Author Archives: Jen

Are you a cheetah?

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Cheetahs are really fast.  They are purportedly the fastest animal on the earth, running faster than 100 MPH.  They are sleek and optimized to go fast.  They are amazing to watch.

However, with great speed come great speed bumps!  Cheetahs actually catch less than half of what they hunt because they are too fast!  Since hunted things are motivated to get out of the way – they do! And worse, even if the cheetah does catch what they’re aiming for, they are often so spent that other, slower but stronger players often swoop in and steal the cheetah’s meal.  And the cheetah couldn’t do much about it even if they weren’t exhausted because, while they’re fast, they don’t have sharp claws and they’re relatively weak.  Yikes.

You might wonder why we are on this gentle (ha!) walk through the Wild Kingdom?  Because we can learn a lot from the cheetah.

To be successful hunters (and to have well fed bellies) cheetahs actually depend more on agility than they do on their speed.  Stated baldly, a successful cheetah relies on great technique NOT speed.

They use that technique – even though they could rely on their speed – because even the cheetah knows that speed doesn’t lead to success – great technique does!

Further, the cheetah – and the smart harper – knows that carefully honing one’s technique will lay the groundwork for all the speed to be used masterfully rather than letting speed run the show.

The cheetah is a rare creature, beautiful to behold.  Harpers are like that too.

Unlike the cheetah, who uses technique for hunting but doesn’t have a lot of tasks, we harpers need to develop a wide range of skills to perform all the tasks of playing our instruments and our music.  The development of these techniques requires time and attention and practice which can be time consuming (and sometimes can be a little dispiriting).

Speed, on the other hand, is seductive.  It whispers in your ear

“we could go even faster…if you’d just sacrifice a few, teensy-weensy details…like fingering, placing, tone, articulation, dynamics, posture, and planning. Whadaya say?”

And it’s very easy to fall prey to that silver tongued devil.  Here in the secret privacy of our own private practice spaces – we can succumb and go faster – faster – faster.  So what if we missed a note?  So what if we dropped part of the phrase?  Did we already play the repeat?  Is that actually how it goes?  It sounds perfect with no left hand, right?  There was no gap while I tried to remember what came next, right?   So what if it wasn’t completely smooth?

But eventually comes the time when we venture out and prepare to play – for a lesson or in front of others – and then the scales fall from our eyes as we learn that our sacrifices for speed have resulted in a haphazard, poorly played tune.  And we feel it keenly. *

So, don’t be fast like the hungry cheetah.  Rather, be precise and agile like the fed cheetah.  Focus on tamping down your speed to instead let your technique take over.  Ignore the seductive voice urging you play faster and instead heed the call to the dulcet tones of articulated, tempered, dynamic music.  Be all the best qualities of the cheetah – without the spots!

 

* Don’t ask me how I know this.

And Now for Something Completely Different

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One of the tenets of maintaining and growing your creativity is to always be trying something completely different.  And here we go!  This week I wanted to share another way to get yourself to your bench – by getting dinner on the table quickly but satisfyingly.

By sharing…a recipe!

You may (or may not) know that I h-a-t-e to cook.  I can cook.  And I can cook well enough – with only a few minor catastrophes which I love to share (just to get out of it as much as possible). But I don’t find it enjoyable.  As a chore it ranks slightly behind cleaning the bathroom.

But you do know that what I do find enjoyable is trying new things.  Whether you’re good at it or not doesn’t matter, just giving it a go is worth all the outcomes.

So, I’m trying something new – sharing a recipe that I made up and hoping it is interesting (or at least amusing) to you.  I know you’ll let me know what you think!  Like all my projects, I sort of make it up as I go while hoping for the best.  I’d urge you to do the same thing.  Start where you are and end up where you got.  Improvise.  Try new things.  Keep what you like.  Add other stuff.  Remember to write down what you liked (and note what you didn’t like so you don’t do it again).

Of course, the main point is getting yourself fed so you can get back to playing!

I hope you’ll give it a shot and let me know what happens.  Even better, if you have a similar recipe that you have honed for yourself and are willing to share, I’d love to hear about it.

Jen’s Really Good Potato Soup

My made up recipe for a winter stable staple.

  • Soup pot
  • 2.5 lbs White potatoes, diced ((or purple or golden or whichever you like best))
  • 1 Tbs Salt ((to boil potatoes))
  • 2 Tbs Butter ((Salted or un-, as you wish))
  • 1 med Onion ((use as much or as little as you like))
  • 1 soupcon Garlic ((to your palate))
  • 4 cups Potato water (from the water you boil the potatoes in)
  • 6 Chicken bouillon cubes
  • 2 cups Heavy cream ((you only live once, eat the cream))
  • 2 cups Cheddar cheese shredded (divided)
  • 15 slices Bacon (cooked and minced)
  • 1 smidge Nutmeg (ground) (to taste – you can always add more later so don't overdo it up front!)
  • Bacon bits (for garnish)

  1. Dice the potatoes (so they'll cook faster) – peel or don't, as you prefer. I don't.

  2. In the soup pot, bring 6 – 8 cups of water, the diced potatoes, and the salt to a boil until tender – about 15 minutes.

  3. Put a colander in a large mixing bowl (or large pot). Pour the boiled potatoes into the colander and drain the water into bowl or pot. Set aside 4 c of the water and discard the remaining water.

  4. Return the soup pot to the stove and over medium heat, melt the Butter. Then add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent.

  5. Add the 4 c of water and the potatoes and bring to a simmer. Add bouillon cubes and dissolve.

  6. Reduce heat to low and add the cream (slowly and carefully), half the shredded cheese, the bacon, and the nutmeg. Return to simmer.

  7. To serve, top with remaining cheese and bacon bits to garnish. Serve with crusty bread.

This soup makes up really quickly so it’s perfect for those nights when you need to eat but really, really want to get to your harp!  And although it’s nothing fancy, it gets rave reviews. 

Keeping the peels on the potatoes is a personal preference and I pretend that it makes it healthier because – you know – fiber.  Reusing the water is not only eco, i think it improves the texture of the soup.

Feel free to improvise – just like a good tune!  I fiddle with this every time and never make it the same way twice. Have fun!

Main Course, Soup
American

 

What do you want less of?

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We are strivers.  Don’t believe me?  Of course we are – we are always trying to be better harp players.  We try to learn new music.  We work to polish the music we already know.  In other words, we strive to improve ourselves – we’re strivers!

And, all in all, that’s a good thing.  We work hard doing something we love, and we have very good reason to be very proud of our accomplishments.  Add to that my unending exhortation that you practice, and you might be very confused by the headline.

Because I do always suggest you find more time to practice, that you be more organized, that your write down – oh, I don’t know – everything, and that you put yourself out there more.  More, more, more – I’m always asking you to do more.

But not this week.  This week, let’s turn that around –

What do you want to do less of? 

Now, before you do the dance of joy, think carefully about what you’d like your answer to be.  Because it’s worth examining not only what you’d like to do less of but also why you’d like to do less of it. 

For instance, if you said you’d like to do scales less – why?  And how?  Do you just not want to do them at all? Or do you want to do fewer of them? What would you gain by doing them less? 

What if you said you just wanted to spend less time practicing?  Again, why? Not enjoying your time at the harp? That would be sad.  Or is it that you feel like you spend all that time and maybe aren’t getting where you’d hoped you’d be?

You can do this little exercise – asking what you’d like to do less on – with just about every little thing that makes up your practice.  This might lead you to ask “Why?” again.  Here are five reasons to figure out what you’d like to do less of (and then actually do less of it):

  • I want to spend less time sitting at my harp practicing. Is it the practicing that you want less of? Is it that you want to spend more time playing for enjoyment? If that’s it – maybe you need to manage your time at the harp a little more tightly – being sure to reserve time at the end to play for fun, to reconnect with your harp, to remember why you were practicing in the first place, to remember why you fell in love in the first place.
  • I want to spend less money buying books. Ok, is this really a bad thing? Well, maybe a little (full disclosure, I believe that the correct number of books to have is the same as the correct number of harps – one more). If you find that you have too many books to use, or that the number of books you have is overwhelming, or that you’re just not using them, consider parting with some of them.  First go through them and learn what it is about the books you don’t use that is keeping you from them (are the arrangements too hard, too easy, not your style? Was it your favorite book for a while but now, you know all the tunes and you do (or don’t) play them so you don’t need the book? Or did you never really take to the genre?).  Now you can keep the books you need and want and dispose of the ones you don’t.  How should you dispose of them?  Well, you can have a book swap with your harp friends.  Or have a book sale. You could donate them to a school program.  You could sell them off.  So many choices, all oriented to making sure you have less (actually fewer) books to deal with.
  • I want to spend less time working hard. Sometimes we hang on to ways of working that may be “tried and true” but aren’t necessarily useful. If you are still making yourself play something 25 times perfectly before you will move on, you might be stuck there.  There is no correct number of times to do something, so you might need a new metric for when something is learned.  I’m sure it’s more than one repetition, but it’s probably not 25 either.  I tend to be more focused on how the pass went (was I confident of the notes and their values? did I get the fingering with ease? did I feel like I had the time I needed to get from shape to shape?) than on how many I had banged through (or keeping count of how many I have done).
  • I want to spend less time on mindless exercises. Ok, let’s start with the “mindless” exercises…exercises should       n-e-v-e-r be mindless. They are not developed for vacuous completion. Each of them will teach you something, if you let it.  Before you do any exercise (be it scales, arpeggios, or technical studies) you should know what it’s meant to help you with…and whether that is something you need to work on.  My rule of thumb is that the more I think “I hate this” the more I need to do it – I’m hating it because it’s not easy, so I need to really knuckle under and do the thing. You’re probably more mature than me, so you probably have a better way of gauging this for yourself.
  • I want to spend less time getting nowhere. Well, nowhere is often defined less by where you’re getting and more by knowing where you’re headed. Have you actually defined what you’d like to be doing or what the path there might look like?  Why yes, this does sound suspiciously like having goals and knowing how you intend to achieve them.  You could spend less time in aimless practice by spending a little more time figuring out where “there” is.

As much as I love playing my harp, do I also enjoy mindless hours grinding on music in various states of disrepair? NO, I do not.  If you also do not, I’d suggest you spend a little time figuring out what you’d like to spend less time doing so you can spend more time practicing in a way that moves you to where you’d like to be.  AND that you spend enjoyable time with your harp.

What would you like to strive to have less of or to spend less on?  There are so many possible answers – what’s yours?  Let me know in the comments!

How to Never Run Out of Things to Practice

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Do you ever have that feeling like you’re casting about trying to decide what to practice?  You know you should be practicing, but maybe you don’t know what to work on.  Even if you have a teacher who helps structure your practice time, do you feel hesitant on where to start on other stuff outside your lesson?

No?  It’s just me then?

Yeah, I didn’t think so.

Never Run Out of Things to PracticeIt can be a little challenging to think of what to practice, especially at those points on the calendar (like now) when we know we should have already started on holiday repertoire (but maybe haven’t).  Or at the end of the year when you’re staring into the abyss of the upcoming year, but not knowing what you might want to come out of it with.  Or thinking about the upcoming competition season and preparing to perform, but not being ready to buckle down.

There are all kinds of reasons that we can be a little stumped on what to be practicing at any one point in time.  And if you’re an externally motivated person (that is, if you need something or someone outside of yourself to get you kicked into action), it can be very difficult to determine what you should be practicing, which can lead to procrastination….or worse, just not practicing!

So, this week, a few ways to help ensure that you never run out of things to practice!

1. Keep track of what you’re working on, how long you’ve worked on it, and your assessment of your progress to date. Why yes, this is just another thinly veiled suggestion that you keep a journal, but it will help you keep in mind what you’re working on right now (and how well it’s going) as well as whether you need to keep working on it.  It also gives you an idea of which tunes might need to be parked so they can marinate for a little while (that’s fancy talk for “put it away and bring it out again later”).

2. Keep a list of tunes you would like to play. Just note them down, preferably with as much detail as possible (title, composer, anything else that helps you find it later). You can’t possibly learn all the tunes at once, so you will be well served to write down the ones you’d like to learn…later.  Don’t worry about it getting too long – you can always add to it, or cross titles off as you go along (and you get the added bonus of crossing titles off as they move to your “learning” list! and you begin to practice them).

3. Focus on what you’re practicing now. When you’re practicing, don’t think about what you’ll practice next.  Think about what you’re practicing now.  Save thinking about what you’ll do another time…for another time… and actually practice while you’re practicing. If you have a great idea while you’re practicing, jot it on your list of tunes you’d like to play and then get back to your originally scheduled practicing.

4. Make connections between music you already know and that you have to learn. It is always useful to be a thinking musician. It’s an illusion that great musicians just sort of channel stuff.  They are actively involved in the music they play.  They analyze the music.  They don’t let it just wash over them!  Thinking about what you already know, what you’d like to learn and how they’re related will help you find tunes you like and will make practicing easier (because similar patterns will be easier the second time and even easier the third, etc.).

5. Be curious. It’s all well and good to know what you like and play that, but be curious about it – what is it about the music you love that captivates you? How far away from the exemplar can you go and still love it?  What other music has those same traits?  Does it appeal to you, and will you learn it?  Being curious means you’ll find new things to play in places you wouldn’t necessarily look which not only broadens your repertoire but also will expand your thinking.

6. Refer to something you practiced before. Why yes, you can always practice something you used to play to death but haven’t in a while.  Keep those oldies but goodies in your hands and in your memory so they’re ready to go when you are!  Those tunes are, after all, the core of your repertoire.

Don’t be left feeling like you don’t know what to practice or how to get started. These six simple steps will help you pull it together so you can never run out of things to practice.  What else should we add to the list?  Let me know in the comments –

Harpa 2021 – HARPAntics in Western North Carolina!

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Harpa have been having a fantastic time visiting Western North Carolina!  This year, Harpa is Donna Bowers Bennett, Martha Hill, Therese Honey, Sue Richards and me.  We have been delighted to share in three concerts and a church service at First Presbyterian Hickory.  We have one more concert coming up but right now we’re enjoying a little down time.  We’ve been sharing tunes, laughing, seeing sites and creating.  This week on the blog, we’ll be light on words but photos instead! I, as usual, don’t even remember that I have a camera in my hand.  All these photos are graciously shared by Donna Bennett,Therese Honey, and Martha Hill.  Here we go:

We gathered and immediately started talking as well as planning what we would play!  This, of course, lead to rehearsals and related down time.  Our first concert was at the Ashe County Civic Center to a great audience…and an awesome green room!  We had a blast and an excellent start to our tour.

Fixing to go onstage, we have time for a selfie! Therese is an excellent selfie-starter!

Sound check was quick and smooth with Mike the sound guy. No one ever thanks the sound guy enough.

We stopped for dinner somewhere that had Cow Tails – well known to Marylanders (and former residents) but new to some.  We marveled at the wording of the ingredients – they are highly refined, just like we are!

The next day we were in Black Mountain to play at the Black Mountain Arts Center, sponsored by the Arts Center – another lovely facility with a really warm audience. We spent the day enjoying the town of Black Mountain but we didn’t collect photos.  Everyone was being like me, in the moment, not in the lens!

That evening the weather changed and we had a lovely wind symphony…all night long.  However, the best thing about changeable weather is: rainbows and Donna capturing harps in nature:

A rainbow is always a good sign (at a minimum it means we’re not moving harps in the rain!)

Preparing in First Presbyterian Church in Hickory NC

So, Sunday dawned glorious and we headed to First Presbyterian Church of Hickory where we played the Gathering, Prelude, some of the hymns, and Postlude.  There were a delightful group.  Here we were preparing and warming up while the choir also made ready. After a bit of lunch we headed to the SALT Block Auditorium in Hickory to play a fundraiser in support of and sponsored by the Western Piedmont Symphony.  Another excellent facility and audience.

We really enjoyed playing in Drendel Auditorium

We have one more concert at Morning Star Lutheran Chapel in Matthews, sponsored by Morning Star Lutheran Church Wednesday evening.  If you’re in the area – come out! 

I always have so much fun on our Harpa trips – playing and having shared time, missing our Harpaniks that haven’t been able to come this time…and planning our next outing!  Where will go next?  Remains to be seen.  There is a video of us playing in Hickory and as soon as I have a link, I’ll share it!

Travel on my mind

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Since we celebrated World Tourism Day before, travel has been on my mind.  Ok, that’s not entirely true, because travel is         a-l-w-a-y-s on my mind!  I should have a little framed cross stitch like this:

But anyway.  While traveling is always fun – especially if you are not one of those passengers who scream at Flight Attendants, Gate Agents, or other passengers – traveling with your harp does have some challenges.  I talked about some of those here and here.  Those have to do with the transport of your harp.  This week, let’s talk about when you get there.

Because while 99.999% of the 7 billion people on the earth l-o-v-e the harp, the remaining 0.001% will be booked into the room next to yours.  Never fails.

I should start by pointing out that I have played on the balcony of my hotel and thereby met new, interesting and interested people.  Just like if you’re playing at home, few things draw people to you like playing your instrument and sharing your music. 

However….and I learned this the hard way, sometimes people are not so happy to learn you play an instrument.  Once, I was in Memphis TN (yes, known as a music city) with that powerful sound generator, my Harpsicle – when someone called the front desk to complain.  Yup, it happened.  Funnier – someone else was practicing the bagpipes in that same hotel…some people’s kids.

So, keep in mind that quiet and discretion are important while staying in accommodations like hotels, motels, and B&Bs.  But how do you get quiet and still get to practice or play?  Here are a few ideas:

The first is a physical intervention. Weave a scarf or tie between the strings. Push it close to the soundboard.  This acts as a muffle and therefore makes your playing quieter.  Don’t put off selecting your scarf for the last minute – the scarf (or tie) needs to be long enough to run the length of the strings.  It also needs to be narrow enough (for a scarf) or thin enough (if you use a tie) so that it doesn’t bunch up (which results in too much “thup-i-ness” that I find distracting). This is not as easy as using your hat to muffle your trumpet, but it is infinitely better for the harp (after all, we’re not playing the trumpet and I’ve tried waving my hat in front of the harp, but it didn’t make it any quieter!).  I wish I could tell you I thought up this tip but I learned it from Therese Honey.

The second method is to use a musical technique. This one seems to be tricky – just play more quietly!  You might have seen this marking before –

pppp

But have you ever tried using it?  Ok, now I’m being a bit snide.  Dynamics are a thing… and you can use them in your practice.  You could play as pianississimo as possible and see what happens to your playing.  You can also do this at home, no need to wait to be booked into a hotel.  There are some things that happen when you play quietly.  You will be able to play slightly faster (yup).  You may be more accurate – because you’re being careful.  You may find that you even have time now to close (whodathunk?).  And because of all that you might find that, overall, you’re just playing better.  In addition, learning to control your volume will make you a better musician.

Both of those work well for practicing or playing for enjoyment.  This last suggestion is really for practicing rather than playing for enjoyment – you can “placeplay”.  I do this with my students (and I’m pretty sure they hate it, but it works!).  “Placeplaying” is moving through the finger shapes of the tune.  Place the first shape, then close the fingers (don’t play, just close) and place the second shape.  Remember that between these is actually another shape where the shapes overlap which is its own separate shape.  Keep going: place – close – place – close – place – close – place – etc. through to the end of the tune.  Keep placing but do not play.  I love this because you learn things about the tune while you’re doing it.  You can develop a new appreciation for the tune through this – you see shapes you missed, musical ideas you can see but not hear and you learn to think about the tune on a different level (like how although auditorily a “musical idea” is finished, on a physical level you’re actually in the middle of the idea).  This is also an excellent way to learn a new tune – because you have to break it down and really look at it.

So, there you have it – three ways to play your harp in a hotel room and not bother other guests.  Have you found other ways to coexist with other travelers?  Hope you’ll share in the comments!

Have Harpa, Will Travel!

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HARPA is touring again!  After two years of waiting we’re going to be on this side of the Atlantic in Western North Carolina! This year Harpa are Donna Bowers Bennett, Martha Geouge Hill, Therese Honey, Jen Narkevicius, and Sue Richards. We’d be delighted to have you join us for one of these concerts!

Harpa LogoOctober 15 – Ashe County Civic Center, sponsored by Ashe County Arts Council – Ticket Link

October 16 – Black Mountain Arts Center, sponsored by the Arts Center – Ticket Link

October 17 – SALT Block Auditorium in Hickory, sponsored by the Western Piedmont Symphony *

October 20 – Morning Star Lutheran Chapel in Matthews, sponsored by Morning Star Lutheran Church *

Harpa 2019 Glenfiddich Distillery

We’re excited to be coming to North Carolina this year!

If Harpa is new to you, here’s a little bit of history: Harpa is an idea, a cultural exchange tour inaugurated by Beth Kolle in 2006.  Since then, Harpa have traveled to Norway, Sweden, and Scotland.  Biennially, we have traveled with our instruments, played concerts in large cities and small towns, encouraged audience members to try the harp, and jammed with local musicians.  Over time Harpa has continued to thrive and grow and these trips provide the opportunity to learn about the places visited while demonstrating the beauty and versatility of the harp and its ability to transcend cultural differences.  We’ve met with people from all walks of life through the universal medium of music.  The musicians may change but the song remains the same!

One thing we all share is a profound love of the harp and especially of the Celtic and Scandinavian music.  The current five members of the group hail from across the United States and represent a wide range of musical backgrounds and experiences. Their love of playing together and sharing their music is a very special and unique treat for audiences everywhere.

We’ll, of course, be populating our Facebook page where you can also see a video of our last trip where we played at the Glenfiddich Distillery. 

If you’re in the area, hope you’ll come out and see us – we’d love to play for you!

 

* I’ll add ticket links when available

World Tourism Day

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It’s World Tourism Day!  Of course, it’s difficult to celebrate since there are still travel bans and restrictions in place all over the world.  But all that will pass soon enough.  Not soon enough for me, but in the grand scheme of things, soon enough.

World Tourism DayTravel is exciting and fun.  It tops the bucket lists of many, many people.  And very fortunate people have the opportunity to travel frequently. 

Travel with your harp is thrilling and exciting (and occasionally heart-stopping) but so worth it.  Having a harp with you can be a solace (especially in long waits, jet-lagged nights or trying times of travel).  It can also be a real bridge builder.  If gives strangers an opening to interact.  It gives you a way to chat when you don’t even speak the language!  I’ve met some really delightful people because I was playing my harp.

And you get plenty of exercise!  You never realize how heavy your harp really is, or how large an airport is, until you’ve carried it through one!

While the pandemic continues, tourism continues to be significantly impacted.  To put this into perspective, according to the United Nations, 10% of the world’s population work in tourism and have been sidelined by the loss of travels.  That’s nearly 800 million people all waiting for things to get back to normal.

You might (or might not) know that I started this blog in 2009 to promote the Harp the Highlands and Islands trips.  I was (and still am) so excited by the chance to travel with harp friends to a place I love to visit.

I conceived of the whole shebang at the Ohio Scottish Arts School the summer before.  I dreamed of playing the tunes we learned in the places they were inspired by.  What could be cooler, I reasoned, than sitting at the Soldier’s Leap on the River Garry and playing Killiecrankie?  Or to be on the Isle of Skye  playing Morag of Dunvegan, or Mrs. McLeod of Raasay, or MacDonnald, Lord of the Isles, or any of the other gazillions of tunes from Skye!?  Or to sit just about anywhere and play a tune tied to that place?

But it was a later, chance conversation with my Partner-in-Crime David (who had begun working as a tour guide) that added the secret sauce to make it all happen.  I mentioned that thought and he made it a reality!  And so, the trip was born.  He plans and leads delicious and delightful travel experiences and I put together tunes referencing places, people, history, and emotion that stitch it all together.  We share the tunes and everyone has a blast!

What could be better than travel to a place that calls to you, with people you enjoy, to share music and laughter and fun?  If you said, “Pretty much nothing could be better!” you are right!  And if you didn’t say that, you should probably come along with us – then you’d see what I mean!

We were bummed when we had to postpone the 2020 trip.  And we were dismayed when we, understandably, had to postpone again to 2022.  We’re hoping against hope that we’ll be good to go next summer.  Because…Scotland! (voted the most beautiful country in the world)  Because…harp! (the original traditional instrument of Scotland)  Because…music! (do I really to have to say anything pithy here? I didn’t think so.)

Until we can travel as we once did, we’ll have to content ourselves with celebrating World Tourism Day with the rest of the world from our own homes.  We’ll eagerly await our trips.  Until then, you can still go places.  Local travel and tourism will scratch the itch for a while.  Bring your harp along to add a delight element to your trip.

If you’d like to come on a trip with us – let me know.  Want more info? It’s here on the website.  Best bit, you don’t have to carry your harp, it’ll be there for you!

How are you going to celebrate World Tourism Day?  Where are you going to take your harp next?  If you haven’t traveled with your harp before – by car, by bus, by subway, by train, by plane – and wonder if it’s as difficult as it looks, ask your questions!  I’d love to hear what you’d like to know.

Ides of September….

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The Ides of September are here.  Temperatures are beginning to dip, the sun is setting sooner.  Yep, autumn is in the air.

What could be better than apple picking (or picking apples at the market, if you don’t live in apple region), pumpkin carving, or selecting the right layer that will keep you warm in the morning but help you not sweat in the afternoon.  All the good things.

Of course, that’s right now.  But right ‘round the corner are the holidays.  And then, no matter your level of play, people are going to ask you to play. The question isn’t whether they’ll ask, the question is –

WILL YOU BE READY?

The upside of the holidays is that the music doesn’t change much, so each year you can refresh tunes you have played in previous years and add a couple of new ones to broaden your repertoire. 

The downside (especially if you are less experienced or don’t often perform) is that people know all those tunes, so you might feel more stressed about making a mistake while playing.

That stress doesn’t make it easier to get through the season.  What will help is to give yourself time to get ready and to have a plan so you make the most of your practice time.

Are you sitting there secure that this won’t apply to you?  Consider this – playing for your family and/or your friends makes a lovely caring gift that they are sure to enjoy and cherish, so keep reading!

Here are a few ideas to help you prepare:

  • Take stock. Make a list of the tunes you want to play.  Try to make the list broad – some carols, some popular tunes.  Include those tunes that are essential to you for the holidays – those ones that give you a warm fuzzy feeling that it’s really here.  Then include the chestnuts and crowd pleasers and you’ll have a good list going.  Keep in mind that there are a lot of holidays in a few calendar weeks, so include music for those if you may have the opportunity to share.
  • Once you’ve listed those tunes, separate them into the ones you have played before and the ones you would like to learn for this year.  Don’t go crazy with adding new tunes – the point is to be successful, not to be made insane!
  • Make a Schedule. “The Holidays” seem to start earlier each year.  Early November is the new mid-December.  If you’re not gigging per se, you may have a couple of months to prepare, but if you aim to be ready by Halloween, you will have wiggle room if something doesn’t come easily.  You will definitely want to be comfortable by Thanksgiving.
  • Make a practice plan. Now that you have your list of tunes and a schedule, figure out when you’re going to practice what.  Mix up old and new tunes so you’re gaining breadth while also polishing the rusty things.  Be realistic about how many tunes you can learn and how long it will take to polish up tunes you already know.  Using your schedule and your list, plan time to polish and time to learn.  I like to write it on a calendar so i am very aware of how far along I am in preparing and how much time is remaining.  Also be ready to modify – if things are going poorly, reevaluate your list.  If things are going swimmingly, what else should you add?
  • Keep the other stuff going too. While everyone enjoys holiday music, we also also get saturated at some point.  So it’s a good idea to include a couple of non-holiday tunes as well.  This will also help keep your regular repertoire in your mind and hands – because you’ll need them as soon as the holidays are over!

We are watching September slide by, the Ides of September are going past us.  But with just a little bit of organization and focus, you will be able to be comfortably prepared for the entire holiday season with less stress.  And you’ll probably enjoy it more too! 

Have you been asked to play yet? What are you planning to play this holiday season?  Have you started yet?  Let me know (I might want to learn it!).

Do You Count? 

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I often think about tunes in “layers”.  All the layers are important, but some are easier to master than others.  The layers include the notes, the fingering, the phrases.  And then there’s the counting.  There are loads of elements that define the music, but time might be the most challenging to really get learned and honed – to get right. 

Do you Count?

When you get to brass tacks, music is really a sequence of sounds and not-sounds (rests) over time.  And so, to be true to the melody, share the message, and communicate with our listeners, we have to keep the count.  

Sometimes, as harp players, we become inured to the silence – we get so little of it with our wonderful resonant instruments. Harps love to keep on playing and that lovely sound “hanging around” may make us lazy – it may feel like it will be easy to get away with not counting.  But that is an illusion.

Counting can be a challenge when you first begin to learn a tune.  There is so much to learn and all of it important.  We have to keep the important stuff in mind – actively use it.  Time is challenging but it can be so rewarding!  It will help your audience follow your message, it will make playing with other musicians a greater joy, and it will help ensure your tune is what the original composer meant it to be.

Previously, I have said that I don’t advocate rigid adherence to the beat.  That wasn’t really accurate.  Rather, it is essential to know that timing of the piece and work within that.  With poignant airs you might bend the time to build the expression, but that works best by manipulating the times. Laments need to be sorrowful, but it should never be lamentable!  But the difference will be in how you deal with the time. 

It is essential that you learn to count.  Ok, I know you can already count.  You have to learn to count while you’re playing…and keep counting, maintaining your counting throughout your playing. Only when you have mastered this tool of communication can you begin to modify its application as appropriate to tell your story.  I know counting can be hard – it’s one more thing to do while you’re also trying to remember what notes come next, which fingers to use, that you need to breathe, etc.  Pesky layers!

So how do you add counting to that task?  Carefully.

First, start slowly.  This really is another task you will have to perform while also doing all the other things you have learn. Counting is another thing you have to think about as you bring the tune together – make sure you go slowly enough that your brain can keep up!

Second, practice.  Counting while you’re playing takes practice.  You want to practice counting enough that it becomes automatic – no matter what you’re playing or where you are in learning it (just starting, polishing, anywhere in between!).  One method I suggest is to include this in your practice away from the harp.  An easy way to practice is while you’re walking or running.  This gives you a physical beat to follow so you can work on counting.

Third, be consistent.  You can’t practice counting the tune once and be done!  Make practicing counting a regular part of your practice.  If you really are not counting at all – start with simple tunes you already know.  As it gets easier, move on to more challenging tunes and tunes you are learning.  You will get better!

Finally, always be working on it.  Once you can consistently and accurately count, start making things more complicated and related to other music.  Remember to count to the smallest note value (e.g., the eighth notes if they’re present or 16ths – you will have to do some analysis).  Use whatever counting device works for you – vocables, fruits and veg – whatever works!

Of course, there’s (always) more to the story, so send me your questions and share your insights in the comments.  In the meantime, stand up for your music – make sure you count!