I have told you before – I love teaching because I learn so much! I know I’m not everyone’s cup of tea as a teacher, but I am proud that my approach has always been that I am teaching the person not the harp. Yes, I’m kinda random. Yes, I talk too much. Yes, I (eventually) get to where that person is and figure out how to get through to them where they are right then.

So, yesterday we had one of the fun, funny moments that arise from being me while teaching. We were at that somewhat rocky place in learning a new tune where there’s a tenuous grasp of what’s going on – and the poor learner is really just clutching at any straw of knowledge. You know that place – when you’re not entirely sure of what it should sound like, which strings you’re supposed to play in which order, which fingers you want to be using, the rhythm (if we can even keep that in mind), what’s coming next … all the things.

So, I did the sort of thing I do – I reached over from my seat and tried to play the phrase. But I was “backward”, near the column so when I tried to get my fingers to work, they were fighting me – after all, they knew what to play. But my eyes were screaming (inside my head!), “NOOOO! It’s the other way!!!” (you know, like your mom yelled when you were learning to drive). There was a great deal of back and forth in my head while my fingers tried to work. I bent my brain!

It was sort of like the Contrary Motion exercises you played when you were young to the harp. That’s when one hand plays up at the same time the other plays down. Except that here it was my eyes going in one direction while my fingers went in the other. Crazy!

But it was good for a couple of reasons. This is a beginning student, and getting to watch me struggle to play something highlights that we’re always learning. And that, no matter how long we have played, there’s always something we could be working on to develop.

The other reason is that it really highlighted to me how, even though I’m always going on about being creative, I had missed a doozy – looking at the harp in a new way (literally). When I had just started playing, I used to turn the harp around, place the column on my shoulder and try to play the tune. I’m not sure when I stopped doing that, but it’s a lot harder now! I had to start a couple of times because I had a disconnect!

While we were at the harp as I struggled, we laughed and learned and went on. But it struck me how this was such an easy way to develop flexibility and fluidity in a non-threatening way. How can it be threatening when you’re not “playing”, just playing around? The important thing isn’t how well you can play backwards (no matter how many twins at harps or upside-down pianists you see on youtube). Rather it’s allowing yourself to do stuff to push your own boundaries.

So, I’ll challenge you to give this a try. See what happens when you bend your brain. Start with curiosity not expectation – because I promise it won’t be pretty at first. Instead, notice how hard it is at first – and how quickly you adapt. You can try playing something you already know, or you can try to make up something new. It doesn’t matter – it’s about flexing your creative muscles and having a little fun. Let me know how you go!