Amateur Exploration
Last Sunday, on the way back from our family reunion, I was listening to an episode of The Splendid Table wherein Lynne Rossetto Kasper interviewed Nigella Lawson. In her introduction,…
The Ikea Effect & Teachability
I felt a jolt of electricity when I heard the NPR story, Why You Love That Ikea Table, Even If It’s Crooked. In the first place, I could happily…
What’s New: Im Freien (Out of Doors) & Exile’s Cafe
Exiles Cafe Lara Downes has a new recording due out February 26 on the Steinway label, Exile's Cafe. She was featured in one of my Artist Portraits last year and…
What’s Up With This Memory Thing?
“What's up with this memory thing?”, asked one of my new transfer students. We talked about different levels of knowing and understanding and the fact that committing something to memory…
Playing With Wolfgang: A Little Night Music
I’ll admit it. I’m a complete nerd for certain kinds of music. A while back, I was listening to a new album by Nils Anders Mortensen (look for more on…
Middle Parts & Orphans
“I’ve played piano for over 30 years and nobody has ever told me to start in the middle of a measure,” said one of my adult students last week. She…
Recent Favs
One of the great pleasures in blogging is learning and growing by reading the work of my fellow bloggers, FB friends, and tweebs. Lately, I've come across some inspirational and informational…
PA Shorts: Thanks For The Great Year!
I want to thank all you readers for perusing this blog and for putting up with and even encouraging my ramblings. I thought I'd list the top posts from 2012…