This week we celebrate Thanksgiving in the US. We have so many things to be grateful for, and once again, I find that one at the top of the list is – you! Thank you for being such a wonderful part of my community. I really appreciate your time and attention and participation!
Thank you.
Another crazy title – SWOT’s it all about?
I have an unending search for ways to get better at…everything! And because I have a diverse background and work experience as a researcher, scientist, artist, entrepreneur, and person, I thrive on crossing boundaries between disciplines and practices, particularly applying tools from one disciple to problems from another which is a hoot. At the least I learn something and at best there’s a huge breakthrough! One of those stalwart business tools is the SWOT analysis – and it’s a nice fit for our harp playing.
What’s a SWOT? It breaks into: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. Clearly this is applicable to business, but to playing the harp? Yup!
Think about it – taking a moment to complete a SWOT on your music could certainly help highlight where you should spend your time*. Here’s how:
A SWOT isn’t hard to do – it just takes a little time, some thought, a bit of self-reflection, and maybe some feedback if you have it (and a cuppa might help). Set aside a half-hour to spend on it. I’ve included a handy tool to help you do the analysis (click on the graphic (or here) to download). The first time you do it, it might feel like a lot of work, but I promise it gets easier each iteration – and it certainly can help sharpen your focus.
Give it a try and let me know what you find!
* And if you’re a professional, of course a SWOT can be helpful for business too!
Practice Improvement
Do you ever feel like your practice needs fixing? Like you should be doing something more but you’re not sure what? After all, you do all the things (as the meme says). And it’s our busy season coming, with friends, family, church, civic organizations, even strangers on the street, all asking for music for events or just to create a holiday vibe. It is a gift to share your gift. So the question is, is your practice ready or is your practice static?
Unfortunately, we can’t just wrap bows around our hands (or our brains!) and be ready to present our gift. So we practice. And practice. And practice some more. We listen to the gurus (I’m going to be presumptuous and add myself to that list!) and try to follow their advice. We do the technical work, and we write down everything, we make recordings, we do repetitions, we make exercises from fumbles, we repeat and repeat and repeat. Just like the “people who know things” tell us to.
But sometimes even all that might leave you feeling like you still don’t quite have it. Like all that practicing you should be doing isn’t getting you where you want to be. Ever feel like that? Oh, it’s just me? Ok, well…yeah, I didn’t think so.
There’s just one problem with what I’ve described, and with “doing as your told” in general. And that is that you can’t be static – not moving, not changing.
You have probably cobbled together (from all that guru advice) that you should do your technical work, then do your learning, then do your polishing, then play for fun and call it a day, invariantly, in that order. But that may be where your unease is coming from!
You can’t always practice the same way all the time. Mostly because you don’t always need the same thing from your practice each day. There are so many factors that go into what you need to practice each day –
So how should you practice? Well, start by knowing that, just like your learning, your practicing cannot be static. It has to change to fit what you need.
But how do you know what you need? Well, as a beginner you might have to depend on your teacher to tell you – after all, you’re a beginner so you probably don’t know where to start and a teacher will certainly help with that. But as you become more accomplished, you will be able to notice what works for you (and what doesn’t). Before we go on, noticing what works is not the same as convincing yourself that practicing all the easy stuff is good and working on something you don’t want to do/don’t feel comfortable doing/is challenging can be skipped…these are usually the things you most need to work on (don’t ask me how I know this).
Practicing is the time to find what works for you – and what doesn’t. It’s the opportunity to try different approaches to your music – play faster, play slower, try shoving your way through, break everything down, listen to a recording, read the music, listen to a recording while reading the music, work backward, work phrase by phrase, walk away and come back with a clearer head, sit until you get it, repeat 3 times, 10 times, 100 times, sing it, play it on another instrument (all things some guru has probably suggested to you before).
What do all of these approaches have in common? They require that you pay attention. No formulaic, mindless practicing! Be critical (but not self-critical!). Note what seems to help you move forward for each of a variety of situations. Be open to changing as needed – and as the situation requires. Follow your progress like it’s your favorite facetictweegram influencer! Remember to start with your goals in mind so your can modify your process to get there Focus on your progress and don’t be static!
What have you noticed impacts your practice success? How do you modify your practice? How do you keep track of what you’ve done that worked and what didn’t? Let me know in the comments!
It’s one of the best holidays – Halloween. What’s not to like? Little kids in adorable costumes! Your favorite candy – that terrible candy that you’d never admit to liking but is so good (candy corn? Smartees?)! Leaves to kick through! Cooler temps, breezes, sweaters, socks! All the things!!
Well, I’ve found something even better. I got to go to Shepherdstown WV and play the harp with little kids and bigger kids. I spent a lovely morning with 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders and then with Pre-K and Kindergartners! They had great questions – how long had I played? Had I ever played for anyone famous? Best of all, they really enjoyed getting to play the harp(sicle!).
No photos of course – they are little, and the internet can be a terrible place. But there, in those schools, they were amazing and fun. I was grateful for the opportunity to play for them! Hopefully a couple of budding musicians will emerge. Or, at a minimum, these children will continue to enjoy the magic of music for the rest of their lives!
I was also delighted to get to play a concert for some incredible people too! They were a wonderful audience – they also asked great questions and were so interactive! Special thanks to Judy for setting the entire experience up. I’m so hopeful that they’ll invite me back again (hint hint 😊).
After I played, I was delighted to have a number of audience members come and give playing the harp a try – they were so game and fun. Jen and I had a great time playing for her first time
I couldn’t ask for a better weekend! Have you ever gotten to work with kids? I’d love to hear about it! How old were they? What did you do with them? Did you enjoy it? Let me know in the comments!
Recently, a harp friend told me that she was going to move along. That she was done with the harp. That she had completed what she set out to accomplish. And now that that’s done, it’s time to move on to something else.
I struggled for what to reply. The concept of being done with playing the harp is an anathema to me. I don’t get it. What?
I wanted to argue. She’s a good player. She’s put in so much work. So much time. So much money!
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that arguing with her wasn’t the right tack. After all, she knows her own mind. If she’s done, she’s done. No amount of my quizzing her to death would help. And all those questions surely wouldn’t woo her back and might just push her farther away.
I just needed to be sad.
Sad because I’m likely to lose a friend. When your friendship is built on sharing music, will it survive without it?
Sad because the harp gives me such joy (while also being a challenge) that I can’t conceive of leaving it, yet I have to allow her to do just that.
Sad because I felt badly that, although I think she’s a fine harp player, she had evaluated her own harp life and found it lacking.
And I’m still hopeful that it’s just that she just needs a break and that she’ll come back to the harp – and her harp friends. That she’ll miss playing and just sort of migrate back to it. That the simple act of playing will remind her of the joys to be had.
But if that’s not the case, I really hope that she finds something that is a balm to her like I find my harp is to me – in good times and bad, it’s there for me and I want my friend to have that too. Even if it’s from doing something else.
Because it’s about her and her happiness – and satisfaction – with playing. If that’s not happening, then she probably should move on. I don’t know what she’s going to do with her time now that she won’t be practicing, going to workshops, playing, and all the other things we do. It’s a lot of time to fill. I’m not sure that when we’re in the middle of it, we realize how much time we spend – sometimes it really is more time that we spend with other people (not that there’s anything wrong with that! 😉).
And although I’m sad about all this, I also fervently hope that she is not sad at all. That her choice to move along is standing her in good stead and that she’s finding something that makes her heart sing. I’ll get over it. I’ll play my harp to do so. Maybe I’ll feel compelled to write a tune about it. Or maybe I’ll just play things that we had played together – as a commemoration of sorts.
I know I shouldn’t be sad – things change. And I’ll move past it. But for now, I’m going to be just a little bit sad about it while wishing my friend all the best.
How are you? Let me know in the comments!
Harp Day 2022 was presented by Harp Ireland (Cruit Éireann in Irish) which is an Irish charitable organization established in 2016 by a bunch of harpers with a good plan! They focus on promoting the instrument and its music while attracting more performers and audiences. They have been busy!
Harp Day 2022 was this weekend with the theme – Harp Together. It’s one of those activities that makes participation in their activities more accessible to all of us, around the world. It’s not a hardship – after all Irish music (and Irish culture) is loved around the globe! And if there’s one thing we learned over the last couple of years – we have enjoy getting together via whatever means is available to us. I liked what they had on their website about it:
For the sixth year in a row, Irish harpers extend a warm invitation to harpers everywhere to join with them in celebrating the 1000-year-old Irish harping tradition, which is recognised on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Now you can catch up with all the good stuff. Harp Ireland has put loads of good stuff online, freely available.
It was exciting to make a video to be a part of the celebration. A group of us was gathered for something completely different but decided it would be fun – so we did it! I was delighted to be playing with Sue Richards, Therese Honey, Donna Bennett, and Martha Hill and we had a hoot playing an American tune – Sandy Boys. You can see it here, at 1:02:23 – but definitely watch the whole thing. There are four videos so pace yourself! You can find all the videos here.
I think my favorite part of the finished product – beyond the fun of watching some incredible harping – is that they also put together an interactive map so you can see where everyone was coming from. Since we made the video in North Carolina, we are represented there even though we’re from around the US. It’s delightful to see everyone in their locations https://www.harpireland.ie/interactive-map/
Hope you enjoy it – we sure did. If you want more information about Harp Ireland you can find it here.
Did you participate in Harp Day 2022? How many people do you know that are in the videos? Let me know in the comments!
I got to be at the Scotland Connecticut Highland Games this weekend – and I had a fantastic time! There were loads of harpers there and we got to spend the entire day doing harp-y things. As usual – although I promised myself that I’d take loads of pictures – at the end of the day, I fell asleep that night thinking, “oh phooey, I never took my camera out!” (again).
One of the things I enjoyed so much about being there was the wonderful energy that everyone brought. Some people came to compete again. Some came to compete for the first time. Some came to be part of the group, enjoy the time, learn a tune, and share in a beautiful event. All that good stuff got me thinking about our harps events as the celebrations they are.
Celebrations? Yes – we really were celebrating nearly continuously – we learned, we played, we shared music – all of those are celebrations of sorts. But we don’t normally think about it like that – and we probably should. We make advances (large and small) each day that we get to spend time at the harp. We need to find a way to celebrate each of those achievements!
What kind of achievements do I mean? Well, how about:
So, how should we celebrate? How about:
It doesn’t really matter how you celebrate – as long as you DO celebrate your little wins. It will help keep you motivated and remind you that you get to play the harp! What could be better than that?
I am sure you have more/better achievements! What would you like to celebrate? What would you choose as your reward? Let me know in the comments!
You know how I’m always encouraging you to improvise and to try composing? I know some of you are reluctant to agree with me. And believe me, I get it! I spent a great deal of time telling myself all kinds of stuff:
I can’t do this
Even if I did do it, it would be garbage
No one will like it, not even my mother
But eventually I did start up and keep at it. And I’m still bashing away at making music for myself and for others. Do I suffer from comparisons? Of course! Do I still find every flaw? Obviously! And do I do it anyway? Darn tootin’!
So, I’m excited to pass along that the Scottish Harp Society of America just announced a tune writing competition to celebrate it’s 40th Anniversary! It’s hard to believe that since 1982 SHSA has been around, encouraging people to play Scottish music on the harp. So, what an excellent way to celebrate than by adding to the music and sharing it with others?
The theme for the tune writing competition entry is “Celebrate SHSA!” The judges are all noted composers, arrangers and performers including Corrina Hewat, Jo Morrison, and Martha Hill. Entries should be a piece for solo harp (of course!). There are some rules and guidelines you should follow and you can find them on the SHSA Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/ScottishHarpSocietyofAmerica
Entries are due 1 November so there’s plenty of time to create something wonderful and perfect for the harp. And there’s a prize – $500 for the winning entry. So it’s worth reading the rules and getting started!
If you’ve not composed before (or if you’re feeling a little faint at the idea of writing a tune) here are some tips to help you get going:
1. Give yourself some quiet time – it’s hard to hear the music inside you if all around the outside you is noisy!
2. Give yourself some more quiet time – it’s hard to hear the music inside you if inside you is noisy!
3. Use your trusty recorder – just sit behind your harp and play the strings. Let your hands wander. If you hit on an idea you like, explore it. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes – there’s nothing there yet, so it can’t be wrong and it’s a “throw away” recording to be used only to capture ideas and then pitch out.
4. Be your own safe space – tell your inner critic/harridan to take five and give you a minute. Of course it’s not great yet – you’re just getting started! It will shape up as you develop it. And you don’t need that kind of negativity anyway!
5. Change things up – if you only come up with stuff you don’t like, change it. Change the key you’re in. Or change the mode. Or randomly set levers and see what you get.
6. Don’t forget to laugh – you’re meant to be having fun, so have some laughs (probably at your own expense, but so what).
7. Start over and over again. I can’t tell you how many ideas I have come up with that were just pointless. Or variations of the same great idea I had before. No worries, you’re endlessly creative, you just might not know it yet. Just start!
8. Be like a “real” writer (or composer). You’ve probably heard it said that everyone has a novel in them, but a real writer actually does the work to put it on paper! Don’t just think about it. Allocate some of your practice time each day to generating ideas (and capture them). Once you’ve got a little traction, you can put the ideas together to make a tune.
You have it in you! You can do it! And it’s wonderful to celebrate a momentous event like 40 years of shared love of Scottish harp music.
Are you going to give it a go? I’d love to hear about it – whether you enter the competition or not. Let me know – compose a comment!
I hate to break it to you, but next week is October! While there’s been pumpkin spice muffins, pumpkin spice coffee, pumpkin spice tires, and more available for over a month, you would not be seen as unreasonable for not realizing that the most terrifying time of the year (for harpers) is racing up fast – the Holidays (cue Halloween music – after all, that is the next holiday, despite what you might see in the stores). If you think I’m being dramatic, I have already seen tv ads for Christmas trees!
Now, you might be wondering why I say this is the most terrifying time of the year. It is, after all, the season of twinkly lights, candy everywhere, pretty ribbons and bows – what’s not to like? It’s also the busy season (which is nice and helpful to affording gifts to put inside the ribbons and bows). Well, here are three reasons it can be terrifying:
1. While all the professionals are booking events (yea income), non-harp-playing people also have no problem, upon learning that you play the harp, attempting to press you into performing. This is all well and good…if you want to be performing. But if you’re not interested in performing, are extremely nervous about performing, or have only been playing for a month – you might not want to be pressed into service! And people (who don’t play an instrument but are adept at organizing) are relentless. I’ve also found that their relentlessness is inversely proportional to the amount of money they are willing to pay you!
2. Everyone knows all the music! Yup, when the entire audience knows all the tunes, that’s a little intimidating because you are certain they will hear every artistic deviation (not mistake!) from perfection that you introduce.
3. The holidays can be fraught – fraught I say – with stress. Even if, like me, you lead a stress-free existence*, it’s difficult to avoid the feeling of stress rolling off all those around you.
So, it’s time to start preparing! Here are four things you could practice being ready:
1. Saying “No”. I know it’s hard but, if you don’t want to be playing for whatever reason (you’ve only been playing for a week, you are embarrassed by sweating navigable puddles when performing, because you just don’t want to) – practice saying “no”. Sound too abrupt? Then say, “No, thank you”. You don’t owe anyone an explanation (well…maybe if it’s your mom, but no one else!)
2. Christmas music you’ve played before. Since you’ve learned it before, it will come back easier than the last time. Yes, I know it might not feel like it, but it will.
3. New Christmas/Winter. Well, new to you. You don’t want to be playing the same stuff year after year. You need to keep learning. New things will help you stay fresh and keep you interested. Adding in winter music will also help you bridge gaps for audiences and give you things to play past Christmas (after all – winter goes for about 80+ more days after Christmas day).
4. Other music. Since the Christmas music will probably start sooner than later, by the time the holidays actually arrive, everyone is a little fatigued of hearing them. Keeping your wider repertoire ready to go will help you add to your set lists and avoid burn out…and will keep you ready for the rest of the year!
So, dust off your Christmas books and binders, start reworking your old tunes and deciding on what you’ll add this year. Be proactive when deciding what you will let slide in your regular repertoire (for now). And spend a little time with your calendar so you’ll know when you are (and aren’t) interested in playing. Keep in mind that most of your friends and family would be delighted if you shared your gift of music with them (even if you’ve only been playing for a week – they love you!).
What are you going to be playing this holiday season? Which are new to you? Let me know in the comments!
*LoL – I wish!
Ever looked at your bookshelf and realized that you have about 100 versions of (in effect) the same book? I have – and it’s not entirely pretty. It’s the How To book collection…
I have a lot of “how to” books – how to cook, how to garden, how to measure things, how to calculate what those measurements mean, how to knit, how to relax, how to be creative, how to teach, how to repair your house, how to fly an airplane, how to decorate, how to get rid of everything in your house, how to play the harp … the list goes on and on.
They are filled with details. After all, I don’t need to smooth the plaster over a statistical analysis (ok, that’s debatable if we are being conceptual, less so if we’re being concrete).
When push comes to shove though, they all pretty much say the same thing – be organized, be familiar with the steps, do a test, then do the thing. That might be some of the least useful information in each of those books.
What are the most important things then? you might ask. They’re buried in the book somewhere. Often, it’s only a sentence, in the middle of a paragraph, unhighlighted, unremarkable, and unrelated to each other. They are some version of:
The more you do it, the more comfortable you’ll feel.
and
Once you know the rules, feel free to do your own thing.
Because when you know the rules, you know which ones are real rules that cannot be broken with impunity, which can be broken but at your peril, and which are merely strong suggestions – guide rails for the uninitiated, which can be freely broken by the mavens.
We can break those down to be more useful. The first one is pretty clear – practice practice practice. The more you do something (correctly and preferably with feedback), the easier it will be to complete and the better you will do it. No surprise there.
The second one has a more mysterious translation. And it is by far the scariest. What it really says is, “to thine own self be true” – Thanks Polonius for help/not help. So, let’s pull it apart a tiny bit more (because after all, I’m no Shakespeare scholar!) – the modern way to say it is to “have your own voice”. How do you know what that sounds like? Well…..
First you have to know the rules to break them. And by “know” we mean inside and out. A shaky knowledge of the boundaries doesn’t result in cutting edge – just sloppiness.
Next you need to know how much rules can bend and still be unbroken. Some rules “change color” as you gain experience – because your experience allows you to see relationships you were unprepared to predicted before.
Finally, you must understand which are really guidelines. Following these leads to pablum – playing that is ok and offends no one – but also doesn’t excite anyone.
Which brings us back to be yourself. As you grow as a musician you can learn the rules and follow them. Or you can internalize those rules and use them to find you voice. What rule are you interacting with just now? I want to hear it – and how you’re finding your own voice – let me know in the comments!