Monthly Archives: July 2021

Be Curious

Posted on by
9

Curious, this topic, is it not?  Exactly!

There are many ways to be creative, but it is easy to believe all these ways require loads of time and resources.  And honestly, many do – retreats, journals, art supplies, new instruments, group activities, etc. can all be time and money expensive.

But curiosity is a surefire way to enhance your creativity and you don’t need a lot of time or money to implement it!

People think curiosity is a talent, but instead, think of it as a skill.  As a skill, you can work on develop it – developing it as your own curiosity. 

How?  Well, I’m glad you were curious enough to ask!  I listed a few things to try.  Even if you are already fairly curious, you might learn some ways to grow that –

  1. Unleash your inner two-year-old and ask Why – two-year-olds do it relentlessly, so why don’t you? (see what I did! 😉).  Don’t just question authority – question everything.  Really push on your assumptions, boundaries, and knowledge.
  2. Unleash your inner ‘tween and ask Why Not – they too ask this relentlessly and with good reason – why not, after all?  What’s stopping you?
  3. Be brave – when you’re alone.  This should be the easiest time to be brave – but sometimes it’s the most difficult because it’s when you’re face to face with your biggest nay-sayer and critic.  There’s no escape.  But still, it is the best place to try being brave – who’s going to tell you no?  Only you.  But this can be your time to:
    1. Explore – ask the questions you might have been suppressing – why can’t you play a Qmin7dimsus chord there?  What happens if you put a jazz chord progression into your trad tune?  What happens if you shift the time signature?  How would this sound in another key or another mode? Or a different register?  There’s no road map, that’s why it’s called exploring!
    2. Record and play back – after all, you’re probably not going to like all the answers you come up with your your questions, but every answer deserves to be heard and decided on its merits (and if like me you make noises but can’t remember them – or if you liked them, or if they even were an answer to your question – recording will help!).
    3. Play like no one is listening – because they’re not!  You can make all the noises you want!  And the great thing about sound?  It dissipates and is gone in an instant!  Yea music!
  4. Be exceptional.  Be the 2% who ask.  It really won’t kill you to ask someone else a question.  And if you think you should never ask a star or harp hero your question – well, they likely will surprise you (if only because they too are curious people…and usually very nice).  They may have a ready answer (if they’ve run into curious people before) or they may not (if you’ve asked a very different question).  But just you asking may incline them to become curious about your question too.
  5. Hang out with other curious people – misery isn’t the only thing that loves company – curious people love to hang out with other curious people, if only to hear what you’ll ask next!  Bonus, you’ll spur one another onto to new topics of interest, new questions, and possibly new discoveries.

Remember, the purpose of being curious and asking questions is not to get answers.  The real purpose is to see what questions arise from the answers you get.  To remain curious, you have to keep questioning – and those pearls you garner will feed your creativity!

But maybe this is a bridge too far for you?  After all, it is easy for me. *  If you want to ask the questions but are timid (even (or especially) with yourself), just start by positing questions on paper.  Just write it down.  Throw it away if the questions make you uncomfortable.

What?

Because it’s not the questions that matter – it’s the questioning that’s so important.  Curiosity grows from questions, not from answers.  And as you become more comfortable with asking questions, you’ll be more comfortable with flexibility and being innovative…. which will lead you to more questions – and a really fun, unending cycle of curiosity and creativity!

Because curiosity didn’t kill the cat – it kept it a kitten!

Like developing any skill, you will have to work at this.  You will need to practice asking questions, especially if it’s new to you.  Try starting out by asking just three questions a day.  Why is a great question starter!  (e.g., Why are my scales sloppy?  Why do you play a D chord there?) but what or how will are also interesting (What would happen if I played this in 3/4 rather than 6/8? How does that melody develop?)  Of course, when you start you might falter.  If that happens – ask yourself why? 😉  It does get easier with practice.  And your questions will get better too.

What are you curious about?  Ask me anything (in the comments below)! 

 

 

* No, it’s not, nothing is easy for me, but I fake it…and frankly, I’m curious if I’ll ever find something that is easy!  

Admiring your handiwork

Posted on by
3

Is there any more satisfying feeling than letting out a beautiful harmony?

Admiring your handiworkWhen you’re beginning it will be the satisfaction of actually playing the single note – the right note at the right time.  Even better if you used the finger you intended and the note that sounded wasn’t a complete surprise! *

As you become more experienced and more practiced, you add more notes to the harmony, but that joy of the sound doesn’t really dim.

And all of that would be great…if there was only one harmony note or chord required.  But inevitably, the arranger had other ideas and puts a long succession of harmony notes together.

And that’s when the hitch enters the git-along!

The more surprised and delighted you are by the notes hanging in the air, sparkling and glistening like a goldfish in Fairy Dust, the more likely you will be captivated.  And why shouldn’t you be?  After all – goldfish!  Fairy Dust!  Delight!  You did good – your handiwork is admirable.

But that pesky arranger…now you’re expected to do it again.  Probably in a different place on the harp.  With another finger.  And probably at the same time as some melody note!  And again. And again. And again.  Measure after measure.  And then…the repeat! 

Are they mad?!

Sadly, bringing the tune out means you have not really got time to admire your handiwork at the same time you are delivering one admirable handiwork after another.  So unfair!

One of the mysteries you get to unlock relatively early in your journey is this sublimation and accumulation of little joys for a big burst of delight at the end of the piece.

What?   Ok, here’s the translation, sans waxing lyrical –

When you are playing, once you have closed for that note (or chord) –

Move along! 

Get where you are going next!

There’s nothing to see here! **

Because there is a next chord and the one after that, etc. ad nauseum. 

This needs to be practiced – this moving from one beautifully executed thing to another. Because if you think about playing a tune like it is a puzzle to put together, or a problem to solved, or a recipe to follow – your brain needs to sequence through the information – left hand here, right hand place and play – now left hand, back to right hand, and on again.

As soon as you play the left hand, your brain drops thinking about that harmony and that left hand like a hot potato and rushes on to the next thing (probably a melody note or whatever comes next in the sequence).  And it doesn’t think about the left hand again until it must!

All in all, no big deal – you do this all the time.  It’s called serial processing.  But what’s happened?  Well, you played the left hand note (or chord).  You’ve closed beautifully (right?).  And you left it there hanging over the soundboard.    So now, it’s later and time to get to the left hand on again.  AND IT’S NOWHERE NEAR WHERE YOU NEED IT!!!  Because you left it there, hovering over the sound board, handiwork to be admired. 

So, how to fix this?  Well – you practice!  Practice moving while you have the time, and train your brain to process in a controlled serial fashion.

To start with, SLOW DOWN.  Serial processing means you’re dealing with one thing at a time.  You might think you’re a multitasker, but nope, it only looks like it.  For highly practiced activities you can switch rapidly between them but that’s not multitasking. If you’re not well practiced at moving, you will need additional time to think about it and then make it happen. 

LOOK AT THE INTERFACES.  This is how I think of the timing – it is the interface between the left hand playing, the right hand playing, the melody, the harmony, and time.  Getting all of these to line up is tricky, especially at first.  Start by finding where they all touch each other – this is a good place to start. 

LOOK FOR THE HOLES. This is where no notes are being played in either hand – this helps form a scaffolding for your thinking and makes a good movement time!

SLOW DOWN.  Don’t ask me how I know you’ve already sped up!

MAKE THE SHIFT.  As you begin to play, think ahead.  Play slowly enough that you can think.  Once you’ve placed, you don’t need to think about where your fingers are.  And if, as soon as you play, you move to the next place and get your fingers on to the next shape, then you don’t have think about it again until the next time!  This is one of the things that more experienced players are better at…. because they have more practice and they have learned to think ahead.

See what we did there?  We shifted moving and placing further forward in our thinking sequence rather than letting the notes come at us like a fusillade.  But you do need to practice thinking like that.  The sequence becomes play –> move –> place –> play –> etc.  Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

All of this is predicated on your already having learned the melody enough to being to add the harmony.  This is also equally applicable to either hand and to reading or playing by rote.  It does take practice.  And it is totally worth the time to avoid feeling rushed and unconfident.  And once you master this, you can focus on other things that will improve your musicality. 

Have you really learned how to move along rather than admiring your handiwork so you can get where you need to be next?  Do you have other strategies?  Let me know in the comments!

* Sometimes you tell me that you feel like I am speaking directly to you.  That’s because…I am!  No matter where you are on your journey, the difference between us is likely just time and focus.  I was a beginner at one point – an adult who struggled with making time to practice, showing up for lessons embarrassed that I hadn’t had enough practice because I was busy doing other things, but willing to take the lash (which, of course, never came, because I had wonderful, cherishing teachers who gently corrected my technique and repertoire and encouraged me to become the harp player I wanted to be).  I thought it would be easier.  I love playing my harp.  I was afraid of a lot of things – playing in public, music I hadn’t learned yet, embarrassing myself, not getting better, failing – the usual stuff.  And I remember it like it was yesterday – because it was (figuratively).  I share my thoughts here so that you can learn from my mistakes…and go on to make your own spectacular mistakes that I hope you’ll share with me!  We’re all learning – I’m just willing to talk about it! 😉

** We’re talking about the left hand/harmony but this is also applicable and just as important in the right hand/melody.

Don’t be Vanilla

Posted on by
6

Don't be vanillaPeople often tell me that all Celtic music sounds the same – the Irish tunes, the Scottish tunes, the Welsh, the Galician, the Breton ones too.  When I started playing the harp, I agreed – I couldn’t tell them apart.  The only way I could be sure was that the tunes on Great Highland Bagpipe were Scottish (probably). 

Over time, and with the help of great teachers, I learned to listen.  And over time, by listening, the sounds and styles of the music become less opaque (even to me and I don’t listen very well).  Those sounds and stylistic elements that arise from the music reflect the different, but related, cultures. 

These idiomatic elements are really interesting (especially if you’re nerdy!).  I’m always curious about how people define themselves and the things they create to define their groups.  If you grow up inside a group, you may not even be able to detect the “fence” that defines that group, but you know where that fence is.  And if you are interested, you can not only begin to see the fence, you can even learn what it is made of.

The idiomatic elements are the fence and are everywhere throughout the music.  These elements help define the music.  So studying these (or at a minimum, observing them) can help level up your musicianship.  And if you think this only applies to Celtic music, think again.  Every genre of music reflects a set of idioms.  Whether it’s classical, Top 40, hip hop, Scandinavian, medieval, reggae, whatever – the idioms make the music identifiable (and classifiable). 

Now, while it is possible to make “vanilla” music, most of us would probably rather not.  We want our Irish tunes to sound Irish.  We want the Baroque tunes to sound like it’s the 17th century not the 19th.   Frankly, it can be a little embarrassing to play a tune like it came from somewhere (or somewhen) else – even when you know that to the listener it’s all just “pretty music” – because then it is vanilla!

Just now I’m working on three very distinct projects that definitely need to be presented in their own idioms.  One is really comfortable to me, but the other two are “stretch” projects.  Stretching is exciting and fun…and intimidating.  I don’t know these two stretch idioms so I’m listening to music I’m not used to – seeking to find those elements that are part of the idiomatic fence.  Those are the things I’ll need to incorporate into my music – not just to make the projects work but also to make the output more authentic.

Listening to new music is sort of like developing a crush.  You have to pay really close attention to everything – what is that drum line?  How is that loop built?  Is that a saxophone?  Like a new crush, you find reasons to spend time together with the music.  In that time, nothing is as lustrous or compelling.    And like a crush, the infatuation wanes (usually to the delight of those around you!).   All those things that were so fascinating become a bit ho-hum or tarnished.  Reason returns.  And with that, a new clarity – the idioms may not still be sparkly, but they are revealed and now useful and ready to be incorporated into working projects!  You have found the fence!

So, what are you listening for when you’re trying to get your head around a new idiom?  Here are some ideas:

  • Rhythm – how do they mark time?  Where is the beat? Where is the pulse? What happens in the rhythm – especially the bass and the drum lines?  Are there counters and if so, where, and how?  What’s the time signature or meter?
  • Harmonies – does the tune use a chord progression you expect?  Or does it surprise you? How does the harmony move? Is there a harmony?
  • Melody – How does the melody move? What kinds of intervals are used?  Is it “catchy”? Is it complex or simple?  What drew you to it in the first place?  What kept you coming back?
  • Setting and arrangement – what instruments captured your attention?  What about the arrangement is compelling?  What can you copy or replicate on the harp and what needs to be replaced (and how)?  Will the harp arrangement “scratch the itch” created by the original arrangement?

Once you’ve noticed these things, then you can compare and contrast with your usual music.  You will likely frame this as “difference” between what you know and what you’re learning.  All this will help you find the “fence”.   Then you can incorporate elements – and keep from being vanilla!

Just think what that can mean for your new music!  More – think about what this can all mean for your existing repertoire!   What can you do with this?  How will you stray from vanilla?  Let me know in the comments!