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ADHD @lemmy.world xkforce @lemmy.world

Whats your current hyperfocus?

This week mine was homemade soda. Fermented sodas, citric acid + bicarbonate sodas, different juices and flavors like lime + lemon + cherry and pomegranate or mango peach or cola (homemade knock off)

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  • I'm currently trying to learn music theory. Finding it hard to concentrate at work because the pieces have finally just started falling into place in my monke brain and I'm sucking up as much content as I can find.

    I'd like to compose stuff at some point for video games that I will eventually develop, but if nothing else I'm dying to be able to know why I like my favorite music other than "that part sounds good." There are too many "composer reacts" channels on YT and not enough people who truly break down the concepts. My favorites that I have found are 8-bit Music Theory and David Bennett.

    • Keep it up! A lot of people in music school struggle with Theory as well so doing it on your own and succeeding is quite the achievement.

      • Thank you for the encouragement! I had attempted this years ago and bounced off, but at this point I have a muse that gives me a huge surge of momentum (plus I've grown into a much more patient person when it comes to my own artistic expression). It's such an incredible feeling

    • that part sounds good

      Then you have to ask why does it sound good?
      Because it makes you feel a certain way.

      Which way does it make you feel?
      Happy/Sad/Powerful/Powerless etc

      Why does it make you feel that way?

      And so on and so forth. Try finding a few examples and compare what they all do similarly to achieve that same effect between them.

      It's so rewarding to track things down on your own, and then you can complete the knowledge by watching videos on the topic.

      Does that make sense? I never know if I articulated my thoughts in a way other people can actually understand

      Also, check out DaveWaves' Explained in 2 minutes series

      • Why does it make you feel that way?

        This is the one thing for which I want a concrete answer, and I feel like without the tools I'm currently gaining from these videos I can't really come to a satisfactory conclusion. Sometimes I'm able to find similarities between songs, like the same chord progression, or key signature, etc. but never the complete answer. I've come to the conclusion that I'll have to transcribe my favorite things and grind out the answers myself (I can also just search for the sheet music for some things, but I think I'd be doing my future self a disservice).

        I agree though that it's one of the most fulfilling things to come to the conclusion on my own. I just need the right tools first! I'm no Beethoven after all 😁

        Thanks for the recommendation, I'll definitely check it out!

        • The difference between a major and minor chord can do so much, add in tritones and you've already got quite the toolset to create very specific emotions.

          You've got the weight of a sound to work with, a good example would be the soundtrack of Interstellar. Contrasting a meaningless and powerless humanity in form of simple melodies on a piano with the absolute might and unfathomable size of space, brought to life with a massive organ.

          Soooo much good music. On another note, check out The Good, the Bad and the Ugly played by the Danish National Orchestra, their channel is called DR Koncerthuset. If that one part doesn't make you feel things, I don't know what will

    • Dude that's sick! Out of curiosity do you also play any instruments? I'm neurotypical but learning bass aswell as trumpet really made a bunch of theory stuff click for me

      (Feel free to ignore this if it doesn't work ADHD wise) Also a quick note on composition- if you hear something in a song and go "oh that's a good idea" totally steal it, or a bit of it and repurpose it for your own songs. The best songs I've ever written were a bunch of cool bits from different songs and my own ideas. For example on a piece I'm just finishing I stole the chord progression from a j rock song I like (changed it a bit to make it better) and I stole a bunch of chord structures from a guitar solo, and stole a bit of the drum pattern for a bunch of different songs all mashed together. Robbery is cool

      • Hey fellow trumpet player! I played it for 7 years through middle and high school, and I even did jazz band in HS. I was third- then first chair in our top band, yet I still didn't learn anything deeper than musical notation and major scales... Things like the circle of fifths, modes, even chord progressions? I now know they're all pretty basic concepts, but back then they were a form of mysticism reserved for the gods of music. Thankfully all the basic stuff has stuck with me as if I never stopped playing, which has provided a priceless foundation. Oh, and very strong relative pitch!

        I definitely plan to take ideas from here and there and evolve them, if only as homage to my composer heroes. Just as in game design, nothing is completely original anymore, and everyone "borrows" ideas all the time. Regarding drum patterns, definitely gonna tap into the works of Peart and Portnoy!

        Thanks for the inspiration, by the way. It really helps keep the fire going!

    • I want to recommend Perfecto De Castro's guitar tutorial too. While he is teaching music theory for guitars, it helped me to understand some basics applicable to music in general as well.

      • Thanks for the rec! Not sure why someone downvoted you, but I was able to find his playlist with music theory concepts after some digging. I'll use this to supplement the rest of the material I've found.

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