meta: DNF
[3.05 avg; 10 ratings] rate it
Well, after going 9-for-9 on the first metas of the year, I’m 0-for-2 on the last two. Got absolutely nowhere. There’s a pattern in there somewhere but I’m not seeing it. I never even got a promising lead. It took JanglerNPL almost 30 mins so I can’t feel too much shame…
I am getting the solution grid from MMMMHQ though, so posting that!
Someone tell me what the meta-answer is!!
–Matt
Puzzle: Muller; Rating: 4 stars
The symbols for dynamics in music are F (forte, loud) and P (piano, soft).
The puzzle contains 6 F’s on the right side, and 6 P’s on the left side (plus one other on the right) in almost symmetric places.
Taking the letters to the right of these, reading across yields the answer LOIMOUSSTINCH.
Wait that’s not quite it, but it looks like a promising mix of letters.
Reading the same letters down the columns gives our solution, LISTNOHMOUSIC.
Still not quite right, but close enough to figure out what it should say.
Taking the letters to the right of the two letter dynamic symbols (PP, MP, MF, FF) reading down (and ignoring the spare P on the right) makes it LISTEN TO THE MUSIC.
And I just noticed now that there are two of each, in the order I listed them, which is softest to loudest.
Thanks Matt-
Only 117 correct this month, so a tough November.
Stumping you is rare, and now we’ve gotten you twice in a row!
Hopefully you can redeem yourself next month…it’s a fun one.
My music theory game is weak, so this one was going to be tough for me! Need to redeem myself next month…
Sorry Pete, this one didn’t land for me. The errant P (and maybe the extra Ms? not sure if others were confused by those) threw this a little off. And the title especially could have been more helpful–dynamic duos got me in a wordplay mood, thinking of anagrams or pairs of some sort. Finally, what would compel people to look at the right side of the dynamic pairs?
I was expecting a hard meta this late in the year, so I hope this doesn’t come across as me being sour about it. It just…doesn’t quite click together for me.
Puzzle: Muller; Rating: 4 stars
A puzzle right in my wheelhouse, and yet I still had a hard time locking this one in! “Dynamic Duos” immediately put me on the lookout for P’s and F’s, and it didn’t take too much longer to spot what was going on. But then … nothing. With them arranged in a circle, I thought it might be a visual sort of puzzle. After another solver confirmed the answer was spelled out, I eventually got there. I think I would have liked this one better if the grid was flipped, so the dynamics would have appeared horizontally (like they do in a score) with the answer in order below them. I’ll have to add looking to the right to my collection of meta-solving tricks. Nonetheless, always happy to see a bit of classical music representation at the MMMM!
I was nowhere close to getting this. I noticed the almost-dupe of IPSO/IFSO, but didn’t think of p and f as being symbols of dynamism, and I gave up pretty quickly. I agree with Lydia that if the meta answers were directly below the pp/mp/etc, that would have been better. Looking at the letters to the right of the symbols doesn’t seem as natural as looking above or below them for some reason, at least for me.
i found the final answer not by looking at the letter to the right side of the dynamic abbrevs, but by looking at what was in the grid in their symmetrically opposite positions were… not sure if that or the left-right thing was the intended way in but it worked
deep musical trivia here. meh.
I was never going to get this one, but still enjoyed the investigation. I did suspect the repetition of double letters might be meaningful. (Two each of PP, FF, MM, AA, and SS, but, alas, only one CC.) There were a lot of other tempting rabbit holes. For sure the single row containing PIG / RAM / WOLF /MAN had to be significant, right? COLA next to MILK? There were some fun symmetrical pairings too: IPSO / IFSO and SAD/ SAC.
Puzzle: Muller; Rating: 2 stars
Way too difficult for the common masses.
Yeah, I never got his one. I found all the dynamics, but what tripped me up was the duo. From my years ago piano classes I remember the dynamic duos as pp and ff. So I was focused on them. I knew mezzo forte and mezzo piano were valid dynamics but the puzzle theme kept throwing me. So frustrating that I couldn’t see it.
I almost submitted “Shout” by the Isley Brothers! A little bit louder now… a little bit louder now… etc.