Blog | Ann Grogan

A STUDENT'S CHALLENGES IN COMMUNICATING A DECISION TO TERMINATE LESSONS

rhapsodydmb

Mar 7, 202310 min read

A STUDENT'S CHALLENGES IN COMMUNICATING A DECISION TO TERMINATE LESSONS

"The teacher-student relationship is incredibly important, regardless of the age of the student, and a positive, supportive and mutually...

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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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rhapsodydmb

Mar 3, 20234 min read

PERFORMANCE IN THE FACE OF PUSH-BACK

Joe, my neighbor-piano mentor friend pictured here before he played my Duchess, loves to prepare for months for his student recital every...

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WHY IS DEFINING THE ELEMENTS OF PIANISM SO DIFFICULT?

rhapsodydmb

Mar 2, 20234 min read

WHY IS DEFINING THE ELEMENTS OF PIANISM SO DIFFICULT?

Why is explaining how do make something happen on the piano, or what a term in the piano vocabulary means, so difficult for my piano...

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rhapsodydmb

Feb 28, 20235 min read

WHY DO SOME PRACTICE DAYS GO SO WELL?

Last night I played Schumann's "Traumerie," Mendelssohn's "Confidence (intermediate arrangement)," Schumann's "Foreign Lands," Aram...

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HOW DO SELF-ESTEEM AND SELF-CONFIDENCE DEVELOP?

rhapsodydmb

Feb 27, 20235 min read

HOW DO SELF-ESTEEM AND SELF-CONFIDENCE DEVELOP?

Shaky self esteem and self confidence seem to be major challenges for many senior or "older" adult piano students. A former piano teacher...

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FIFTEEN TRANSFORMATIVE LESSONS FROM MAESTRA MEZZO-SOPRANO JOYCE DIDONATO

rhapsodydmb

Feb 26, 20235 min read

FIFTEEN TRANSFORMATIVE LESSONS FROM MAESTRA MEZZO-SOPRANO JOYCE DIDONATO

Opera singer Joyce DiDonato, a mezzo-soprano, is a miracle maker. In a 45-minute Mistress Class mezzo-soprano DiDonato transformed a...

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rhapsodydmb

Feb 22, 20238 min read

LANG LANG FOREVER!

Love him or hate him -- there's just no "in between." Is he the best (or worst) pianist who has ever lived or who is alive today? Some in...

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FRIENDS, PIANISTS, & COUNTRYPEOPLE: LEND ME YOUR EAR!

rhapsodydmb

Feb 20, 20233 min read

FRIENDS, PIANISTS, & COUNTRYPEOPLE: LEND ME YOUR EAR!

Today after a short conversation with my composer-pianist friend Bruce, this strange idea came to me: Do you think up there somewhere in...

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rhapsodydmb

Feb 13, 20239 min read

WHAT I WISH I HAD KNOWN AT THE START

At the end of March, 2023 I will accomplish 24 months of weekly piano lessons. So what do I wish I had known before I returned to study...

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rhapsodydmb

Feb 6, 20236 min read

MUSIC - IN THE "RIGHT" TIME!

Bruce, a composer-pianist-broker friend who is significant to my growing musical confidence and knowledge, recently asked why my music...

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LISTENING TO ONE’S “INNER VOICE” IN A HANG DRUM - by Raven Crone (Guest Blog; with Rowley & Joy)

rhapsodydmb

Feb 5, 20236 min read

LISTENING TO ONE’S “INNER VOICE” IN A HANG DRUM - by Raven Crone (Guest Blog; with Rowley & Joy)

I was reading two poems about “Inner Voices,” in a manuscript of Ann’s second volume of poetry which is scheduled for publication later...

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FINDING A MUSIC TRIBE: The loneliness of a long-distance piano student

rhapsodydmb

Feb 5, 20237 min read

FINDING A MUSIC TRIBE: The loneliness of a long-distance piano student

Being an amateur pianist who studies in individual zoom lessons at home, is a lonely affair. It occurred to me after about a year of such...

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rhapsodydmb

Jan 29, 20234 min read

QUALITIES OF AN EFFECTIVE TEACHER

I'm eternally curious about what makes for an effective piano teacher. Here's a helpful list of 19 common elements present in the methods...

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rhapsodydmb

Jan 25, 20238 min read

THE "FLOW" - A MYSTERIOUS CONCEPT

Words fascinate me. When I was in early grammar school and it was about time to leave for school in the morning, my mom used to find me...

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LEARNING THE PIANO - DREAMS & INDIVIDUAL OPINIONS

rhapsodydmb

Jan 23, 20236 min read

LEARNING THE PIANO - DREAMS & INDIVIDUAL OPINIONS

After the just-past 21 months of piano lessons, I have arrived at the conclusion that there are no (or very, very few) "best practices"...

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rhapsodydmb

Jan 20, 20234 min read

“MUSICALITY” - AN ELUSIVE CONCEPT

The more I delve into new words and concepts from the world of music, the more I find ambiguity and vagueness. So often the experts I...

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IN COMPLETE HARMONY: My Story of The Piano & Music

rhapsodydmb

Jan 13, 20235 min read

IN COMPLETE HARMONY: My Story of The Piano & Music

I'm an exuberant lover of health and the arts. As a “baby boomer” child growing up in Texas and at the urging of my mother, I pursued...

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rhapsodydmb

Jan 13, 20237 min read

TEACHING PIANO TO OLDER STUDENTS

There is nothing different -- and everything different -- about teaching the piano to older students! Working in a cooperative...

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DESENSITIZATION: HOW TO ENCOURAGE FOCUS DURING PIANO LESSONS

rhapsodydmb

Jan 8, 20236 min read

DESENSITIZATION: HOW TO ENCOURAGE FOCUS DURING PIANO LESSONS

People who experience more anxiety than others tend to focus attention on OPO (other people’s opinions), especially negative opinions....

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