rhapsodydmb
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...
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Rhapsodydmb.com
rhapsodydmb
- Apr 23
- 2 min
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...
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rhapsodydmb
- Apr 11
- 4 min
"COMPLICITE" AKA "PARTNERSHIP"
Reading the French word "complicite" (accent aigu) had a powerful impact on my understanding about the learning environment when it comes...
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rhapsodydmb
- Apr 2
- 4 min
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...
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rhapsodydmb
- Mar 30
- 5 min
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...
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rhapsodydmb
- Mar 26
- 6 min
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,...
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rhapsodydmb
- Mar 5
- 4 min
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
- 4 min
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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rhapsodydmb
- Mar 2
- 4 min
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
- 5 min
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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rhapsodydmb
- Feb 13
- 9 min
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 5
- 7 min
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
- 4 min
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 20
- 4 min
“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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rhapsodydmb
- Jan 13
- 7 min
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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rhapsodydmb
- Jan 8
- 6 min
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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rhapsodydmb
- Jan 6
- 8 min
SITTING IN THE POCKET: HOW AN ADULT STUDENT CAN ENHANCE LESSONS
“Sitting in the pocket” is a summary saying that comes to my mind when I consider this blog topic. On December 14 in an earlier blog, I...
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rhapsodydmb
- Dec 25, 2022
- 4 min
DIVINE DISCONTENT
Motivation to persist is a gossamer, ethereal concept. The yearning for some goal or thing is not all, because in order to effectively...
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rhapsodydmb
- Dec 23, 2022
- 3 min
FINDING OUR VOICES IN THE NEW YEAR
Such a lovely holiday present just arrived in my Dec. 23 morning email and it's about bells! It's an article written by Maureen Buja, a...
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rhapsodydmb
- Dec 19, 2022
- 2 min
A HOLIDAY WISH: MUSIC AS AN ACT OF SERVICE
This is the month and this is the week of "giving." For me, it's a time to take stock of my year and remember all the things for which I...
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