The Weekly Write-Up #29
In this newsletter…
How am I not out of books to read?!
The best tech YouTube channel out there?
Best apps for…musicians!
Explore some of the coolest caves in Indiana!
Literary Picks
BOOKS TO-READ 5
Yep, you read that correctly: I have more books to read! I have 3 more fantastic book series that are highly recommended. I have wanted to read all three of these series for a while, but haven’t gotten around to it. Without further ado, here are the 3 book series...
Keeper of the Lost Cities: The Keeper of the Lost Cities book series by Shannon Messenger comes highly recommended by many people that my brother knows. My family has the first three books, and I can’t wait to read them. From my limited knowledge, Keeper of the Lost Cities is about Sophie Foster, a telepath, who discovers that there are other people who are just like her. She leaves behind everything and travels to a new place that changes her life and sparks a new adventure. The series is 10 books long (with more to come) and each is over 400 pages, so I’m going to have to buckle up for this one! I can’t wait to read this highly recommended series! Go to the website to learn more. You can buy the first 5 books as a set on Amazon.
Wingfeather Saga: The Wingfeather Saga is a 4 book series written by Andrew Peterson. I have known about this series for a long time, but have never read it. I think it may be a little below my age level now (ages 8-12), I’m sure I would still enjoy it. The Wingfeather Saga is about the Igibys as they go on an extraordinary and dangerous adventure to find a hidden secret. Learn more about this book series here. There is actually a TV show based on the series, which you can learn more about here. You can also buy this series on Amazon.
Chronicles of Narnia: Even though I’ve read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (which is a fantasticbook btw), I have not read the rest of The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. If I’m remembering correctly, I’ve also read the prequel and the third book (those were all the library had at the time). Judging from how great the books I read were, I’m sure the rest of the series is spectacular; I just need to get around to reading it! The series is 7 books long (plus the prequel) and is about well...Narnia, which is a magical land, with both good characters and evil characters that are fighting to rule the land. I know so many people who have read it, and I can’t wait to read the rest of the books! Purchase this series on Amazon.
As you can probably tell by now, I have tons of books to read and not enough time to read all of them! I’m hoping this summer, I will have a bunch of time to read them and review them!
Watchlist Wonders
MKBHD
Almost anyone who has watched any tech YouTube videos has heard of MKBHD (Marques Keith Brownlee—High Definition). This is a YouTube channel run by Marques Brownlee, and on it he does tech reviews, first impressions, car reviews, interviews with tech giants, and so much more! MKBHD has over 16.8 million subscribers, and is one of the most popular tech reviewers on YouTube! What makes his videos so great though?
One of the main aspects that I like about his videos is that they are straightforward. He is hands-on with all of the products and gives his honest opinion of them and how they compare to other tech products that are similar. He also explains who the tech products are for and whether or not you should buy them. The videos are also honest, and he often critiques the tech. With some tech channels, I feel like they aren’t honest and are just being paid to say what they say. For most MKBHD videos, that doesn’t seem to be the case! Finally, the videos are conversational and fun. They aren’t boring to watch, but I enjoy watching them for fun (I know, I’m a tech geek). All in all, his videos are just really well done!
MKBHD is an amazing channel, but the coolest part (I think) is that MKBHD started his YouTube channel when he was 15 years old, and a little less than 15 years later, he is one of the biggest names in technology! I’ve always wanted to have a popular YouTube channel, newsletter, or something like that, and MKBHD shows that you can do that!
MKBHD posts every few days (at least once per week), so be sure to check his videos and the channel out! He also runs the Waveform podcast, which is all about tech news and other technology-related topics. Finally, on the MKBHD website you can view all of his channels (he has more than one; check out Auto Focus), purchase merch (of course), and more. If you want to learn more about technology or a specific product, I would definitely recommend MKBHD. Visit the MKBHD YouTube Channel to start watching!
Tech Thoughts
APPS FOR MUSICIANS
I’ve shared numerous apps in the tech section (find a list of them here), but today I’m going to do something different and focus on apps for specific people. There will be more to come, but today’s set of 6 apps is focused on musicians. Whether you are a professional musician or just play for fun or anything in between, these apps will make your life as a musician so much better! All 6 of these apps are free to use, but also have paid subscriptions that unlock additional features. As a bonus, all (but one) of these apps can be found on both the App Store and Google Play!
Andante: I have talked about this app before in my app rankings for 2022. Andante is the best app for keeping all of your instrument practice time logged. The interface is fantastic: it is easy to start a timer, see statistics, or write in the music journal. It has streaks and loads of statistics to show your progress. I have loved using this app to log time that I’ve practiced my guitar. 10/10 recommend if you play an instrument and want to track practice time! You can download this app on the App Store (sorry, no Google Play).
MuseScore: MuseScore is a great app for getting sheet music for free! MuseScore has millions of songs. My brother and I have been using this app for around 2 years to get a lot of our sheet music for various songs. The app lets you do so much: you can view songs, create folders, transpose the song, have the app play the song, and so much more! MuseScore also offers courses to learn various instruments. I think this is the best app for sheet music, and it has helped my brother and me greatly! You can download this app for free on the App Store and Google Play.
Guitar Tabs: Not long after purchasing my guitar, I downloaded this app. Guitar Tabs has almost every song that I can think of! The collection on Guitar Tabs is huge, and you can find the guitar chords and tabs for free! It is amazing to just be able to get on this app and find the song I want to play, and play it. I totally recommend this app for guitarists (and it has some chords for pianists). Check it out on the App Storeand Google Play.
Flat: Have you ever wanted to compose music, but were daunted by the task and didn’t know how? Well, Flat is an amazing app for composing music. My brother and I have composed multiple songs with Flat over the past few years. Flat allows you to create tons of songs with hundreds of different instruments. You can compose pretty much anything in this app, and Flat makes it super easy! You can also collaborate and create songs with other people (my brother and I do that). Even if music composition is something you have never considered, you should try it out because it is a lot of fun! To do so, download Flat on the App Storeor Google Play.
Soundbrenner Metronome: Any musician knows that a metronome is very important for keeping them on time. Soundbrenner has the best metronome app out there. You can do more on this app, and it isn’t just your standard metronome. Download it on the App Store or Google Play.
GuitarTuna: A very important part of having a guitar is a tuner. I have been using GuitarTuna, which is a digital tuner, since day one! GuitarTuna is my favorite tuner, and it is very reliable. The app is pretty simple, but it is an accurate and easy-to-use tuner. Click to download it on the App Store and Google Play.
I hope if you are a musician that you found some of these apps useful! If you know a musician, please share this with them so they don’t miss out on these amazing apps!
Wild Card
INDIANA CAVERNS
On the way home from my family’s trip to Louisville (see the previous newsletter), we decided to stop at Indiana Caverns in Southern Indiana. Not only can you explore the caverns, there are multiple other activities that you can do here. Let’s talk about some of the things you can do here (I did the first two, but not the last three)...
Cave Walking Tour: This tour is just over an hour long, and it is really cool! During this tour, you descend 110 feet underground, and your guide leads you through the cave, partly by foot and partly by boat. The tour guide teaches you all about caves and explains to you what you are seeing. This tour was really awesome, and our guide was great! Since there is a designated walking path in the cave, this is good for any age.
Bat Chaser: Since we didn’t do the zip lining in Mega Cavern in Louisville, we thought we would try the Bat Chaser. It is a cross between a rollercoaster and a zipline. You get strapped into this seat that hangs from a metal bar and you zip down this track around the property (not in the cave). The Bat Chaser was very enjoyable!
Deep Darkness Tour: While my family did not do this, I still think it sounds awesome! This is the most extreme activity you can do here. You descend 200 feet into the cave and hike, climb, crawl, and kayak to get around the cave. According to the website, this activity takes 4 hours! I think this sounds awesome, but I’m sure that not everyone agrees!
Escape Rooms: I love escape rooms and have written about them in a previous newsletter. Indiana Caverns actually has 2 cave escape rooms. In one you have to save miners that are 1000 feet down in a broken mine shaft, and in the other, you have to recover lost treasure!
The Plunge: Indiana Caverns also offers The Plunge, which is bungee jumping. Sadly, it isn’t inside of the cave, but I’m sure it is really fun!
There are many more acitivies that you can do, but those are the five main activities at Indiana Caverns. You can visit the the website to learn more. If you are ever in Southern Indiana or Northern Kentucky, be sure to visit Indiana Caverns because they have loads of fun and educational activities to enjoy!
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I would love to hear some of the music that you have composed!