Author Archives: Jen

Memorial Day 2021

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Memorial Day is the day we remember and honor those military members who have died while serving.  Serving to keep us safe and free and often blissfully unaware of the evils that walk the earth.

To honor the sacrifices of our fallen, one thing we must do is make good use of the days they have made possible for us.  We are free to celebrate and enjoy and this includes celebrating with the music we make.

One of the most important parts of the military services is the music of the Service Bands.  I wasn’t a musician when I was in the Navy and I have unceremoniously pinched this from the US Navy Band YouTube channel.  I hadn’t seen it before, possibly lost in the flurry of covid-eos that came out over the last 15 months.

Many don’t know that the US military employs more full-time musicians than any other employer in the world.  They’ll be busy working this holiday weekend – but you can enjoy the harpists of the US military including counterclockwise from bottom right – US Navy Musician Chief Emily Dickson, US Coast Guard Chief Musician Megan Sesma (the USCG’s first harpist!), US Marine Corps Band (The President’s Own) Master Gunnery Sergeant Karen Grimsey, US Air Force Concert Band’s Technical Sergeant Greta Asgeirsson, US Army Field Band’s Staff Sargent Grace Bauson, and US Army Band (Pershing’s Own) Sergeant First Class Nadia Pessoa.

To all our military musicians (but especially for our military harpists!) –

Thank you for your service!

US Military HarpistsThe video is here – it’s a beautiful listen…and a great opportunity to explore some excellent arrangement ideas.

I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating your unofficial start of summer while honoring those forever in the sun.

Perfect – It was so much better at home

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As a teacher, one of the funniest things you hear in lessons is,

“It was so much better at home!”

It’s funny because we have all uttered those words as a student at some point.  Of course, at this point in time, it’s especially funny because… we’re in zoom lessons – you ARE at home!

This does speak to an important point – it’s easy to be comfortable and low key about everything when you’re home, by yourself, doing your thing practicing or playing for yourself and it’s Perfect. 

PerfectBut it is completely different and more difficult when the situation changes and you’re in a lesson (or your family is actively listening, or you have a visitor who begs you to play for them, or the window is open and the neighbors might hear).

Back to the lesson – isn’t making mistakes in a lesson precisely the place you want to make an error?  Why do we always fret when we make a mistake in a lesson?

  • We’re afraid our teacher will be unimpressed with our work effort for the week, or we’re embarrassed because we think all the other students were perfect.  
  • We feel like we haven’t practiced as much as we should have and so we are unimpressed with our own work effort for the week.
  • We have set some arbitrary schedule for ourselves and we haven’t met it.  As in, “I learned Katie Bairdie in a week, so I should only need a week to be able to play the harp solo from Lucia di Lammermoor!”  Maybe that’s a bit unrealistic?
  • We didn’t set aside the time to practice and so we know we’re not as prepared as we would have preferred to have been for the lesson.

Does making mistakes in lessons matter?  YES – but maybe not for the reason you think.  Your teacher does not expect you to play perfectly (and if your teacher does expect you to play everything perfectly, you might want to find someone else to work with).

What do you learn from mistakes?  LOADS

First, repeat after me – each “error” in a lesson is a learning opportunity…AND a teaching opportunity!

  • You learn where the music in your head is a little thin.  When you’re practicing you get through it just fine but add just a smidgen of stress (now that you know your teacher is listening and your performance anxiety kicks in) and the veneer of “knowing it cold” may dissolve to “barely hanging on”.  That helps highlight where you should focus as you continue to practice the music.
  • You get a different point of view.  I used to have a student who always answered the question, “How did your exercises go this week?” with, “Perfect!”.  Hmmm, maybe not so much.  Sometimes you get a different perspective, or a calibration of your perspective.  And that tweak to your perspective allows you to practice better and possibly to learn more.
  • You get feedback.  It is frustrating when you keep hitting the wrong string or can’t preplace fast enough or just can’t remember the phrase.  But your teacher will see all that from a different angle – and give you insight into what you are doing (and/or not doing) and what you might do get around the issue.
  • You get to learn from your teacher’s experience.  One thing you can be sure of – your teacher has more experience than you do, both at playing well…and at making mistakes!   The point of the lesson is not only to share that experience but to pass it down to you.  It gives you a chance to learn about hard won gains so you can go on to make other, better errors!

Each time you make a mistake in your lesson, you have PERFECT opportunity to learn.  In addition, you present a teaching opportunity for your teacher.  And as you learn, what you can learn shapes and grows what you will be able to learn next.  And frankly, as a teacher, I kinda live for that moment when it’s clear that you “got it”!  I think all teachers feel that way.  Some are exuberant about it, some are sotto about it, but the thrill of seeing that light bulb go on is central to teaching.

So, as you look forward to your next lesson, I challenge you to predict which mistake you might make, why you’ll make it, and what you think you will learn from it.  And you know that Practice Journal I’m always going on about?  Those are the sort of thing you might consider jotting down in there.

You stand on the shoulders of those who came before you so you can see over the wall, not so you can be on the top of the pile!  What mistakes will you make in your next lesson?  I’m looking forward to hearing about it – let me know!

Be Brave

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Being creative is a risky business. 

Every time you sit to your harp, you are taking a risk.

Why do you think there are so few musicians (relatively) in the world?  Or even more broadly, so few artists in the world?  Because being a creative requires a lot of bravery.  And we know that bravery is uncommon.

You probably never really think about being brave, but if you meet people as a musician and performer, it is something you hear from others –

“I don’t know how you can be so brave to get on stage – I could never do that!”

“Wow – how did you learn to play the harp?  I don’t think I could – I don’t have any talent.”

Sometimes you don’t know you’re being courageous, but every time you make music, you’re flexing your creativity and your bravery!  Maybe you don’t always feel brave.  That’s ok – as long as you keep on making.

Be Brave

How are we brave?

1. We show up! It seems like such a minor thing, but there’s no dragon to slay if you don’t go to the den.  When you sit at your harp (the den), you’re going to create (the dragon).

2. We keep going. One path of courage is to keep going, even when your heart is in your mouth and you can barely breathe from the anxiety of doing.  Especially if you’re worried that what you make may not be good enough or if what you’re making won’t even come to be (you, know – if you fail).

3. We put on a game face – like the commercial says, “never let ‘em see you sweat!”

4. We keep on going on. Even when nothing works, we try again and again and again and again and again and again…

Why are we brave?  Well, first off, being creative means you’re never really on solid ground and that’s kinda scary.  Nothing is set in stone.  There is no right.  But we creatives are often the kind of people who get off on that shifting foundation (maybe just a little).   A little uncertainty can be a wild ride!  One of my favorite t-shirts says,

“If you’re not living on the edge,                                             you’re taking up too much room!”

Ok, really, it is hard to be brave – especially day after day.  So, how do we do it?   

1. Fake it. Yup, pretend.  Put on your game face and do the thing.  Write a composition.  Develop that improv.  Interpret that piece like you feel it.

2. Name the monster – like anything that goes bump in the night, simply saying the names of your fears – out loud – diminishes their intimidation factor. The names are usually short – embarrassment, fear of failure, fear of success.  When you say it out loud, its ridiculousness becomes apparent as it shrinks back to its appropriate size and you can laugh.

3. Keep good company. I was fortunate to have a demonstration.  It was seeing my all-time harp hero have a really bad day on stage – mistakes all over the place…and a serene facial expression.  Lesson learned?  Fear faced down + audience ignorant and happy = successful brave performance.

4. Breathe.  Yup, breathing makes everything a little easier.  Especially anything that requires thinking.  Breathing also helps ameliorate anxiety.  Being clear headed can only help when you’re scared.  So, take a breath, feel your fear recede (if only just a little bit), and forge ahead.

5. Say yes.  Just do it.  Dragging your feet won’t make it any easier.

6. Don’t take yourself too seriously. We’re making nusic, it’s not Rocket Surgery.  No one’s going to die if you compose a poorly constructed phrase!  Cities don’t go dark because you’re improv isn’t ready for prime time yet.  Lighten up and enjoy making your music. 

7. Perspiration.  The Great One (Wayne Gretzky, not Salzedo) said it best –   

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. 

And you’ll probably miss a high percentage of the shots you do take – do it anyway – take the shot.   Do the work, face the fear, enjoy the reward.

8. Be good to you – no matter how much you push yourself, be aware of when you’re about to go too far. My rule of thumb – if it’s too mean to say it to your best friend, then don’t say it to yourself.  And don’t be your own horrible stage mother.  Don’t expect from yourself something you know you’re not ready to do.  Be brave, not unkind or stupid.

9. Practice. Of course – my solution to everything!  You’ll find it’s easier to brave if you practice doing it.  And the more you practice, the easier it is.

10. Put on your cape. Even if just in your head – be your own harp hero.  Be proud of all the notes you have saved from a future of never having been heard and enjoyed!  You’re not just brave, you’re a superhero!

Did you know that you’re brave?  If not, do you know now?  Do you do any of these things?  How are you brave?  Do you have other ways of being brave (you know I’m always looking for more new ways to do things!)?  Let me know in the comments!

Check Please!

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I don’t know about you, but the days are flying past and I need to check in to see how I’m coming against the things I thought I wanted to do this year. 

I realized, with a start, that we’re halfway through the second quarter of the year. That’s not bad, in and of itself, but it does mean that I completely missed my first quarter check-in.

Check please!

If I don’t check in, how do I know how I’m doing?  How do I know if I need to step up my game or if I can coast?  

Yes, this is a rhetorical question. 

No, I never can coast.

I’m an inveterate To-Do list maker.  I have lists of things to accomplish daily, weekly, monthly.  And I have a list of things I’d like to get done this year. *  And you already know I’m 100% a product person so I do these check ins to make sure I’m making products!

I try to be organized and to have a measured approach.  I don’t always succeed.  But I do always try.  So, it’s about time for me to check.  So far:

  • I haven’t done very well on following my planned blog topics.  I dutifully made a calendar of topics before the end of last year.  I have actually been successful on all the holidays so far.  But I don’t think any other posts so far have been to plan.  There’s always some better idea that crops up.  Or one of you asks me a question either via email or through the comments on the blog (yes, I do read them!).  Or what seemed so clear and important then has either been overcome by events or just isn’t as captivating as it sounded when I was in planning mode.
  • I have done better than I expected with some other things though – I have learned more music to date that I had planned.  Ok, that’s double edged because I have learned a lot of things I hadn’t originally planned on learning, but I haven’t fallen as far behind on the things I had planned on as I expected! So, on balance, that’s good.
  • I have not done as well on some extra-music-y stuff I wanted to do.  I am very far behind on some creative projects that I wanted to take on.  Of course, I didn’t have much of a plan for inserting that into my schedule beyond, “I’d really like to include doing these creative-y things”, so who’s surprised I’m not getting anywhere? (not me)

So what have I learned now that I’m in the middle of the second quarter?  Here’s a list:

  • I am fairly pleased with my productivity to date.  I often feel like I’m not doing anything (or worse, wasting time doing pointless stuff).  And I’m a little behind on a couple of things, way behind on one thing but a little ahead on some other stuff.  That means I’m fairly balanced in terms of getting things done.  This is especially exciting since so many things are in flux for one reason or another – ok, really on one reason is plaguing my planning. (why, yes, I can make a pun in the middle of all this seriousness!)
  • What I didn’t build a plan for isn’t happening.  Of the things I’m not doing, I’ll review whether I care.  Because, if I haven’t left room for it, something will need to change.  I will have to spend a little time exploring those ideas and see if they’re things I think I wanted to do (probably because all my friends are doing them or because they look like they’d be fun) but aren’t really priorities to me.  Or if they’re things I’m a little afraid of, so I’m procrastinating (probably because I don’t know where to begin).  Or if they’re just no longer important enough to spend time on.  Once I know that, then I’ll know what to do – replan, postpone, or delete.  What I won’t do is beat myself up for not getting to it.
  • I’m going to spend a few moments rejoicing in the things I have done well on.
  • Then I’ll review the rest of the year and see what needs to be tweaked.  And what I need to add.
  • And then I’ll get back to work!

How about you?  How’s your stuff going?  What do you need to change? What are you going to drop?  Do you check in with yourself to see how it’s going?  Let me know – I’m always curious!

* Before you ask, no, I do not have a list of the lists!

Be Quiet

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Hey, I’m talking to you! (and me)

There is always so much to do. Take out the trash.  Make the bed. Do the work. Pay the bills.

The cacophony builds.  It can be deafening.  It can be exhausting.  And it feels unending.

But just like some of your favorite pieces have rests – you too need time to be quiet.

Be QuietStep away from the harp.  (bet you didn’t see that coming!)

Mozart is quoted as saying,

“The music is not in the notes,

but in the silence between.”

Just like music is in the spaces between the notes, you need quiet.  Silence speaks volumes.  Silence is home to a lot of stuff – stuff that you need to have happen.

Consider it self-care.  Consider it creative space.  Consider it a laboratory experiment.  But definitely consider it.

Why do you need quiet?  Well, you might have noticed that when your hair is on fire with all the things you have to do/to think about/to plan for/to regulate/to manage, there’s precious little time to be creative or artistic.  Without some quiet time, you are likely to be less creative – in any way – actually in every way.  This could mean stalled learning, stale arrangements, zero compositions, and forget any other creative outlets.  You might find that then your music suffers.

Quiet time allows you space to think (or not think), to observe, to question.  And all that makes a fertile playground for new ideas.

How would you get some quiet?  You will have to carve it out – it is something you will do for yourself.

What would you do in all this quiet?  Well –  

You could generate a walking habit.  This would need to be a solitary walk – social walks are fun and nice and serve a purpose, but they won’t serve for this purpose.  You need to bimble*.  Many great minds cultivated a walking habit.

You could meditate/pray/reflect.  These are all the same thing, dressed up pretty for different predilections, but this time does give you the quiet you need to be still which will generate some head space.

You can journal (yes, you could journal in your practice journal, but only if that makes sense to you).  Set aside time to journal.  That can be a writing journal, an art journal, a bullet journal – doesn’t matter as long as it is a tool that allows you to have some quiet time.

You could watch the clouds go by.  You could watch the ducks swim.  You could watch the grass grow.  You could let your childhood memories of things to do on long days make additional suggestions.

You need this time to be unpressured.  Your are, after all, specifically not being productive.  In fact, you’re almost being anti-productive.  You want stuff to just wash over you …. you’re being quiet!

Put your phone away!  You don’t even need your harp.  Just be. 

Develop a habit of making this time.  It doesn’t have to be bags of time – even a 15-minute window will work.

Do you already have quiet time? If so, what do you do to make quiet?  If you don’t, do any of these work for you?  What are you going to try to find some quiet?  Let me know in the comments!

 

*Bimble is an English English word that means to meander, often with no destination.  Perfect for quiet time.

 

 

 

                      

                                              

 

 

Zoom!  Bang!

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As a harper, I have been reading with interest the “sudden” spate of articles on the ills of working from home for over a year.   As a Human Factors Psychologist and Systems Engineer, I am only surprised it took this long for the articles to hit.

Everyone who couldn’t get away from me has received lectures (from my professional perspective).  I have related the importance of chair height and table height, arrangement of keyboard, monitor, mouse, lighting, and other elements of the workspace.  I have hectored friends, neighbors, and people I don’t even know about drinking enough water and not drinking too much coffee; the importance of avoiding incessant snacking; building a schedule; getting some outdoor time; and keeping work-work and home-work separate (not trying to do household chores between meetings) – all things I know from my professional specialty and as a person who has worked from home for over 15 years.

But now, I’m going to direct all that energy at you … and suggest a way forward!

I know you’re used to me prattling on about injury at the harp, but one thing you might not have thought about is what our current altered reality has done to us.  There are so many things we either did differently before or things we haven’t been able to do at all over the last year.  That that time away can build the potential for losing focus and technique…all of which may result in injuries – at the harp or away from it. 

Just this week I have learned of harpers who have sustained injuries away from the harp that are impacting their playing – ugh.  One is a student who fell off a skateboard.  Even if that wrist isn’t broken, it will need to heel.  And that will be weeks away from the harp.  Another was telling me about a big work project – at home, on a laptop doing work that would normally have been done at the office on a desktop – with its ergonomically designed desk and much bigger keyboard.  So now we’re working on caring for the overuse injuries from typing in this new position – injuries to the same structures that are central to playing the harp. 

As we have all languished at home, it has also been easy to allow our basic skills slide.  If you don’t have in person lessons, your thumbs might fall, your shoulders might cave, your chin might jut, and your spine might crumple.  In addition, so many of the cues teachers can pick up on from in-person lessons are missing or are flattened online.  So, it is likely that there are elements of technique that are dissolving from your daily practice and are not highlighted in your lesson.

And that’s not good – ragged technique and poor posture are not just a challenge to overcome – they can be a gateway to injury.

So, what can you do?  Have a zoom call……with yourself!

If you’re not familiar with zoom (zoom.us) it is a free application that allows you to have a video interaction with others. *

At the beginning of each day I do a zoom meeting with myself to verify my cameras are pointing in the right direction, that the lighting is good, and that everything is set up before my first student.   As I’m teaching, I watch my student.  That means that if I need to look at my harp, I would have to look away.  But, I can see my harp on the screen which means I can still see both my student and my harp.  After all, I want to be sure they are able to follow and understand what I’m doing or to verify that I need to do it again.  One day while teaching, I noticed (and was really pleased with) my hand position (I know, silly things make me happy).

And that got me thinking about how on the screen I could see things I can’t see from “behind the harp”.  Moreover, I could make small changes and see the effect right away.

You can do the same thing.  How?  You just have to host a meeting with yourself.  Yup – host a meeting, but don’t invite anyone else!  You have the full screen, you can see yourself clearly, and while you watch, you can make small adjustments.  As you make these adjustments (move to the middle of the string? raise your arm just a tiny bit? create greater space between your thumb and fingers? actually preplace or use the fingering you worked out? the list could go on…) BANG! – you can immediately see the effect of each change.

And seeing can certainly be believing.

I often suggest that you video your practice so you can see what you’re doing…and what you’re not doing.  It gives you a different perspective (and may make teacher comments mean more to you).  I also always remind you of the big red delete button…because the point of the video is to learn, correct and go on, not to hold it for posterity.  However, I also know that many of you still don’t do this.  So this similar (but completely ephemeral) idea seemed like a good one.  Watch yourself play but don’t record it.  See what you’re doing (from the vantage point of your teacher) and make small adjustments until what you see matches what you’ve heard in all those lessons – high thumb, relax, close, place…breathe!

DO ALL THE THINGS!  SEE ALL THE THINGS!

I also find that the meeting view is better – clearer and brighter – than on the video.

So, are you willing to zoom with yourself to help be bang on?  If you do, let me know how it goes and what you learn.  And if you’re not willing to try, I’d like to hear that too.  I’m always looking for better ways to teach and I learn so much from your comments!

 

* And no, of course I’m not getting any compensation – but this is also not an endorsement.  I have used zoom, skype, facetime, and messenger – as long as you have the function without actually having someone else on the line, it’ll work.

 

 

 

What Will You Do on Your Summer Staycation?

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With all this pandemic-ing going on and on and on, it’s easy to let planning for summer to fall out of your head.  But that would be a mistake!  While not everything will be happening this summer, there is a not-to-be-missed harp event that I would commend to you –

The Ohio Scottish Arts School will be online again this summer!

OSAS 2021Now, you might think that it might not be as fulfilling as the in-person experience.  You’d be wrong.   Ask last year’s attendees – we did many of the same things we do when we’re in person.  There were notable exceptions, but these were slightly ameliorated by being things we would have had to replace anyway.

Why would we need to replace things anyway?  Because next year (fingers crossed) we will be in our new location at Baldwin Wallace University.  We are very much looking forward to this change…and not just because it is air conditioned against those June-in-Ohio heatwaves!  We will have to find new things to replace singing under the tree, wandering Gibson’s and the Ben Franklin, and going to the Bead Shop.  And we will – we will have a new place to explore and enjoy!

But first – this summer. 

This summer we have are so fortunate to have an amazing collection of teachers. Rachel Hair and Rachel Clemente will be with us again.  And I’m so excited that we will also be joined by Sharon Knowles too!  Oh, and me!

We are all excited about seeing everyone from near and far.  We were so excited to have students from as far away as Europe but we can try to break that distance record!  We’ll be like the Brady Bunch again with happy faces in small windows.  And the tunes we’ll be teaching – Ace! (as we have learned to say from Rachel Hair).  We will have teaching sessions and lecture sessions and fun sessions.  There will also be opportunities to learn from the other arts (Pipes, Drums, Fiddles, and Dance).  The evening activities will include the Instructor Concert as well as some new goodies the Thistle Family are cooking up.  And – we will get to start each day as we traditionally have – with the piper!

If you’ve not been to OSAS, you have missed a treat!  But you can fix that!  OSAS is intended to provide students with comprehensive instruction in their chosen traditional art – Harp in our case.  All the instructors in each art are nationally and internationally recognized.  You will learn theory, skills and technique, and new material. 

You do not need to be a significantly accomplished harper, but OSAS is not pitched to rank beginners – you should have some knowledge of harping.  However, if you are comfortable learning and playing, come join us!

OSAS will be Monday, June 28 – Friday, July 2.  Registration is now open – go to https://ohioscottishartsschool.com for all the details.    

Please note that the class sizes are limited, and registration closes June 11th.  Don’t delay – get your spot!  We were pretty full last summer.  Have harp specific questions?  Planning to be there this summer?  Let me know you’re coming in the comments below.

Plan for a Productive week

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You have a crazy busy schedule.  Ok, I may not know you, but since most everyone does have that kind of schedule, I’m going to take a guess that you, like so many others, do too.  People with busy schedules usually have a strategy to keep all the plates spinning and balls at the top of the arc (a strategy from juggling). Plan a Productive WeekNot having a strategy can be a problem, because – you know – life.  Do you have a strategy to assure you get to play throughout the week? Here are ten things to do on Sunday to be ready for the coming week so that n-o-t-h-i-n-g gets in the way of your harp time!  PS – There’s nothing magic about Sundays.  Do this on the day of the week that you think of as the day before the start of the week.  PPS – if your mother is anything like my mother, nothing on this list will surprise you!  My mother is a master organizer, and this is the sort of thing I learned at her knee.  But if you weren’t raised by a logistical genius like I was, now you’ll know what you need to do, so go do it…

  1. Peruse your notes. Whether it’s your lesson notes or your practice journal, figure out what you need to be thinking about while you’re practicing.  The only thing worse than not being ready for your lesson because you didn’t practice is not being ready because you practiced the wrong thing!  And trust me, your teachers don’t write those notes for their own health – use the notes!
  2. Review your practice from the previous week. What worked?  What didn’t?  What derailed you?  What do you need to carryover working on?  Did you practice the things you meant to?  If not, why not, and what did you do instead?  There’s good info in reflecting on these questions!
  3. Write down your priorities. Even if you’re not gigging, you probably have some place you’d like to go on your harp.  But you already know that you can’t do everything all at once.  And we know that preparing music (from selecting to analyzing to learning to polishing to performing) doesn’t happen in one day or even one week.  Figuring out what you should work on this week to make progress.  Writing it down will help move you along even more.
  4. Look at your planner. Which day this week are you definitely not going to get to play or practice? Oh, come on, be honest.  There’s always a day where everything else takes priority and you know you’re not going to get to your harp. Know when that is and modify your plan to fit your life.  I sometimes have days where really, I’m driving all day.  For those days, I plan for “head practice” – load the tunes to be learned and listen listen listen (and sing along to know you’re getting it).  Or use time when you’re walking or running (a great time to think about rhythm while you enjoy your own metronome-ness.  You might not make it to your harp, but you will still get a little bit done.
  5. Plan your practice days. If you know what you should do (see 1 above), and what you want to do (see 2 above), and when you have available to do it (see 3 above), then it makes sense to figure out what each day might look like.  This is a concept I stole from body-building – even if you workout every day, you don’t go hard on everything every day (or you will crash).  Which day will be your hard-core technique day?  Which is going to focus on learning and repeating? Which day is your “play date” with yourself?  Don’t wait for the day you feel like doing the thing you need to work on most (or you’ll never do the thing), make a plan.
  6. Do the Laundry. No really, get your chores sorted before the week begins.  Maybe you don’t do laundry on Sunday night but having a plan to get all your “responsibilities” taken care of throughout the week means you won’t have to give up your precious harp time to do something uninteresting like cleaning the bathroom.  This stands for everything that might take up time you would rather spend playing and includes all those chores that you know will eat up the time you have if you wait to do them (I’m looking at you meal planning!).  
  7. Prep your space. No matter if your studio is a 25 ft x 25 ft room dedicated to your music or a sliver of floor between the couch and the wall, maintain it!  If you need to, neaten it up, make sure everything you will need is close to hand (for instance, I’m currently going through stickie notes like there’s no tomorrow, and all my pens had gone walkabout, so I had to restock –).  Tuner need batteries?  Tuning key under a pillow in the other room? Get it all sorted so you’re not spending the few moments you have looking for stuff.
  8. Load your music stand. As in 7 above, make sure the sheet music, notes, or other references you need are on there.  And that the other stuff is not.  By the end of the week, I have so much paper, so many music books, and paperclips, clothes pins, pencils, etc. on my stand that if I didn’t do this, on Monday my first task would always be to pick up all the junk I dropped. 
  9. Get yourself ready for Monday. It won’t do any good to spend all this time prepping for playing if you aren’t ready for the rest of your Monday.  Be sure you spend a little time getting yourself sorted to have a good week.  Get your bag sorted, plan your clothes, put gas in the car.  Of course, most of this list will suffice for that as well – just make sure you also have yourself organized and ready to go for the week.  Then you’re less likely to have everyday disasters eat into your harp time.
  10. Be nice to you. This is a great time to remember that you need to do something nice for you.  Give yourself a manicure and massage your hands and forearms.  Find some decadent emollient cream (and use it, don’t wait for a special occasion!). Breathe while you do this, relax, and you have a mini-spa session!

This list is not exhaustive of course.  But if you take a little time out of your Sunday to prepare for the week, you will find that you have more time to play and practice.  And because you spend that time on Sunday, the rest of the week’s harp time can be less stressful because you’re ready and not fighting fires during that time.   What do you do on Sunday to prepare for you harp week?  If you don’t have a regular routine, did you give this a try?  Let me know in the comments!

FEEL the beat!

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Last week we talked about the metronome actually being your friend.  In the excellent and lively discussion, the concept of innate rhythm arose – as in not having one!  As you might imagine, not having an innate sense of rhythm could hamper your ability to then use the metronome.

I’m not sure that it is possible to have absolutely no sense of rhythm.  After all, if that were the case, it would be difficult to live.  We all have a heartbeat.  That’s even called a sinus rhythm!  And it would be difficult to accomplish even simple tasks without some rhythm.  For instance – walking.  Walking has an embedded rhythm.  So does chewing.  And breathing.  Now, I’m not saying it’s impossible to have no rhythm.  But it kinda looks like it would be.

More likely, it is possible to have a very weak awareness of rhythm.  And possible to have a weak awareness of externally imposed rhythm.  (Think I’m making this up? Try to rapidly read through a strathspey with loads of flag/dots and dot/flags (not to mention the triplets!) – it’s really easy to build up a resistance to external rhythms when you’re internal ones go to war with them!).

Feel the beat!I hope you’ve been as lucky as I have been coming up as a musician.  I have had amazing teachers!*  Some of the best stuff I ever learned was to work on rhythm away from the harp.  That could be by clapping or snapping my fingers.  It could be slapping left knee for the down beat and right for the up.  Or it could be walking around in a circle, keeping the beat with my feet while clapping the melody rhythm in my hands.  Or slapping Boom Sticks together. Or banging on wood blocks.  Or coffee cans.  Lately, I’m enamored with vocables for rhythm elements (while walking in circles).**

I love this systemic way of getting to the rhythm.  Because rhythm is organically simple while being conceptually complex.    Sometimes, it’s hard to keep all the thinking and doing going in order to get the tune to come out.  Breaking the rhythm out and working on it separately is helpful.  But really feeling it in your body (not just in your brain) is a valuable additional way to bring it together. 

Because, after all, you don’t just send your brain and your fingers to the harp!  You have to bring all of you.  So you might as well get all of you into the act.  You can make it small and timid (like I’ve described above) or you can make it big and bold like Eurhythmics.  But, like so many things, you have to make it what you need it to be.   You have to FEEL it!  And you must practice it!

So, the next time you take on a rhythm, try getting off your bench.  Get out of your head.  Move your arms and legs to the beat and to the rhythm.  Feel it – in your bones (and muscles!).  Be free and enjoy it.  And you may be surprised by how you can now appreciate (and render) the rhythm differently, easier, more freely.  I also like that when you move, you can also build a mental image of you moving – so if all else fails, you have yet another way to remember how it goes.

All that movement also helps heighten your awareness of the rhythm.  If you have a weak sense of rhythm, try making big swinging arm movements for the rhythm or big stomps for the beat.  Or both.   When you’ve got it (and are in fits of giggles), then sit back to the harp and start putting the pieces together (putting the notes into the rhythm).  And don’t be afraid to get up and do it again – when you’re first learning something, it can be fleeting, and you might have to repeat to get it back again. 

Have you tried moving around to get the rhythm?  If so, how’d it go?  If not, would you try it now?  And if you wouldn’t but are intrigued – I give lessons on being silly!***

*If you ever have a lesson with me and you think I am rolling my eyes while you struggle, I am not!  I’m thinking, vexed with myself that I’m not making something clear.  I’m furiously working through my list, wondering, “what would (Mrs. Edberg or Marianna or Sue or Kris or a number of other teachers who have been so patient with me) say or do at this point?  How can I get a different perspective and share that!”.  I’m not rolling my eyes, I’m seeking inspiration!!

**Now some of you are rolling your eyes because you’ve had to do this stuff with me – but it worked, didn’t it?!

***OK, that’s dangerously close to selling, which I try very hard to not do here.  But it is true and if you’d like a one-off lesson to explore this or a coaching session, just let me know!

Metronome – Friend or Foe?

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While we’re used to thinking about our tools as our harp and the tuning wrench, we have other tools too.  Some we use more than others – electronic tuner, nail clippers, splines, music stand (and music) and more.  And then there are the tools we have but we resist using – like a recorder…or a metronome! 

Why do we resist using these tools?  Usually because we think (or we’re fairly sure) we’re not going to like what we learn when we use them.  It always feels like they are scolding us!

The metronome seems to hold pride of place as the most hated tool we have.  And I get that.  My parents gave me my metronome when I was a tween a million years ago when studying piano. It is a glorious wooden-cased Seth-Thomas.  But as much as I love that thing, I have hated it for years.   I was always late.  Or early.  Or just couldn’t get the subdivision right.   Or I was so busy  just trying to “hit the tick” that I’d forget to play.  And snaps?  Just wasn’t happening.*

Metronome Friend or FoeSo many mistakes – so very frustrating!

And I know I wasn’t the only one.  In fact, I’m writing this because one of you asked!  It is easy to feel like the metronome is not just a foe, but a diabolical one!

As “basic” as a metronome is, a lot of people don’t know how to use one.  And that’s exactly part of the problem.  After all it’s easy, right?  All of this will apply regardless of your choice of metronome.  Electronic or mechanical, they all do the same thing.

  • What is a metronome? A metronome is…(drumroll)… a glorified clock.  No, really.  Ok, actually it’s a simplified clock.  It measures time (that’s what “metronome” means).  Just like a clock – but in the increments you might need.
  • Why would you use one? A metronome is both regular and variable.  Regular in that it will beat out the tempo you set.  Variable in that you can change that tempo.  Typically, the tick represents a quarter note.  You can go slowly for laments (at about 40 beats per minute (bpm)) to reels (at about 125 bpm) to drum and bass (at about 180 bpm).  But more importantly, it helps you to be less variable.
  • How do you use it? The basics are, again, easy.  You select a tempo and play along.  Easy-peasy.  But it’s not.  My breakthrough came when I determined that I needed a tick for each subdivision rather than for each beat.  Setting the tick as a quarter note was confusing to me – if I was subdividing (counting in “ands”) then I needed two ticks per beat (a tick for the “1” and another tick for the “and”, a tick for the “2” and another tick for the and, etc.).  By adding these additional ticks, the metronome was ticking and tocking to match the way I was counting.  It also acts as a regulator so all of the tune is even.
  • When to use it? The best answer to when to use a metronome is – anytime!  But how you use it may vary depending on when you are in the music.  When you are just beginning and learning a piece, I’d suggest you don’t use it.  At all.  It’s too early, you’re probably barely hanging on to each note, the order they come, etc.  You probably don’t have the brain space to add that level of precision counting!  You can add the metronome in after you’ve gotten more comfortable with the music.  Initially you might use a slow tempo to assure you’re getting the rhythms right.  Once you’ve got that squared away, then you can gently increase the tempo to bring the tune up to speed.  In this phase, at the tender tempo, you can assure that the tune is even throughout, that the trickier parts aren’t slowing you down, and that the end and the middle are as strong as the beginning.  Then you can begin to approach the tempo noted.  Go up in small steps (one notch at a time on a mechanical or 2 – 4 beats at a time on an electronic) and as soon as anything is out of whack, slow down a little and approach the speed again (I go back 3 increments when I make an error).  This little bit of speed at a time ensures that you learn the tune rather than relying on momentum to get through it**.  Once you have the tune at speed, you can spot check your tempo on occasion to assure you have kept the tune the way you want it.

So, hopefully you can see that the metronome is your friend.  Even when it feels like it’s winning.  With the metronome (and any other tools you know you should use but keep avoiding) the more you avoid it the more you probably need it.  But anything that helps you gain clarity can not only help you grow but will do it as a friend (an honest friend!). 

What about you?  Is your metronome your friend or your foe?  How do you use yours?  Let me know in the comments!

* And in case you’re wondering, yes, I still have my beautiful wooden cased Seth-Thomas.  And yes, I still use it.  And yes do I love it – it always reminds me that my original fan club – my parents – knew what i was capable of, even when I didn’t.

** I tell my students to go back 3 increments when a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g is not right.  That includes a wrong note, a messed up fingering, a wobbly rhythm, a wonky phrasing, or anything that’s just not right.  The first reason is that you are doing this for you so don’t cheat yourself – expect your best.  The second is that you don’t want to keep practicing an error, so eradicate errors as soon as you identify them.  I guarantee you will not be able to perform the tune sooner by cutting corners!