichiro-kun?"

He rubs the back of his neck nervously. "It's better I keep working. I wouldn't want Grandmother to notice the missing sake before it's replaced."

"Alright," she mewls. "I suppose that means I'll have to come back another time by myself."

Ichiro is unable to form words, sputtering as he places the cake in front of me and lights the candles. Everyone begins to sing.

My eyes are drawn to the little flames wavering in the dim light. How the orange wisp is pushed back and forth with no volition of its own. I feel like this flame right now, burning bright for only a second, before everything is dark again. Before I'm turned into a vessel or worse—"Kaede," Satoru nudges me.

"Huh?"

"The candle."

The entire table is waiting on me. I quickly blow out the candles, and they cheer. "You guys dig in." I get up from the tatami mat. "I'm going to get some air."

"Okay," Mariko says, "Don't stay out too long, though. You'll get cold."

Mariko was right about the cold, which bites terribly at my skin. It's better than inside the restaurant, though, stuffy, full of noise.

I find a random stairway about a block away, collapse there, head sunken into my hands. I can't get them out of my mind. All of them. From the very first mission I embarked on to the last. So many dead, families left broken and in fear. Even my own—Tomiji. I wonder what he's doing right now. Suguru tried to convince him to join us for tonight, but, as always, he refused. He's probably reading some of the archival books in the school library or practicing his katana. Hopefully he feels happier than me. Hopefully he feels any sort of happiness at all. I

I'm really so tired. I could fall asleep on these steps if I wanted. Maybe I should, only for a few minutes—"You've been gone for a while."

My neck cranes upward. "I lost track of time."

Satoru seats himself next to me, combing a hand deep into the roots of my hair. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It was getting stuffy inside."

Feeling the dull length of my hair, "You need a haircut," he says, before using his free hand to suddenly pinch my face, "And did you lose weight again?"

"You're so fussy." I ignore the hair obstructing my eyes or the gauntness of my body. After an entire childhood spent learning the importance of a tidy appearance, I never thought I'd become this unkempt, but things like my hair feel so trivial nowadays. "Why? Am I not pretty enough for you like this?"

"I'll let you in on a secret since it's your birthday." He leans in, speaking into my ear as he says, "You're the prettiest girl I know in the flesh."

My smile drops. "'In the flesh'?"

"Being a close second to Inoue Wake is nothing to be ashamed of."

"I'm leaving now—"

"Wait!" He pulls me back into my seat, into the span of his arms. "I'm just kidding!"

"I'll leave you here to stare at your precious Inoue wallpaper on your phone."

"My wallpaper is a picture of you. Now who's being fussy?" He kisses the point of my nose. "I adore you, Kaede-chan."

Curtly, "I know that."

"Especially when you pout like this."

Perhaps it's the sake forcing me into submission to the truth, but I didn't drink that much. "I just want to be the best for you."

"You're perfect for me."

"Is that the same as being the best?"

"If you're still talking about us, then yes," he says. "Are you still talking about us?"

The reality of it all—the constant death, helplessness, lethargy, the possibility of being a vessel—is one I must keep separate from "us." Yaga put it best himself, there's no sense in troubling Satoru with the things I lack. He has enough to deal with on his own. "I don't know. It's been a busy week. My thoughts are all jumbled."

"You did get more assignments than usual," he reasons, "Maybe schedule a vacation period with Yaga."

"There's too many people who need our help to take a break."

"It wouldn't be a problem for me to cover for you while."

Firmly, "I'm okay, Satoru."

"Okay," he surrenders, and kisses me. "You know I would do anything for you, right?"

"I know."

"No. Kaede," his glasses are on, but I can feel the way his eyes are piercing into mine, "Anything you asked of me, I would do it. Just ask me."

It's hard to place his sudden declaration, the intensity with which he speaks. "Is there something you want me to ask you?"

"I'm only saying even the most outrageous ideas or plans you can think up," his tone lightens, "I wouldn't hesitate to follow you in them."

"Even if it were wrong?"

"Anything," he repeats.

"Let's run away together, three of us: you, me, Suguru. We can go wherever we want, leave Tokyo, or even leave Japan. We'll start over and never have to think about Jujutsu or curses or anything else. We can be happy like that... I'm not happy like this."

I never said it. Whether he would follow me or not, I'd never ask him to give up his calling, his strength which so clearly defines him. To think how many more people would die if we selfishly walked away, how many more children would end up like the ones I'd seen last week.

"If anything comes up, I'll ask."

Before I can decide whether he's dejected by my response or not, Mariko is waving us over, "Hey, lovebirds! We thought you went home."

Immediately we rejoin them, continuing on like nothing is wrong. 

[cowgirl60]

Morning Mantra: “What you think about you bring about.”

Have you ever wondered why things go better for some people and others seem to constantly have “bad luck”?

The universe responds to your frequency. It doesn’t recognize your personal desires, wants, or needs. It only understands the frequency in which you’re vibing at.

If you’re living in fear, guilt, or shame, or any lower/negative frequency, you’re going to attract things of a similar vibration. If you live life with joy, love, and vibe at a higher frequency, you’re going to attract things to support that frequency.

It’s kind of like turning into a radio station. You have to be tuning into the music you want to listen to, just like you have to be tuned into the energy you want to manifest into your life.

Change your mindset to elevate your vibe, and it will change your life.

#BeVibinHigh #BeHappy #BeHorsey #BeHippie #HorseHippie #MorningMantra #inspirationalQuotes #MorningMotivation #Equestrian #HorseLover #QuotesToInspire #HorseHippieBrand #HorseHippieBoutique

Quote: Jake Woodard

Image: Jessie Zarudzki

[wain-wright]

music theory basics

but Not Really, this is specifically about trying to write out my confusion with his video, but to start:

"In music theory, a scale is any set of musical notes ordered by fundamental frequency or pitch." (wikipedia) A scale in common parlance is set between between two pitches that are an octave apart. A scale is an interval pattern of pitches between two pitches that are an octave apart.

Octave is a technical term based off of frequency: "Modern Western music uses a system called equal temperament (ET for short). The table below shows the frequency ratios for all intervals from unison up to an octave. (Unison is the musical name for the “interval” between two identical notes.)"

An octave is “the distance between one note and another note that’s double its frequency. For instance, the note A4 is the sound of a vibration at 440 Hz. The note A5 is the sound of a vibration at 880 Hz. Going in the other direction, the note A3 is the sound of a vibration at 220Hz.”

So: a scale is a set of pitches within an octave, and the smallest interval they are 'divided' by in western music is the semitone, or half step. Semitones:

Equal temperament divides the octave into twelve identical intervals (called half-steps or semitones). As a result, each semitone corresponds to a frequency ratio of  2(1/12)2(1/12). What this means is a note a semitone above 100Hz100𝐻𝑧 has a frequency of 2(1/12)∗100Hz2(1/12)∗100𝐻𝑧, or roughly 106Hz106𝐻𝑧. Note:  2(1/12)2(1/12) can also be written as 12√2212 and is roughly equal to 1.06. When you “stack” musical intervals, the frequency ratios multiply together– not add. A semitone is a factor of 12√2212 because going up twelve semitones in a row must be the same thing as going up one octave. If you multiply 12√2212 by itself twelve times in a row, you get two- exactly the right frequency ratio for the octave. Other intervals in ET are built by “stacking” semitones. Each semitone you go up (or down) increases (or decreases) the frequency by a factor of (12√2)(212). Go up (or down) certain number of semitones, the frequency increases (decreases) by a factor of (12√2)n(212)𝑛 where n𝑛 represents the number of semitones you go up.  You can combine these ideas into a single equation: f1=f2∗(12√2)n𝑓1=𝑓2∗(212)𝑛 Here’s the same equation written with fractional exponents (rather than root signs); f1=f2∗2(n/12)𝑓1=𝑓2∗2(𝑛/12) In the equation, f2𝑓2 represents the frequency you want to find and f1𝑓1 is the frequency of the note you start with. Use positive numbers for n𝑛 if the frequency you want to find is higher than the frequency you are given. Use negative numbers if you are going down in pitch. Charts with note names and corresponding frequencies are freely available on the web- search on “note name frequency chart” to see a selection. Almost all of these charts are generated using the equation above, using the frequency 440 Hz for the note A4 as the starting point. (This standard note is often called A440).

Equal temperament is the most common system for musical intervals but it is not the only one. Early temperament systems based musical intervals frequency ratios based on whole numbers. Pythagorean temperament defines a perfect fifth as a frequency ratio of 3:2 and defines all other notes in terms of the perfect fifth. Just temperament defines all intervals in terms of fractions of whole numbers. The advantage of these older temperaments is that musically important intervals (like perfect fifths and major thirds) are perfectly in tune with the overtones wind and string instruments produce. The drawback is that non-ET systems do not handle key signatures changes well. In non-ET systems, musical notes produced in one key signature (say D major) do not produce the same musical intervals when music of a different key signature (say C major) is played.

Even just hearing the above causes every musician to start trying to catalogue how inadequate ET is to record various types of music.

However, in practice it's impossible to tune off of ET/matching a hertz anyway, people modify scales and tuning on their instruments to frequencies to match slightly different scales that in the end don't exactly line up with this kind of measurement. This isn't a bug, but an intended feature. More styles of measurement of scales are commonly explained when explaining these basics, including microtones, which are defined as quarter-steps, they are supposed to be half of semitones. In practice, imo, this is negligible to hear, but exists.

However- this does mean on most scales within an octave, there are twelve possible intervals called semitones/half-steps. The piano is tuned for exactly this. Two adjacent keys on a piano are a half-step apart. (This is what chromatic scale means: a scale where you play all 12 half steps within an octave.) (The definition of a diatonic scale is currently: a pattern of intervals between seven notes of most modern scales (not only including western history) and the seven modes based off these intervals.) (There are multiple non-diatonic variations of major and minor scales that come off from a mode, that is not uncommon or special.)

A mode is the pattern of half and whole steps that can begin/use as a tonic any note of a root scale, without shifting the intervals between them. If the interval is shifted (common,) then it is a variation of that mode (common names: harmonic and melodic), and no longer the same type of scale as the root "scale." (Any scale can have modes, depending on number of pitch and the pattern of pitch. A chromatic scale would technically have 12 modes, but it would be identical no matter where you start so what's the point. )

Any sound you hear in most music (including traditional music not only from western tradition) works using a chromatic scale. Not every music scale in various music is always going to specifically going to match a diatonic scale (even including accidentals), but that's true of a lot of music considered "western", not just traditional music of any given culture. All music exists using a "scale" because that's literally just what it means- if it's along an interval pattern except for an odd note out that note is an "accidental" to a scale and gets a special marking like # or b in the music to denote how it sounds outside the scale marked at the beginning of the sheet music. Music can change key/scale at any time.

Nowadays most scales use seven notes/pitches in an octave, in an pattern of intervals (whole steps and half steps) called the diatonic scale. (Skipping over why, tbh it's probably not racism, applies to a lot of music.) Two half-steps together form the interval of a whole step. The pattern of the major and minor scale are formed by a variety of half and whole steps. G major scale is a diatonic scale, G ionian mode of G major scale (tonic and root are the same note G, which is the first degree.) G minor scale is a diatonic scale, G aeolian mode (natural minor scale) of the 'parent' B major scale. (tonic is B, root is G)

Modes of a major/diatonic scale:

(from the tonic starting from which root degree degree first to seventh) Ionian - Dorian - Phrygian - Lydian - Mixolydian - Aeolian - Locrian

But to skip forward a lot, say you make modes of any of these scales in themselves and don't stick to the interval pattern of the diatonic scale (common.) Then it is no longer diatonic, and starts getting labelled based off the shifted intervals within the scale.

Modes of a minor scale (at random example) (actually i should check this later):

Melodic Minor - Dorian b2 - Lydian Augmented - Lydian Dominant - Mixolydian b6 - Locrian Natural - Altered Dominant

There's a lot of variation you can introduce through modes based off of different intervals between pitches in a scale. It makes sense to me there are a lot of unique modes used for music I'm not familiar with. However: it is simply a different claim to say that there are such commonly used quarter steps/microtones that suddenly make talking about music impossible, that's just saying words man.

You'd easily just make a scale that includes a quarter step with all the annoying extra notes that implies. I googled iranians modes very briefly.

There doesn't seem to be overwhelming shower of information on some system of intervals that specifically uses a scale with missing microtones but iranian modes do have scales that tune a few notes a microtone flatter on a normal chromatic scale- these specific notes a quarter-step flat are labelled 'koron' (which implies to me there aren't a huge amount of microtones to practically use in these scales, it's related to having a style where a note is bent down slightly instead and maybe it is a proper novel harmony I'd love to learn about) but it is true foreign traditional modes are not studied in the lens of introductory music theory, but he didn't develop his argument at all so I'm not sure what he's saying, because he's not sure what he's saying past that. (I'm filtering his argument to make it as if he would if he was more knowledgeable.)

[magicoldcottage]

Did you Know that Sound can Heal?

Have you ever wondered why some music sounds more soothing and uplifting than others?

Have you ever walked into a spiritual shop and felt a deep connection with the music that you haven't felt with songs on the radio?

If so, you might have been exposed to the healing frequency of 432 Hz, a sound that resonates with the harmonic intonation of nature and the human heart.

If you are interested in learning how music can heal you and why the healing power of music was denied to us, keep reading.

What is 432 Hz

432 Hz is a frequency of sound that is said to have a healing effect on the human body and mind. It is the harmonic intonation of nature and resonates with our cells, atoms, DNA, and heartbeat. It vibrates in the heart chakra and expands our capacity for love and compassion.

432 Hz is rooted in musical history, geometry, science, and architecture and has been found in various ancient sites. For example, the Pyramids of Giza, Stonehenge, and the Temple of Delphi were all built using the 432 Hz ratio. The ancient Greeks also used this frequency to tune their instruments and create sacred music. Pythagoras, the famous mathematician and philosopher, believed that frequencies had a healing effect on the body and that daily exposure to music was beneficial for human health.

Sadly

What are the benefits of listening to 432 Hz music?

Listening to 432 Hz music can have a profound impact on your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Some of the benefits include:

Lowering your heart rate and blood pressure: Studies have concluded that listening to music at 432 Hz can decrease your heart rate and blood pressure significantly in comparison to 440 Hz, which is the standard tuning for most modern music. This can help you relax and reduce stress levels.

Increasing your happiness and self-esteem: Listening to 432 Hz music can also improve your mood, happiness, self-esteem, self-confidence and release emotional blockages. It can help you feel more joyful and relaxed, as well as more connected to yourself and others.

Improving your sleep quality: Listening to 432 Hz music can improve your quality of sleep and help you stay asleep longer. Sleep is vital for a healthy lifestyle, and studies have found that adults with delayed sleep latency can benefit immensely from listening to this frequency before bed or during afternoon naps.

Aligning you with the frequency of nature: 432 Hz resonates with the Schumann Resonance of 8 Hz which is the vibration of the earth. It causes listeners to feel better and more connected with nature. It attunes our brains to the frequency of the earth. This can help us harmonize with the natural rhythms of life and enhance our intuition.

Clearing energetic blockages: The frequency of 432 Hz can also help us clear energetic blockages in our body and mind. These blockages can manifest as physical pain, emotional trauma, mental fog, or spiritual disconnection. By listening to this frequency, we can release these blockages and allow our energy to flow freely.

Enhancing your creativity and imagination: Listening to 432 Hz music can also stimulate your creativity and imagination. It can help you access higher states of consciousness and inspiration. It can also help you express yourself more authentically and artistically.

Restoring your memory and brain function: Listening to 432 Hz music can also improve your memory and brain function. It can help you recall information better and process information faster. It can also help you heal from neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s or stroke3.

So will any music help me?

Sadly no, America in 1926 drifted away from this frequency and adopted 440 Hz (A above middle C for anyone musical). With their support, an international agreement in 1953 converted the world to a new frequency and the healing properties of music were lost. I'm not into conspiracies but some have suggested the FDA formed in 1930 would have been keen for people to be less healthy.

How to listen to 432 Hz music?

There are many ways to listen to 432 Hz music. You can find online platforms that offer free or paid streaming services for this frequency. You can also download apps or software that allow you to convert any music file into 432 Hz. You can also buy CDs or vinyl records that are recorded at this frequency.

Some tips for listening to 432 Hz music are:

Use headphones or speakers that have good sound quality

Listen in a quiet and comfortable environment

Set an intention before listening

Breathe deeply and relax your body

Focus on the sound and how it makes you feel

Listen for at least 15 minutes a day

Conclusion

Listening to 432 Hz music is a simple yet powerful way to heal yourself on all levels. It can help you align with the frequency of nature and the universe, as well as enhance your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. By tuning into this frequency, you can experience more peace, joy, love, and harmony in your life. I personally love to listen to it through headphones while walking in nature to increase my connection.

If you are interested in learning more about the healing power of sound frequencies, you can check out these resources:

The 432Hz Universal Healing Frequency • Musical Hypnosis

Healing Frequencies of the Human Body: Full List and Benefits

7 Benefits of listening to 432 Hz music - Sound Healers

For more ideas why not click here for my masterpost.

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[sappy-witch]

Sound Healing 🎶✨

Hello darlings 🥰

Today, let's immerse ourselves in the captivating realm of sound healing and discover the profound effects it can have on our well-being and spiritual growth. Sound has been used as a powerful tool for healing and transformation across cultures and throughout history. From soothing melodies to rhythmic vibrations, sound has the ability to harmonize our body, mind, and spirit. So, let's embark on a sonic journey together and explore the wonders of sound healing!

🎶 The Healing Power of Frequencies

Sound consists of different frequencies and vibrations that can impact us on a cellular level. Each part of our body, including organs, tissues, and cells, has its own vibrational frequency. Through the use of sound, we can restore balance and harmony by entraining our body to the frequencies that promote healing and well-being.

🎧 Sound Bath and Meditation 

Immerse yourself in the therapeutic embrace of a sound bath or sound meditation. Relax in a comfortable position, close your eyes, and allow the soothing sounds of instruments like singing bowls, gongs, or chimes to wash over you. Let the vibrations resonate within you, releasing tension, calming the mind, and promoting a deep sense of relaxation and inner peace.

🎵 Chanting and Mantras

Tap into the power of your own voice through chanting and mantra repetition. Explore sacred chants from various spiritual traditions or create your own affirmations. The rhythmic repetition of sounds and words can help shift your energetic vibration, promote focus, and connect you to a higher state of consciousness.

🌬️ Breathwork and Vocal Toning

Explore the profound connection between sound and breath. Engage in intentional breathwork practices like pranayama, and combine it with vocal toning. As you inhale deeply, allow the sound to emerge on the exhale, using your voice to create sustained tones or harmonious melodies. This practice can help release stagnant energy, activate the chakras, and promote a sense of vitality and inner balance.

🔊 Tuning Forks and Singing Bowls

Experiment with the therapeutic vibrations of tuning forks and singing bowls. The precise frequencies produced by tuning forks can be applied to specific parts of the body, helping to restore balance and promote healing. Singing bowls, when played, emit a rich tapestry of harmonics that can induce deep relaxation and energetic alignment.

🎶 Sound and Movement

Combine sound with movement to amplify its healing effects. Engage in practices like sound yoga, where specific sounds or mantras are paired with yoga postures and breathwork. Dance and free movement can also be accompanied by intentional sound to facilitate emotional release, self-expression, and energetic flow.

🌌 Sound and Energy Healing 

Explore the connection between sound and energy healing modalities like Reiki or acupuncture. Sound can enhance these practices by facilitating the flow of energy, clearing energetic blockages, and promoting balance and harmony within the subtle energy systems of the body.

🎵 Creating Soundscapes

Tap into your creativity by creating your own soundscapes. Use musical instruments, voice, or digital tools to compose or improvise sounds that resonate with your intentions and desired energetic atmosphere. Allow your intuition to guide you as you explore the vast palette of sounds available to you.

🔮 Sound as a Catalyst for Transformation

Embrace the transformative power of sound as a catalyst for personal growth and spiritual awakening. As you engage in sound healing practices, set clear intentions for your journey. Allow the vibrations to penetrate deep within, facilitating release, healing, and the expansion of consciousness.

Sound healing is a profound and accessible modality that can be integrated into your daily life, allowing you to cultivate a deeper connection with yourself, promote overall well-being, and harmonize your body, mind, and spirit. 

Whether through a few minutes of intentional listening, chanting affirmations during your morning routine, or attending sound healing workshops and retreats, the transformative power of sound is always within reach, offering you a pathway to inner balance, self-discovery, and a greater sense of harmony with the world around you. 

Embrace the enchanting melodies and resonant vibrations, and let the healing power of sound be a constant companion on your journey of personal growth and spiritual expansion.

____

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With love, from a Sappy Witch 🔮💕

Blessed be. 🕊✨

[heritage-instrument-insurance]

Why is the Viola a Popular Musical Instrument?

The viola is the oldest of the present day’s main stringed instruments, per-existing the cello, violin, and string bass. Viola, analogous to the violin, is a stringed musical instrument having lower and deeper sounds and therefore, is the alto voice of the violin family. It is to be noted that the viola is a very delicate but exquisite instrument therefore its safety must be ensured with viola insurance.

Originating in northern Italy between the years 1530 and 1550, the viola initially was viola da braccio which translates to the viola played in the arms. It mainly emerged after the instrument Soprano gained popularity in the mid-1500s.

Why is Viola so lovable?

Violas are in between violins and cellos in both size and tune. It has the alto voice between the violin being tuned to a perfect fifth above and the cello having a tuned octave below. Thus, it is the ideal instrument for those with not so high a range as violins.

Violas are rather unique in the sense very few people start by playing the viola.

Music of viola, violin, and cello can be played by a violist leading to more efficiency in music theory. The viola maintains the same string notes as the cello, but an octave higher, so music that is written for the cello can be easily arranged for the alto clef without any changes in key. Learning different clefs is also beneficial for a musician.

Playing viola leads to proficiency in different genres of music as violists can perform a wide variety of instruments’ music.

Playing the harmony is rather effortless than playing the melody, making the viola a perfect choice for beginners.

How Viola Differ from Violin?

Viola and violins, though similar in appearance, have significant differences that make them stand apart.

Size

The viola is slightly larger than the violin. Although the size of the viola is set, it usually ranges from 38cm to 43cm. A full-size violin has a 35.5cm long body. The bow of the violins is, however, somewhat longer than that of the viola.

Strings

Though both violins and violas are four-stringed instruments, the notes of each string differ. The viola string order from lowest to highest is C, G, D, A. Violin strings, on the other hand, go from G, D, A to E.

The viola has thicker strings and is tuned to be one-fifth lower than the violin leading to a lower range.

Sound

Violins are the highest-pitched instruments in the string family seconded by violas. A viola produces a deeper, mellow, and slower sound than violin because of its thicker strings.

Clef

One of the main contrasts between the violin and the viola is the clef that each instrument uses. Music for the viola is written in an alto clef, which uses the C clef. The viola is the only instrument to use the alto clef whereas the violin uses the treble clef.

Bow frog

The viola bows are a bit heavier, with curved frogs (end of the bow) than violin bows which are generally straight-edged. The viola bow also has a wider band of horsehair.

Techniques

The techniques used in playing viola and violin are different due to their sizes and tunes. The fingering is quite different as the viola has heavier strings which require more intense weight application to vibrate them.  However, both of them have the same manner of holding.

Use

The sound of violins is carried above another instrument hence, they are used to play the melody lines. They can also be used to harmonize whereas violas are mostly used to fill in harmonies.  Violas are more popular in folk music and violins in jazz music.

How to keep your Viola safe?

Violas are delicate musical instruments requiring care and maintenance. Restringing every 3 to 6 months, distancing polish and fingers from bow hair, and using humidifiers to avoid cracks to keep it safe are some ways to ensure the longevity of a viola. However, having viola insurance is the key to its long-time safety.

Conclusion

Viola can be thought of as an instrument that has seen the journey of evolution rather than being instantaneously invented. Due to the intrinsic property of the timbre, the viola has a melancholic and richer tone than the violin. Viola belongs to an extremely sophisticated and exquisite range of instruments; thus, it is recommended that professionals get their viola insured to ensure the safety of their viola. It has an undeniable contribution to the world of music though it was initially highly overlooked.

[maxellminidisc]

No More Stories Are Told Today by Mew ^_^ really wanna get my own place specifically to listen to blast this album

Mew is one of those bands that I also keep putting a pin in and honestly really really glad I listened to this, its fucking amazing. Like truly talk about welding genres together seamlessly. Also, god what I would give to be able to blast the richest tunes imaginable in the comfort of MY home, I feel you!! Anyway my 3 faves are:

New Terrain- sucker for the classic move of using backwards tracking to give an eerie experimental flair and this is next level! It works forwards AND backwards, I figured they had to have done something wild to achieve that goopy reverse sound effect on the totally comprehensible vocal melody and sure enough learning they did this so you could "unlock" a bonus song within a song is insane, I love it. I always give props to playing endless with music, especially to achieve the musical equivalent of a Droste effect lol

Silas the Magic Car- this album as a whole is definitely more so upbeat than I sort of imagined it could be, which is a pleasant surprise, but I think this track is gorgeous despite it being one of the calmer ones. Sparkling and mellow. But my favorite thing about it is, again, the vocal layering!! I love when it hits the chorus bits of "I wanted you to be home" and the higher part of the harmony/backing vocal is placed like one beat behind the rest of the vocal mix. It makes the song feel like one of those seemingly "mundane" dreams that reads like a sort of heavy day in your waking life, only theres something hard to place as off that your brain hasn't quite grasped IS very much because it's a dream.

Sometimes Life Isn't Easy- this shit feels so so cinematic, technicolor on so many levels!! What's interesting to note too is that it achieves this whilst being the song that has the least bass boost than the others, the undertone has more of an increased treble cause nothing feels beefy or heafty. Even the drums and that kind vibrating bassline synth feel more muted, with more emphasis on the crashing cymbal sounds to evoke waves crashing into rocks, claps that leap, saxophones that evoke falling stars, etc. That's saying something too cause usually "cinematic" denotes very rich or dense arrangements to give a song emotional weight. But this feels like BRIGHT, even sharp colors exploding into the sky in clear daylight. Fucking gorgeous!

Thanks so much for sending this one in!!! 🥰

[bontententest]

IN THEORY

Pairing: South x gn pianist!reader

WC: 1.2k

Genre/Tags: fluff to angst, heavy angst, death, violence, music/piano, manga spoilers

A/N: i know i’ve been whining about piano au south ever since the South backstory chapter lmao ehehehe

In theory, South should have never spared you a second glance. In theory, if you appeared in his mind the third time, he should have put six bullets through your skull. But when the two were drunk between the melodies, lost between the clefts, bars, and pauses, the theory didn’t mean much.

Accelerando. Gradually. Gradually yet quickly, South came to realize that you were often at that park, during that time, sitting at that piano. Again and again, he passed by you on the way to the designated bench where the mole would report undercover news to him.

Andante, a walking speed. Yours was different from his. Your steps were more normal than his. But the few entranced steps he took towards the old, painted piano sitting in the park slowed to a normal speed. His wide steps diminished to calm curiosity. You asked him, “Do you play too?”

Lunga pausa, a long pause. “No. I…well, I used to.” He didn’t have to answer, but he was drawn in by the harmonious quality of your voice, the eloquence of the tone. Much like the music from your fingertips, it carried richness and warmth. Powerful and confident.

South trailed closer, his height towered over the street piano. The ivory keys were rustic but still cleaner than the ones he knew. His hand trailed over a key and carefully pressed down with his index. A low, vibrating hum sounded.

“G. So.” You told him, pressing the same key three octaves higher.

“The…piano I had didn’t have this key,” South said after pressing the key again. “Or this one, this…that…” His finger traveled to another black key, and then another white key, and then another.

His life could be described as messy. Messy and vicious. Details, many unkind, wove together in not-so-pleasant ways. Many of which South would choose to un-remember, but could not. Amongst the smashed in faces and splatter brains, broken bones, and wailing cries, South remembered the piano in his childhood room: the one out of tune with holes. He didn’t even realize it was out of tune until much later on, but by then, nothing could be tuned back again. Mother was gone.

“Beethoven composed many of his works on pianos missing keys,” you said with a slight chuckle and pressed a few, infamous, loud chords. “He broke a lot of pianos too.”

South scoffed and left as pedestrians began to come over to see if there was a show. A small smile curved on your face as you stretched your fingers and began the program you had for the public today. Out of the corner of your eye, you glanced towards his broad frame walk further and further away. He was a musician. You could tell because you were one too. And musicians found each other because musicality didn’t need words.

Allegro, quick and cheerful. South found you frequently at the park, almost waiting for him. You noticed him each time, no matter how withdrawn he tried to be—not that it was particularly difficult either with his height and stature. You were persistent, never approached him first, but the music was more tantalizing than any dessert. And the beast soon willingly stepped out of his cave.

“Do you think I could play? Truly play?”

“If you set your heart to it, I’m sure you can.”

South found himself sitting next to you on the bench. His hands no longer roamed near the low notes. South found clenched fists as the most comfortable position for his hands. There was comfort and security involved with curling fingers into the palm until the exposed flesh balled tightly like unmovable stone. But next to you, he opened himself, unfurled the thick fingers covered with scars and calluses, and exposed the center of his palms to the keys. His hand stretched across a whole octave.

Dolce, sweetly. You told him that he had very large hands. “Perfect for Rachmaninoff and Liszt!” you chirped. Hearing your encouragement, he stretched his pinky across one more key, and then another until they spanned thirteen keys. “Impressive,” you remarked, sizing your hand next to his. South felt the corners of his mouth tug upwards.

Molto, molto. More and more. He involved you in his life and willingly allowed himself to step into yours. There was a place, a humble spot where it was shared. Lovely and homely. A bed, a kitchen, a bathtub big enough for two. A piano.

“How was it?”

“Hm. Not bad~”

“Only not bad?”

Staccato. Pops and pizzaz. Small jumps and sprites fizzing like soda pop. Jumping and playfully. He joked with you, easily surprised you while you were sitting on the bench. In fact, he could lift you and the bench if he wanted. You slung your arms around his neck. Trailed over his large hands with tickling touches from your own. Distracted him from practice with secretive pecks that he would never see coming. Finally, even South caught your rhythm and turned his head at the right time, captured your attempts to flee, and buried your shrieks with deep laughter.

[divine-nonchalance]

∞

The 9D Arcturian Council, Channeled by Daniel Scranton

“Greetings. We are the Arcturian Council. We are pleased to connect with all of you.

We are coming to you from the ninth dimension, which is not really a different place from your dimension. It is just that we operate at a different frequency. Our vibration is higher, which means we do not have physical bodies. We could lower our vibration enough to take form and appear to you, and at some point in the future, we will. For now, however, it serves you and us more for us to stay in the ninth-dimensional frequency and in a nonphysical state and teach you from where we are. We want to point out to you that all dimensions are available to you, but you will not take your physical body higher than the fifth dimension right now.

You are evolving and becoming your new selves, and as your new selves you will have new bodies. Those bodies will be much different from the ones you currently occupy, but we want to talk to you more about dimensions than about your light bodies that you will inhabit someday. It is important for you to recognize that the higher dimensions are not in a far off place that you cannot reach yet with your rocket ships. The higher-dimensional planes are everywhere, and you can reach them through meditation, focus, conscious breathing, and some people use substances to get to the point where they can experience higher-dimensional planes.

It is important for you to know that you can do it without the substances, however. It is important for you to know that we are not in a far off place, and that is also true of Archangels, ascended masters, your spirit guides, and anyone else you would ever want to connect with, including deceased loved ones. You can raise your vibration a lot more easily than you give yourselves credit for, but if you are looking for something to happen, and it doesn’t when you raise your vibration, then you might give up. Therefore, we want you to raise your vibration for the sake of feeling better. Raise your vibration just to see how good you can feel, and do it without expectation and without attachment.

Let’s say you were to raise your vibration because you wanted to get a new home, and after a week of raising your vibration, the new home appears. It falls right into your lap. Then what? Would you determine that raising your vibration works at getting you what you want and therefore do it some more, or would you decide that now that you have your dream home, you don’t need to raise your vibration anymore? Either way, it is not something to do as a means to an end. It is something to experience so that you have inner peace, so that you resonate love and joy, and so that you act in excitement and with passion. These are the best ways to live, and you know that, and you also know that having the perfect home doesn’t automatically make someone happy.

So we invite you to raise your vibration, expect nothing, but know that as you do raise your vibration, you are getting closer to us and all other beings and collectives like us. Now, some of you are wondering how to raise your vibration. It is different for all of you in one sense, and it is the same for all of you in another sense. Meditating, focusing on your breathing, quieting your mind, and tuning in to your heart are universal ways of raising your vibration. For some of you, being in nature will automatically raise your vibration. For others, it will be dancing, singing, or just listening to music. Others will benefit most from being in some sort of body of water, or even a bath tub or hot tub.

You can determine what the things are that you can do to raise your vibration and do them, and you can also set the intention to live in a higher vibrational state and ask the universe for help, because we all want to help you, no matter where we are in this beautiful universe of ours.

We are the Arcturian Council, and we have enjoyed connecting with you.”