Hello!
Hi! How are you?
Oh, hello! I remember you! I believe.
Haha yep!
Were you the one who I had a short conversation with? I can't quite remember. You weren't the one typing at 120 WPM, right?
It wasn't super short, I dunno
Hang on, hang on, I feel like I would remember our conversation, then.
I'm a commercial music major, we talked about that
Oh, yes! With the chord progressions? Was that you? No, wait, that was STILL someone else.
Maybe? I don't remember talking about chord progressions although that sounds interesting
You were applying and were going for a computer science minor. Nah, it was some other guy. He mentioned one of his favorite progressions.
Yep that's me! Oh yeah? I don't suppose you remember what it was
I do, actually! I copied and pasted it to remember it.
I am a big fan of cool chord progressions
It was one I'd never really seen before. Which, granted, I'm not a music major, but still. He doesn't have any concrete foundation in music theory, so he just described it as best he could.
What was it?
So, it was a major seventh chord to a major seventh with flat 3 and flat 5, then a minor seventh. I . . . think. I couldn't quite tell.
Hmm okay haha I'd have to play it to know how it sounds That's cool though
That's what I said, too! I played it on the piano. I mean, as best I could. I couldn't quite tell what he intended. But I think that was it.
Yeah that's not super specific Still cool tho
I figured he meant from the same root. I'm assuming you know a lot more about music theory than I do? Oh, oh! I have a question. It's been bugging me for ages.
Haha yeah? What's that
Okay, so you know how on the piano that a C major scale hits all white keys and none of the blacks? (We'll ignore why it's called C major and not A major.)
Mmhm
Okay, so, as you go around the circle of fifths and play that key, it increases in sharps.
Yeah
I suppose you could go infinitely if you wanted to do enough double double sharps. But anyway.
Haha yeah technically
Why do the sharped keys remain constant? The pattern for major scales is whole whole half whole whole whole half. Nowhere does that say "All f's must be sharp." etc. Or "All c's following f must be sharp."
Ohh, I see what you mean
It feels like they all magically line up, you know? They just HAPPEN to land on those notes to sharp them.
I would say that music is really similar to math in a lot of ways, and I don't think anyone invented it to be that way Just like no one invented pi There's just some kind of magical things that already exist And we just discover them, and it's kind of beautiful how things line up and work out I would say that's one of those things
But you can't blame it on MAGIC. I can tell you why everything works they way they do in computers. C'mon, there has to be a reason, right? "Music is beautiful and mysterious?"
Music theory is really really similar to math in a lot of ways honestly
Do you enjoy learning about it? I'd feel it's a bit, um, too math-like for music majors. Because they're similar, like you said.
Yeah it's way cool
But is the only answer really just, "That's the way it is?"
Well, but I'm in CS too, so that's why I appreciate the more "math"ish side to it, maybe?
Oh, right, there is that. But doesn't that make you curious to see how it works?
Music theory and things like that kind of bridge the rigth/left brain sort of things
I see a mystery and want to sink my teeth into it
Oh totally
Eeeee, you make me want to study music theory again. You wanna know something else crazy?
Personally I believe it's something God created, or it's just a law of the universe, that we've just discovered So it's not just "that's the way it is"
I was tracking where the sharps appeared in keys relative to their home pitch, and, turns out, sharps appear in this order: 7, 3, 6, 2, 5, 1, 4, etc.
And I'm sure you could go deeper and figure out mathematically why the sharps do that etc Oh yeah? I never knew that
Hmm. I guess there is a certain beauty in just appreciating it for what it is, huh?
up 4 down 3 is the pattern
Or the circle of fifths if you mod seven. 'Cause keys are modular.
wait other way around
Yeah, I got what you meant.
Yeah
I don't understand. It's all so beautifully laid out. The more I try to disprove things, the more patterned I find it.
Yeah. Have you ever heard of atonal scales? I think that's what it's called
Atonal scales? Yeah. I'm not a fan.
People try and make scales using notes that aren't just the 12 tones we always sue use And yeah it just doesn't really work out
But why?
There's something about our 12 tone scale that just WORKS
Whyyyyy?
And I don't think we really know why
There's something beautifully orchestrated in there.
Haha now you're making ME want to look into music theory more Really though
So is music similar to physics in the sense that we don't make the rules, we just try to understand them?
It's like how the Fibonacci sequence shows up in nature all the time
Because I was talking to a physics major the other day, and he said their purpose is to figure out what the rules are.
I'd say so, yeah
Oh, yeah! The golden ratio thing, right?
Yeah exactly. And it just shows up everywhere, it's just THERE, and we don't really know why
Music has some already-pre-set rules that we can enjoy ourselves discovering. And nature, too, I guess. Math is like that, too. You can start to see some beautiful, beautiful connections if you go far enough. There's one thing, I can't remember what, that shows a pattern of prime numbers.
Yeah exactly. But I'd say music is different from physics, in that every time you try to define it, or make a set of rules, it always finds a way to evade them
No one really knows why. They just know prime shows up. sigh Why is music so confusing? At least in computer science there are definite boundaries of what is and what isn't.
Like, you make rules for "this is how you make it sound good" but then people can make stuff that sounds good that breaks those rules, and you can't really explain why
But, but, how are you supposed to create, then? I have some of the worst intuition in the world; I'm awful at spontaneity. It's why computer science is so lovely.
So music is less about formulaic "let's make something that fits within these constraints so that it Works" And more about "let's try some stuff, based off of what's sounded good before, and see if we can make it sound good"
How are you supposed to create, then? Where are your boundaries? It's so messy.
I guess, you just look at what's been done before
That seems quite limited by other people's innovation, though. If they never did it, then you can't, either.
There's some quote about how the best artists are just really good thiefs. You just build off of what other people do Well yeah, but you add on to what's been done I'd say originality is just taking something old, and presenting it in a new way, or a new light Everything's already there, and there's so much music that it's hard to find something that's never been done
It's all so . . . mystical and hard to understand, like trying to frame the stars or describing the sunset using only sounds.
I agree with you though, computer science is much more straightforward That's a REALLY good way to say it
Haha, I suppose.
I like that a lot
I know a lot of people don't like the constraints and boundaries, the strict way things need to be done, but I find it exhilirating. *exhilarating
I know what you mean. I'm not sure which I like better. I think each has its place
And you do both.
There's a beauty in things that evade language and description, though
Like emotion. I'll never understand it.
And there's beauty in being able to describe something and capture its essence precisely YES exactly. I have been thinking about that a LOT lately actually
Have you really? What about?
WHY does emotion evade language so much? Why aren't we able to communicate certain things like that? Why is it so hard to pin down? It should be simple, it's just a combination of physiological and mental processes. It's just chemicals, thoughts
I've, heh, been thinking a lot about that, too, which would make sense if you knew me.
Yeah? Why do you say that? What have you been thinking about it?
Honestly, I feel it's a shame that we aren't able to communicate with our emotions. To express intent and sincerity and truth.
Me. too.
We can SAY words and our actions can REFLECT those things, but it's different from actually feeling someone's emotion, you know?
Man it's like you read my mind Exactly
It's just . . . it'd be easier, you know? I'm not sure it'd solve every heartache, but it'd sure solve a lot.
Yes exactly There's a really good quote about music that kind of relates to that let me find it
If you can, please. I'd love to read it. And, see, meeting people like you on this chat makes me want to meet you in real life.
It's not really a quote it's just some random person on the internet that said it but I liked it so I wrote it down
Good quotes hardly need to come from "famous" people.
Haha me too, a little bit. One of my friends that did this too actually figured out a way to do that without actually sharing personal information on here I don't remember how though, so I dunno
Hang on. You're a guy, right?
That was the next thing I was going to say I am not
Oh, fun!
Haha sorry is that weird
Another girl!
You too?
Yup!
Hahahahahaha I was kind of wondering
I was, too. It's kinda hard to tell over the internet. Ah, shoot, I lost track of the time.
Maybe this is stereotypical but I would not expect a guy to be so interested in how emotion works That's why I was first wondering
(Okay, we're good! I can stay.)
Ok, no worries
I was thinking that, too.
Oh ok!
Do you think girls are more, um, emotionally connected, I guess is the word for it?
I probably shouldn't stay long though, I have hw I should be doing Oh definitely
Ah, yes yes, that little old "homework" thing.
And sometimes it's frustrating because I feel like guys are MISSING so much
I know! I try to explain it sometimes to them, but it's hard.
Like, there's this whole world of stuff, this whole side of the human experience, that they're just not really tuned into
And why on earth does music affect emotion? I don't know.
Oh wait! I was gonna tell you that quote
Yes, yes! Please do.
Music communicates feelings more than information, but it can add feelings to information, which in turn can strengthen the performance of the information It's a little wordy but it gets the point across
I think it's lovely. See, I wonder why audible sounds can affect something as internal as emotions. I'm aware that emotions, scientifically speaking, stem from certain chemicals in our brain, but that's too rigid for my taste.
Me too. I absolutely think there's  divinity behind it
I think it's so sad that we can't truly measure it.
Yeah, really though
We can't preserve it bottles; we can't wrap it up and gift it to someone else.
But maybe that makes it more precious?
It does.
I'd say that makes music something precious, because it's a way to communicate something that language can't If we could just SAY what we're feeling and have people truly understand it, music would lose a lot of its value
You know . . . actually, you just made me realize something. I don't think it WOULD lose its value. Or maybe it would a little.
Why do you say that?
Music has a special quality to it that can CAUSE emotion. It can store emotion. It can hold it.
You CAN bottle it, sort of?
It's as substanceless as the thing it's holding, but it still, yes, bottles it. Even memories fade after a time.
And you can wrap it up and give it someone, in chords, lyrics, and a melody Yeah. It's not perfect, but it's better than nothing, and it's the best we've got, for right now at least
I know this seems off topic, but have you seen Interstellar?
Yeah, but not in a while, what about it?
There's a scene in there where love is a real, dynamic force in the universe. They talk about love like a distinct thing, something tangible, something measurable. In the same way we can measure gravity or light. Er . . . hang on, I have a reference.
I love that idea I've been thinking about love a lot too, and how incomprehensible it is, maybe even harder to define than other emotion
Doctrine and Covenants 131:7. I know we're not supposed to quote scripture or whatever, but I have to do it here. And, yes! Love seems special.
It's kind of maybe a lot more important than we think. It seems like everything comes back around to love Ok yes I'm looking that up
There's, of course, the whole romantic attraction portion, and while I'm sure it falls under the umbrella of "love," that can't be all it encompasses. The whole part about spirit being a finer matter that we can't see. We can't currently see "goodness" in people. We can't see their halos. We can't see their emotions or the ties they've made with others.
Haha yeah But it's there and it's real
But, c'mon, isn't it interesting to think of emotion as a "thing"?
Yes I love that Have you ever read the Ender's Game series?
Only the first. Are the rest good?
It's not in the first book but in the later books there's an idea similar to that
Oh, wait, really? What does it say?
It's hard to explain. The idea is there's these "philotic connections" between people that you can't see and it's stronger depending on the strength of the bond between two people But it's an actual power that powers some of the sci-fi y stuff in the books
I wonder what heartbreak would look like.
Agh I can't explain it. You'd hve to read the books, or else just look it up. It's just sci fi, but there's certain parts of it that ring of truth
Well, Orson Scott Card is a member of this church.
Yeah, exactly
But, heh, you wanna know something a little funny? I've never had my heartbroken. And I want to.
Just to understand it?
I wanna see what it's like to feel, well, whatever people talk about is heartbroken, yeah. And more than understand it, I think it'd be kinda thrilling in a way.
I definitely think it's one of those things that you can't understand unless you experience it. You can talk about it, you can hear descriptions But you'll never really UNDERSTAND it I haven't either, so I don't understand it either
I'm assuming you've had your--oh.
Haha
How old are you? Am I allowed to ask?
I mean, like maybe a little bit? But not like, BAD I'm 18, this is my first semester here
Oh, hey! I just finished my freshman year. I'm 19. It's so odd. I've heard there's a weird pressure to date and get married here--which I totally understand since, you know, marriage leads to celestialization and whatnot. But having never dated anyone, I don't really . . . want to be forced into it.
Yeah that makes sense. It's definitely not something you should just do because of societal pressure
I know, I know. It's odd to think that most people my age have kissed someone. Maybe it's just strange to me.
I'm kind of sort of dating someone right now, but he's leaving on a mission in 2 months, and I'm gonna leave in the summer, so we're trying not to let it get too serious Yeah that's true
Oh, really? How's that going?
I haven't kissed anyone haha
Are you enjoying dating life?
It's really good actually Honestly I wouldn't even say we're dating. I just say that for lack of a better term
Like good friends, then? Good, close friends?
We're more just like, romantic friends? I dunno Yeah, like that
But you also like him romantically?
Yeah definitely, that's definitely there
But you're okay being just friends, too.
Yeah. And we'll write on our missions and stuff Ok I'm really sorry I really should be doing hw and I have class soon
Oh, sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to keep you. yes, go
I asked my friend how they were able to exchange info though
What'd they say?
There's this website codeshare.io? I'm trying to figure out how it works Haha actually the guy I'm ""dating "" is the friend that told me about it
I'll make you a deal, then. If we meet again, we'll figure something out. Oh, wait, really? Hehe, that's so fun! Till then, go, go! You have class and whatnot!
Okay, sounds good ! It's been really good to talk. You seem to be on here a lot so I feel like there's a pretty good chance we'll get to talk again :)
I sure hope so. :) And I've really enjoyed it, too. See you later, my friend!
Ok, have a great day!! Talk to you later, then!