iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

the vague and subjective concept of "hardship," I can at least try my hardest to exercise empathy towards my (future) students so they are uplifted. I hope to honor my teacher that way.

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happened, and that will have an indelible course in the way I think about life, and should I return to academia at some point, the way of empathy towards students, in that because it is nigh impossible for me to fully comprehend what my teacher had to have gone through aside from having

I suddenly wondered about how he was doing. Googling, I learned then that not long after my friend and I met him, in September 2005, he passed away in a motorcycle accident. The sense of emptiness ensued. Again, this post isn't about me. But I think that as long as I live, I will remember what

I remember him saying that after leaving the university, he joined a volunteer group advocating for peace, and the work took him to many places by motorcycle. My friend and I wished him well, and he did the same to us. That was the very last time I saw him. Years later, while I was in Missouri,

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at the university. However, months later, another friend of mine and I happened to be in San Francisco for a concert, and after the concert, we ran into him. I remember him having somewhat of a rougher looks on him, but still doing as well as he could, or so I remember him telling us.

day after, when we had the aural skills class with the teacher, did we learn that his daughter was in one of the airplanes. Our hearts sank. But I couldn't begin to imagine the anguish he went through. I don't think he returned to the school after that day, or that I don't remember him teaching

being glued to the TVs hung from the ceilings. Confused, not really knowing what happened or what to do, we still had the breakfast and went to the history class together. There we learned that all the classes were cancelled and were instructed to return to our dormitories. Either that day, or the

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these dictation exercises so enjoyable. He was quiet, more on the introverted side, but exuded confidence. He was a very kind teacher, I remember. Then the 9/11 happened. I remember this particularly well because that morning my roommate and I went to the dining hall together, only to see everyone

friends, teachers, family, anyone. - - - On this day every year, I am reminded of my aural skills teacher at my alma mater in California. I loved his class; I would go to his class and sit as close to the piano as I could, and hear him play chord progressions with such an even touch, which made

that needs to be written down because I feel that anyone who desires peace needs to know about ways our lives are affected by such a traumatic event, and sometimes those who are affected by it may not be those whom you see on TV, or someone completely unknown; it can be someone whom you know:

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Peter Ullrich @peterullrich.com · 08/09/2026

Somewhat of a CW here, while this post is not about me per se: what follows here is about 9-11 and people whose lives changed forever on and after that day. Now that I do not teach at a university anymore (at least this year), I don't really have people to speak to about this. But it is something

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Reposted by Yoshiaki Onishi

🚨 Announcing Pushin 🚨 Now officially: I'm announcing Pushin.eu, a git hosting platform built and run entirely in Europe. Think GitHub/GitLab but European, better, and faster. Built with #ElixirLang and #RustLang. peterullrich.com/announcing-p...

peterullrich.com

Announcing Pushin

I'm launching Pushin.eu, a git hosting platform built and run entirely in Europe.

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Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 07/09/2026

My boss’s response to the Labor Day

Dorian the cat, whom I affectionately call my boss, sleeps while his paws are crossed and face is down.

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Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 04/09/2026

Accomplishment of the week: I introduced @shadypines.bsky.social to "Hoketus" by Louis Andriessen. It was also a double accomplishment, in that it was the first time for me to listen to that piece from beginning to end in one sitting.

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Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 31/08/2026

In a way, where Ligeti left off with his “Cordes à vide” and “Arc-en-ciel” piano etudes, @santibeis.bsky.social picks up and takes it farther with this piece. Or maybe he is not going far at all, but rather replenishing the sonic image with a higher resolution. Compelling.

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Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 30/08/2026

It seems like I’ve been writing quite a bit for flute as of late, though all three pieces involving flute has been that of either massive expansions of previous pieces or finally getting myself to finish them, what with moving from Finale to LilyPond.

Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 29/08/2026

And just like that, it's as though I didn't even exist.

Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 26/08/2026

It surely feels weird that I don’t have to go to school around this time during the day/week. Not that I feel lazy; I surely have a lot to occupy myself with at home. It does feel like the past three years was a rapid dream from which I just awoke.

Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 26/08/2026

Today I sent a few photos for Dorian’s ophthalmologist to look at, just to be sure he is ok. He was, but in retrospect I feel like I sent three cute photos of Dorian just to show how cute he is. Well, he is cute. People may take away my job or whatever but not his supreme beauty.

Dorian the cat and boss on the armrest of the sofa

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Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 23/08/2026

I've finally updated #LilyPond Contemporary Notation Cookbook. Now compatible with version 2.26. With that, I've included some new functions I recently developed. There are a few more I will add in the subsequent updates, which I expect to be more frequent. Happy LilyPonding!

A screenshot from Onishi's LilyPond Contemporary Notation Cookbook, this one with "Arpeggio with Arrowhead and Vertical Hairpins."

Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 22/08/2026

I wrote an extensive analysis of his string trio "...zu..." as part of the doctoral dissertation that I defended in 2015. I spent time with that piece for nearly two years. Each moment studying it revealed something compelling. It defined in me my what music analysis is. doi.org/10.7916/D8CJ...

doi.org

Making sure you're not a bot!

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Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 18/08/2026

Is it worse now? Incidentally, there are so many people I know from Japan who are on it. Probably the perception of it is so different from us here.

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Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 18/08/2026

This is good to ponder upon.

The Nation Magazine @thenation.com · 16/08/2026

Reposted by Yoshiaki Onishi

There are jobs for college instructors. They do require degrees. But the pay and the benefits are abysmal. Another take on the state of the academy:

thenation.com

Adjuncting Until the End of Time

Universities now have more adjuncts than tenured and tenure-track professors combined. The conditions are unsustainable—for professors and students alike.

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Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 16/08/2026

At an Indian restaurant to treat myself for finishing my piece. There’s a public karaoke party (?) going on right now. At first they sang a song in F major, then G major next. I wondered if the next one would be in A major. IT WAS! I think I like this place now (even though it’s tad too loud…)

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Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 16/08/2026

Finished my piece. Grateful to those who patiently waited for me. It wasn’t an easy month. It won’t be for a while, but I am glad I saw the double bar finally.

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Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 12/08/2026

Personal feeling aside, I guess being tenured entitles many to just say or express whatever they want, even at the expense of hurting the fundamental denominator of their profession: students.

Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 12/08/2026

Well, it’s rather fitting, considering how I’ve not felt alive at all as of late 🤦🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️

Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 12/08/2026

About 20 years ago (when Durand scores were prohibitively pricey), as a poor college student I played pachinko in Japan with my dad & that got me about $300, with which I went to a local music store to buy the score of Messiaen's "Vingt Regards..." It's a depressing revelation, but not surprising.

Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 09/08/2026

That I am missing concerts to attend in NYC these next few weeks is one of many side effects of my current job ending. I hope I will come out of it all by writing pieces that will be mounted in that city.

Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 08/08/2026

Please report if the trombonist nails B-flat6.

Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 07/08/2026

In other news, I am glad I didn’t upgrade my OS; it turns out that, after all these years, I still need to open Finale for a project I am undertaking for a client. Though the moment I start to use it, I can feel in my right wrist why this software nearly caused tendinitis.

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Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 06/08/2026

...they are actually disclosing themselves, or their abilities to listen to something (or lack thereof). I imagine that it comes down to education. Not only should people be trained to write such reviews/criticisms, but also to read them. But who am I to say all that? [3/3]

Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 06/08/2026

...it's not that I wanted the reviewer to be generous about my music; rather, many reviewers lack ears, words, and aesthetic flexibility to accurately capture what they hear and verbalize it. I don't think these reviewers in general realize that by writing about what they listened to, [2/3]

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Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 06/08/2026

Re: criticism in general, I am always reminded of how my music was once written as a "waste of fine instrumental talent." Can't say much about movie criticisms, but as far as music criticism is concerned, there are many so-called "critics" who don't even know how to listen. And no, [1/3]

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Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 05/08/2026

Ironic that the writer themself couldn't get the word "Eine" right from the get-go.

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Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 01/08/2026

Note to self: an entry on vertical hairpin + directional arpeggio to be added in the next edition of my #LilyPond Cookbook (Earlier attempts on this post rendered the image pitch dark...oops)

A musical example in which a quartal chord has a directional arpeggio sign as well as vertical hairpin. I plan to include this in the next edition of my LilyPond Cookbook.

Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 30/07/2026

These days I am on LinkedIn not so much for its intended use, but for some thrills of chancing upon two posts on my phone screen that are so contrasting that it’s vertiginous and oddly aesthetic.

Screenshot of LinkedIn screen with two posts next to each other that can’t be any more contrasting. One is about how AI labs are buying, scanning, and shredding many copies of rare books, and right below it is the ad for “OpenAI for Business.” The OP finds that the contrast of these two posts is so jarring that it is, in a sense, aesthetic.

I will be working on updating LilyPond Snippets Cookbook in mid-August to ensure the codes run on the most recent LilyPond version. Currently I’m composing and trying to meet a deadline for which I got an extension under an extenuating circumstance, but I don’t want to delay…

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Regarding an email communication I received somewhere, I am thinking: on one hand, free meals are great. On the other hand, I won’t probably add a lot to the conversations…

aside from rhythms and pitches. I feel like someone over at the mailing list developed a kind of workflow for handling this kind of procedures on one of the editors, and I don’t think it was Frescobaldi. Btw your post on Neovim looks cool; I should check it out. [3/3]

re-ordering materials, and I sort of accepted it, thinking the result (of how LilyPond takes care of formatting etc.) is well worth the effort. If the edits are extensive, had I had an option I’d take the workflow you suggest, but I do wonder how reliable MusicXML is when it comes to things [2/3]

Former Finale user turned a LilyPonder in Autumn 2024 here. I make sure that I take care of inserting/re-ordering before I hide staffs and do any formatting. I’ve had to do more mental math and mobilize short-term memory to ensure note durations adding up properly as I do insertion and [1/3]

Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 28/07/2026

While my industry (higher ed) is in a different field than yours (but I’ve considered it many times; love coding, strategizing, etc.), but now that I have to leave the current job somewhat soon, I am feeling the same to my core, as well.

Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 28/07/2026

I am thinking of redoing my website at some point, and Astro was something I came across, then I came across this, which is really cool to see. Maybe might I host my contemporary notation cookbook on my website?

Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 27/07/2026

Stumbled upon something I wrote in 2017, in which, reacting to an article I read, I wrote paragraphs of reflection, which is actually my criticism/skepticism on AI back then. Nine years ago. Was my thought too soon? Did I stop growing since then? Maybe will edit and put on my website at some point.

Yoshiaki Onishi @yoshionishi.com · 27/07/2026

This month has been a month that, by some accident, tests what friendship is. A while ago I had a chat with someone who had a rather strict definition of it owning to their background. I was glad I wasn’t alone when feeling severely conflicted when I came across the word after all that happened.