Planning ahead – for the Somer(set)

Posted on by

I’m very excited to share that I will be teaching at this year’s Somerset Folk Harp Festival in Parsippany NJ!   I’ll be presenting a workshop on my own.  And even better – I’ll also be co-teaching another workshop with Donna Bennett! It just gets better and better – two workshops!  Yea!! There will be more than 100 workshops and I’ll be in great company with an amazing pantheon of presenters!

In case you have missed it, the Somerset Folk Harp Festival is amazing. It is a 4-day conference that celebrates diversity in music, as well as the talent and experience of the folk harp world. It provides a great opportunity to do what you need to move forward, whether that is to focus on one type of music, or to solidify specific skills, or try out something new. There are opportunities to learn new things in every–single–session! And the Exhibit Hall – yikes! It’s jammed with harps and music and accessories and stuff and more stuff…so much harp shopping in one room!

The festival begins on Thursday and runs through to Sunday. I will be teaching Friday afternoon. First up is a workshop called Sounding Scottish from 1:30 – 3pm. This will be a hands-on workshop, for all levels of play. We’ll be working and learning by ear. And yes (don’t worry), there will be paper too! Here’s the write up so you know what you’re getting into:

Love Scottish music? Wondering how to make your tunes sound more Scottish? Scotland has captivated people for hundreds of years and inspired composers, artists, and authors. In this workshop you will learn specific elements and techniques to ensure your tunes sound Scottish. Jen will teach tunes to apply and practice those techniques and use images, video, language, sounds, geography, myths and legends of Scotland as muses to provide inspiration for your own take on the music.

And then, in the very next workshop session, Friday from 3:30-5pm, I will be working and teaching with Donna! This will be so much fun!! We’ll be teaching Creativity Tools to Improve Practice & Performance. This is also an all levels (including companions!) hands-on workshop exploring your creativity – and you know we are all creative, so bring on the companions! Here’s what you’ll find in the workshop description on the website:

In this workshop, you will learn the skills, tools, and techniques that bring the creativity secret to your work as a musician or a teacher. Find out how to actively apply creativity tools and techniques to improve your personal work processes and your overall approach to harping. These tools can prepare you for projects and gigs, regardless of your level of accomplishment or years of experience. Jen and Donna will give you techniques to help generate better ideas and expand your arrangements and repertoire without adding to your learning load.

If you haven’t looked yet, the hotel is already available and there is a lot of information already available on the Somerset website. You can also register at the early bird rate until 1 May (which is a really good approach – not only do you get a lower rate, you get your summer planned!). The registration includes all the workshops you can fit into your day, entry to the Exhibit Hall (otherwise known as Harp Shopping Nirvana), tickets to the concerts (where you will see and hear Harp players you probably always wanted to see in concert). If you can’t make it to all four days, you can register for individual days too (Kathy has thought of everything!). To register, you can go here.

I hope you’ll come along to the Festival – and come to my workshop! Will I see you there?  If so, let me know in the comments below. Hope I see you there –

New Year – new repertoire? Eight places to look for tunes

Posted on by

Did you notice how far we are into the new year?  And still I haven’t encouraged you to set goals, or intentions, or to pick a word for the year, or any of the other ways we get around to identifying what we think we should accomplish in the coming 365 days? Are you wondering if I am ill or when the other shoe will drop and I’ll be getting on you to set some goals and make some resolutions? It is January after all.

Well, the answer is – I’m not! You already know that stuff and even if you didn’t, you hear it everywhere you turn. And, if you recall, last year I suggested you skip it all together. Instead, let’s talk about something else – your repertoire.  Yup – repertoire.

I am often asked where tunes come from. Everyone knows that – the Stork brings them.

Ok, maybe not.

Your repertoire isn’t a solitary thing.  It is the backbone of your playing. It stands as a culmination of your work. And whether you’ve been playing for 2 months (and have a tiny but well-practiced set of tunes) or playing for 1000 months (in which case you may have a large and varied repertoire consisting of tunes you learned at the beginning but never played, tunes you’ve been playing the whole time and tunes you just learned) your repertoire is certainly one measure of your work.  And you can always add to your repertoire – because there are so many tunes out there still!

But where do tunes come from? Especially the tunes that are cool, or captivating, or just plain fun. There are l-o-a-d-s of places to get music! Tunes are everywhere! You almost can’t not find new tunes. Here are eight places you might look for tunes to play:

  1. From your friends. After all, what are friends for? And what could be more fun than sharing tunes?
  2. At Harp Circle you’ll have at your disposal a collection of tunes clearly suited to the harp (and you can either combine this with 1 (above) OR make a new friends and then (see 1, above).
  3. At sessions there are continuous tunes – some of which you’ll know, but loads of others that you’ll have never heard before! And remember, just because you’re at a session doesn’t mean you have to play all the time – sometimes you can just listen and find some stuff you’ll want to play later.  Those are the tunes you can capture in a notebook or record them so you can find them and learn them for the next time you are at the session. If you session regularly, you could learn 12 – 50 tunes each year.
  4. Books! Harp books are full of harp tunes – and are readily available online. If you’re especially keen you can even buy a download of a book – instant gratification! There are loads of places to find these – I usually get mine from Sylvia Woods Harp Center* or the Virginia Harp Center**
  5. Pipe and Fiddle books capture tons of tunes – most of them playable, all of them worth at least reading through. Fiddle books are pretty easy to read – after all, they only use one line! Pipe books are conveniently full of tunes. You might have to work a little harder to find the tune, what with the tiny print, the sometimes odd font (some are typeset to look hand written (or that actually are handwritten)), and the omnipresent ornamentation (which could be viewed as a playing and fingering challenge, but often is just kludging up the page for the rest of us).***
  6. Published collections. There are a number of collections that have been published including the Athole, the Glen, the Mackintosh, the Marshall, and the Lochnagar Collections. I purchased a number of collections from Thistles and Things****. There’s nothing quite as grand has having a real-hold-it-in-your-hands book copy of the collections. And I find that every time I comb through one of the books, like magic, tunes appear that I swear were not there before!
  7. Online sources. You can search the web for all kinds of tunes. Weather you trust The Session or you are looking for J. S. Skinner tunes in his own hand (from the University of Aberdeen Library), music is available online. Not looking for traditional music? You can also find non-trad music online. Having trouble finding what you want?  Change up your key words and keep looking beyond the first page of google results.
  8. YouTube/Spotify or other video/audio tracks. Ok, technically these are also online sources, but they’re different from finding sheet music. This is a great way to find tunes by bands you already know, by bands you’ve never heard of, in varying presentations (harp, fiddle, pipes, didgeridoo, other instruments). Again – just keep looking. You might have to use the English name, the native name (the title of the tune in Scots, Scots Gaelic, Irish Gaelic, French, Spanish, etc.), or multiple titles (e.g. I love the tune “Over the Hills and Far Away” – do you have any idea how many tunes have that title? No, I was not looking for the Led Zeppelin version, but I found it!).

All these sources will help you find new tunes to add to your repertoire. There are so many tunes out there – let’s find as many as we can…and keep ‘em in circulation! I’m sure you have other sources – let me know what you have found in the comments below and we can share that here soon!

* Oh, come on, who doesn’t buy stuff from SWHC?!?  She’s got a number of books that might just have exactly what you need – usually in a very approachable way. This is not a paid advertisement – don’t freak out.   
** It’s my blog, I can tout my local Harp store.  And they have a knowledgeable staff and good stuff on the books racks. This isn’t a paid advertisement or product placement – please continue to not freak out. 
*** Let’s be fair, the pipers do use all that ink, it is just a little intimidating when you first start to look at it! I have gotten a lot of lovely fiddle and pipe books from Skye Music Shop and lately from Duncans Highland Supply – both lovely people and very helpful.  If you’d done well so far, I’d urge you to continue to not freak out at this point.
****Just a shout out to my friend Patti Tillotson who’s run a great little shop from Harpswell Maine for a long time.  This is not any kind of paid advertisement – you’ve done well holding off so far, still, don’t freak out.  She’s got great stuff! 
I do not receive any kind of compensation for any of these links – they’re just places I go and sources I use.  Please don’t freak out – I’m not trying to sell you anything nor are these affiliate links. If you elect to visit my suggestions, I am confident you will receive good service and excellent source material.  If you happen to mention that you saw them here, then maybe they’ll be glad – I know I will be!

Ten-dresse* yet ten-ty** – On approaching ten- years

Posted on by

Welcome to 2019! Another year begins. Time to think about and plan for another year at the harp!

Becoming what we will be this year often starts by looking back. And looking back at this blog, we see that we have been here since 2009 – that means we will celebrate ten years of sharing about harp, travel to Scotland, musicianship, and more (hence the ten heavy title for this week).

Wow.

It seems like only yesterday that we began. I started the blog to share my excitement about creating the Harp in the Highlands and Islands trip with my dear friend David. I had dreamed of going to Scotland with my harp and playing so many great tunes right at the places they commemorated, in the air of the history they chronicled, in the peace of the glens, along the gentle sweep of the waters, and in the majesty of the mountains.  But a chance conversation made it become real.

What’s not to be excited about!?!

In that time, the trip has had some amazing guests who really made each outing an adventure. And David and I have had a blast getting to gather new friends each year (“a true pleasure” just doesn’t manage to capture the joy, fun, and interest we’ve been able to enjoy at each trip!). We are so fortunate! We have honed each trip and every year brings something new. We are excited to be trying something new this year with the Harpa Retreat! We’ll let you know more about that as it develops but it will bring together the professionals of the Harpa trips to a slower paced, creativity focused week together – with the customary Harpa performances for charity mixed in – because, after all, we are performers – we l-o-v-e to perform! The perfect vacation!

But early on in writing the blog I realized that as much as I love to share the travel and the music, there was more to share. Although I look forward to going to Scotland, planning to go to Scotland, preparing to go, developing tunes to teach, helping travelers plan (and pack!), there was more to share. And while the trip is a week or so, we’re harp players for the other 50-some-odd weeks of the year – and that stuff needed to be said too!

We’ve talked about technique and ergonomics (based on my career as a Human Factors and Ergonomics professional and experience teaching specialized lessons to prevent or ameliorate problems or injury), elements of musicianship and professionalism – from practicing to performance, from planning to anxiety, from prepping for a thorough and satisfying lesson to assuring you have everything you need in your gig bag, and more.

And still there is even more. You’ve mentioned things you’re interested in (and I’m always glad to hear from you – you have great questions and insights!). Sometimes I have an answer at hand – and sometimes I have to do some homework, but I’m jazzed to learn something new.

And I do view this time with tendresse and look forward quiet tenty! Ten years is certainly something to celebrate. And through the coming year we will do exactly that! One thing we’ll be doing is migrating away from BlogSpot to my website (if you want to do that now, subscribe to receive the blog by email ). You can also follow me on Facebook. There will be “birthday presents” (giveaways) sprinkled lightly throughout the year. And of course, content laden posts!

Thank you for following me this far – let’s see where we get to! Leave me a comment – I l-o-v-e (and hearing from you!) – especially if you have good ideas for the coming year! See you next week!

* defined as fondness (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tendresse )

** defined as attentive (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tenty)

Are you happy with 2018?

Posted on by

The end of the year is drawing near. With only two weeks remaining, are you happy with your harp year 2018?

In January, I suggested you keep a diary, build an I-love-me board, and/or record yourself. Did you get a chance to start these?

If you did – it’s time to pull them out (and likely dust them off – it’s ok if you lost motivation in the middle of the year – it happens). Look through your artifacts. What you collected there will help you continue to grow and develop into the coming year. You can review your diary entries or your continued additions to your I-love-me to see what worked and what didn’t. And by worked, I mean what worked for you. The point of the diary, the I-love-me, and the recording is to give you a means to review where you were, where you are, and to determine how they line up with where you are going (or where you think you’re going or where you thought you meant to be going).

No pillorying yourself! No harsh critique. No judgmental condemnation. Just a review of how you spent your time and if it served to get you where you were headed. Take the time to thoughtfully review your documentation. Did you practice the technique things you needed to so that you could play that dream piece? Did you practice enough? Did you practice regularly? Can you identify patterns of good (or bad) things that you spent your time and energy on? With this information you can continue to move forward – wherever you’d like to go!

If you didn’t (or if you started but got sidetracked by, like January 3rd) – why? What about the methods I suggested didn’t do it for you? There’s gold in the answers – because these are only three ways to capture your continued development. If they didn’t work for you – can you tell me why they didn’t work and what would work better – for you? Did you use another method? What was it?

Remember, the idea is to know where you’re trying to get to (to master some particular technique, to play a particular piece, to be able to play a tune at a particular tempo, etc.) and to make slow, small, accurate, continuous progress. And to avoid getting sucked down a rabbit hole (of a particular gig, something that’s giving your trouble, your regular life, whatever) and thereby getting derailed.

How did you monitor yourself this year? Did it work? What would work better? Enquiring minds want to know – so share in the comments!

Winter is coming…..

Posted on by

It’s solidly December – and nearly winter. And with that we’ll have the continuing cold that feels as though it will never end. Ever. Never. (If you’re near me on the US Eastern Seaboard, you know that hard to believe, since it’s been so cold already!)

We seek warmth – Cups of tea.  Mugs of coffee. Fireplaces. Sweaters, coats, scarves, socks. We do so many things to fend off the cold.

And for us as musicians and harp players, keeping warm – especially our fingers – is so important.

You are designed to keep yourself warm and one way to do that is to close down circulation to your appendages – your hands and feet and specifically your fingers and toes. Of course, you also may get cold hands and feet when you’re practicing because you are focused and sitting still which does not encourage circulation to your extremities.Being able to feel your fingers is so very helpful when playing! With impeded (or vacated) tactile sensation, you must look at the strings to continue playing. You also lose cues as to what you’ve played, where you are, where you are going. You may find that you can’t manage the harp very well – you may not know until after the string has sounded if you played fortissimo or piano, legato or staccato – or if you even played the string at all! Being cold will require you to use all your senses, even to get through tunes you know cold (pun intended).

So, how can you keep warm, since Winter is Coming…

  1. Do not book outdoor gigs. Even Florida has winter! When the temperature dips below 55o you will be clumsy and less able to feel your fingers. Personally, I set the threshold at 65o so that I am warmer and there is no worry about being too cold once I start playing. Spring and summer and even early autumn may be fine, but winter is right out. Make it part of your contract so that there are no questions.  Just don’t.
  2. Dress warmly. If your core and head are warm, your body will have less need to divert blood to your core, which will keep the capillaries in your fingers (and toes) open – and warmer. As you may have heard as a youngster, “Put on a sweater, I’m cold” – if you need to, designate a “practice sweater”.  And have a scarf ready in case you need it to ward off chill.
  3. Plan breaks in your practice time. I’m sure you already do this, but in colder weather, take more frequent breaks. Be sure to move and stretch. Wiggle your fingers. Get up from the bench and walk around a little. If you are thinking, “just a little longer, I’ll practice just a little longer” stop and take a break.
  4. Wear fingerless gloves or wrist warmers. Ok, this is standard advice, but I don’t use these, because, usually my wrists are inside my shirt and sweater sleeves and they are already warm. It’s my fingers – the parts not covered in fingerless gloves – that are cold! So, I don’t find these helpful.  However, I know loads of people who love them, swear by them, and wear them. They’re definitely worth a try.
  5. Turn up the heat. I’m a cheapskate but even I turn up the heat when it’s practice time. Because otherwise I just waste my time (being cold). Even more thrifty and parsimonious than I am? Sit in a window and let the sun do its thing (but be sure to move your harp out of the sunlight when you’re through).
  6. Invite friction. If you start to lose feeling in your fingers, rub your hands together for a little friction warmth. This will give you a little more feeling of warmth. And if you’re smart about it – it will double as a light hand massage!

These things will allow help you keep warm when playing throughout the winter. How do you keep your fingers warmer? Let me know in the comments.

Overcoming Anxiety – Seven ways to make it through the holidays

Posted on by

The upside to this time of year is that there are plenty of opportunities to perform. E-v-e-r-y-o-n-e wants harp music at the holidays. Sometimes they even expect to pay for it!

The downside to this time of year is that there are plenty of opportunities to perform. So, your anxiety may be ratcheted up, and if you’re working a lot, it might stay up there.

A little anxiety is good for you and actually improves your performance. But sometimes, it gangs up on you or you have trouble controlling it. So, how do you overcome that anxiety?

  1. Do not deny it. There is nothing wrong with the way you are feeling. In fact, you could embrace it. What you don’t want to do is tell yourself that you shouldn’t feel anxious. If you do, you do – because you’re human! NB – I am not talking here about full blown anxiety attacks or panic attacks. These are different in that they may require you to seek help, not glib advice from me (some people actually sort of enjoy the sick-to-my-stomach-how-did-I-end-up-here feeling). If you need it, don’t deny that and seek help!
  2. Breathe. No, really, breathe. Deep, belly breaths will help oxygenate you, improving your focus and clarity. And pushing that crowding fog back where it belongs.
  3. Listen to yourself. Recently, just before a gig, I was feeling anxious. Way anxious. More so than is typical. A lovely, dear friend arranged for me to have a quiet space to be alone to prepare for my concert. I was so grateful! But once I got there, I found I was becoming more anxious. I kept changing my set list and fidgeting, and despite the deep breathing, I was not settling. I went back to the crowded room where the audience was gathering – and settled down immediately! No more fluttering heart or roiling stomach. I even felt at peace! For me, the final centering and calm had been on the day before, when I could clearly think about what I wanted to do. For my dear friend, that last moment’s quiet is a godsend. What works for her nearly drove me off the deep end. Know yourself and prep your way. Need 3 cups of coffee? Ok. Yoga’s your thing? Do it. Need to look your audience in the eye and get a feel for what you need to deliver? Than do that. Be you and do your thing.
  4. Find your “why”. You said yes to the performance. Why? We all have our reasons. Know yours and keep that forefront as you perform. If you need to, write it in big letters at the top of your set list. When you get edgy – read it again.
  5. Ridiculous and Sublime. Most of us worry about performing badly, thereby embarrassing ourselves or appearing foolish. This maybe especially true if you began playing as an adult. But here’s the thing – it’s not about you. The audience is likely to have just a few thought tracks focused on either “oooh, that’s so lovely” or “I wish I could do that”. Notice how none of it is about you – it’s all about the music. So, focus on your gift to the audience – you’re sharing, and they have agreed to partake – enjoy!
  6. Name your fear. Anxiety can grow from fear (of performing poorly, of being foolish, etc.). But like a mushroom, your anxiety will grow best in a warm dark place (like your mind). So take time to identify – and name – your fear. If it helps, write it down and bring it into the cold light. Then write down your opinion of that fear, what you would tell your best friend if they expressed that fear, and what the worst possible outcomes of the fear might be. This will help you really face it – afraid you won’t be prepared? Schedule more practice. Afraid you’ll look foolish? See above. Lather rinse repeat (you can do this with other fears in your life as well).
  7. Pay attention! No really. When you’re focused on how you’re feeling anxious, you are not paying attention to the right things. Pay attention to the harp, to the music, to your technique, and to your audience. That’s a lot to focus on – but it’s what’s important. What isn’t important is the random note that came out of your harp a minute ago, or that you wish you were done, or any other casual stuff that floats out of your brain. Stay present and pay attention.

But mostly, find what works for you. What works for you for overcoming your performance anxiety? Let me know in the comments.

Make your music shine!

Posted on by

When I walked into my local grocery on the morning of Halloween – yes, on the 31st of October – the candy shelves were bare. Not picked clean by overeager spoilers of goblins, ghosts, and ghouls. Swept bare – professionally cleared out. In preparation for stocking the Christmas treats. In October!

That helped slam home how little time remained before the holidays. How little practice time actually occurs before the onslaught of holiday playing opportunities.

In the weeks since then, while cramming Christmas carols and jamming holiday songs, it’s easy to lose sight of one teeny-tiny element. Yes, you know you need to know the music – but how will you make it shine?

You might be shaking your head thinking, “what is she on about now?”.  What do I mean by “shine”?

Well, think about it. There will be music everywhere. Children’s choirs, high school bands, muzak, and….you.

You with your beautiful, enchanting harp.

You, with your lovely arrangements.

You – just another performer in a season that is full of performers and goes on and on and on.

So, how will you stand out? Of course, you will have the novelty of the harp. And that will be satisfying to your listeners for a few minutes. But it is what you do with it that will keep them captivated. And this is true whether it’s your first Christmas harping, or if you were there playing at the nativity!

You will play your best for them pa rum pum pum pum.  You need more – but what?  I’m so glad you asked – here are five ideas.

  1. Remember – the melody is the thing.  You may be working on an arrangement that looks like the most rhythmically complex arranger made a bet with the most lux chords arranger to generate an arrangement that uses all your fingers, toes, your nose and your friend’s fingers – but if it comes apart (from nerves, poor lighting, not enough preparation, or any of the other things that knock your playing) it doesn’t serve your audience.  Be sure to deliver the melody – on time, every time, even if you have to drop the harmony.  An amazing arrangement is great, but it’s the melody that’s the show – the melody is the thing – deliver the goods.
  2. Learn some cool stuff, but include the traditional old favorites. I recently saw a statistic which indicated that over 90% of Americans celebrate Christmas, even though somewhere like only 40% identify as church going Christians. As humans, we crave traditional things, and we follow trends!  So, know your audience (as much as possible) and play for them. For every I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas have a Silent Night. And I’ll give a prize to the person who can explain to me why this hippopotamus song is so popular!
  3. Don’t forget the rest of your repertoire. Even though it’s holiday time, you can fill out your performance package with some non-holiday tunes. These give the advantage of being slightly more practiced, so if you hit a rough patch, playing these tunes will help you to refocus and settle back in before returning to Christmas. Distribute these tunes throughout the set list and keep the non-holiday portion of the list to about 25% or so of the total. The change up will revive your audience of the monotony of all holiday music, which happens – especially as we get closer to Christmas day.
  4. Add “pro” touches to the tunes. If you typically play trad, there aren’t a lot of intros, codas or bridges. But now, it’s holiday time and not everything is trad (or not the trad you usually play!). So, step up your game. Generate some intros. You don’t need to spring the tunes on the audience.  Intros are cues to your audience of what’s to come so they can be part of the music. Don’t let them all be church organ wonders (playing the last phrase before launching the tune). You can use a “catchy” phrase, a countermelody, a chord progression, or anything else that helps the audience be “in” on the tune as it starts.  Add a bridge to move between tunes that make good sets or pair up tunes that help lead from one to the other (my current favorite is to lead into Silent Night from a riff on Brahms’ Lullaby).  and don’t forget the coda to make sure everyone knows your about to wrap the tune.  Remember – you’re communicating with the audience so don’t bury the lead – let them be part of the conversation.
  5. End Big! Keep a standard that is a strong part of your repertoire for your close. I like We Wish You a Merry Christmas – it’s upbeat, comes in varying tempos and, like Auld Lang Syne, helps signal that we’re at the end of the event. This works well for a background gig and it also makes a great encore/stage return for a concert gig. Either way, if you can, practice it with volunteers “joining in” so you can get a feel for how it sounds/what it feels like when people start to sing along. Trust me, it will happen and the first time, you might as well be ready for it.

All of these elements will help make your set shine – like the lights on the tree. I’m sure you have great ideas too – what do you include to make your holiday music shine? Do you close with other tunes? Let me know in the comments!