Jenius Creations

Author: Jen

  • World Music Day

    It’s World Music Day (21 June)! 

    Ok, like a lot of Hallmark Card holidays, it is also made up by some organization.  But who cares?!?  It’s a holiday to celebrate music!  What’s not to like?

    According to the organizers, “World Music Day celebrates music in all its forms and the impact it’s had on the world and the human spirit.”  I cannot make this stuff up: https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/music-day/

    World Music Day was started in France by the Ministry of Culture (if that’s not already taken, it would be an excellent band name). Apparently, again according to the organizers, on this day all music should be free to everyone (rather than paid tickets) (you can tell a bunch of bureaucrats thought this up and didn’t ask any musicians about it!).

    Check out their website http://makemusicday.org/

    And in the Hallmark holiday spirit – I’d like to give you your first World Music Day greeting card:

    If you’re not sure why I chose those funny names – Aoide is the muse of song and her sister Melete is the muse of practice!  And if you are not sure how to celebrate – enroll in the Ohio Scottish Arts School – it’s next week!

    How are you going to celebrate World Music Day?  I’m giving a concert assuming the weather holds.  Let me know what you’re going to do!

  • What could be scarier?

    What could be scarier than a meteoroid headed for your house?

    Music theory.

    Dun dun duhhhhhhh…

    Few things can scare a musician more than mentioning theory.

    Well, to be fair, theory is kinda terrifying.  It’s a bunch of inscrutable rules that no one really needs, right?

    Um, no. 

    First, let’s define music theory.  Because I am finding that many people believe that music theory is all about reading music. 

    Um, no. (I promise I won’t write that again in this post!)

    Theory is the rules of music.  It is the grammar if you will.  Music theory is about music.  Listening to it, making it, enjoying it, identifying it (especially identifying that it is music as it is different from other sounds).  You know music when you hear it.

    Music theory geniusYou don’t have to be a genius to understand theory!

    Theory is actually quite helpful.  And I think it gets a bad rap.  When I was studying piano, every week we did a major scale and its concomitant exercises (arpeggios, inversions, etc.).  Later we moved on to the minor scales.  We never did theory.  I was always assured that I’d study it later.  Sneaky – I was learning theory in practical form, learning the rules as I went.  Best of all, I never felt a thing – no pain at all!

    I’ll try to be just as gentle with you.  Don’t freak out – just like you speak your native language, and you know (mostly) the rules for speaking the language, you already know (mostly) the rules for music.  If you didn’t know the rules, you’d never have to make the “wrong-note-lemon-face”.  Why?  Because if you didn’t know the rules, you wouldn’t know that you made a mistake and then you wouldn’t need to make the pucker puss.

    Are you convinced yet?    

    You should be, because nothing I have said so far has

    a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g

    to do with reading or writing. When you speak a language, you don’t have to be literate to be fluent.  So too, with music.  And frankly, while reading and writing are certainly helpful, we existed for millennia relying on spoken word and learning by rote – so, reading and writing, while helpful are not, in and of themselves, necessary.

    So, I think we have established that you probably already know your theory.  But here’s a little test – if you hear something (anything – Tallis, Bach, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Britten, Muhly, BTS), do you recognize it as music?  Of course you do, because you know the underlying rules*.

    In other words, you know your theory!  I hope you’re convinced now.  Because it is that understanding of these rules that helps you be a good musician!  No need to be scared!

    However, that’s not the end of the story.  Because to continue to be a good musician you want to be able to not just parrot back specific frequencies.  You want to be able to understand what you’ve got, think critically about it, and leave at least a frisson of yourself there.  

    The basic bones of theory are going to be melody and rhythm stitched together with harmony. 

    • Melody is the thing.  It’s what matters.  It’s what you hum when you’re thinking of a catchy tune.  I say it’s “the thing” because it really is the center – the song, the thread, the butterfly you follow.
    • Rhythm (from the Greek “to flow”) is what happens over time.  This isn’t as complicated as it seems – you already know that music comes out over time.  If all the music came at once it would sound like a door slamming!  Rhythm is how we express the serial part of sound (which can be music, speech, or other noises).  And…
    • Harmony – the thing we stress over when we play!  Harmony is when we have more than one sound going at a time.  Harmony is how we express our hope that the sounds go together in a pleasing manner!

    Any of this a surprise to you?  I told you that you already knew theory!

    Like just about any subject, theory can get…quite complex.  After all, we use theory words to be able to articulate the rules when we want to communicate with someone else.  Or when we want to document our own thinking (either to share with others or to help us remember).   Having the words and symbols may also help us think differently about what we already know and help us to learn more than we currently know.  Finally, just like some people jot thoughts while reading, we can do the same while we’re playing, composing, and improvising.  And to do those things, you do need to have some understanding of the basics and the vocabulary.  

    We can talk about more complicated things (including reading and writing) another time.  For now, does this make sense? Do you feel like you have a strong theory background?  Or do you run and hide when someone starts talking about theory?  Or were you hoping that, as a trad musician, it wouldn’t ever matter?  In the comments, let me know where you are – and we’ll take a stab at ensuring we are all solid on theory.

    * if you’re making snide remarks in your head that I included some random modern pop group – stop it, you know it’s still music even if you’re too old for it (I am too!)

  • Since you asked…

    I had planned to blather on about theory this week, but let’s hold that for next week, shall we?  This week I wanted to follow up on a question from last week.  I’m delighted that you enjoyed the video as much as I did! 

    One of you asked if there was sheet music for the great ensemble arrangement of America the Beautiful those amazing harpists are playing in the video. (I’m always so delighted that you actually read my blog that I’ll usually do just about anything to answer your questions!) 

    So, I used my super-sleuthing skills to contact the military harpists to email them to ask if they would share the arrangement (ok, I looked them up in the American Harp Society Directory).

    Two amazing things happened from this – first, I met a bunch of super delightful harpists that I didn’t know before!  They were, to a one, so warm and wonderful.  They responded quickly and were incredibly gracious.  And they are all located near me (Yea!!) except for Megan Sesma from the US Coast Guard who is in New London CT (which is a convenient train station if you’re going to compete at the Scotland CT Highland Games, btw). 

    Second, from them I learned a little bit about this music.  For those of you who might not have seen my other posts (on Facedegram), the sheet music is available from Vanderbilt Music*.  It was arranged by Daniel Burton for six harps.  But perhaps more interesting and exciting – it was commissioned by the American Harp Society and these six military harpists!

    Now a clarification.  While the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Army are part of the Department of Defense, the Coast Guard is is actually part of the Department of Homeland Security.  Even so, the Coast Guard is the oldest continuous sea service of the country.

    And the last little bit of update.  After the video was completed, Chief Musician Emily Dickson retired from the Navy and Madeline Jarzembak has been selected to be the principal harpist with the United States Navy Band. Welcome aboard Madeline!  In the email discussion, the military harpists mentioned that they are not currently planning to do another video together (and hopefully we’ll all be off video and IRL sooner than later!), so revel in this unique experience.  And watch for them – military bands perform all over the country and they may be near you soon!

    Thank you so much for your questions and comments.  And for the opportunity to answer them!  I am consistently struck by how diverse, interesting, warm, and welcoming our very small harp community can be.  Keep asking away!  I l-o-v-e finding answers, meeting people, learning more – and getting to share it with you!   

     

    * As usual, I’m not clever enough to have affiliate links – this is just to make it easier for you to find it!

  • Memorial Day 2021

    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

    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

    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!

    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

    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!

    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?

    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.