Q+A #29 - Imitate, assimilate, innovate
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- Опубликовано: 9 апр 2017
- Thanks to Marcus Vinicius Marchiori, Aizen Marn, Wyat Rydlewski, TheAndersops, Tyler Abbott, MrRockandroll12345, annoythefish, Oscar Tadlock, Joachim Ihned, Leon Sibum, Houston Hilburn, Parker Knapp, LeipleipMusic, Jan, Ugene12, dm21865 and Astrolincoln for your questions!
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/ adamneely
0:14 The Norton Lectures
CHECK THESE OUT IF YOU HAVE A CHANCE
• The Unanswered Questio...
1:13 I faked playing fast with image masking
1:39 Band dynamics (Democracy, permanent band members, band leaders, etc)
4:01 The danger of hearing loss
5:01 “Technical” music for the sake of being “technical”
6:46 Berklee Ensemble Auditions
8:31 Where you can find my music
8:51 Turning my videos into academic papers
9:26 Nails and switching between bass and guitar
10:07 Having a cheap instrument that you connect with
11:07 All about the Cajon
12:15 Imitate, assimiliate, innovate
13:56 Other music education channels you should check out
15:12 Artfully including political statements in music
16:54 Having a personal life as a performing musician
17:38 A holistic view on music
19:57 Using more than 2 fingers on bass guitar
Follow me on the interwebs:
/ adamneely
/ its_adamneely
My band/background music
sungazermusic.bandcamp.com
massextinctionevent.bandcamp.com
Peace,
Adam 
Видеоклипы
Hey guys, let me know if you've been getting ads that you can't skip on this video (and other videos of mine). This has been happening all of a sudden, and I'm not quite sure what to do since I definitely did NOT allow RUclips to do non-skippable ads.
From what I've just looked at, it seems RUclips has put them up without permission as every website and forum I've looked at says you have to request to put in non-skippable ads on videos, i would suggest contacting RUclips to remove the feature (i am not RUclips expert i just googled different questions so i have no idea if im right but i hope it helps and figured you put time into your videos and have helped me out i would research for a couple minutes to try and help you) Love everything you do, keep up the great work and cant wait to see more video's in the future hope i helped.
Adam Neely you the MAN Adam, hope to jam with you one day
Hey Adam, I'm a bassist based in northern colorado. I play in a few bands and I make most of my money off of live shows and teaching private lessons. I really want to be a session musician but I have no idea how to get in that business. I ask my peers and they usually say I need to have an "in" with the person that runs the studio. How do I get my foot in the door?
P.S. I'm only 16, so I'm usually not allowed to play at bars. I play music venues and restaurants no problem, but bars are always tricky. Do you know of any workarounds to this problem? Or will I just have to wait 5 years?
yes, a 5 second one.
AdAm, por que está em portugues a descrição? Fiqueu curioso
Wow, thanks for the shout-out, Adam! Love your work, and I'm glad you appreciate ours too!
Hey Adam thanks for the shoutout!! Rick
Rick Beato no prob bra
hey Rick u probs don't need to sign off with ur name in a RUclips comment regards strabi
Rick Be8o
@@strabisamus5428 Us old people have a tough time losing what we were taught was polite and good etiquette ;)
Not that you're wrong, but cut an old dog some slack :)
I love that you signed off ur comment 😂😂😂
"Everything is a remix. The basic elements of creation are: Copy, Transform, Combine." - Kirby Ferguson, 2010.
"Nothing you've done is original. The creative process is: Imitate, Assimilate, Innovate". - Adam Neely, 2017.
I stole it from Clark Terry!
"Good artists copy, great artists steal." - some dude on 4chan
Mojito underrated comment
my philosophy is if i'm going to steal, steal from a bunch of different things. then it's no longer stealing
"Sharp sign Blessed" that one had me cracking up!!
"Sucking the fun out of music"? Quite the opposite, mate. Always fascinating, engaging and inspirational. Keep it coming.
Hey Adam,
In response to the "sucking fun out of music" quip, the more in-depth scientific and academic approach you take with these videos, along with still making them kinda silly and fun, is really the reason I started watching your videos every day. It's always really interesting to see these concepts put together in a more accessible but still very intellectual way, and I just wanted to say how much of an inspiration these videos have been to me as not only a new bass player, but also as a musician overall.
So thanks for these videos, and keep up the awesome work man.
That ensemble rating system is such a terrible idea. My college did something similar (not officially, but it was pretty obvious when looking at the bands), and as such the weaker musicians, myself included, were always paired with the weaker musicians, resulting in all of us collectively not improving as much as other groups, due to consistently not playing with anyone stronger than us. We didn't know how to improve, because we weren't exposed to what improved playing was supposed to be like.
Please don't read this out on a video in the future.
i love your attitude towards everything. how you carry yourself, your professionalism, and how you deal with your haters.
Awesome promotional placement on the "your music is shit" comment.
I'll remember that.
"Having a cheap instrument that you connect with"; after being with a post-CBS Fender Jazz Bass for 43 years, I can relate. Great stuff; wish we had folks like you 40 years ago, it would have been so much easier.
8:31 That was some serious Aikido reversal, using the adversary's strength to your advantage
I don't want you to think this is my only take away from the video but I must inform you that I in fact died when I heard "Sharp sign Blessed" from across my room.
same here !
God i spent so long trying to create original stuff by ignoring theory and other works, was cool later on finding that I'd worked out things naturally but in the end I found had just slowed myself down and limited my creative arsenal. You might get some interesting insights kids but listen to Adam, get over your ego and save yourself a few years learning what those who came before did. Reading a book by Kenny Werner helped me a lot, in it he quoted someone, I forget, but they basically said if your sound is so fragile that it can't take a bit of theory or imitation, then maybe it is not much of a sound at all.
Your comment @12:15 reminded me of the short story "Unaccompanied Sonata" by Orson Scott Card. In the story, a prodigal musician is isolated from all existing forms of music so that he can compose without any prior influence. It makes some very interesting commentary about the nature of inspiration and the drive to create.
burning1rr Did you by chance read songmaster by Card? (if thats its name)- is it any good? I've read a lot of Care, he's my favorite author, but I've never heard of that one.
I haven't read Songmaster. The Unaccompanied Sonata is a short story. I hadn't thought about the it in a long time, but it's stuck with me. Adam's comment reminded me of it. :)
I hear Unaccompanied Sonata is really good, but I've never read it. Doesn't the musician eventually get to hear Bach and then he's punished and forbidden from making music? Also, have you read Ender's Game?
Can't believe you didn't mention Ben Levin in the question about other music theory/education channels!
Troubletcat FAKE DOCTOR Ben Levin
Troubletcat I was thinking the same thing!
Yep you are sucking the joy out of music alright, and packaging it up in nice little bite size packages for us all to enjoy! Only recently found your channel but it is already my #1 fave and nearly every vid takes me down the rabbit hole of musical understanding! This channel is like the Vsauce of Music for me, cheers! :)
Don't want to be rude, but I'm hella curious to know what Adam's ensemble rating was at Berklee.
6 ensemble intelligence, 2 ensemble rebellion
bass/8
Great video altogether - especially appreciate the title section (beginning at 12:15), as I once had a friend who had a similar mindset as Parker Knapp. Your response is succinct, understandable, and thought-provoking. Thanks man!
17:05 "Sharp sign, bless"
BRUH
I don't know about America, but here in the UK it's the law that they provide hearing protection for free at the bar if it's going to be loud.
I learned about that one from a couple dudes on a park bench 👌🏼
I really appreciate your videos. They do not suck out the life. Thanks Adam!
Dude. You inspire the hell out of all of us! Thank you.
THANK YOU so much for the recommmendations!!
So great! Love your job, thank you!
Hey Adam, you're my guy. There's no telling how many young as well as seasoned musicians you are going to inform and inspire. Your enthusiasm and presentation is needed now more than ever in this culture.
You're great man. love your work please never stop
You are absolutely not sucking the fun out if it. Quite the opposite, you've managed to send me down different rabbit holes that have helped me improve as a musician and enjoy playing in a group more, so Thanks. :)
you're such a good influence at you inspire me so much, thank you Adam!
I feel like you're showing the fun in music, not sucking the fun out of it. This kind of study gives us understanding, and finding more understanding is what makes stuff so interesting.
ur channel is absolutely inspirational and makes music and thinking a lot more fun
Hi Adam,
It might not be a popular topic but being you're into advanced jazz harmony, would it be possible for you to make a video about Coltrane changes?
Love you and your channel. Binge watching never felt so good!
rnrdesigner Hi! the channel Adam mentions in this video (12tone) actually has a vid on Trane changes! It's a good one too. peace
Checked it out! Thanks a lot! :)
Yes please Adam k thanks bye
Yeah please explain the amazing progression on Giant Steps!
rnrdesigner great idea! Also any thoughts on coltranes mandala would be great!
Hi Adam,
Do you have any experience working with incredibly shy or closed-off musicians? A drummer who I work with is rather timid and has a hard time making eye contact with me and our bassist while playing, and as a result, it's been difficult to develop dynamics during solos, setup different sections of a song, or signal cues to him. Any advice on how to improve musical communication between him and the rest of the group? Is there something I could be doing differently as a pianist to better convey musical signals to our drummer?
Hey Patrick, not Adam but I hope I can help. How is the relationship with your drummer outside of the rehearsals? Do you often go to grab a beer, eat and chat around or is it strictly a "professional" relationship? Usually building a bond outside of music helps to communicate on stage too. One of my best friends and I would do stuff without even looking or talking beforehand while jamming, I'd raise a hand and we would do the same thing just because we understood each other outside of the rehearsal room. Not always this kind of thing is possible and I won't lie and say that with every close friend this happened, but having the confidence to talk with musicians not only as working partners, but criticize, joke, and even fight and then continue to be friends like nothing, the closer the relationship, the easier it is to communicate your ideas and understand each other.
I said all that just to tell this, if that doesn't work, then you need to have a serious talk about communication with him, and if that doesn't work, then you need a new drummer.
Also thanks for 12 tone and Early Music Sources! Really interesting stuff!
On “Technical Metal”: I was the drummer for a band Destroyer Destroyer, people called us “Techtanium” because we were so polyrhythmic and thinking back on it, we approached Metal more like Indian music, groupings of smaller numbers. We literally never considered time signature but recorded to a click and were always aware of the more granular aspects. We wrote no music that wasn’t “complicated” but we also never saw this as our intent. We just thought and felt music in fractals and obtuse shapes (I contributed quite a bit, influenced heavily by Senegalese and Indian patterns). All this to say, I think a lot of tech bands have become so acclimated to “odd” times and feels that it becomes their default mode of expression- no pretension necessary. Thanks again Adam I LOVE your videos/music and sincerely appreciate the time and soul you expend on this content which we can all grow from. Cheers!
'Sharp sign' Bless haha
I'm a classical guitarist who also plays upright bass, and I've developed a style where I use the middle knuckle on my pointer finger, most of the time, to pluck. It makes a really fun, meaty sound. It's difficult to play quickly, but that's not really what I'm interested in with bass.
I"ve also found a few other ways of doing things, although they're often more dependent on my nails being relatively short. You can make it work if you practice.
To the person who asked about nails and bass & guitar and the conflict between them. A lot of guitarists use fake nails with high tack glue dots (similar to what credit cards have on the back of them when attached to a letter in an envelope) to adhere the nails to your own. You can find rolls of these glue dots on Amazon for pretty cheap. There's a whole process involved with shaping the nails and adhering them but it's definitely a way to resolve your problem. Using glue dots allow you to remove the nails and reapply them with ease.
Good presentation Adam. Honest, practical and informative. Not as funny as others but still very useful. Keep it up.
Your answer to the title question is spot on. Definitely something I didn't understand when I was younger and that I stress to all my students. Also Rick Beato is the man!
Hey, Adam!
Loving your content, it gave me a lot of understanding and development. I, as an amateur, self-taught musician, missed a lot of fun from not knowing music theory.
About that 'research paper'. I as an entrepreneur wish to have those research and statistics for better decision making in my business, or just for the sake of business studies development. However, you realise that it will require rather a solid time and effort dedication, you just keep your ideas and hypothesis to yourself and act on a gut feeling.
Currently trying to communicate that 'issue' to universities and students - the need of 'BBS - bachelor of business science', instead of BBA - bachelor of business administration.
1:00 - Those lectures are amazing! It's one of the very few videos that I'll re-watch within a year :)
I have that book too! :)
You certainly are inspiring man. I love how you handle the attention. Fantastic content as always.
cant stop watching these videos
I'm proud of you as a fellow human being of this era. I'm proud that our society can produce your level of brilliance and has done so so many times within in so many dominance hierarchy variations that you aren't ground-breaking. this is intended to be a compliment lol
Yes! I always love 12tone's videos.
Hi, Adam. I appreciate your contributions, comments on music theory and the emphasis of both your video streams. You also have a unique way of handling and disarming trolls (very amusing). Regardless of what others say, follow your own path. Please continue to make these videos, to me they are truly worthwhile. With gratitude. J. T. Butler
Oh man, I heard that from Clark Terry "Imitate, Assimilate, Innovate" and it applies to so many things in life. That's the sagest advice, sir.
I have a 91 Mex Fender Jazz and a 99 Mex P Bass. A couple of mods later, I love them. Gotoh bridge on the P, American Standard pickups on the J with and an Audure pre amp. They are amazing.
i very much admire your ability to take condescending, negative, and blatantly wrong comments and, rather than blasting them to high hell, taking their ideas and molding them into a great discussion
Best Q+A yet!
I probably should have responded in the previous video, but, man, I got chills during your spout about music and politics. Great emotional expose there. And I agree.
nice, another Q&A! I really enjoy these. You could do a podcast so I could hear you more often.
thank you so much for the Bernstein lectures; I'm halfway through phonology & already they are amazing! peace out
i laughed at the sharp sign 😂 rock on👌
love the content, very happy to see adam fixing his (what seemed to me as) condescending tone
Man that painting on your wall is really nice!
Another great clip.
Awesome Adam!
"Imitate, assimilate, innovate" (Clarke Terry) Good point. I always tell this to my bass-students. I printed it big and hung it on the door for years. I learned it from the book "How to improvise" in the early 90ies.
Funny thing. I've actually been watching Rick Beato since you did the video that started with the bit about Gustav Holst. I watched his video comparing Holst and John Williams and got hooked immediately. He's definitely running a great channel and is super knowledgeable.
Thank you sir!
:-) Just to let you know Adam, I've been playing for 51 years, 47 professionally. I've taught music, recorded it for others, and conducted ensembles of 120 people and in short, music has been my life - and I love your stuff! I learn stuff from you, ALL the time (and I've always had a lust for knowledge especially musically) so just to let you know brother, your stuff is GREAT and I for one, am very, very grateful. Thank you sir. tez
Love your videos 👍
You absolutely do make me listen to music differently. As someone who listens to lots of new music all the time, it's nice to think about theory, structure, and performance notes you give here. It's both education and refreshing. Don't let the trolls drag you under the bridge. :D
Thanks for taking about playing the instrument you have a connection with over an expensive “better” one. I get the same thing said about a particular beat up Mexican Strat I play where some people say I should “trade up” to an American or custom shop...but when I play literally any other Strat, it just doesn’t click or sound/feel right to the point where I almost hate the “better” instrument. Maybe instrument mojo is real...
Yo Adam,
Long time viewer, first time commenter. I'm curious about your practice and warm up routine; what do you do to warm up before a gig? How do you keep track of all the various techniques and such that you practice? Or in a more general sense, what do you practice currently?
Thanks for all the great content!
Mass Extinction Event is SO FUCKING GOOD. That went so hard, so glad I looked it up.
Hi Adam
I watch/listen to your videos *bacause* they have an intellectual aspect (science). It's what sets you apart from most of the rest of the music vloggers.
Hey Adam, I've started watching your videos more recently, and I really enjoy them. You may have done something like this before, but on your next chillaxin Q+A video you should show off your records in the background there! BASS
You're channel is too good for this platform.
Adam, idk how much I comment this on your vids but you're freaking rad; you're humble, intelligent, creative and just an awesome role model.
One of my favorites of yours is your Exigence piece: was there a kind of inspiration or motivation behind this massive piece; a central message? Do you feel like that came across? How did you come about putting it all together (it seemed like a really cumbersome and massive project)?
Finally, if you did have a message or did/do with other pieces, was it for you or for the world? It's always seeming harder to induce change in a world that's polarizing more everyday in increasingly subtle ways; how can we musicians tackle such a world? There has to be a way to make Max, Mingus and Trane proud. Thanks, man. sharp sign Peace
19:16 - Back in Jr. High in the 60's it was referred by the vague term "Music Appreciation" :)
You are definitely not sucking the fun out. I love what you're doing, keep it up! Where do you receive the questions for Q&A videos?
I am a classical guitarist that also plays bass occasionally. I haven't noticed any issues with that - except that my nails get a bit sharp and I have to file them - but my sound isn't particularly bad. So I think you really can pull it off, unless your nails are very soft.
Your answer to the "meh science" person was brilliant in the realest way.
hi Adam, thanks you for sharing all of this amazing information, there is no other channel like yours in youtube.
please, could you make a video about secondary dominants?
Concerning nails on bass: I personally prefer fingers however I saw an interview in which Geddy Lee (towards the end of Rush) talked about using long nails in lieu of a pick or just flesh on string. (If I remember correctly) He spoke about how he preferred the tone that came from his nail and using a one finger, up down technique.
in most venues you can just ask at the bar for some ear plugs they most likely have spares for the bar staff. LIFE HACK
ask at the bar for ear plugs.
As always, Adam, great tips and advice! I'd also recommend Thomas Goss' channel - I think it's called Orchestra Online. I always learn a lot from his work as well. There are lots of others too.
I enjoy watching your maturity on negative comments
very good info, Ksaxman
I'm not saying stuffing napkins in your ear is bad advice, but always bring ear plugs to a concert. Even if you don't need them, it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Especially if you're bringing someone along.
Coming from a new subscriber. I might have to choose to not be recommended vids from this channel anymore. I've watched far too many so my recommendations are all Adam Neeley.
I swear I'm pressing the refresh button as many times as I can, but no ad is popping up.
I've recently been reading Quine, and I've gotta say, there's a lot of synchronicity between this video and his ideas.
When people do anything (like be a musician for example) you are drawing from a body of theory that you have developed over your life. Behaviorists in psychology use a model for linguistic development that resembles a kind of imitation/reciprocation. Basically you have two interlocutors who both speak a different language. One of them offers an observation sentence like "chair", while pointing to a chair, and the other learns the meaning of that word, and tests his hypothesis that "chair" represents the object the first person pointed to. That person will then assent or dissent depending on whether both their theories on what "chair" means match.
As a musician you may have something similar, except the interlocutors are one person: yourself. But there are two theories which your trying to match: your body of music theory and what I'll call your phenomenological theory. You'll try a new chord progression, or some sick minor eleventh voicing, or a new combination of filters, and you'll analyse that phenomena in terms of the feeling it evokes. The result from this test will bring forth a hypothesis about your body of music theory, which you can then experiment on until your hypothesis is supported or disproven (it has to be disproven as opposed to unsupported because your phenomenological theory can't really be wrong). If it's disproven, then that makes things worse because now you need to modify your body of music theory to account for that false positive you originally tried. How do we modify our body of music theory? Rinse and repeat.
This also demonstrates something. Namely that no body of theory exists in isolation from any other. Your body of music theory is informed by your phenomenological theory, but it can also be influenced through an education in music theory, production, instrumentation, which in themselves are informed by physics, mathematics and materials science. Hell, even your phenomenological theory is influenced by your experiences and dispositions, which are consequently informed by anthropology, biology, psychology and more. There's no magic here. If you're someone who thinks people are sucking the magic out of music by explaining it it terms of root theories, and would prefer their body of music theory be ONLY informed by their phenomenological theory, then you owe me an explanation as to how this position is any different to willful ignorance.
I am an avid user of the "lifehack" of putting tissues in my ears when volume levels are too loud (and I haven't thought ahead to bring noise reduction ear plugs). Pro tip: make sure you are using *tissue* and not a more rigid paper. Once I was at a kids gig where I had to stand in front of a loud DJ's huge speaker for 20 minutes. I reached for the only paper available, construction paper...and got one of the makeshift plugs stuck in my ear. I had to perform the whole show (about half an hour) with a rigid piece of paper in my ear hoping to God it wasn't scratching anything before I could get home and have my wife get it with tweezers. Be careful with your ears, kids!
Made me cringe way too hard
Hey Adam, Love your channel. There is a really good grouping of books by W.W. Norton, they are titled Counterpoint, Harmony, and Melody. In lieu of a sketchy internet link I would just recommend you look them up. It's a great series of books and I imagine they have to do with the Norton lectures you mentioned in the beginning.
Hello Adam, just a suggestion topic for future videos: the process of audio _production_ (e.g. getting into production at home, working with DAWs, mastering, all that jazz). I think it's something that isn't necessarily obvious to even us academically trained musicians, and I think it would do a great service to some who want to start producing on their own.
Also, how do you come up with ideas for your videos?
Thanks for answering my question, Adam. I definitely agree with you! I play a Mexican Telecaster myself because I love it and it sounds really good. Only it doesn't seem so cool to play such a 'boring' instrument. In the music scene in The Netherlands, where I am, it's hip to play old guitars. From Fenders to Gibson to cheap 70's Japanese or European guitars. I myself do not like to board that hype train. I think that this is how you feel also.
Keep on doing these vids! Love them!
And Adam; don't feed the trolls ;)
I'm studying at the university in Denmark with Musicology as my primary and Politology as my secondary subject, and I got to say: I freaking LOVE your videos. Subscribed to12tone the second you mentioned it. Can't wait to check out the content!
And of course, as always, looking forward to your next video! They're incredibly inspiring and fun!
Regards
Classical guitar technique is usually flesh and nail hitting the string simultaneously. I make it work easily, and switch between CG and bass. My finger nails don't actually have to be that long, except my thumb nail.
Hi Adam! I really like your videos and I've learned a lot from them, and one thing in particular I like about them is that whenever you use a song example you don't just assume that the viewer knows it but that you make sure to mention the artist as well. I suppose it'd be kind of expected if you wanted to make your videos thorough and understandable, but it's still something I really like.
Anyway, why that resonates with me so well is that I feel my musical knowledge in terms of the songs I know is... lacking. Few to no people know or want to talk about what I suppose is fairly niche music (i.e. video game soundtracks, or other somewhat obscure artists) and it feels like I'm alienated from conversations about music with other musicians or music fans. At the same time, I don't know if I want to force myself to listen to more mainstream artists when I'm already comfortable with the music I listen to. Thoughts?
Man, you are the vsauce of music. Love it. Love you. Love my guitar. Love spaghetti. And Frusciante
This is not a music question but... Could you make a video about making these videos? Like a "making of" one of your episodes. Like how you research stuff, how you write this stuff etc. I'd like to do a sort of similar channel but for visual arts stuff. You know. "How commander Keen might look if it were done today". Shit like that. I love your coherent way of representing everything you're talking about and the way you manage to keep all this "jazz" entertaining. Anyways. One of mah favorite channels. Keep up the good work dawggghhh... Also how tall are you?
Oh and just to add to that. I'm not talking about the technical stuff. Nobody wants a video called "Adam Neely talks about video codecs for RUclips" (And I'm willing to bet you wouldn't be willing to do a video like that either). I'm talking about the research, your output and overall process. Do you ask other people for help etc. Stuff like that...
Yep...keep going with the videos now. Probably better for you...and DEFINITELY BETTER FOR US!
Would love to hear your thoughts on 'the Jazz of physics' by Stephan Alexander, great and interesting content as ever!! Thanks
Super cool to get some other channels to find out more stuff about music, thanks!
Are there any exotic instruments that you would like to try? Like maybe the Wheel harp?
A little heads up for Parker Knapp and other (usually young) musicians who think like that. Back in the 70's, when I was living in Cape Town, I was visited by a young guy from Texas, who was a guitar nut. He played for me solos by Clapton, Hendrix, Blackmore, SRV, in fact, all the leading guitarists of the day.He didn't seem to have an original idea of his own, though his copies were note perfect. It was only about 25 years later that I found out that the young dude was Eric Johnson- one of the most innovative players around. What he'd been doing was building up a toolbox of licks and techniques, and bending them to his own purpose. Adam's advice is good.
Before i ask my question i'd just like to say that you're really inspiring man. I've listened to sungazer and the overall vibe of that project is so interesting. I would love to start working on some projects like that.
My question is: what is your opinion on flat wound versus round wound strings? Have you ever used flat wounds? I use flats on my bass because, in my experience, they are a lot less "buzzy" and noisy than rounds. Additionally, i like flats better because my plucking finger blisters a lot easier with rounds. I'd love to hear your opinion on this, thanks!