Practice: Motivation & Challenges

"NOT INDIFFERENCE, BUT DETACHMENT" (OLIVER SACKS)

rhapsodydmb

Nov 106 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

rhapsodydmb

Oct 63 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...

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BETA BLOCKERS: ONE OPTION TO HELP WHEN YOUR BODY BETRAYS YOU IN PIANO LESSONS OR PERFORMANCE

rhapsodydmb

Jul 1912 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...

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CORRECTING THE ERRANT FINGER - OR ACHIEVING THE DESIRED AUDITORY EFFECT OF A PASSAGE: TWO UNIQUE VISUALIZATION OR "SENSING" SOLUTIONS

rhapsodydmb

Jul 27 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

rhapsodydmb

Apr 114 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"...

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"YA JUST GOTTA LAUGH" - MAINLY AT YOURSELF IF YOU'RE A PIANO STUDENT!

rhapsodydmb

Jan 174 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

rhapsodydmb

Jan 56 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...

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EMBRACE "GOALS" - ESCHEW "RESOLUTIONS" and CONCENTRATE ON "THE GOOD"

rhapsodydmb

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

rhapsodydmb

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

rhapsodydmb

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...

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A NEVER-ENDING BATTLE: AGE AS A BLESSING OF CREATIVE OPPORTUNITY...OR ONLY A DEATH SENTENCE?

rhapsodydmb

Aug 6, 20235 min read

A NEVER-ENDING BATTLE: AGE AS A BLESSING OF CREATIVE OPPORTUNITY...OR ONLY A DEATH SENTENCE?

Rated 5 out of 5 stars.(1)

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

TEACHING ADULTS (ANDRAGONY) VS. YOUTH (PEDAGOGY)

rhapsodydmb

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...

65 views0 comments

rhapsodydmb

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"...

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THERE IS SOMETHING PERSONAL IN CRITICISM

rhapsodydmb

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

rhapsodydmb

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

rhapsodydmb

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...

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HOW JUSTICE & AMBIVALENCE CAN MOTIVATE PERSISTENCE & REDUCE STRESS IN LESSONS & PERFORMANCE

rhapsodydmb

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

THE PAUSE THAT REFRESHES, AND MAKES MUSIC LIVE!

rhapsodydmb

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

PLAYING WHAT ONE LOVES, BUT LISTENING TO ALL

rhapsodydmb

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

HOW TO USE YOUTUBE - & - THE LAW OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

rhapsodydmb

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...

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