top of page
Rhapsodydmb.com
A soft place for humanists to land to read poetry
& stories about music
& share our love of piano adventures!
-
Nov 10, 20246 min read
"NOT INDIFFERENCE, BUT DETACHMENT" (OLIVER SACKS)
The Phoenix Bird statue, carved out of the remains of a burned out tree and living now on the patio of Nepenthe, my favorite restaurant...
189 views0 comments
-
Oct 6, 20243 min read
GIVING PEOPLE CHOICES
Giving people choices conveys many benefits in life, and to both or all parties to the equation. I was happy to learn there is one 2017...
23 views0 comments
-
Jul 19, 202412 min read
BETA BLOCKERS: ONE OPTION TO HELP WHEN YOUR BODY BETRAYS YOU IN PIANO LESSONS OR PERFORMANCE
My body betrayed me a few years ago during lessons with two piano teachers. One was my third teacher since taking up piano lessons after...
144 views0 comments
-
Jul 2, 20247 min read
CORRECTING THE ERRANT FINGER - OR ACHIEVING THE DESIRED AUDITORY EFFECT OF A PASSAGE: TWO UNIQUE VISUALIZATION OR "SENSING" SOLUTIONS
There is pain in learning the piano. And there are solutions to reduce the hurt. I'm not talking about tendinitis pain which I battled...
34 views0 comments
-
Apr 11, 20244 min read
CURIOSITY IN LIFE AND MUSIC
"The recognition, pursuit, and desire to explore novel, complex, uncertain, and ambiguous events" is as good a definition of "curiosity"...
7 views0 comments
-
Jan 17, 20244 min read
"YA JUST GOTTA LAUGH" - MAINLY AT YOURSELF IF YOU'RE A PIANO STUDENT!
"Everyone has a belief system ("B.S."); the trick is to learn not to take anyone's B.S. too seriously, especially your own." - Robert...
29 views0 comments
-
Jan 5, 20246 min read
IS THE FIRST THE BEST?
My November music-themed birthday party table decorations; photo courtesy of guest Grace Hueunemann. Thelonius Monk always said that the...
35 views0 comments
-
Dec 23, 20236 min read
EMBRACE "GOALS" - ESCHEW "RESOLUTIONS" and CONCENTRATE ON "THE GOOD"
New Year's Resolutions represent the ultimate folly as far as human beings and my personal experience go. I've learned not to bother;...
84 views0 comments
-
Nov 29, 20237 min read
THE PAUSE THAT REFRESHES: TAKE TWO
Above is Rocket, my cat Tipsy's boyfriend, pausing under mentor Joe's gorgeous "Sir B" (seven foot special Beethoven edition Bosendorfer...
21 views0 comments
-
Sep 17, 20234 min read
THE DIGNITY OF "TRIVIAL LITTLE PIECES"
If famed cellist Pablo Casals could do it – so can I! While Vivian Mackie was studying cello with Pablo Casals in Spain in the early...
22 views0 comments
-
Aug 6, 20235 min read
A NEVER-ENDING BATTLE: AGE AS A BLESSING OF CREATIVE OPPORTUNITY...OR ONLY A DEATH SENTENCE?
Am I past my "sell by" date? Let's just start out with a never-ending stereotype of what aging means in America today, by citing this...
66 views2 comments
-
Jul 11, 20236 min read
TEACHING ADULTS (ANDRAGONY) VS. YOUTH (PEDAGOGY)
Are we adult piano students horses of a different color when it comes to lessons taken up in later life? Are there different ways we...
69 views0 comments
-
Jun 17, 20232 min read
THE JOY OF "PRACTICING"
I was recently talking with a piano teacher who hails from Kentucky, when she corrected something I had said. I mentioned "practicing"...
19 views0 comments
-
May 10, 20235 min read
THERE IS SOMETHING PERSONAL IN CRITICISM
In the world of "separate knowing," criticism is not personal. The knowers "must accept it with equanimity," explain the authors of the...
21 views0 comments
-
Apr 23, 20232 min read
SELF-CONFIDENCE IS OVER RATED
I wonder if pianists of top calibur like Yuja Wang (pictured here at a March 2023 symphony where I heard her play Rachmaninoff's Third...
35 views0 comments
-
Apr 11, 20234 min read
"COMPLICITE" AKA "PARTNERSHIP"
Reading the French word "complicite" (accent aigu) had a powerful impact on my understanding about the learning environment when it...
46 views0 comments
-
Apr 2, 20234 min read
HOW JUSTICE & AMBIVALENCE CAN MOTIVATE PERSISTENCE & REDUCE STRESS IN LESSONS & PERFORMANCE
Theories in the field of psychology about motivation are vast. What can we use to motivate ourselves toward lessons with a goal of...
26 views0 comments
-
Mar 30, 20235 min read
THE PAUSE THAT REFRESHES, AND MAKES MUSIC LIVE!
The COCA-COLA company claims that "Advertising slogans are a part of everyday life for consumers around the world,and Coca-Cola has...
43 views0 comments
-
Mar 26, 20236 min read
PLAYING WHAT ONE LOVES, BUT LISTENING TO ALL
One of the principal elements I seek in any piano teacher with whom I work, is that I be allowed to choose the pieces I want to learn,...
54 views0 comments
-
Mar 5, 20234 min read
HOW TO USE YOUTUBE - & - THE LAW OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
HOW TO USE YOUTUBE: Cello teacher Hans Jorgen Jensen (from Denmark) taught me the "right" way to use many performances on YouTube to...
20 views0 comments
bottom of page