Scale Up

In the tech and pseudo-tech worlds things work at scale and to scale, and scaling up is very important. For us, working at scales is not just important – it’s essential!

When you think about it – scales make up all music. They represent the available notes, define all the intervals, and by picking and choosing they also sketch out every possible shape.

Given the power scales hold, why do some people roll their eyes at their mere mention? And why do still others avoid them like the proverbial plague? Is it because they are tedious? Or is it like flossing – something we have all been told will both improve and prolong our lives and yet, less than 30% of us do it!

Doing scales should be a part of your daily harp hygiene. But we might need a subtle mindset shift to make the whole thing more palatable. Here are a few ideas you might try if you find you’re not doing scales daily – one for each day of the week!

1. Beginner’s Mindset – If you are a beginner, or if you remember your very early playing, scales are not easy. There is so much to do – placing your fingers, checking that they are one the right strings, playing carefully, closing all the way, learning what a scale sounds like (correct and incorrect), making adjustments, pretending you can go faster (than you really can), and more. It’s all hard. But eventually, with practice, it gets easier. And soon, you either rip through them or forget to do them all together. I challenge you to – at least once a week – put your beginner’s hat on and do your scales slowly (ponderously?) as you did when you learned to do them. They aren’t as eyerollingly droll as you might think when you pay attention.

2. Meditation at scales – If you’re not a beginner, your scales are probably on autopilot. So, I challenge you to do them once a week as an opportunity to breathe and check in with yourself. Transcend the details to observe the totality of your scale. You’ll learn a lot which you can plow back into your playing!

3. Scales can be challenging – There are so many ways to break out of boring, rote scales. One of my favorites is “Russian Scales” which I totally stole from piano. These are simple scales that move from parallel motion to contrary motion throughout the exercise. Easy-peasy (ha!). From Russian Scales we go to “Chasing Squirrels” which is much more free form but still shifting between parallel and contrary. You can make your own patterns – maybe have fun by shifting keys (to change up the visual cues).

4. Threes – I learned this from someone (maybe Maeve Gilchrist?) one hand plays a 2-octave scale in 3s, while the other plays a straight 1- octave scale. You’re done when both hands end up where you started.

5. Consistently Contrary – Do your scales always in opposition (contrary motion). No funky rhythms or change ups, just be contrary.

6. Push your weight around – Use a dotted rhythm to give your scales a little swing. Use different rhythms, try polyrhythms, challenge yourself!

7. Book scales – Get out your fav – Grossi, Friou, Hannon (I know – piano, but still useful) and do it! I also really like the books from Maeve Gilchrist, Gillian Fleetwood, and Sue Richards. There are loads of these technique exercise books – use them!

So, there you have a week’s work of scales – with no boredom, constant challenge. And none takes more than their fair share of practice time. No excuses. What are your favorite scales? Let me know in the comments! Want video examples? Send me a note and I’ll get it to you!

Feynman was right

There is one more place available to come with us to Ireland and Scotland in October! You know you want to go so check out the details and get your spot secured!

You already know that I really enjoy teaching. I have wonderful and amazing students, and I am certain that I learn more from them than they learn from me!

Richard Feynman (the genius scientist – and yes, I am an unabashed fan girl) was well known for pointing out that the best way to learn something (and to be certain you had learned it) is to teach it. The part he didn’t really highlight was that your own depth of learning would grow by teaching the same material to different people. Each of them will start where they are (where else could they?!) and take in what they are able in the order that they need to make sense of the world as you (the teacher) have presented it.

This means that I, as the teacher, must break out of my own place to provide what they can accommodate in a sequence that makes sense – to them. That’s a challenge – and I love it! Simply by being themselves, they push me to bend and stretch and reach for the stars. And when a student “gets it” – whether it is a tune, a harmony, a phrase, or even an interval – I rejoice! Because learning is demanding work and I’m grateful to be a part of it.

I sometimes worry that they will think I’m mocking them – and that’s when I wish we had LED displays on our heart – so they could see the joy for what it is – pure delight!

All that sounds like it’s all about me. And true, some of it is. After all, it can be brow breaking work to be flexible and creative hour after hour, day after day on the bench. But more importantly, 99% of is all about the student. Each thing they learn makes a brick to build the bridge from where we are to where we’re going – the next step of their journey. I’m just the tour guide.

Is there anything more fulfilling than being that guide? I don’t think so! You can have that too – I’d like to suggest that you offer a “come and try” (or “harp petting zoo”). You can make it part of your Music Day or Random Acts of Harping event. Because, for all my blether here, you – yes, you! – could share the same joy by teaching someone about the joy of making music and of playing the harp in particular!

Here’s your lesson plan:

  • Put your harp in Cmaj (no sharps, no flats).
  • Invite them to sit.
  • Hold onto your harp and guide it to them. Remind them not to lean forward (no, really, everyone does it).
  • Tell them to use their pointer finger on either hand to play any white string.
  • Demonstrate that they can’t really break the harp by pulling really hard on a string. Do NOT let go of the column (so you can stay in control of the harp).
  • No matter how much you want to jump in, (and as long as everyone is safe) let them explore for a moment – even the timid. Pay attention to their cues to pace yourself.
  • After a decent interval, teach them to Gliss (everyone one loves to do that most harpy of things).
  • If they seem keen, you can teach them Twinkle Little Star or Frere Jacques (using just the 2 finger).

It’s about them learning and enjoying. Don’t pin the reluctant to the bench and encourage the engaged. And on occasion check in with your heart – it’ll probably be full of joy!

Have you done a come and try? Tell me about it! Never done one? Are you going to try now? Let me know with a comment! BTW – I’m excited to be doing a come and try at the Ohio Scottish Games on Saturday, 28 June at 3pm. Come to the Harp Competition which starts at 9am and stay for the fun!

National Music Day is Saturday – perfect opportunity to get out there! Pair it with Random Acts of Harping and you’ve got a slam dunk!

Random Acts of Harping

If you’ve played the harp for any length of time you might have heard of Random Acts of Harping. Joanna Mell started it years ago. It used to be a specific day that people would randomly go out and play – in a park, at a nursing home, wherever. The idea was to make a generous contribution of your music to the world and post it to social media. Nowadays we would call it a pop-up concert!

This year she called for it to be any time in the month of June, which is a great idea, because of course there’s no one day that’s good for everyone all over the world to have the opportunity to go out and play. And I’m sure it hasn’t escaped you that it is, in fact, already June.

While I’m good for popping up unannounced and randomly to play for passersby, complete strangers, and even-stranger strangers, I’ve never been good about the social media part (doubt me? check out my social media pages – very thin).* Frankly, when I’m playing, I’m not thinking about posting or even getting photos or video. Yes, I’m just not great at having an influencer presence, it’s true. But that’s ok, because I’d rather be playing anyway.

The best things about Random Acts of Harping are that they encourage us to get out of our way, get out of our own heads, and get out into the real world. They also give us something to look forward to and an opportunity to share, even those of us who don’t have many of those come up that often.

If you’ve not done this before (or even if you have), while you’re playing be sure to look at the faces of the people that hear you. You might be surprised and delighted to see the surprise and delight on their faces and the happiness in their eyes. And, even if you typically only play for the cat and the curtains, it is truly wonderful to share music to receive that response. That alone will help you to see that it’s not about you – and how appreciative people are of the gift you make for them.

I’d like to encourage you to take part in Random Acts of Harping this year. You have the entire month remaining. It really is freestyle – the only rules are that you’re not meant to announce that will happen, just make it happen. Joanna’s facetwigram post exhorts you to “take your harp out into the world and delight the general public with its magical music!”

If you would like to be included in the Folk Harp Journal article she’ll write, snap a pic and send it with a paragraph about your random harp adventure by July 30 through her website www.joannamell.com. Remember: this is RANDOM acts of harping! And if you want to do it but don’t want to go through that rigmarole, I’d love to hear about your adventure (with or without photos!). Just send me a comment!

* It occurred to me upon editing that you might take me seriously, so https://www.facebook.com/CreativeJeniusHarp or https://www.instagram.com/jentheharper/

Finger Independence

My brain likes to think that it’s in charge. If often issues imperious edicts like, “put that cookie down” or “we’re going for a run now”. Typically, the rest of me falls in line and meekly does as it’s told (I’m looking at you arms and legs!).

But we’re musicians, athletes of the small muscles. When my brain seeks to order those little muscles around, they can be insolent. You know how it goes – the melody needs rapid direction changes and there you are with no more fingers in the direction we need to go! In these situations, the “usual” straightforward fingerings just won’t work. And in response, those small muscles don’t just balk, they rebel!

One can hardly blame them – they’re scared because the brain is asking them to do something they’ve never (or rarely) attempted (and typically with very little time to get there). It can get nasty with the brain becoming more strident while the fingers cower like sheep becoming paralyzed with fear. Poor fingers need to move in weird combinations or odd order of play.

Those fingers would be less afraid if they were strong, independent fingers! So, how do we help them gain that independence? Nothing a little exercise can’t fix to build strength, confidence, and most importantly, independence!

If you’re tired of reading (or think this doesn’t apply to you) go crack open Grossi, Richards, or Salzedo and prepare to sweat! But this is a little different, so hang in there with me!

Still here? Cool! We’re going to do two sets of exercises, but first you need this chart and two dice:

I know it’s intimidating – but hold on! Roll the dice to find the part of the chart you’re going to use – one for the row and the other for the column (if you roll two 6’s you can pick any column!).

Put your hand on a table, fingers curved – like you’re going to drum them on the table or like you’re typing. Now, tap your fingers in the order listed in the cell you have identified – lift each finger off the table in turn and put it back down. Go slowly, gently, in control, relaxed. Fingers follow our usual harp playing (1 = thumb, 2 = index, etc. and 5 is your pinky (even though we don’t play with it, it still needs to be included). Keep your wrist off the table in a neutral position. Relax. No, really – relax all of you, your fingers (obviously), your hands, arms, shoulders. Breathe.

Start by setting a time for about 15 seconds and work your way up to the entire table. Build slowly and focus on keeping your hand relaxed with your fingers moving (and changing) smoothly. When it becomes effortless – then you can add more rows or go faster. Start with each hand, then progress to both hands doing the same order.

I cannot stress enough – stay relaxed and in control. This is not about speed but about focus and on building that finger independence. You want each finger to move on its own without the others moving at all (this might be more challenging for some fingers than others).

When it becomes easy, move on to the next step – chose one order for right hand and another order for left hand.

Relax – it’s not Rocket Surgery – it’s more challenging!

Now, the next level, which is actually easier! Don’t move to this until you can do the previous exercise easily. Move to the harp. Same idea but we need a new table (since we don’t play with the pinky).

 Finger Order on the Harp
 1234
11,2,3,42,1,3,43,1,2,44,1,2,3
21,2,4,32,1,4,33,1,4,24,1,3,2
31,3,2,42,3,1,43,2,1,44,2,1,3
41,3,4,22,3,4,13,2,4,14,2,3,1
51,4,2,32,4,1,33,4,1,24,3,1,2
61,4,3,22,4,3,13,4,2,14,3,2,1

At first, simply place and move your fingers to tap the strings. This is a new task (even though it feels the same). Relax, go slowly, build up. Only when you can do that easily, then you’ll play.

This is all about independence and control which we can build and develop by staying relaxed and focused. As Marcus Aurelius might have said (had he been lucky enough to play the harp) “I don’t have to like it, I just have to do it.”

Being able to control your fingers independently will stand you in good stead in all types of tunes and all manner of arrangements with sticky wickets. Give this a go and let me know how you get on. If you’re more advanced and think you have this licked, try it, and let me know how it goes! I am also interested in how frustrating (or not) you find it so please share your thoughts – let me know in the comments!