Rachel Gain
@rachelgain.bsky.social
Music Theory PhD candidate @ Yale. Tap dancer, baroque flutist, pit bull dad. I research tap & HIPP and theorize through instruments & bodies. they/her/their🏳🌈
Yesterday me and my friend took a trolley tour of Atlanta, and among all the planned sightseeing, the tour guide pointed out a man in the park who was powerlifting his cat 🐱
June 9, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Yesterday me and my friend took a trolley tour of Atlanta, and among all the planned sightseeing, the tour guide pointed out a man in the park who was powerlifting his cat 🐱
Very happy to have received an SMT acceptance… and tickled to have received the news while editing that exact paper for a conference this weekend
June 5, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Very happy to have received an SMT acceptance… and tickled to have received the news while editing that exact paper for a conference this weekend
((Quietly waiting for people to start posting about the AMS career center))
June 3, 2025 at 10:35 PM
((Quietly waiting for people to start posting about the AMS career center))
They say you have to anonymize your proposal, but nowhere does it say that you can’t use the Yale font…
February 18, 2025 at 3:06 AM
They say you have to anonymize your proposal, but nowhere does it say that you can’t use the Yale font…
Do AMS and SEM have resources for writing good proposals for the annual meeting? E.g. an equivalent to this SMT resource societymusictheory.org/administrati...
Preparing a conference proposal | SMT
societymusictheory.org
February 7, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Do AMS and SEM have resources for writing good proposals for the annual meeting? E.g. an equivalent to this SMT resource societymusictheory.org/administrati...
Just graded my students’ (excellent) finals and submitted grades… Almost done with my year’s worth of instructor of record duties.
Which means… time for… dissertation???????
Which means… time for… dissertation???????
January 4, 2025 at 4:26 AM
Just graded my students’ (excellent) finals and submitted grades… Almost done with my year’s worth of instructor of record duties.
Which means… time for… dissertation???????
Which means… time for… dissertation???????
Grading at the Parlor Piano
January 3, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Grading at the Parlor Piano
Me: Do a creative project as part of your final, here are some suggestions.
Several of my students: ok we covered sonata form in the last class so I’m gonna compose a 4–6-minute sonata-form movement that would probably get me accepted to grad school even though I’m only a freshman.
Several of my students: ok we covered sonata form in the last class so I’m gonna compose a 4–6-minute sonata-form movement that would probably get me accepted to grad school even though I’m only a freshman.
December 18, 2024 at 11:07 PM
Me: Do a creative project as part of your final, here are some suggestions.
Several of my students: ok we covered sonata form in the last class so I’m gonna compose a 4–6-minute sonata-form movement that would probably get me accepted to grad school even though I’m only a freshman.
Several of my students: ok we covered sonata form in the last class so I’m gonna compose a 4–6-minute sonata-form movement that would probably get me accepted to grad school even though I’m only a freshman.
Packing for a conference is so much easier when you didn’t have a chance to unpack anything except your meds and toothbrush after the previous conference 🙃
November 13, 2024 at 4:04 PM
Packing for a conference is so much easier when you didn’t have a chance to unpack anything except your meds and toothbrush after the previous conference 🙃
Good news: SMT felt like a warm hug
Bad news: plane was delayed then had a midair mechanical error then diverted to Ohio then LaGuardia wasn’t accepting flights so I landed 5h late at JFK (1:45am) and missed the last train then we weren’t allowed to order Ubers until 2am but now I am headed to CT 💸
Bad news: plane was delayed then had a midair mechanical error then diverted to Ohio then LaGuardia wasn’t accepting flights so I landed 5h late at JFK (1:45am) and missed the last train then we weren’t allowed to order Ubers until 2am but now I am headed to CT 💸
November 11, 2024 at 7:33 AM
Good news: SMT felt like a warm hug
Bad news: plane was delayed then had a midair mechanical error then diverted to Ohio then LaGuardia wasn’t accepting flights so I landed 5h late at JFK (1:45am) and missed the last train then we weren’t allowed to order Ubers until 2am but now I am headed to CT 💸
Bad news: plane was delayed then had a midair mechanical error then diverted to Ohio then LaGuardia wasn’t accepting flights so I landed 5h late at JFK (1:45am) and missed the last train then we weren’t allowed to order Ubers until 2am but now I am headed to CT 💸
My tap group does long finales made of multiple short songs. I’m cutting the music, and by complete coincidence, this year it goes BbM-BbM-AbM-F#M-F#M-EM. No one coordinated this.
November 26, 2023 at 12:23 AM
My tap group does long finales made of multiple short songs. I’m cutting the music, and by complete coincidence, this year it goes BbM-BbM-AbM-F#M-F#M-EM. No one coordinated this.
Reading a lot of dissertations. None of you are safe…
September 12, 2023 at 9:12 PM
Reading a lot of dissertations. None of you are safe…
Submitted my last qualifying exam today!!!! How I just need to survive the oral exam 🥲
August 19, 2023 at 3:20 PM
Submitted my last qualifying exam today!!!! How I just need to survive the oral exam 🥲
Doing a 5-week summer course during quals was like finishing a half marathon then remembering that you’re somehow also doing a full marathon and you still have 10 miles to go
August 5, 2023 at 4:58 AM
Doing a 5-week summer course during quals was like finishing a half marathon then remembering that you’re somehow also doing a full marathon and you still have 10 miles to go
I want to like bluesky, but I HATE that I cannot make my account private. I want to curate who can read what I post. There’s too many bad actors out there.
August 4, 2023 at 4:24 PM
I want to like bluesky, but I HATE that I cannot make my account private. I want to curate who can read what I post. There’s too many bad actors out there.
The local donut store just put a sign up saying “NO DONUTS ON MONDAYS.”
…???
…???
August 2, 2023 at 8:26 PM
The local donut store just put a sign up saying “NO DONUTS ON MONDAYS.”
…???
…???
I can’t believe he actually went through with the X thing
July 25, 2023 at 12:35 AM
I can’t believe he actually went through with the X thing
Tapped til my body screamed at me and now I have to go read til my brain screams at me. Love quals summer!!!!
July 14, 2023 at 7:58 PM
Tapped til my body screamed at me and now I have to go read til my brain screams at me. Love quals summer!!!!
Why is someone on this train repeatedly blaring “All I Want for Christmas Is You” from their phone?!?! It is almost midnight and it is JULY
July 9, 2023 at 3:41 AM
Why is someone on this train repeatedly blaring “All I Want for Christmas Is You” from their phone?!?! It is almost midnight and it is JULY
I’m reading about 1920/30s dance marathons as the predecessor of reality TV, and it’s both fascinating and horrifying…
July 6, 2023 at 1:58 PM
I’m reading about 1920/30s dance marathons as the predecessor of reality TV, and it’s both fascinating and horrifying…
“So is this the town of New Haven?” does not inspire confidence in your Uber driver…
July 6, 2023 at 12:46 PM
“So is this the town of New Haven?” does not inspire confidence in your Uber driver…
Always making good decisions, like doing qualifying exams, German reading class, and a tap festival with a 5-hour round trip commute at the same time 👍
July 6, 2023 at 12:42 AM
Always making good decisions, like doing qualifying exams, German reading class, and a tap festival with a 5-hour round trip commute at the same time 👍
Explain to me how I ended up with a dog who’s afraid of everything except fireworks
July 5, 2023 at 2:20 AM
Explain to me how I ended up with a dog who’s afraid of everything except fireworks
At Tap City (NYC Tap Fest) this week! And by “at”, I mean commuting 2.5 hours each way and also taking classes elsewhere in the afternoons ‘cos I’m too scared to do a choreography residency. Learning lots of cool things from the greats!
July 5, 2023 at 2:05 AM
At Tap City (NYC Tap Fest) this week! And by “at”, I mean commuting 2.5 hours each way and also taking classes elsewhere in the afternoons ‘cos I’m too scared to do a choreography residency. Learning lots of cool things from the greats!