rhapsodydmb
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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Rhapsodydmb.com
A soft place to land to read music poetry and stories, and share our love of piano adventures!
rhapsodydmb
- Jun 17
- 9 min
"PINK MAGNOLIA" (A short piano-love story)
I thought I would share my first-ever fictional short story involving music and performance. Although based loosely on some of my...
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rhapsodydmb
- Jun 8
- 2 min
WHAT IS MUSIC? (Part III: The Process and the Personal)
Such simple and profound words describing music and its meaning in his life, were said on the CBS morning news today (6.8.23) by cellist...
21 views0 comments
rhapsodydmb
- Jun 5
- 3 min
WHEN LESS IS MORE (Guest Blog by Garreth Brooke)
INTRODUCTION: I know the above saying but often don't heed it, since I'm a woman who loves words! But today in homage to the theme, I...
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rhapsodydmb
- Jun 4
- 5 min
GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT MUSIC
Amateur instrumentalists are often assumed not to be “serious” about their music studies or endeavors; they are often assumed to be...
57 views0 comments
rhapsodydmb
- May 22
- 3 min
AN HONEST RESPONSE TO THE ECSTASY OF CLASSICAL MUSIC!
Has classical music come back into favorable public opinion? Perhaps, even if public transit facilities are using it more and more to...
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rhapsodydmb
- May 17
- 4 min
WHAT IS "MUSIC?" (Part II - Losing the North Star: The Modernists
MIRED IN THE "MANY" Music and the art of composing are "creating One out of Many" says Igor Stravinsky in six lectures he presented at...
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rhapsodydmb
- May 11
- 3 min
SO, WHAT IS "MUSIC?" (Part 1:The Common Understanding)
For that matter, what is "noise?" (Could not resist this cute picture of my cat "Mo" helping me contemplate this question, and the below...
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rhapsodydmb
- May 10
- 5 min
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
- 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 12
- 4 min
EAST VS. WEST PIANO TEACHING METHODS
After almost two years of zoom lessons and a ton of YouTube research on music and "how to" technical skills since returning to the piano...
52 views0 comments
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 7
- 8 min
A LEARNING PARTNERSHIP DOES NOT INVOLVE "COMPLIANCE", "FORCE", OR SUFFERING
The most beautiful illustration of the nature of relationship and teaching style under which I thrive, came when recently I interviewed,...
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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...
24 views0 comments
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...
40 views0 comments
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,...
51 views0 comments
rhapsodydmb
- Mar 7
- 9 min
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...
216 views0 comments
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...
18 views0 comments
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...
45 views0 comments
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...
19 views0 comments
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