Author Archives: Jen

Have great vision

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You might have noticed that at the turn of the new year, I assiduously avoided talking about setting goals (except to encourage you to plan on coming to Ireland and Scotland with me in October!). But that doesn’t mean that we can’t still have some idea of where we’d like to get to as we keep learning and growing throughout the year (and beyond). A vision board might be just the tool you need to keep focused!

A vision board is really just a collage made of graphics, photos, words, and any other visual elements that help you keep in mind where you’re going. No matter how you put it together, making yourself a board gives you an opportunity to think about your playing and progress in a very different way. Because how often do you think of a visual to represent your music? It is relatively easy to speak of it, but what visual would symbolize where you’d like to go?

How might you go about making a vision board for your harping? I thought you’d never ask! First you have to choose a couple of parameters – you can make your board virtual (online) or physical (on paper). Then the hard work begins! You need to ask and answer a few questions –

> Where are you coming from?

> Where are you going to?

> What would show your thinking?

Once you’ve asked and answered these questions (and any others you dream up), then you can get started in a series of steps.

1. Collect pictures and other ephemera that will display those thoughts.

2. Organize these items to reflect your thinking.

3. Using those organized items, generate a collage that shows your thoughts (as well as dreams and desires).

4. Look at it – every day – and remind yourself what you’re working toward.

5. Change your collage as needed – so that it continues to stand for your thinking. Nothing about making the board is “permanent”. You’re not stagnant and your vision shouldn’t be either!

You can make a vision board as simple or as complicated as you like – after all, it’s yours. What matters is that you know what you mean when you look at it.

You may find that coming up with ways to show your thinking helps you get clearer on what you want to do. Or you might find that trying to find the right photo helps you refine your thinking as you try to capture your thoughts visually*. Keep in mind that it will be dynamic and that you have to leave yourself room to grow and change.

Will you give a vision board a try? What do you think will be the most challenging part of putting it together? Would you be willing to share yours? Let me know by leaving a comment!

* I’ve really focused on visual representation, but don’t feel like you must use only one sense – if you want to include audio, do it! Want to put your vision in smell-o-rama, use it! It’s your vision and your reminder!

Lesson Performance

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There is not a teacher that I know that hasn’t heard some variation of, “it was so much better at home”! I know, right? Sadly, I know this not only as a teacher but also because I’ve said it myself! Because we have practiced so much and we’re expecting so much of ourselves when we get to our lesson.

Therefore, we could be excused for being bemused when we sit in our lesson and … bomb! It’s like we brought rented fingers. Like we didn’t bother to practice. Like we play some other instrument. Like we’re no good. What happened?

What happens is that you have practiced playing the tune, but you haven’t really practiced performing it. Nor have you (probably) practiced playing in a different environment. I know that none of my students has a carpet as challenging as the one in my studio. They don’t have the same lighting. They don’t have the same harp (some have a different model, others have a different brand). And they sure didn’t practice all week with me looming next to them, watching what they do.

The reality is that your lesson is not a stage performance, but it is a type of performance. You are playing for an audience. And you know that your audience is judging.* The question is what will you learn when you do these performances? Here are a few things you might do to learn more to take away from your next lesson performance:

Optimize your setting. Make sure you have enough light, enough room, are comfortable, and can relax before playing. You can still do this, even if you’re at a lesson. It will give you space for your performance. And it might give your teacher some insight into how their studio looks to a student.

Have a run through. This is a good idea to help you settle down. If you’re nervous, just play a “throw away” – play through the tune just to settle in, get used to the harp, and shake off the commute and the day and get your head fully into your playing. You might ask your teacher to busy themselves doing something that isn’t listening to you – just to get in the groove. Once in that groove – then perform the tune.

Lean in to where you are. If you’re still learning a tune, don’t pretend (or expect) to play it flawlessly. Think about what’s not working and start there. Rather than plopping on the bench and belting out a bunch of notes, start a discussion about what you have had trouble with, what’s tripped you up repeatedly, what you’re dreading as you come up on it, and what’s going pretty easily.   All this will help you and your teacher focus on what needs work. Don’t make your teacher figure it out – you’ve had all week to find out where the problems are, so use that information to move you forward! After working on the kinks, then you can play the tune!

Just these three things will make each of your lessons more effective and will shift your thinking about performing in your lesson. You will be able to prepare better, learn more, and get farther each time. And that will get you ready to learn even more!

Do you feel like your lessons are performances? How does that help (or hinder) you? If you haven’t thought of it that what, what else do you think you might do for your lessons? Let me know here in the comments!

*All teachers judge – but good teachers judge your playing – not you!

Put it on repeat

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One of the most frustrating things when learning a new piece of music is getting it established in your head. Whether you get your music by rote or by reading (or hybrid), we often feel like we should have a tune quickly. But is that really reasonable?

In a word – No.

Learning a tune and learning to play a tune (and I’d argue those are different but related) require repeated exposure. Repeated means – repeats….and lots of them!

You might wonder why you need so much repetition – even if you’re a quick learner. Well, there are two basic reasons – first, because there’s a lot to learn and second because you probably don’t make as many repeats as you think when you practice.

There is a lot to learn, and I find that we typically underestimate how much we need to learn for each piece we take on. While we focus on our fingers, it’s our brains that have the lion’s share of the work here! We need to recognize and recall a lot of stuff. Here are just a few of the things you need to learn for each tune:

> You have to know how the tune sounds

> You have to know where the tune goes

> You have to know where your fingers go

> You have to know the order of the notes of the melody

> You have to know the chord progression of the harmony

> You have to know the notes of the harmony

> You have to know the order of the fingers

> You have to know the rhythm

> You have to know the dynamics

> You have to know the phrasing

> You have to know how this tune relates (or is contrary) to other tunes you already know

> You have to remember all that

And more. Hopefully, that gives you an appreciation for what you’re doing as you learn.

So, then the question is, how many repetitions. Often, we feel like we’re playing something over and over and over and over. And we are. But look at that list again – each of those things is impacting each repetition. So, you can begin to understand why so much repetition is needed.

Let’s start by thinking about what we’re trying to by making those repetitions. We are trying to memorize how the (entire) piece sounds. We also need to perform serial recall of two different lines – the melody and the harmony which more often than not are completely different, yet related. We have to master the motor activity of placing, playing, closing, moving, and doing it again and again. But more importantly, we have to connect all of those things, in the right sequence within the appropriate relative time, while detecting anomalies (aka mistakes) and correcting them. Whew! No wonder it’s hard!

There is no set number of repetitions required (that would be too easy!). One metric is easiness – how easy does it feel to play? Yes, it’s qualitative, but this isn’t rocket science, so it’s ok. When you’re moving along your learning curve, there will come a point when you realize that it is just easier to play – you’re not struggling as much to remember what comes next, your fingers actually feel like you are in control, your brain doesn’t feel like you’re about to combust! You may be more able to play faster or to keep both hands going.

The keys to getting there probably include not counting your reps, but instead focusing on what you’re doing, what you’re thinking about, what you’re not able to do just yet, and how you have done compared to yesterday, the day before, etc.

If it helps you to keep focused on practicing, you can use pennies, beans, or beads to keep track. These tools can be helpful to show yourself that you are actually practicing as much as you think you are. As long as you recognize that time (and number of repetitions) isn’t all that matters – what you do with that time is what matters.

The last thing to keep in mind is repetition has to happen across days and weeks, not just within individual practice sessions. You can’t really learn all that (see the list again) in a single sit down, so don’t think you will! If you feel compelled to have some detail, the next time you learn a new tune, keep track of how much time you practice, over how many days/weeks, and how many repetitions you actually perform each time – it should be fairly eye opening.

What’s your experience with repeats? Let me know … in the comments!

Something in the Air

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Harp care is one of those things that I know we all keep at the back of our minds, but one element is easy to overlook. Shockingly easy. And that would be keeping your room at a comfortable humidity for you and your harp. Why shockingly? Because when the humidity falls low enough, you’ll know it because that’s when static electricity rules!

How much is enough? Well, you want it to be higher than constantly getting static shocks and lower than sticky! What will be about 40 – 50% humidity which will feel pretty comfortable. And if you want to keep an eye on it, buy a hygrometer. They’re inexpensive and can sit on the shelf near your harp so you can have peace of mind.

Once you know what the current humidity is, there are a number of ways you can improve it. Here are eight ways to enhance yours:

  1. You can get a room humidifier. They have cute ones for children’s rooms, and they do the trick. Or you can get a larger one, but they’re not cute. (and they do the trick too, just industrially).
  2. Run your crock pot – it’s designed to run all day (or night) so you can be comfortable having it on. If you’re fancy, put some cinnamon and cloves in it (or essential oils). Set it to high and fill it with water. Put the lid on until it warms up then remove. You can see the steam rising. Be sure to watch the level of water and add as needed.
  3. Same idea but slower – put a pot on the stove and bring it to a boil – all that steam will go into the air! When I do this, after the boil I lower it to a simmer (I stopped this because it’s a lot of energy and you can’t forget about it either!).
  4. Put out a bowl of water – it will evaporate. I use a bowl with a wide opening – larger surface area for the evaporation to occur.
  5. Run a tabletop fountain – it’s pretty, makes lovely bubbly noises, and is soothing as well as hydrating.
  6. Put a vase of flowers in the room – they’ll be a pretty addition and will help bring water into the air.
  7. Bring in houseplants. This is so far down because this only works with living plants. Since I only have dead houseplants, it didn’t work for me!
  8. Get a fish tank!

Managing the humidity around your harp will definitely make the wood happier. And it will probably make your skin happier too. These are all fairly low-tech and impermanent. Of course you can put in a whole house humidifier – or you could use that money to buy a new harp – that’s up to you.

Do you have any other ways to keep your air comfy? Let me know in the comments – you know I learn so much from you!

Start up

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You probably aren’t keeping with the “thoroughly modern music teaching” online space. There are loads of teachers teaching other teachers to make more money by teaching. I keep an eye on them just to see what bubbles up in the idea streams. One thing they tend to do is drop stuff (music, ideas, games) the week before you need it. As in, they post a new Christmas arrangement on December 16th or a tune for St. Patrick’s Day on March 15th. Maybe all their students are way more efficient, but I would never ask my students to learn a piece that quickly! I know I wouldn’t want to get a piece of music and have it ready to go inside of a week!

I don’t know about you, but I need time. There’s so much to do – learn, remember, test out, reject, try again, for every single note. It’s thorough, but not speedy. I do know that it’s just nice to be ready – especially if you need the music to perform!

Ready for what? Perform where? Well, for all the things we know are going to come around like they do every year. There are learning opportunities like Ohio Scottish Arts School, Somerset Harp Festival (25th Anniversary!), Virginia Harp Center Festival, the Harp Gathering, and the list goes on.

But there are also the putting yourself out there and doing stuff to show yourself that you can. These are events like Play Music on the Porch Day in August and Random Acts of Harping in June. For these events you need to know some music – at least enough to fill the time – and feel comfortable that you can play it.

By giving yourself a little time to plan and prepare, those events will be easier on you – less stress and more fun. That also means that right now is not too early to start learning a new piece or two to have on hand. You can even look forward to debuting them – but that will be easier if you get started.

Before you think it’s too early, remember that there are a number of steps. You have to find some tunes that might be what you’d like to be playing, select from those the tunes you decide to work on, learn the tunes, really learn them, get the arrangement squared away, and then polish, polish, polish. When you consider all that, it’s about time to start!

Whether you’ll play at festivals, schools, or sharing events, give yourself time to enjoy the process! It really is nice to share. It’s nicer to share when you don’t feel like you’re not ready! What tunes are you going to start up? Let me know in the comments (I’m always looking for ideas!).

On Balance

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I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but everyone else is getting older. Every day. Inexorably. Also, not everyone gets their jollies by carting around nearly 30 pounds of wood in a bag on their shoulder.

Oh wait.

Ok, we are all getting older, e-v-e-r-y single day and we do sort of enjoy an activity that can require us to tote around a large, unwieldy bag full of recycled tree bits. And that’s before we’ve even begun to have fun! All this moving the harp (even without the case) can require that we have good balance. Like other things we practice, with small but consistent activities we can get there.

Adding functional exercises will help you tote your harp. They will also help you carry groceries, sit and get up from the dinner table, walk across the room or on a sidewalk. They can even make sitting at your harp easier. And activities like bending to one side, grabbing a handle and shoulder strap to lift a bag of tree parts onto your shoulder, then walking some finite distance, lifting said bag into and out of a vehicle, and subsequently toting it somewhere else to bend over again to place it gently on the ground are just part of everyday life! Easy-peasy, right?

Now, before I go any farther, I must reiterate that I am not that kind of doctor, and you should speak to your physician before embarking on any exercise or fitness regimen. Everything I say is a suggestion or just an idea. Functional exercises are a physical practice and require strength, flexibility, and balance to build greater strength, flexibility, and balance. Consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new fitness programs, especially anything I suggest. If you have any injuries, health conditions, or other physical limitations, it is important that you remember that you must take care of yourself, especially before trying any new or modified exercises. The information provided on this website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare professionals with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Reading this blog, or trying anything I suggest, involves risks and your results may vary.

Now, back to the point at hand. Working a few functional exercises into your everyday routine can help you continue to be able to carry your harp (or lift it onto the harp cart) for a long time to come by helping to ensure you have the balance needed to successfully bend over, lift, carry your harp without falling over! Here are three functional exercises that can move you toward improved balance:

  1. Stand on one foot. No, I am not kidding. Can you do it for 10 – 15 seconds? Longer? If you are at all wobbly (or if you’re just smart), do this behind a chair or at your kitchen counter to catch yourself in case you lose your balance. If you can easily do 15 seconds, can you do 30? The longer the better. When you’re feeling big and bad and hard to diaper, try it with your eyes closed (definitely have the chair for this!). It’s important to be able to stand on one foot – you spend half the time you’re walking in that position! This also strengthens your feet which do most of the work keeping you balanced.
  2. Undecideds (sit to stand). You might think it’s easy to sit down or to stand up from a chair (or you might not). You know how to do this. Use a straight chair (like a dining room chair or your harp bench). Stand in front of it and sit down, now stand up. And again, nine more times (like you can’t decide to sit or to stand!). While you’re doing these, try to remain upright (don’t bend over and hurl yourself onto the seat and similarly, don’t push off the table or make loud groaning noises!). If you’re not used to doing these, do them in a chair with arms because while one might be easy, ten will sneak up on you! (you can also use your legs to push off if you don’t have a chair with arms). Strengthening your legs helps in nearly everything you do. (PS if this isn’t enough, move to squats – same idea just no chair to fall into).
  3. Teapots (side bending). I haven’t ever seen anyone pick up their harp case from the floor who didn’t add a sideways bend (like “I’m a Little Tea Pot”) and worse, many of us not only bend sideways, we also bend forward at the same time – which is just begging to topple – head over tea kettle as they say. For this, sit upright in that chair we just finished not flopping onto with your arms hanging along your sides. Bend to reach to the floor on one side, come back to the middle and reach for the other side. Keep yourself upright, no slouching or slumping. If you can’t reach the floor no worries, you know it’s there and it gives you something to strive for. Don’t forget to breathe.

Do each of these exercises about ten times each then repeat the sequence two more times. Like all our practice, it’s about slow, careful progress not speed or overdoing it. Take it easy, build up, and enjoy the process. And, like harp technique books, there are loads of additional activities you can add to help you improve your balance. These are just a few that are easy enough to bring in to any practice session to make moving your recycled trees a bit easier over time.

What do you do to improve your balance? Do you have a different functional exercise to share? I’m always looking for some and you know I love to hear from you – leave me a comment!

Time to Plan!

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Time to plan –

One of the best things about January is that it just feels like a time to plan! Now some plans can be small but important like “I plan to practice every day” and others can be big like “I plan to buy a complete set of strings, so I won’t have to worry about a string breaking”.

But some plans are both big and important – like, “I really want to travel to Ireland and Scotland, and I want to do that with a harp so I can soak up even more of the wonderfulness in the air!” So, let’s start planning because I would love it if you came along with us!

For 2025, Alex and I have made some changes and added some flex, and I think you’ll really enjoy it! Welcome to your adventure where there are lots of amazing sites and musical sounds to be had in these incredible cultural treasures.

New in 2025 – you can come along to Ireland and Scotland, just Ireland, or just Scotland. Travel dates are October 1st through the 14th, estimated at $5,900 ppdo plus airfare. If you can only come for one week, split fares are possible – ask for more information! We are still planning, so be sure to check back often as the itinerary is updated and confirmed. This is a rough itinerary and is subject to change.

Here’s the plan:

The first week will be in Ireland. This week will focus on some favorites – and you know that there’s a tune for that! (for those of you haven’t traveled with me, that seems to be the sentence that comes out of my mouth all-the-time. Don’t worry, I’ll share them with you!).

Days 1-3: Down South in Dingle

Touchdown Shannon! We’ll meet in the arrivals hall and then make our way south to the Dingle Peninsula where music is king and “the next parish over is Boston!”

Days 4-5: The Cork-Kilkenny Connection

Known for winning the tidy town award year after year, Kilkenny is full of charming streets, traditional shops, and plenty of High Street atmosphere.

Days 6-7: Dublin’s Fair City

Ireland’s work-a-day capitol awaits as we check in to Dublin. With great districts like the Temple Bar and Grafton Street, Dublin has so much to offer including a chance to find out more about those Irish roots!

Departure Day or Day 8: Up North in Belfast

We know that some of you have to head back Stateside, and we’ll be sad to see you go but we’ll be headed to Scotland!

Week Two: Scotland

We’ll enjoy the historical centers and their sites. We’ll balance our time with organized tours and independent downtime. If you’ve never been here before, you’ll see those marquee sites that are a must. And if this isn’t your first time, those local gems for just waiting for you – the tenured visitor.

Day 8-9: Stirling in the heart of Scotland

We’ll spend some time exploring those beautiful spots that make Scotland so unique. We’ll check in at Stirling to see how things look from the stunning castle and learn a little more about William Wallace and history – romantic and accurate!

Day 10-11: Historic St. Andrews

We’re off to beautiful St. Andrews to take in this amazing and interesting place – full of history, culture, golf, and a university! St. Andrews is small but mighty – and compelling!

Day 12-13: Ending in Edinburgh

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 from our hotel. Just off the Royal Mile, we’ll set out to enjoy the local area and enjoy our workshop as well as dinner.


Departure Day

As we say goodbye to you here, we’ll be sure to fill your final hours with any last-minute activities or venues that might interest you. We are sure that you will leave magical Scotland with a song in your heart and a smile on your face and perhaps a reason to return to this legendary culture.

What’s Included

Breakfast at our hotels and dinners at unique locations daily.

Balance of 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 as well as a small harp for your use.

Our Commitment:

As we get to know you, 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.

You know one of the quintessential joys of making music is sharing with others, so if you have a non-harp playing travel mate – bring them along! They are more than welcome (and if they play a different, small trad instrument, they are welcome to bring it and learn the tunes as well).

At this point you’re likely interested, and have questions, right? Ask away, I love to answer questions! Click here for questions.

If you’re ready to “press play”, click here to save your spot and get priority access. Can’t wait to travel with you!

I hope you’re going to plan to come along – we’d love to show you our favorite things and find some new ones too! Let me know in the comment!

Welcome to the new

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Hope you had a peaceful and relaxing holiday season. You either? Well, here we are at the beginning of a new year (I’m chuckling as I write because that originally came out “eww year”).

That makes this the week when every other article you see is about resolutions, how they don’t stick, goal setting, how those goals have to be the right shape otherwise they won’t stick, planning and organizing, how a poorly thought out plan or substandard organization won’t stick.

That’s a lot of not sticking. So, what’s the point? After all, a new year starts every 365 days (or so), so what’s the big deal? Maybe it’s not a big deal after all.

If it’s not a big deal, maybe take the pressure off. Rather than focusing on what you “should do” think about what you have done and what the next logical step (or steps) might be. Nothing outlandish or excessive. And certainly not some ridiculously high number of goals/resolutions/foci.

In years past I have encouraged you to set goals, to make vision boards, to identify your resolutions. But not this year (I’m learning as we go, just like you). Instead, I’m going to suggest that you take a beat. Spend a moment reflecting on where you are – what you have learned, what you’re good at, what you still need to work on, what you know and what you don’t and how you might close that gap. In other words, just take a little time to consider what has gone before and what you can do next.

Why this new approach? It’s easy to get caught up in the details of all the shoulds of the beginning of the year. But getting caught up in those details also might derail you from taking the opportunity to skip pondering. What have been your successes, your stumbles, the holes you need to fill, the music you need to branch off into? It probably won’t take you a long time to give a thorough assessment of you – as you are now. Then you can decide what you might do next. One thing. No grand plan. No extended network of activities with untenable timelines. Just one thing.

You might be thinking, “Just one thing”!?! Well, that won’t take me long. What would I do next? I better make a plan for that.” (or something like that). But here’s the thing. Since this isn’t a big fancy goal setting/planning strategy – we can just keep repeating it. Think about the just one thing to do next and then do it. Lather – Rinse – Repeat.

I’ll admit – this takes a little getting used to. We’ve got lots of practice making big resolutions that we can’t (typically) execute. This might feel like traveling a little too light. But before you get too giddy, remember that it won’t be 365 days until you do it again – you might do it tomorrow (or next week, or Spring – whatever). When you’ve completed just one thing, then you can again take a beat, look around, and suss out what might be the next thing. And don’t sweat figuring it out. If you’re less experienced, ask your teacher. And if you don’t have a regular teacher, book a lesson with someone you admire for a coaching session.

Finally, don’t forget to write it down! What’s the point of figuring out the thing if you don’t have it on hand to refer to later? So tell me, when will you take a beat? If you’re willing, let me know what you’re next thing will be! If this is too off-putting or you need a little help focusing you can book with me – I love a challenge! Let me know in the comments!

Here are the comments from this week’s post – I look forward to hearing from you!:

Eby wrote:

Happy New Year dear Jen. I wish you the best in the coming year.
 – Eby – Happy New Year to you! Thank you so much for reaching out! Let’s have a wonderful year of harping!

Kay wrote:

Jen! I love your blogs! I just read the one about hosting a harp circle. It actually helped me understand that they are social, not a structured rehearsal where we all are supposed to improve and play together with one teacher telling us what needs to be better. I have been expecting the gatherings to be more like the hand-bell choirs that I have been part of! Whenever I read your writing, I visualize your fun cheerful self speaking, like at OSAS. Hope to see you again in June!
 – Kay – I’m so looking forward to seeing you in June – and before!
Robin wrote:
I don’t set goals at the beginning of the year. Instead I make little ones all year long. I’m very happy I decided to do a mini holiday concert with my husband for our neighbors and we hope to do another this year. We’re going to Sunita’s Tuscany harp retreat so I’m preparing two solos and a couple of duets to share with everyone. And maybe a new arrangement to work on with her. That’s it so far but I’m sure there will be more.
 – Robin – You have some really great plans and I’m excited to help you get there. I know you’ll have a wonderful time with Sunita and will learn so much from her! Can’t wait to hear how your holiday concert went!

Christmas Time is Here

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Christmas Time is Here

As the Peanuts Christmas song goes, Christmas Time is Here….

I want to take a moment to wish you the best of holidays, days of friends and family and laughter and love. I hope you make some music, share some harp magic, and enjoy the holidays with sound and joy. I’ll be playing my favorites for the president of my fan club between happy bites of treats and sips of delight.

And I want to thank you for your continued support and participation. I hope you look forward to this each week with as much enthusiasm and I feel creating it. Let’s wrap this year with our shared love of music and revel just a moment in the bliss! From me to you, Merry Christmas!

PS – things are still a little dorked up on the back end, so if you want to leave a comment or send me a note, please click here (so your comment doesn’t get eaten by the website!).