Monthly Archives: March 2024

Quiet

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Quiet

We all have a lot going on. And inside our heads it can be even busier and more crowded! While all that hustle and bustle might make you feel like you’re accomplishing tons, it can also actively prevent you from accomplishing even more.

We are artists. Yes, we are. If you’re a new musician, you are an artist. If you have been playing a long time, you are an artist. Don’t ever leave your living room or quail at the thought of someone else hearing you? Still an artist!

As artists, we get to create! That is one of the things other people envy us for. Creating is an activity that takes time – and we need to pursue it. But…

If you are never quiet, you won’t have time to be creative.

You need:

Quiet time to have Creative time.

Quiet space to have Creative space.

And perhaps more importantly Quiet your thoughts, so you have time and space to have Creative thoughts.

This is more than practicing. You do need to have a solid base to create but loads of creative time can happen away from the harp. And although you need to have part of your practice time set aside to work on creative ideas, you can have those ideas anywhere. But you’ll be more able to focus if you have quiet.

I won’t lie, identifying – and then honoring – the time you need to create can be a challenge. It’s easy to give that time away to other “important” things.  But this is important – for you, your art, and your life as an artist. But it is a necessity not a nicety.

So, I challenge you to identify specific time that you will be quiet and allow yourself to be creative. It should probably be longer than a shower! (but if that’s the time you have, make use of it!). Make sure you have a way to capture your thoughts (dry erase marker or grease pencil for the shower, don’t ask me how I know this). That way, when you get to the harp you can remember what you had come up with. I have a plenty of short voice memos on my phone for time in the car when things pop into my head – I sing them (badly) into the phone so that I can remember when I hit the bench.

When will you schedule your quiet time? How will you ensure you honor that time? I’m looking forward to your ideas!  Let me know in the comments!

When Life Gives You Lemons

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When Life Gives You Lemons

One of my favorite things about playing the harp is the friends you meet along the way. And another good part of that is the friends you meet that are harp-adjacent. 

I have been in North Carolina all week with my beautiful harp/heart friends in Banrigh (like and follow!) bringing Celtic music to appreciative audiences. We also have been meeting loads of interesting, wonderful people.

And we have been trying all kinds of amazing feast-y types of food! My incredible hosts Cynthia and Harold have kept me in creature comforts all week! I’m in heaven. I’m threatening to never leave (which will probably make them look more pained than pleased (I am kidding, I will leave, but it will be difficult to depart!)). Cynthia is an amazing baker and graciously allowed me to share one of her recipes with you.

But first, I have to tell you about Cynthia. She is a seasoned musician in her own right and is harp-adjacent via her sister and my fellow performer, Martha.  But she excels as a writer and her new book Catfish Corner is a hysterical peek into Southern life. And hey, you can’t practice all the time! I chuckled, chortled, and (embarrassingly) guffawed in each chapter! After I wiped away tears of laughter (so I could see the page) I would get through about another line of text and start laughing again! If you are not from Catfish Corner, you will still laugh uproariously – the idioms may change, but people are people. I think you’d enjoy it.*

To ensure our rehearsals went smoothly Cynthia made a Lemon Bundt Cake that had us cuing up for another slice while we were still licking our fingers from the previous cut.  To say that it’s tempting is an understatement. It’s refreshing and tasty no matter the weather – but eating it is like having a summer day in the drab not-quite-Spring of March.

So, here it is, straight from NC – Cynthia’s “Cut me another slice” Lemon Bundt Cake:

Cynthia’s Lemon Bundt Cake

Perfect for Harp Circles or other Harp-adjacent activities!

  • 1 package Lemon Cake Mix ((any brand))
  • 1 package Lemon Pudding mix (Cooked – NOT Instant)
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup oil
  • 1/2 cup Lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup Orange juice
  • 1/2 cup Sugar

  1. Read all the instructions first!

  2. Preheat oven to 350F

  3. Beat eggs, water, oil until frothy.

  4. Add cake and pudding mixes and beat 2 minutes.

  5. Spray the bundt pan generously with Baker's Choice (or Pam).

  6. Pour mix into prepared bundt pan

  7. Bake in preheated oven at 350F for 45 – 50 minutes or until the top is set and springy to the touch.

  8. While the cake is baking, boil juices with sugar. Pour syrup over HOT cake while cake is still in the pan.

  9. Cool.

  10. When cool, invert onto cake plate.

  11. Optional – after inverted onto cake plate, dust with powdered sugar and lemon zest.

  12. Feed to friends and watch the amazement dawn on their happy faces!

Dessert
American
Lemon Cake

Pour yourself a cup of tea (or a cool glass of something) and enjoy! I hope you give this a try and let me know how you like it in the comments!

*this is where I usually tell you I don’t get anything for “endorsing” something, but I have already received accommodation, feasting, and this recipe – so enjoy!

 

Poetic License

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Poetic License 

Hopefully you’re still working on those dynamics exercises. I say hopefully because they are challenging and if they are new to you, you probably aren’t all the way through in just a few weeks. And even if they are not new to you, the exercises I shared aren’t easy. They definitely aren’t a set of “once and done” exercises either!

I think I made a compelling case for why you would want to work on your dynamics. But just in case I wasn’t blunt enough, here I go again. We talked about music being a means of communication – you are telling a story. Not every story needs to be a soporiphic bed-time story, so we need dynamics to help carry the tale through its ups and downs.

Just like storytellers, narrators, or actors vary their delivery – we want to vary our own, in aid of the story we’re telling. We use those variations to help move our listener along with us. But we don’t want to just gormlessly vary our loudness – we need to be a bit more subtle!

Another thing we can easily hear storytellers, narrators, and actors do is varying the pacing that they achieve through their breathing.  We call it phrasing (heck, they might too, what do I know?). And we can use dynamic changes to support the shape of the phrases on top of the breathing we are already infusing into the phrase shaping. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about let’s do a preparatory exercise before we go to the harp. Pull out your favorite poems! Let’s start with a limerick to warm up. These are goofy and sing-song-y and you know exactly how to read them aloud: da-da-da–da-da-da–da-DA, da-Da-da–da-da-da-da-DU, da-da-da-da-DA–, da-da-da–da-DU, da-da-da–da-da-da–DA! Really dig into the cadence. Read them repeatedly, emphasizing the sign-song nature of the rhyme. When you’ve reread a few times and really have the rhythm going, focus on how you need to breathe to support that cadence. Once that’s not a struggle, you’re ready to use that breathing to support varying the loudness with which you say each syllable. Notice how you make a curve shape with your breathing and loudness like this:

Once you feel like you understand this concept, move into other (more mature?) poetry – Browning? Hughes? Shakespear? Yeats? Choose your favorite (or pick the one you’ve never actually read (but would never admit to having skipped!)) and start reading aloud. Find the cadence, shape the phrases. Listen to the ebb and flow of your voice and its volume. Once you’re established in reading the poem, shift the loudnesses – if you need to, mark the page, and try emphasizing the typically unemphasized syllables and shout them out while only whispering the usually emphasized. How does that change how you hear the poem?

 Now, let’s turn the idea inside out and let’s mess with the poem! Read a poem out loud in a goofy way – read Byron as if it was a limerick or read the silliest limerick you can find as if it was a sonnet. Add an extra beat to iambic pentameter and make it jiggy! Do silly things to your reading to find different ways to present the cadence and rhythm of the poem and the breath and dynamics to get there.

After some excursing (both “serious” and “silly”), go back to your original interpretation and notice: has your breathing changed? How is your loudness varying? Have you had any changes now that you’ve thought of the words in different presentations?

Now, go to your harp and do this same (sort of) thing – shape the phrases (like the graphic above) as you want to present the music. Now, make it into a “limerick”! For instance, play a 4/4 lament as if it were Katie Bairdie (or a 3/4 march as if it’s a jig). Take it from hushed to explosive! Then, go the other way and play a typically lively tune as a lament. Just mess around with it and see how you can shape the phrase to tell your different stories – and watch how the breathing and shape of the phrase change and how your volume control helps support that.

Clearly this is another set of exercises that aren’t “once and done” – you can do these exercises repeatedly and over time to explore all the corners of phrasing. Remember too that:

1. These are exercises. There’s no wrong. There is only exploration.

2. It is your story to tell. There is no wrong, only your interpretation.

3. They’re called dynamics for a reason! You can play the same sort of dynamic repeatedly and every time you play a tune. Or you can play a different set of dynamics each time you play. There is no wrong. It’s your story to tell your way.

4. Things change. Sometimes a tune always makes you feel the same things, no matter how many times you play it. Sometimes the tune leaves you feeling different, depending on how you experience it that day. There is no wrong – tell the story you hear.

I know this set of ideas is really different from what you might normally think of as harp playing, but give it a try and let me know what happens. What do you learn? What happens next (for you)? How do you think differently about your playing now? Can’t wait to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Summer’s coming

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Summer’s coming July 29 to August 10, 2024

This is the time of year when I start to run down the summer happenings that I’m looking forward to, hopefully in enough time that you can also plan to come along too!  The great thing about summer events is that they offer an opportunity to learn and do in ways that don’t happen as much throughout the rest of the year.  They are built on the break summer seems to bring to our “every day” world.  And better still summer events have great opportunities to learn and grow…and have a little fun!

This summer we will have our first Harp the Highlands and Islands trip that starts in Ireland (don’t worry, we make it to Scotland too)! We’ll travel with the amazing Alexandra who is not only a teacher but also a historian (by dint of education and enthusiasm!). She has planned a compelling itinerary and we’ve layered harp events on an unending array of beautiful and interesting stuff. 

Things we changed – we starting in Ireland and will see parts that aren’t as well traveled (which leaves us open to exploring more than the usual stuff). Things we haven’t changed – we still have a small band of travelers (no more than 8!) that ensures you have an intimate and tailored visit. We’ll meet local people and learn tunes and have an incredible time doing it!  And just when we’re fit to burst from Ireland, we’ll head over to Scotland and do it some more!

You know that having music in each travel day will make it all the more fun – and since we’re not just listening to it, we’ll be even tighter with itinerary informing the tunes we learn.  We’ll start in Shannon and then travel north to enjoy some time on the Wild Atlantic Way, visit castles, holiday towns, and meet some of the locals. We’ll also check out the stunning Kylemore Abbey! Then we’ll continue north towards Belfast and discover what makes the Northern coast so enchanting. We’ll cross over to Scotland in style on the ferry then round out our adventure in Glasgow and Edinburgh.  Here’s what’s coming:

Day 1 – Welcome to the Emerald Isle! We start at Shannon International, shake off that jet lag and head north on the Wild Atlantic Way.  First stop – Galway and then we’ll make our way to Westport. From here we’ll set out to explore this amazing corner of the world.

Day 2 – We’ll launch out today to explore the Connemara National Park. Nestled into the lakeside, Kylemore Abbey waits for us to enjoy. We’ll take a tour of the main house as well as the chapel, and gardens where the famous Kylemore ponies wait to greet us! We’ll head back to Westport for the evening our daily harp workshop.

Day 3 – Deep in County Mayo, we’ll visit the famous Ashford Castle grounds as we participate in a Hawk Walk with the National School of Falconry. Here, you’ll meet the local residents and get to know why this sport became such an important part of Ireland’s history. After, we’ll sit down for a lovely lunch at the Ashford cottage complex before heading back to Westport and our daily harp workshop.

Day 4 – We’ll head north to meet a phenomenal athlete, Moe, the sheepdog! Moe will teach us all about how amazing she is and why the relationship between shepherd and dog is so vital to this industry. After a quick lunch, we’ll saddle up and take in the splendor of the Irish coast on the iconic beaches of Donegal. We’ll arrive back in Westport for our daily harp workshop and an evening in this charming vacation town.

Day 5 – We’ll say so long to Westport and head into Northern Ireland. Along the way we’ll pull over and enjoy some of the hidden secrets in the small towns that dot the area. We’ll head to the northern coast of Ireland where we’ll learn a little about the distilling process at the world famous Bushmills Whiskey Distillery! We’ll enjoy the seaside town of Portrush and check in with our daily harp workshop.

Day 6 – Today, we’ll take in the splendor of the iconic Giant’s Causeway. We’ll learn the scientific reason why the causeway exists and maybe check in on the reason the locals think it sits here on the northern coast. After, we’ll enjoy an evening consisting of our daily harp workshop and dinner along the scenic coast.

Day 7 – We’ll make our way into Belfast where we’ll learn about the Titanic and its connection to Ireland. Our daily harp workshops continue and dinner will be a short distance away in our city center.

Day 8 – We’ll spend the morning learning about the history of Belfast’s most infamous story, “The Troubles”. This part of Belfast history is best told in the murals that dot the neighborhoods in the west of town. After, we’ll say goodbye to Ireland and take the Stenna Line Ferry across the Irish Sea and arrive in Cairnryan Scotland. We’ll head north for Glasgow to start our Scottish adventure!

Day 9 – Our Glasgow adventure continues as we take in some of the local sites and enjoy noting the differences between each side of the Irish Sea. We’ll spend the day enjoying all things Scottish then settle in for our workshop time and dinner just a walk away from our hotel.

Day 10 – We are off to our final destination! Edinburgh awaits us with plenty to see and to do! We’ll arrive in style by train and pull into Waverly Station. from here, we are just a short distance to our hotel. Just off the Royal Mile, we’ll set out to enjoy the local area and enjoy our workshop as well as dinner.

Day 11 – Edinburgh continues to delight and today we will take in one of the marquee events! After enjoying Rosslyn chapel to the south of town, we’ll have an early afternoon workshop before heading to the world famous Military Tattoo at the Castle. This spectacular show never disappoints and promises to entertain and delight.

Day 12 – We’ll round out our time in Edinburgh with a few optional tours and destinations and complete our workshop series today. There will be plenty to choose from depending on your interests. From The Whiskey Experience to Holyrood Palace, we’ll get you started in the right direction to enjoy all Edinburgh has to offer. We’ll end the day with our signature farewell dinner then give everyone a little time to pack up before our airport transfers tomorrow.

Departure Day – We know that this experience will have you falling in love with both sides of the Irish Sea! As we say goodbye to you here, know that both Ireland and Scotland fondly await your return!

As always, we’ll get to know you so that we will be able to find those little corners of Ireland and Scotland that delight and enchant. From magical bookstores, fabled artworks, and secret passageways, we’ll share with you those little things that make this the experience of a lifetime.

Our estimated price for the 2024 season is $4700.00 plus airfare.  What’s Included?

  • Breakfast at our hotels and dinners at unique locations daily.
  • Balance between scheduled experiences and unscheduled time to explore further or relax as you choose.
  • Plenty of downtime to enjoy unscheduled moments any way you please.
  • All attraction tickets and passes for experiences and guided tours (always with local experts).
  • All transportation including airport transfers upon arrival and departure.
  • Daily music workshop time to develop those crucial skills (and a small harp – no traveling with your harp!).
  • A dedicated opportunity to refresh your bags during our travels.

So you’re interested, right? Let us know so we can keep you in the loop! Details and fine print here on the website.  Have questions?  I’m happy to answer any you have. 

Are you coming?  Let me know in the comments!