u/OtherAir5929

I’m a piano novice. I’ve been taking lessons as an adult for the past eight months. There are a few technical deficiencies on my part that my teacher has pointed out repeatedly, but I am having trouble fixing them with her recommended drills. I’m wondering if you would have any other recommended drills or tips for how to approach these technical improvements.

• There’s often a lot of tension throughout my wrists and hands. They're quite stiff. I often play the best when I’m not thinking about my hands and just letting them flow how they will. Sometimes when I am playing a difficult section, I think too much, and my hands tense up. My teacher has recommended playing arpeggios repeatedly while trying to move my wrists left and right (without moving my elbows). I’ve been doing this for a while, but it doesn’t seem to be helping. Any other recommended drills?
• When I play with my left pinky (I am right-handed) or sometimes my other fingers, when my finger-tip lands on the key, my finger is straight rather then bent. I've been trying to keep my fingers bent as a result, but then my hands look like they're preparing to scratch something out of self-defense. So, I try to keep my knuckles down while having bent fingers, but I find it hard to control my fingers individually for very fast tempos or notes of shorter values. Any tips for maintaining a natural hand position without strain and for developing finger control?
• Sometimes when I play chords, my fingers do not sound the notes of the chord at the exact same time. My teacher recommends pulling my fingers back down the key as I depress it, like I'm slowly tightening my grip around a stress ball. This helps sometimes, but other times it is awkward for me. It seems to be random as to whether my fingers sound the notes simultaneously or slightly out of sync. Any tips?

I'm a 24 year old baritone bass. I've been studying singing privately and intermittently competing/performing for about eight years. I would like to make a major life re-direction by making professional singing my priority for my career. However, I'm not sure if this is the right thing for me to do right now. I would like some advice from people, including from those who are older or have more singing experience than I do.

A synopsis of my life is: When I was in high school, singing and acting were together my primary focus. I got into my top school, one of the best conservatories in the US, but didn't attend because I would've had to go into sever debt and another school offered me a great scholarship (not for singing).

During college, COVID hit, and I gave up singing for several personal and mental reasons, among them being a total lack of self-confidence, bitterness from COVID, discouragement from my family, and pressure from them to pursue a more stable career. I was content to sing at church and wherever else as a hobby.

Still, throughout college I kept taking lessons at my university and then with a professor (who's the best teacher I ever had) at a local university during my first year of working. Most of my teachers have seriously encouraged me to pursue singing as more than a hobby, saying I could do it. I chalked it up to flattery and didn't go for it, probably for the reasons described above.

Anyway, I wasn't satisfied in the workforce and ended up enrolling in a seminary, with the end goal of becoming a pastor. For that seminary program, I've studied in Germany for this year. My German voice and piano teachers have also both urged me to pursue singing further. I've also grown disenchanted with seminary at the moment.

In short, my lost dream of singing as returned to the forefront of my mind: I understand a career in singing is not guaranteed, but I figure that I'll never have one if I don't give it a serious shot. I'm also agreeable to working as a music teacher/professor if I earn advanced degrees in music but can't provide for myself and my family through singing. So, I'm wondering right now whether I should continue in the seminary (I have three years left) or leave the program now, work for at least the next school year, and apply for MM's in USA and bachelor vocal programs in Germany beginning as early as Fall 2027. On the one hand, if I am no longer enthusiastic about becoming a pastor, perhaps I should leave, find a full time job now, and pursue singing and music with all my free time for the next year. On the other hand, becoming a pastor before pursuing musical education may provide me a flexible and stable, albeit low-paying, job for supporting my musical pursuits. (Plus, it may open up doors for me to work as a church musician after pursuing an MM, which would be a nice job.) I would have also three more years for my voice to mature. It would make performances on Sunday mornings difficult, though.

I'm under a lot of stress right now. I don't know what to do. My wife and I are expecting our first kid, which makes me think I should definitely pursue a musical degree as soon as possible. Taking a year off to focus on singing and prepare to enter music programs sounds quite appealing. I'm just worried it's a dumb choice. On the other hand, I've had several professional singers, musicians, and friends telling me that I should pursue this fully, and I may always regret never giving it my all and at least trying.

So, the main question: Should I give up my current life direction to pursue singing fully (which is what I want to do), or is it hopeless at this stage?

The title sums it up well. They retained the original German libretto for the songs but had the singers speak English in between the songs. Is this normal for a conservatory to do? Is this a warning sign for the quality of the conservatory? It is lesser known and rather small.

I'm considering applying for both of these programs. Ideally, I'd be able to pay the bills through performing, but seeing that that is incredibly unlikely, I'm thinking about what I'd do for a living after earning a master's degree. On the one hand, it seems that the MM would give me the best opportunities/connections for a singing career and an education more concentrated on singing and performing. On the other hand, with regards to finding employment that will pay the bills, a Master of Sacred Music would seemingly allow me to become more well-rounded as a musician through conducting, organ, and other classes, while still having a vocal concentration (at least, at some schools in the US and Germany, where I'm looking at schools). Plus, working as a church musician is more appealing to me than teaching at a school or university (although, I'd understand that I may have to do both to make a living through music.)

So, does anyone have knowledge/perspective on both programs and could let me know if my assumptions are faulty, if I should be considering something further, or if you would recommend one program over the other for someone who primarily wants to work as a singer?

I'm a man in my mid-20s. I discovered Stoicism this year by reading through a volume of Seneca's letters. I find his letters to contain some of the greatest practical wisdom I've ever received. And now, as I am questioning the direction of my life.

I'm currently in a Christian seminary studying to be a pastor. I've been there for two years and would have three years left if I remained. I wrote this long post on a Christian subreddit about why I am considering leaving. The upshot of it is, I'm struggling with my faith, am spiritually drained by seminary (it's not what I thought it would be), have a kid on the way, and bitter because I forsook following what I'm truly passionate about in my heart.

I'm deliberating between three possible paths, although I wonder if my very act of worrying about the future contradicts Seneca's admonishment to only worry when it becomes necessary. If it doesn't, it is only because my plans for the future affect what I have to decide imminently (e.g., where to live, job-searching, buying a car, etc.)

Here are the three paths between which I am deliberating:

1. Remain in seminary, with the intention to seek ordination in three years. Although I'm doubting and struggling now, I still have faith that this is something valid (or, at least, more than "made up.") I have a desire to serve others, and this could be a way to do that. Plus, a career as a pastor may leave me time to pursue my musical passion (see below).
2. Leave seminary, work for at least a year, and apply for master's of music programs. Before college, I was on my way to becoming a classical singer. I quit, to the dismay of my vocal instructors, because I was embittered by all the COVID stuff. I admit this was impulsive and prideful of me. But, I've talked with several people in the industry in America and in Europe, and they all keep encouraging me to and saying I have what it takes. I know the odds are slim, and I know that I'll have to work incredibly hard.... But, I'll never know if I don't try. My qualm here is that seeking a career in classical singing seems self-indulgent. Could I better serve others in another capacity?
3. Leaving seminary and working for at least a year, but then applying for MSc programs in applied math (my official undergrad major). This would be mainly for the sake of finding a job that pays well, being able to provide for my incoming child, and hopefully finding a job that helps more people directly than singing. However, although I enjoy math enough to have officially studied it, it is not where my passion lies. I don't read math books for fun, but I sing for fun--and singing could remain a part of my life in a local setting as a hobby. This path would purely be for the sake of most reliably and comfortably providing for my family--but I recall the opening to Seneca's 88th letter: "I have no respect for any study whose end is profit." But we may distinguish between working for one's livelihood and working for avarice, can't we?

So, I don't know what to do. Luckily, my wife is on board with anything. Sorry if this post is immature or selfish, but I'm racking my brain trying to figure out what to do and am driving myself crazy. Does anyone have any advice? I know success as a singer is incredibly unlikely, but assuming it was guaranteed, could it still be admonished against on the grounds of Stoic principles?

I've just completed my second year of seminary and have three years left (this is normal for my church body, and you have to go to seminary to become a pastor) I'm considering leaving the seminary and no longer pursuing becoming a pastor. There are several things percolating in my mind, and I honestly have no idea what to do.

• The most significant problem is that I am struggling in my faith. I still believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God along with several other fundamental Christian articles (such as those taught by the Nicene Creed), but I may lack enough faith to commit my career to the pastoral ministry. Plus, I am not convinced enough to teach the faith as dogmatically as my church body would have me.
• Further, seminary has been such a spiritual drought. I came to seminary to be healed and to learn how to help heal others. Instead, seminary is mostly a bunch of bickering over extremely niche papers and issues, often times ones that lack practical effects, and a intellectual contest to see who can win the most theoretical debates and who can learn the most languages fastest.
• My wife and I are expecting our first child soon. I'm terrified of having to learn how to be a father while living on one part-time income and managing seminary work.
• Finally, I'm bitter. When I was younger, I had a dream of a certain other career. During COVID, I forsook the world and retreated from it out of prideful indignation, and I forsook my dreams along with the world. And I have reasonable evidence to believe that I can still accomplish them--or at least try and realize that I cant. I also think I can remain a Christian and pursue what I really have a passion for. My wife's on board. We'd be broke--but we're already broke, and I wouldn't be able to work full time for another three years if I stayed the course in seminary, anyway. The only thing stopping me is myself.

Given all this, I still am not ready to leave seminary. Part of my reluctance may be pious: I don't want to betray God. But, part of my reluctance is pride: I built myself up as becoming a great pastor, and to give that up would be admitting that I wasn't good enough, that I wasn't smart enough to withstand the intellectual competition and social climbing scene--which is how you win street cred and awards at seminary, apparently.
Sorry, I know this post is immature. I've been driving myself crazy trying to figure out whether I should commit to another year of seminary or not. Please pray for me. If you have advice, please share.

I have a BA in math and would like to apply for one of these programs at Mines. Would anyone be willing to field some questions I have about the programs? Curious about the quality of each department, curriculum foci, outcomes for graduates, and if/how Mines offers networking opportunities or ways to learn about specific jobs.

I've been considering this question for a little while today. I've provide a quite literal English translation of the book whence this question comes. I've arrived at the answer of the binomial coefficient C(n-2, k-1) (that is, (n-2) choose (k - 1)).

Here is how I arrived at my conclusion: Consider Kn and two of its vertices, u and w. In generating a path of length k from u to w, those vertices will be the endpoints of the path, and then we have n - 2 other vertices from which to select the other vertices. Since a path of length k will feature k + 1 vertices and two of those vertices are u and w, we must select k - 1 other vertices. Thus, we have C(n-2, k-1) possible paths.

But! The back of the book that I am reading says that the answer is the product of C(n-2, k-1) and (k - 1)!. I cannot figure out the reason for (k - 1)!. I have two hunches:

a) I may be misunderstanding the problem. I've answered the question of "given two vertices of Kn, how many paths of length k exist between them," rather than "how many paths of length k exist between any possible pairs of vertices on the graph." However, the answer would then seem to imply that there are (k-1)! possible pairs of vertices, which I don't think is true; rather, there should be C(n,2) possible pairs, no?

b) C(n-2, k-1) counts all the paths in which we do not repeat vertices. Perhaps I should be also counting paths in which vertices are repeated? I thought, by definition, a vertex could only appear in a path once. Does that only apply to edges? If so, I still cannot figure out how allowing for repeated vertices would incur a factor of (k - 1)!

So, I'm stuck. Can someone help? If someone would be willing to give me a hint rather than just explaining to me the whole solution, I would love that. I'd like to work for this.