Jenius Creations

Blog

  • It wouldn’t be summer without OSAS!

    The summer really gets started with the Ohio Scottish Arts School or OSAS, presented by the Scottish American Cultural Society of Ohio at Oberlin College in Oberlin, OH. Each summer, for one week, the residents of this small college town get the joy of nearly continuous harp music (as well as pipe, fiddle, and dance music with drumming too!).

    This year marks the 39th OSAS and it will be held June 24-30, 2017.  Really enhance the experience and kick off with participation in the Ohio Scottish Games the 23rd in Wellington, OH.

    Coming to OSAS can be nearly a pilgrimage with some participants returning annually! The days are filled with learning tunes from stellar instructors in the aural tradition, lectures from those same instructors on other related and fascinating topics, and a little processing time to relax or practice. It’s harpharpharp! The evenings are filled with fun with the others jamming and sharing tunes we’ve learned, enjoying the evening air, snacks, and each evening also has a special event – the Instructor Concert, the Variety Show, every night, something wonderfully different and all OSAS.

    If you’ve been to OSAS before, you’re calculating how you’re going to get there this summer. If you’ve never been to OSAS before – you cannot conceive how much you are going to learn, how much fun you’re going to have, how much you are going to bore your non-OSAS friends with stories when you get home – for months! You will laugh, you will work hard, you will have a great time, and you’ll start counting down to your next OSAS experience the day you get home.

    For all the details go to http://ohioscottishartsschool.com/

    • Photos shamelessly stolen off the OSAS website – I’m always having too much fun to stop and take pictures!

  • First Harp Quest this summer!

    Change is good

    For 21 years we have enjoyed Harp Camp, first Marianna and Kris, and then later me too. Every year we used the feedback we got from participants the previous year to modify our offering, always with an eye to making it better.  We know how much the people who came enjoyed it and how much fun we have putting it together – but we felt it was time to make a bigger change – a shift.  We realized that while Camp is a fun thing to look forward to happening in the summer, our lives with our harps set us on a QUEST!  Our quests are each different as we seek to learn what our harp is there to teach us.

    So, in 2017, we begin a new journey – a new HARP QUEST.  Plan to join us for our new Journey – becoming what we’re meant to be.

    Harp Quest will remain easily accessible to harpers from anywhere and at any level.  Our focus will be a short and intense experience that we will each take with us into the coming months and years – perhaps not fully appreciating what we have learned until much later.  But secure in knowing that we will get there – each of us.  And we’ll make part of the journey together!

    Harp Quest will occur in the beautiful and bucolic valleys of South Central PA 11 – 13 August.  The setting is pastoral and relaxing – just the thing to learn and grow and go a little farther on the road we travel.

    Kris and I will be your Guides.  We are both looking forward to a very personalized time of sharing and learning.  We will have fun, support one another, and work together to get as much from our lever harps as we can!  We will expand technical skills and exercise our brains.  As always, we will work on building healthy self-esteem and encourage ourselves to try new things.  We start where we are and build on that. We’ll work individually and together experiencing three days of creativity, sharing, and fun.

    A Quest requires a small but mighty band – space is limited.  We’re looking forward to traveling with you!  For more information or a reservation form, Contact us.

  • Summertime…and the learning’s easy….

    It is time to plan your summer harp activities! Each year I share with you summer harp events that I enjoy and get a lot from attending. So this year – let’s start with the Somerset Folk Harp Festival.

    Wide ranging and diverse, the offerings at Somerset are top notch. With presenters from well-known icons including Debra Hensen-Conant and Kim Robertson as well as perennial favorites Grainne Hambly and William Jackson – what’s not to love?!?

    Somerset’s diverse offerings assure that, no matter where you are on your harp journey, you will learn something. With an immense exhibit hall, concerts, workshops, and a new venue, you will have to see it to believe it. And as a very well attended festival, you’re going to see old friends and make some new ones! You’ll also be up close and personal to some major “harp heroes” so how could you miss that chance?!

    There are over 30 presenters offering workshops in a number of areas including jazz, Celtic, Latin, technique, and more.  The theme is Narrow your Focus, Expand your Horizon.  There are four days of content so you can really immerse yourself. And of course, there are the concerts! All included in your registration!

    Are you thinking, “Well, I’m just a beginner and I’d be too intimidated”, I say to you – pish posh! Workshop descriptions include a level so you can go into those with which you are most comfortable. In addition, workshops are hands on (you need your harp), demonstration (watch the tutor play), or lecture (no one plays you just learn!) so you’ll know before you go!

    And I hope you’re not thinking that you could just jump online and get the same content?  While there are some good online opportunities, nothing will push you along your own harp lifeline like being in a room (or an entire hotel) of harpers learning not just in the workshops but in the hallways, over coffee, at lunch – you can’t beat IRL* for becoming a better harper – after all, that’s where the music happens!

    Don’t miss the early registration discount – but you’ll need to act fast!  Early Bird registration closes 1 May which is right around the corner. Check out the website for all the information you need but be sure you get there! http://www.somersetharpfest.com/index.html

    *IRL – in real life, for those of you who spend less time online and more time IRL!

     

  • Now, get out there!

    So, now you know things you can do to be more prepared for the competition season – don’t you want to put that to use?  There are a number of opportunities including the following Scottish Harp Society of America 2017 competitions:

    April 29: Celtic Society of Southern Maryland Celtic Festival Harp Competition (St. Leonard, MD) http://www.cssm.org/events/festival/competitions/highland-harping/.  Judge: Sue Richards, Coordinator: Jen Narkevicius (harp (at) cssm.org)

    May 6: 1ST Annual Scottish & Welsh+ HARP DAY (SWHD) Harp Competition (Fredericksburg, VA) http://www.shsa.org/event/swhd.  Judge: Sue Richards, Coordinator: Marilyn Newman (www.swHarpDay.org)

    June 24:  Ohio Scottish Games (Wellington, OH) http://www.ohioscottishgames.com/competitions, Judge: Therese Honey, Coordinator: Linda Phillips (lphillips50 (at)frontier.com)

    July 8: Grandfather Mountain Highland Games (MacRae Meadows (Linville) NC) http://www.gmhg.org/homepage.shtml and http://www.gmhg.org/harp.htm.  Judge: Jen Narkevicius, Coordinator: Moire Lattamore

    July 14 – 16: Minnesota Scottish Harp Weekend (Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN) http://minnesotascottishharp.org/.  Judge: Seumas Gagne, Coordinator: Emily Taege (

    September 9: US NATIONAL SCOTTISH HARP CHAMPIONSHIP(TM) Edinboro Highland Games (Edinboro, PA) http://www.edinboro.edu/events/highland-games/. Judges TBA, Coordinator: Maia Chisholm.  Title Sponsor: Clan Currie Society

    September 23: Ligonier Highland Games (Ligonier, PA) http://www.ligonierhighlandgames.org/scottish-harping.html.  Judge: TBA, Coordinator: Melanie Sandrock

    October 8: Scotland Connecticut Highland Games (Scotland, CT) http://scotlandgames.org/, information TBA

    October 21 – 22: Stone Mountain Highland Games (Atlanta, GA) http://www.smhg.org/harping.php, Judge: TBA, Coordinators: (harping (at)smhg.org)

    October 29: Central Virginia Celtic Festival (Richmond, VA) http://vacelticfestival.com/?page_id=237, Judge: TBA, Coordinator: Beth Dechent edechent (at) gmail.com

    All of this information is correct as of posting to the best of my knowledge. If you are interested in participating in or attending these events, please check the websites and/or contact the coordinator for updated information.

  • Preparing for Competition – Mind

    When you decide to compete you will need to prepare! While you might think, “Oh, I’ll just plop myself down here,” you’ll feel so much more confident (and play so much better) if you spend some time getting ready ahead of time. How much time? Well, that depends on you!

    There are three areas in which to focus to maximize your time – Music, Body and Mind, this week – look at your Mind!

    So here’s where the competition really occurs – in your head! On the day, will you feel ready? What are you really concerned about?  Keep in mind that most of our music is from inside our heads so your preparation (or lack thereof) will show – mostly to you!

    Be honest about why you are competing. Is it very important to you that you win? Or do you just want to acquit yourself respectably? Are you focused on your performance or everyone else’s? Check in with your ego before the day so you can be prepared for any outcome…and learn from it.

    Remember that the judge is looking forward to hearing you play and will share any gems to help your development as a musician – no one is looking badger you (unless you intend to do that to yourself – which is not very helpful).

    Don’t forget that this is one day. Whether you play a personal best or instead are humbled to learn your fingers seem to have developed contrary minds of their own that have embarked on a petite version of the Hundred Years War with one another, tomorrow is another day….

    Enjoy (and practice looking forward to) the social and fun atmosphere of being with other harpers. Cheer them on and look forward to learning new tunes, meeting new people, laughing, smiling, and learning from the comments you get.

    It’s just a competition – not an audition. It won’t decide your fate for eternity. Live a little, laugh a lot, love your harp! See you out there!

  • Preparing to Compete – Body

    When you decide to compete you will need to prepare! While you might think, “Oh, I’ll just throw on a kilt and sit down to play”, you’ll feel so much more poised if you spend some time getting ready ahead of time.

    Of the three areas in which to focus to maximize your time – Music, Body and Mind, this week – it’s your body*

    While competing isn’t running a marathon, being physically prepared certainly helps!

    Work on your bench stamina – if you can’t sit on your bench comfortably for longer than it will take to play your competition set, you may need to improve your stamina. You won’t be sitting on the stage for very long (although it might feel like it) but the time you have spent on the bench practicing will help you get settled and comfortable more quickly which may help you be more comfortable as you start to play.

    Practice all the movements – we spend a lot of time practicing our technique like closing our fingers appropriately and sitting up strait by also practice breathing while playing, relaxing between notes, gesturing (but not wildly – please, you’re not Liberace!), sitting without slouching, walking on stage without schlumping, and smiling! All of these things will come more easily if you practice them – just like the music itself!

    Variety – try to practice in different locales to become used to changes in lighting, temperature, furniture layout, and sound qualities. This will help you be more focused and comfortable when you make ready to play your comp set. Practicing in your stage clothing will also allow you to get used to it (or change it before it makes you crazy!).  Definitely practice sitting down in a kilt!

    General stamina – no matter how you cut it, competition day is long! It is also a total disruption of your regular routine. Add that disruption to the excitement of competing and you will be better able to enjoy the day if you are in better physical condition. You don’t need an arduous workout – just get some exercise each day. If not for your heart, then for your art!

    Practice enough to feel confident in your skin and you’ll have moved yourself more of the way there! Next time – preparing your Mind to compete.

    * I’m not a physician or a fitness expert, these statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and this product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, malady, disorder, problem, difficulty, trouble, woe or ill. Quit whining and go back to practicing!

  • Preparing to Compete – Music

    When you decide to compete you will need to prepare! While you might think, “Oh, I’ll just throw out a few tunes”, you’ll feel so much more confident (and play so much better) if you spend some time getting ready ahead of time. How much time? Well, that depends on you!

    There are three areas in which to focus to maximize your time – Music, Body and Mind. This week it’s the Music

    Before you even begin to consider tunes – read the rules! Nothing is more frustrating that talking to competitors on the day of a competition only to discover they have prepared tunes that don’t meet the rules – wrong tune types, not enough tunes for the category, too many of the same type of tune, etc. It’s disheartening! But I can guarantee you that every competition has rules – and that they all state that in the end, the competitor is responsible for reading and complying with them!

    Learn your music – unless you have an iron ego, most of us would prefer to play our best and that requires actually knowing the music we intend to play. Be sure you actually know the tunes – otherwise when you sit you will activate that switch in the bench – you know the one that empties your brain as soon as you start to play? Yup, that switch.

    Consider a backup plan – having prepared at least two sets of music that conform to the rules can be very freeing. This backup plan means that if for some reason you have a crisis of confidence with a particular tune on the day of the competition, you can shift to your other set. Just knowing that makes you feel more confident and gives you flexibility to play whatever feels right that day (or to switch when everyone before you plays the same tune – don’t laugh, I’ve seen it happen!).

    Practice enough to feel confident with the music itself and you’ll be most of the way there! Next time – preparing your Body to compete.

  • Competition – Seven reasons it may be bad for you

    In an effort to be fair and balanced, this week let’s talk about how competition can be bad for your harp playing. One reason is that people who don’t like to compete are very vocal about it! I’d like to thank Kate for sharing her thoughts on this – and her permission to incorporate those thoughts.

    There are reasons to not compete and here are seven of them. I’m sure there are more – feel free to share your reasons.

    1. Not everyone finds it fun. And really, why play at all if it isn’t fun?
    2. It can be limiting (do you only learn things or practice in preparation for a comp?) There is so much music, why limit yourself to what adheres to the rules?
    3. It may highlight things you might not want to know about yourself – like the possible need to work on fear of failure or performance anxiety. Or a lack of preparation that might arise from not practicing enough.
    4. It might drive you away from needed hard work – if you think you can only be ready in time if you skip warm-ups, exercises, and etudes so you can focus on comp tunes, does that really serve you?
    5. It may make you focus on everyone else rather than on your performance (against a standard or against your own growth) – and that won’t serve you well.
    6. There are plenty of ways to share music without force fitting your music six minutes on stage! If you do need to work on performing you can play for your cat, at a local elementary school, at a library, for your church or civic group, for a bunch of friends – the list is long and the audiences are appreciative!
    7. It may divert your focus away from spending more time being creative, exploring your music and yourself.  Enjoy the time at your harp, and breathe.

    So, don’t let anyone bully you into competing unless you want to! Work toward your own goals, your own growth areas, your own challenges. Popular online just now is the quote from Zenkei Shibayama, “The flower does not think of competing to the flower next to it, it just blooms.” So don’t compete, just bloom!

  • Competition – Seven Reasons it’s Good for You

    If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, then you know that I’m a big advocate for competition – and especially for Scottish Harp Society of America (SHSA) competitions. Some of you have told me that you don’t agree and I can respect that – but many of you don’t know why I think competitions are good. I don’t just think they are good, I think they are good for you! Here are seven ways that competition is good for you:

    1. It helps you monitor your progress against goals. Why learn a strathspey? So you can play it in competition! Why have two sets of tunes – so you can select the one you feel best about on the day you have to play them.
    2. It gives you an outlet – you do all that hard work practicing, it’s nice to have a safe place to play the tunes you worked so hard to get.
    3. It provides you with social engagement with like-minded harpers. It’s always interesting to meet and talk with other harpers and the shared preparation means you have built in conversation starters!
    4. SHSA competitions are structured so you know what you’re going against. The rules and the standard are posted so everyone can see them and you compete against the standard, not against everyone else.  The competition is about you.
    5. It gives you just a little bit of pressure to work under which often helps improve our performance.
    6. Competition helps you develop performance skills in front of and behind the harp. You will not only have to play your pieces, you’ll have to introduce the music and yourself…and of course, you have to walk onto the stage!
    7. You will learn a lot! Not only will you meet new people and seek out new tunes, you’ll also get to hear how tunes have been interpreted, learn something about the tunes, and hear some great music. And, of course, you’ll learn more about yourself!

    So, as the competition seasons gears up, consider entering – it’s good for you!

  • Some lessons are easy!

    I’ll say something more verbose next week – after I’ve finished seeking inspiration.