Monthly Archives: April 2024

Spring Sharing

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Spring Sharing

We are half way through the Spring – the point in the year when most places have Goldilocks weather – not too cold, not too hot, not too wet. It’s time to take it outside!

During the lockdown, some of us took to our porches to share music with neighbors and friends.  We were staying apart and we did all we could to help each other from a distance.   It wasn’t fun and we were all delighted when it was over.

But that time is over (thankfully!). We’ve gone back to our regular lives and try to forget about that ickiness. Blech – leave it in the past.

Except one thing – that time sharing our music really helped people. It brought music – which always eases hearts and minds – to people who needed it at the time.

Let your “harp” grows three sizes!

What I have learned is that those same people would love to continue to share that time.  I was fortunate enough to have neighbors mention how much they enjoyed the covid concerts. That they missed them, that they kinda hoped I’d start again. (insert slightly exaggerated happy dance here)

So, you know what they say, give the audience what they want!  I’m excited to be returning to my concerts – without the covid this time!  These concerts aren’t big events.  I play for a small group and for about 30 minutes or so.  The audience enjoys a bit of culture and time together. 

What do I get? What a good question!  I get a warm, supportive, test audience! Because we’re close together and it’s so informal, we’re very relaxed.  I can test out new material on them and they give me immediate feedback.  Big corporations pay a lot of money for this kind of focus group – and I get mine for the small price of tunes in plein air!

What’s the point? I want to encourage you to do the same thing – go out and play on your porch, sidewalk, or cul-de-sac.  Invite your neighbors. Let them know you miss seeing them and that you’re using playing for them as an excuse to have a get-together. People are still lonely and wanting to have community and you can help build that! That is a superpower!

If you’re not a party planner, you might not know how to make it happen.  Here’s what I do – I send out an email (once I made little flyers – the point is to get the word out). In that, I encourage them to bring a chair and a beverage and tell them what time I’ll be starting about-ish and where. Remember it’s casual, so -ish is timely enough. Then I go out and do the thing.  Sometimes it feels like it’ll be just me and then suddenly, there’s loads of people there. 

What to give it a try?  Here it is step by step:

  1. Decide to do it (yay!)
  2. Invite people (see above)
  3. Make a set list – 25 minutes is about 8 – 10 tunes
  4. Practice
  5. Go out, do the thing, make some friends
  6. Feel your heart grow three sizes 😊

So, what do you think? Will you join me in going out to share some music with neighbors?  Let me know in the comments!

Ouch!

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Ouch!
We all like getting praise. It’s fun and comfortable, and it’s nice to get a pat on the back from a hand that isn’t attached to our own arm! As tasty as praise is though, we learn so much more from feedback. Critique. Criticism. On the other hand, it’s not always easy to get feedback! Sometimes – just ouch!


But criticism does contain a bunch of things to be learned. So how do you take in and use criticism and use it to grow your playing? Here are some things you can do:

First breathe – remember that it’s criticism, not an eye-wateringly awful attack. Then you’ll be ready to…

Determine if you think the input is valuable. Criticism from a knowledgeable person who shares the evaluation for your benefit (that was a long winded way to say they’re not overtly trying to wound you) can yield valuable nuggets (even if it hurts). If you doubt it (or disagree), get a second opinion, and if they don’t jibe, ditch it!* And, if the comment is from some nitwit off the street? Really? Give it the weight it deserves and chuck it out!

Look at why the comment stung. If it’s because you kinda already knew it, you just didn’t want to admit it – learn. If it is picking a scab, thresh through it to find the useful bits. And remember that you can elect to ignore it.

Make sure you heard what is said…not what you think was said. Be clear about the message before you form an opinion of it. Focus on the comment. Breathe and don’t let your inner thoughts run away from you. We can all learn and improve. Reframe the input if you don’t like the words (when the message is solid).
Once you know what was said, focus on what you can learn. What changes can you make? Ask questions if you don’t see a way forward. A good provider of useful feedback will answer the questions. If you feel stung by the words, take a moment to breathe before you ask a question. Keep your ego in check! Don’t let your fears cloud out what you can learn. We can all improve…yes, even you!

Be kind to yourself – feedback does help you grow…when you can use it. Using it is not possible if you are beating yourself up.

Finally, know that sometimes when someone stings you with criticism, it’s more about them than it is about you. But it is up to you to find the useful stuff, form it into something you can use (or at least learn from), and grow.

Have you ever gotten “ouchy” feedback? How did you use it to improve (or what did you learn)? Have you ever found yourself giving cringy critique? How would you improve it (if you could do it again)? Let me know in the comments!

 

*Of course, I don’t mean only seeking praise! The second opinion may put a finer point on the critique, clarify it, or refute it.

Let’s Travel!

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Let’s Travel!

Military Tattoo Mini Getaway! Aug 5 – 10th

Turns out it’s not a great time to go to Ireland.  But never fear, when it’s time to pivot, we’ve got a plan – welcome to your Scotland city getaway! Let’s take on Glasgow and Edinburgh in true style and enjoy a great European getaway. Let’s enjoy the high Summer season and the world famous Edinburgh Royal Military Tattoo. This marquee event is one of the best cultural traditions that Europe has to offer. We’ll surround our show with lots of the amazing sites and musical sounds that make these anchor cities cultural treasures.

You might have already been to Scotland but have you experience the Tattoo?  I know I haven’t and I can’t wait Wondering what we could possibly see? How about: Flying into/out of Edinburgh or Glasgow (or into one and out of the other!). We’ll use a mix of public transport and private transfer to enjoy the historical centers and their sites. We’ll balance our time with organized tours and independent downtime, with marquee sites for the first-time visitor and local gems for the tenured guest. You know that I’ve got my favorite spots and views and I’m excited to see if you agree!

How will we spend our time? Like this –

On Day 1, we’ll meet up and get to Glasgow. We’ll check in with the local scene on the High Street and walk off that jet lag with a welcome dinner in true Scottish style.

Day 2, our Glasgow adventure will continue as we take in some of the local sites and iconic places. We’ll spend the day enjoying all things Scottish. We’ll spend a little time learning tunes (and appreciators will do things us harpers will be envious of). We’ll round out the day with dinner which is just a walk away from our hotel.

On to Edinburgh which awaits us with plenty to see and to do on Day 3! 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 learning another tune before dinner.

On Day 4, 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 Military Tattoo at the Castle. This spectacular show never disappoints and promises to entertain and delight.

I can see our seats! (just kidding, sorta).

We’ll round out our time in Edinburgh with a few optional tours and destinations and complete our workshop series on Day 5. 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.

Day 6 is Departure Day.  But before we say goodbye, we’ll fit in your final hours with any last minute activities or venues that might interest you. You know that you will leave magical Scotland with a song in your heart, a new tune in your head, and a smile on your face (and perhaps a reason to return soon!).

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 on a harp that will be there waiting for you.

As always, we take your interests into account and as we get to know you, we will be able to find those little corners of 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 total trip cost for the 2024 season is $2900.00 plus airfare.

So you’re interested, right?! We’ll be hosting an online Q&A session so contact us to join the meet up and for more information and all the details. And you know you can always send me questions too. A minimum of six participants is required for this experience so invite your favorite travel companion/harp appreciator to come along – ’cause what could be more fun than visiting Scotland with me?!

Coming? Let me know in the comments! I have some great tunes lined up!

Keeping the Ledger (Lines)

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Keeping the Ledger (Lines)

Does the mere thought of having to read Ledger Lines make you faintly queasy? Do those little strikes of ink make your heart sink and your palms clammy? Do you think you should be able to just look at a ladder of notes on top of the staff and race through the notes without a care? Ha!

Well, let’s take a crack at making ledger lines easier to read! We’ve talked about reading before (look here for those thoughts here, here, and here). Perhaps the most important thing to remember about reading is that it is just like reading words – it takes consistent practice. Once you have that, the rest is just details.

Like words, music has predictable patterns that will help you learn to read. Knowing those patterns will make it easier – you just need to know the code so you can crack it!

One code you want to crack is the lines of the staff. There are a couple of things to know:

What goes around comes around Part 1 – we only have seven note names to work with (outwith accidentals) A-B-C-D-E-F-G and then we start again. We are used to that repetition, and it is easy to remember that you just have to apply it to the “stripes” (staves).

What goes around comes around Part 2 – one trick to keep track of where you are is to remember that, as we cycle through the staff, the notes shift – if it’s a line here, in the next octave (up or

down) it will be a space. (no, really, look at the staff!) For example, let’s use A – at the bottom of the harp (if you go that low) it’s a line, as you come up through to the top of the harp, it goes through space, line, space, line, space, etc. If you’re waffling while reading in the ledgers, knowing where you were in the previous octave is a good clue to shortcut your line counting.

Never underestimate the importance and utility of doing a little bit every day. You can do a smidge of reading each day and you’ll make good progress…without even trying! Set aside five minutes each day to do a series of activities that will help move your comfort forward. You can “Notespeller” it (Notespeller has become a verb in my studio in which you treat any sheet music as if it were a page from a note spelling workbook and read, find on the harp, and write in the name of the note – over and over until you “instantly” recognize the notes).  It is really important to match the ink with the string on the harp (after all, an A is not an a is not an A’!).

Get Comfortable. Recognize that if you don’t spend a lot of time reading in the ledger lines (if you always play in the middle of the harp) you’re not going to be very comfortable wading around in the ledger lines. You will get more comfortable being there by being there. Give yourself time to get used to seeing those notes, relating them to your strings, and playing on the “outsides” of your harp.

Tool use. To get better and faster, make (or buy) flash cards of the various notes at different ledger lines. Go all the way up and all the way down. Shuffle them really well so it’s not easy! Be sure to use your harp so you are still relating ink to strings and sounds! When you’re feeling like you’ve learned the lines, you can give yourself timed tests on the flash cards. When you’re getting more comfortable, break out some music you haven’t read but you know goes all the way up and down and give yourself a “stress test” to see how well your reading is coming along. Be prepared to bot “be there” yet – you’re learning!

Be nice – there was a time that you couldn’t find Middle C with two hands and a map, so cut yourself some slack while you learn where low and high notes are!

So, the question of getting better and faster at reading ledger lines has led us right back to the usual answer – focused, attentive practice on that specific skill. Couple that with some patience – and an acknowledgement of the challenge this task poses. Don’t compare your music reading to your book reading and don’t compare yourself to anyone else! Compare yourself today with where you were yesterday, last week, last month. A little every day will get you there.

Do you have other ideas to get to where reading ledger lines feels easier and more natural? I’d love to hear it! Let me know in the comments.

The Secret to Playing Everything Better

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The Secret to Playing Everything Better

Do you wish you played better? Ok, the shorter answer would be, does anyone not wish they played better. Well, I have an easy answer – and with one simple trick, you will play better! There is no magic and this is no joke. I guarantee that if you use this simple secret, you will play better.

(this is where, if this was one of those social media videos that offers a “free” secret for [losing weight, getting a perfect body, making millions every month with an email list, etc.], I’d be telling you all about my life and why I am the only expert and that I have the answer)

(But really, you also have the answer already – I’m just going to remind you what it is)

There’s a secret? And I don’t know it? What could it be?

What is this magnificent secret? What is the easy path to playing everything better? Well, since you asked –

The answer is to do your technical exercises.

Ok, that’s a bit simplistic. You need to do those technical exercises in very specific ways:

  • Slowly
  • Carefully
  • Consistently
  • While paying attention
  • Expecting nothing less than your best while you do it.

Told you it was easy.

I know, it’s really not easy, is it? Let’s take a very basic technical exercise as an example – scales.  You know how to do scales.  They are easy to learn, to remember, and to complete. But do you do them consistently, slowly, carefully, watching that you’re actually doing what you know you need to do? Or do you fly through them to just get them done? Or skip them all together because, who needs to do them, really?

Want to know who does scales consistently, slowly, carefully, while watching that the form, intonation, timing, rhythm, and tempo are all good? Pros do, that’s who.

Did you think scales were the purview of the newbie?  That at some point, we each advance to a point that we don’t need to do scales ever again? That would be exactly backward.  In fact, the farther you get from being a beginner, the more you know the importance of doing exercises and doing them with an exacting and consistent attention to detail.

You’re right that you know how to do scales – that’s part of the secret. Because they are simple and you know them, you have the available cognitive capacity to simultaneously play the scales, pay attention, notice things that are going well, determine what needs some focused attention, and make corrections before a problem can grow. In fact, with more practice, it is possible to both have a beginner’s mindset (as the gurus call it) AND have the experience to make your own corrections.

And implementing this secret will allow you to play everything with more ease.

Now you know the secret to playing everything better. How will you unlock its power to make your playing better? Let me know in the comments!