Oh Snap! We forgot to do our 2021 predictions and resolutions!

[Beebo Brink]

I haven't used Office 365. I would like to put page footers aligned to the left on left pages and to the right on right pages with no footer on the first page of each chapter. Ms. Brink, how do I do that?

I strongly suspect stuff like that isn't possible with 365 which is why I remain with the desktop version of office.

I only deal with the SharePoint sites on O365, so I'm afraid you're on your own for document help.

Building a web page in O365 is similar to this:

Whereas with on-premise SharePoint, I'm used to being able to do this:

 

[Noodles]

My resolutions have been the same for the past few years, and I usually stick with them for at least 3-6 months.

Walk more, usually I try to get my 10k/day Fitbit steps. Lately I average maybe 5K though.

Eat better. I already started tracking food in MyFitnessPal again. Mostly this just needs to mean "less snacking".

Read More. I have gotten soooo bad about neglecting my reading. I did really well from like 2015-2018 or so, and it's basically bottomed out.

Write more... again. usually this means Blogging. I wouldn't mind writing stories again, I used to do that years ago.

Learn Piano. I started this resolution last year and it fizzled out. I really enjoy music, I really want to learn how to make music.

Draw Again. I used to draw many many years ago, and I was pretty good at it. I keep wanting to take it up again.

I just want to throw out probably my most successful resolution int he past few years, Learn a second language. I've been working on learning Espanol for a few years now, with Duolingo, and other things, and I really feel like I'm starting to get kind of ok at it. I even held a short conversation with someone in SL, in Spanish recently, though I did use google Translate to make sure I was reading correctly. This one is actually part of my "New Decade" resolutions I made last year. In th next ten years I want to be at least somewhat proficient in at least two languages aside from English. Spanish is one of these. I have not quite decided ont he second yet, but I am considering either taking up Japanese, which I took in High School and sort of remember, so it may not be too bad, or Norwegian, because Norway seems pretty cool, and I have been listening to a lot of Norwegian musicians in the past few years. I started Norwegian briefly in Duolingo and it didn't seem too bad either, more similar to English than I would have expected. As for WHY, mostly just because for as long as I can remeber language and other cultures have been fascinating to me.


Maybe my real resolution would be to stop trying to do TOO MUCH.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Learn Piano. I started this resolution last year and it fizzled out. I really enjoy music, I really want to learn how to make music.

Funny thing is that I just got this little puppy here - the Korg EK50 - and started learning it again by myself this week, too. Maybe we could discuss a little bit about methods on how to do it and so on?

 

[Soen Eber]

I think there's research out now that you really only need 6K steps per day for optimal health, unless you're going beyond that for special reasons.

 

[Noodles]

Funny thing is that I just got this little puppy here - the Korg EK50 - and started learning it again by myself this week, too. Maybe we could discuss a little bit about methods on how to do it and so on?

So far I just have an old piano book and an old, not so fancy Piano. I am awful at doing Chords. I want to get a nicer set of keys but I also have basically realized tht until I know how to at least play the basics, I don't need to spend $300 on a piano.

I have been doing some with those drop note videos you can find on Youtube, but if you look into any Piano forum, they will lynch you for using those, since the ONLY way to play is with sheet music and anyone else is a heathen.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

So far I just have an old piano book and an old, not so fancy Piano. I am awful at doing Chords. I want to get a nicer set of keys but I also have basically realized tht until I know how to at least play the basics, I don't need to spend $300 on a piano.

I have been doing some with those drop note videos you can find on Youtube, but if you look into any Piano forum, they will lynch you for using those, since the ONLY way to play is with sheet music and anyone else is a heathen.

Nothing wrong with having a piano, as long as it is working, well tuned I guess and doing its job. And spending money makes no sense when you already got one.

Drop notes look easy, but the problem is they tell you nothing on how to read a music sheet and play music from a sheet as well about proper hand movement. And 99.9% of all music is being played first time from a sheet, so you are better off indeed with a course or book which really teaches you notes and starts from the very much beginning in the long term.

Luckily understanding notes is not so hard to do, and many songs are quite easy to play. So the guys are right, if you are indeed serious about playing the piano in the long run you cannot avoid learning notes. Since notes are fundamental to playing piano (as well as other instruments), you better should start using them right from the beginning, this is far easier than it might sound.

 

[Noodles]

Nothing wrong with having a piano, as long as it is working, well tuned I guess and doing its job. And spending money makes no sense when you already got one.

Drop notes look easy, but the problem is they tell you nothing on how to read a music sheet and play music from a sheet as well about proper hand movement. And 99.9% of all music is being played first time from a sheet, so you are better off indeed with a course or book which really teaches you notes and starts from the very much beginning in the long term.

Luckily understanding notes is not so hard to do, and many songs are quite easy to play. So the guys are right, if you are indeed serious about playing the piano in the long run you cannot avoid learning notes. Since notes are fundamental to playing piano (as well as other instruments), you better should start using them right from the beginning, this is far easier than it might sound.

Well, it's an electric keyboard, but it's more piano than synth, or mini, or whatever most modern electric keyboards seem to be.

It's old, it was at my parents house collecting dust.

I think I may invest in a newer learning book as well. The one I have is also old, which is a problem because I don't know how half the music is SUPPOSED to sound.

I could get an actual upright iano, because my mom.has one she wants to get rid of, but it's heavy as shit, and half the keys don't work.

On the drop note stuff. I like it because it's music I know, but I kind of more recently started disliking it because it's often the singing melody for one part. I had a but of a revelation recently that it would be better to learn arrangements that accompany the melody that is sung, rather than just play it. But then I also decided it might be cool to play that part, recorded, then play the underlying parts. But after that I reminded myself that I need to learn to play basic music first.

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

I got ableton so I can use my beast of a midi keyboard - just want to finish my unity coding class first, because i tend to focus like that....

 

[Casey Pelous]

Noodles

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Since live teaching is still out of the question -- and often of questionable quality, anyway -- this sounds like a pretty cool course.

Advice I'd share - worth easily twice what you're paying for it!

1) Get a comfortable place to practice where your hands can be in the proper position. It sounds almost trivial, but, trust me, it makes a huge difference.

2) When you get an instrument, get one with a) a real touch-sensitive keyboard and b) a sound you really like, since you'll be hearing it a lot. "Touch-sensitive" means if you hit the key harder it plays louder, like a real piano. I'd gently encourage you to forget that decrepit old wreck at your mom's house* unless you have some special fondness for it and a not-at-all-small budget to restore it. For less than what moving and repairing it will cost you, you can have a gee whiz electronic keyboard like Yamaha MODX8 88-key Weighted Action Synthesizer. I have that one's older brother in my studio and after some 15 years, I still haven't begun to exhaust its possibilities. Even a much more modest keyboard like Yamaha PSR-E373 61-key Portable Arranger will be far superior, and it is only about $200. (Doesn't have weighted keys, though, so doesn't feel like a real piano, while the MODX8 does.)

* I should make clear I mean the piano. Not your Mom.

 

[Eunoli]

My freaking predictions have been coming true for the past four and a half years. You might think that I'd claim it's because I'm prescient. It's actually just because I'm a pessimist and this half decade sucks. Still I think I deserve some kind of doomsayer title.

 

[Noodles]

I don't have a lot of attachment to the old keyboard, it was just "free".

This is what I was looking at getting, which I had recommended.

Amazon.com: Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol A61 Controller Keyboard: Musical Instruments

Buy Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol A61 Controller Keyboard: Synthesizer & Workstation Keyboards - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

I believe it about the weighted keys and sound. The keyboard I use now just feels like they keys don't throw like they should and it does sound kind of shit.

Maybe if the $2k stimulus goes through I will have to splurge.

 

[Casey Pelous]

I don't have a lot of attachment to the old keyboard, it was just "free".

This is what I was looking at getting, which I had recommended.

Amazon.com: Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol A61 Controller Keyboard: Musical Instruments

Buy Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol A61 Controller Keyboard: Synthesizer & Workstation Keyboards - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

I believe it about the weighted keys and sound. The keyboard I use now just feels like they keys don't throw like they should and it does sound kind of shit.

Maybe if the $2k stimulus goes through I will have to splurge.

That's a controller keyboard.

• Smart, streamlined keyboard controller for all your virtual instruments and effects

You'd connect that to your computer via midi. The computer would be running some sort of audio software (ProTools, Cubase, Ableton, etc.) Within the audio software there would be a virtual instrument of some sort, which is what would make the sounds. (This is fiendishly hard to explain!)

For instance, I run Cubase, which is my mixer/effects chain/multi-track audio recorder/multi-track midi recorder. I can connect a track in Cubase to a built-in sampler called Halcyon and "play" that via the keyboard of my big synthesizer or by entering midi note-by-note. In fact, I can play any instrument I have in my library of virtual instruments, and there are companies who will happily sell me more. That controller keyboard is for talking to a system like that.

More simply put, no sounds come out of that keyboard, just midi signals.

 

[Soen Eber]

A lot of people buy brand new keyboards and then put them away after several months; you might want to check out used if you know what you're looking for and are willing to research.

 

[Rose Karuna]

I only have one resolution this year. It's kind of dumb but maybe it will help me maintain better health. Basically, I don't like drinking water. I get a pain in my throat when I drink too fast, I have problems with it going down my wind pipe and I have no idea why Iced tea, coffee or other soft drinks don't react on me this way.

Anyhow, my 2021 resolution is to drink one glass of plain water every day. Just one.

Basically I'd like to make a resolution for once that I think I can keep and that's it. One glass of water per day. I can do that.

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

I only have one resolution this year. It's kind of dumb but maybe it will help me maintain better health. Basically, I don't like drinking water. I get a pain in my throat when I drink too fast, I have problems with it going down my wind pipe and I have no idea why Iced tea, coffee or other soft drinks don't react on me this way.

Anyhow, my 2021 resolution is to drink one glass of plain water every day. Just one.

Basically I'd like to make a resolution for once that I think I can keep and that's it. One glass of water per day. I can do that.

Considering that I can't drink anything carbonated without it being painful, and minimal caffiene, my options are water and herbal tea. So, I've this huge box of real lemon in my desk cupboard that I use, because even filtered, pensacola water is pretty

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

What are y'all talking about, it's March 313th, 2020.

 

[Noodles]

That's a controller keyboard.

• Smart, streamlined keyboard controller for all your virtual instruments and effects

You'd connect that to your computer via midi. The computer would be running some sort of audio software (ProTools, Cubase, Ableton, etc.) Within the audio software there would be a virtual instrument of some sort, which is what would make the sounds. (This is fiendishly hard to explain!

More simply put, no sounds come out of that keyboard, just midi signals.

I think I would be ok with that though. I already hook the keyboard I am using the my computer with the line in/out, so I can record my progress, or lack there of, and listen through the computer using headphones.

A lot of people buy brand new keyboards and then put them away after several months; you might want to check out used if you know what you're looking for and are willing to research.

So maybe the better plan would be to wait a few months, and see if I can get a deal on someone's used one, after they give up on their resolutions.

 

[Soen Eber]

So maybe the better plan would be to wait a few months, and see if I can get a deal on someone's used one, after they give up on their resolutions.

Yes, but don't just pick out a particular make & model; get a sense of what is out there with the capabilities you'd like, recognize the quality brands, and check daily. I usually get a brand and model I like after 2-3 weeks, a month at most. Remember luck = preparation + opportunity. Also model #'s are usually in a series, like 6500 is probably just a tweak on 6400 or has a bit of needless chrome and if you're looking for 6500 then 6400 or 6250 would be almost as good for much less, and you won't need to wait a few months.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Well, it's an electric keyboard, but it's more piano than synth, or mini, or whatever most modern electric keyboards seem to be.

It's old, it was at my parents house collecting dust.

I think I may invest in a newer learning book as well. The one I have is also old, which is a problem because I don't know how half the music is SUPPOSED to sound.

I could get an actual upright iano, because my mom.has one she wants to get rid of, but it's heavy as shit, and half the keys don't work.

On the drop note stuff. I like it because it's music I know, but I kind of more recently started disliking it because it's often the singing melody for one part. I had a but of a revelation recently that it would be better to learn arrangements that accompany the melody that is sung, rather than just play it. But then I also decided it might be cool to play that part, recorded, then play the underlying parts. But after that I reminded myself that I need to learn to play basic music first.

Are you able to find out the manufacturer and model number on this thing?

Anyway, when you just want to accompany melodies instead of playing it, that can be done rather easily. Even more so, you can learn to do this for most songs within a few hours at ease, after that it is only practicing the chords.

The reason why is simple: most songs only do use a handful of chords, namely C, D, Em and G. If you learn on how to play these, and some more, you are done.

Then you just need to google "song name chords", like Despacito, and then you get stuff like this:

This is all what you need to be able to accompany that song then. Of course this is equivalent of just playing chords on a guitar, instead of playing songs on it.

 

[Casey Pelous]

I think I would be ok with that though. I already hook the keyboard I am using the my computer with the line in/out, so I can record my progress, or lack there of, and listen through the computer using headphones...

Far be it from me to discourage you, but it is only fair to tell you that you are talking about taking up a fairly complex hobby! Things are far better now than when I first built my studio, but you still have all sorts of setup stuff like "VST Inputs", "Midi in/out", buffer settings -- its still pretty technical. I know you work in the biz and are very tech savvy, so I don't doubt you can do this -- I'm just not sure if you want to. Operating Cubase or one of the other audio workstations is very much like operating a real-life big-time recording studio. Think of it as Photoshop or Blender for midi and sound. If you're up for that, great, and I'll happily answer any tech questions I can.

You can get a little sense of the scope of Cubase here: Cubase 11 out now!

The fun thing about learning all that, though, is you can play a song into, say, Cubase, then correct any errors you made by editing the midi file. (I confess, any chops I had in my youth are long vanished, but I've made professional music by playing the computer.) You could also just dispense with the keyboard altogether and just write your music in midi in the computer. The keyboard's just an input device, after all. You can also multi-track, loop, and do all sorts of audio tricks. As someone who grew up doing all that in analogue, I still get amazed at the stuff I can do at my desktop that I actually couldn't have done in those multi-million dollar studios. One day I was doing some special effects voices for an audiobook and I realized that were this the old days and I was renting the special fx boxes, I'd have about $10,000 going into that one track!

You won't be limited to piano, either. Name the instrument, including drums, and it will be available in any quality virtual synthesizer. You can be your own band!

... recognize the quality brands ...

Which are Roland,Yamaha, and maybe Korg for your purposes. (I doubt you're in the market for a $4500 Nord!) Do NOT get Casio -- all the big kids will point and laugh at you.

Sad to say, but I imagine there might be quite a market in used instruments these days -- its not like anyone's playing gigs to make the payments.