Self learning

I am learning Russian and English. I speak in English and understand everything most of the time when my friends talk. I understand about 60% of the words in movies and news. I also struggle with... more

I am looking to get back into composition and trying to get some advice on textbooks.By way of background, my biggest liability is my lack of formal training (I have none). During my early teens, I... more

Antimoon (see e.g. [How to learn English](http://www.antimoon.com/how/howtolearn.htm)) claims that two Polish men ([Tomasz P. Szynalski and his friend MRW](http://www.antimoon.com/blog/about/))... more

I recently defended my doctoral thesis in management science and I realize that English is the key to the job market and research field. During my primary and secondary education, I was good at... more

When I'm improvising on my keyboard, or trying to compose a melody, I always find myself playing in a minor key -- and never a major one. (For keyboard it's usually G minor or D minor, but that I... more

I've read and experienced and I noticed that rhythm, rest placing and even very minor (no pun inteded) changes to the melody, for example some flat or sharp can change it drastically. My question... more

I love video game soundtracks from to 8-bit ones to the very orchestral pieces but it's not clear to me how they can make so many songs for one game. Even if there are motifs which can help make... more

I'm getting started learning engineering math. I'm really interested in physics especially quantum mechanics, and I'm coming from a strong CS background. One question is haunting me. Why do I... more

I have been teaching myself maths (primarily calculus) throughout this and last year, and was stumped with the use of determinants. In the math textbooks I have, they simply show how to compute a... more

I am trying to learn to audiate harmonies in order to be able to compose without instruments. I can already audiate melodies, but harmony is a real beast. (*Edit: To be clear, I can recognize... more

As I see it, notation on sheet music is a tool for translating musical ideas into something that can be read/interpreted by others and played back, given they understand the same set of rules. I... more