Jenius Creations

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  • Need a last minute gift?

    Are you still looking for that special holiday gift?  Need something that doesn’t have to ship but will definitely delight?  Why not give the gift of travel and join us on the Harp the Highlands and Islands Tour in 2016!

    Love the idea of getting to see Scotland from an intimate perspective but not keen on playing the harp all week (or too afraid you won’t be “good enough”*)?  Join us on the Highlands and Islands Distillery Tour instead!

    We’ll have a great time no matter which trip you choose.  And if you book before the end of the year, enjoy discount pricing.  Feel free to contact me if you have questions.

    Wishing you all the best for Christmas –

    hope you got all the time you needed to play your harp!

    *pishposh – we have had people come along who’ve never played the harp before the Tour, so you’re destined to be good enough!

  • My tune a month goal

    Earlier this year I shared with you my goal to learn one new tune a month. I didn’t do as well as I had planned, for a variety of reasons. To be honest, I did better than it would seem but, because I didn’t keep good enough records, there are tunes not listed here that were in the challenge but I don’t remember what I didn’t know before! I did learn a lot though:

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    1. I learned that I have to write everything down! My new plan is to have a single planner/calendar/journal so I always have all the info I need at hand rather than a collection of tools which actually created more confusion.
    2. I did better some months than others….and that’s ok.
    3. I’m externally motivated – although I love to learn new tunes, I mostly get them into my head for specific events or activities…. I don’t just learn to learn….and that’s ok.
    4. Some of the tunes I learned:
    • Fair Maid of Barra
    • Caol Muile
    • Alan Friendly (comp. Corinna Hewat (to be fair, that was rocking along but I got sidetracked and it’s not strictly there yet, but I’ll get back to it because I love it!))
    • Don Oiche m’Bethel
    • The Wizard
    • The March of King of Laois (which I’m embarrassed to say I hadn’t learned earlier)
    • Atholl Highlanders (another I never really got into my hands)
    • Josephine’s Waltz ((Comp R. Tallroth) a tune all my friends play that I needed to catch up on)
    • Amazing Grace (I’m slightly embarrassed that I didn’t know this cold – but that’s been fixed)
    • Auld Lang Syne (another that I should have known but somehow had managed to not learn previously!)
    • I reprised and worked on a few tunes including Malcolm Ferguson, Banks of the Lossie, McIntosh’s Lament, and (given the date) a number of Christmas tunes I hadn’t played a lot before

    I need to set myself a challenge like this more often because it helped me focus and learn!

    Of course, it’s nearly a new year so I can get back down to the business of the plan for 2016! I have a good idea when I could start.

    How did you do on your goals?

  • Holiday Gift Giving

    “Blessed is the influence of one true, loving human soul on another” – George Elliott

    “When you play, never mind who listens to you.” ― Robert Schumann

    “Any fool can know. The point is to understand.” ― Albert Einstein

    These quotes jumped out at me – all by great artists – one painted with words, one with music and one with math.

    This is the time of year when many are emboldened to play out of their practice space. Many are perhaps more motivated than at any other time of the year. Which is convenient since there are so many more opportunities to play during the holidays of the shorter days.

    Picture1Be encouraged by the spirit of the season, the crispness of the air, the general openness of people to festive experiences. Share your music, your gift, and that little piece of yourself that you impart when you play for others.

    Share your energy – the influence of your loving human soul – to the extent you are comfortable (or maybe just a little farther from your comfort?).  Don’t worry about people listening to you – never mind who listens to you – but maybe share beyond the curtains and the cats. Don’t worry about being not perfect, about embarrassing yourself. You won’t – you’ll hear the compliments paid honestly, from people who are grateful for your sharing. Accept this praise not only of your music but also for touching someone else in a positive way. The compliment is them showing you that they understand.

    And what better gift can you give and receive at the holidays?

  • Beating back the monster

    It’s winter time again – and the weather can be the monster you’ll do battle with for at least the next few months.

    To do that battle you have to be ready to defeat the ravages of cold air, dry air, rain, snow, and fog. You have to be vigilant and careful. Not only is winter skin annoying, it can be dangerous. Dry, cracked skin breaches your defenses and leaves you vulnerable to getting sick. In addition, when your hands get dry and chapped they are painful which interrupts your playing. So, here are seven things you can do to help your skin defeat the winter weather monster:

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    – Wash up! You still need to keep your hands clean so be sure to wash up thoroughly. But in the winter, wash up as quickly as possible to avoid keeping your hands in the water any longer than necessary. Be sure to dry your hands thoroughly too, to avoid chapping.

    – If you’re a hand sanitizer user – buy a hydrating version rather than one with alcohol. Alcohol is drying and moisturizing sanitizer allows you to do two things at once (sanitize and moisturize).

    – Scrub up – exfoliation is good for your face, but it’s also great for your hands. You can make your own scrub by mixing honey or olive oil and sugar. Sloughing off the dead dry skin will allow your moisturizer to work better and will leave your hands feeling soft as well.

    – Moisturize – a lot! If necessary, put a bottle of hand lotion next to every soap dispenser! But don’t just put it there – use it. And don’t forget to put lotion not only on your hands but also up your wrists and forearms.

    – Dress up – when you’re going outside – wear your gloves. They can be fancy dress gloves but warm winter gloves will keep your hands warm which will ease their journey through winter.

    Dress up for bed! After you wash up and dry and moisturize your hands, you can also don gloves to “seal in” the moisture. One of the easiest (and warmest) ways to do this is to wear gloves to bed – you can buy inexpensive cotton gloves that are just the thing for this. And there’s nothing wrong with giving your bedtime the white glove treatment!

    – Moisturize on the inside. Drinking water is essential for so many things and one of those things is keeping you hydrated which also helps your skin make it through the winter more easily – drink water!

    Use these techniques to care for your hands so you can play comfortably throughout the winter.

  • Happy Thanksgiving!

    Hope you have a wonderful day of Thanksgiving – take a little time to play your harp!

  • It’s autumn and the leaves have all turned color from green to reds and yellows and now brown.  They are falling from the trees to the ground…and so, it’s time for the raking to begin.

    We, none of us, get younger.  And with year autumn that passes, raking those leaves may become more of a chore, leaving you sore for a while.  That soreness is from doing unaccustomed work – but it is also a result of not stretching after doing so.

    fallBut you can get sore from not stretching after work to which you are accustomed as well – that includes after practicing or performing.  Even daily practice takes work – from your whole body!  You should continue that work into a stretching routine which will not only reward you but will allow your muscles to rest and be prepared for the next practice session.

    Performing (even if for the curtains and the cat) adds stress which you will likely carry in your body. Therefore stretching is also important after each performance.  By adding a stretching phase to your practice time you will train yourself to do the stretches which will carry over into your performances.

    You will want to stretch your fingers and hands as well as your arms. But you know that.  You will also want to stretch your large muscles – the ones that hold you up on your bench and give you the scaffolding to hold yourself and your harp.  That means you’ll want to stretch your back, legs, buttocks, and abdomen.

    Adding a stretching routine will allow you to gracefully end your daily practice while doing yourself some good!

  • Celebrate Peace

    Today is Armistice Day, Veteran’s Day, Remembrance Day – no matter what it is called where you live, it is an opportunity to remember the fallen who gave their lives so we could enjoy ours in peace and freedom.

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    That seems like a good reason to give them their due through music. There are so many things you could do at this point –

    • You could commemorate the original armistice and play the tunes of the day – there were some great tunes written at that time including Keep the Home Fires Burning, It’s a Long Way to Tipperary, or Carry Me Back to Ol’ Virginnie
    • You could play music from other post war eras including anything from Irving Berlin
    • You could compose your own pieces
    • you could play in a number of places including a VA home or for a veteran’s group or another civic group
    • You could, of course, do nothing

    Just play – and enjoy that you can in peace!

  • Read widely

    I’ll read just about anything, even if, in general, I’m not that interested in the overall topic. I was recently reading an article in Men’s Health* magazine (see what I mean?) about Stephen Curry (basketball player).  Note, I’m not a huge basketball fan (ok, really, it’s my least favorite sport to play or watch). But this short article focused on how he worked hard to make it in his profession.

    Now you might think that professional basketball has nothing to do with playing the harp, but what he said resonated with me so I wanted to be sure you saw it.

    Apparently he wasn’t yet “basketball sized” as a freshman in high school so he had to work especially hard to get in to play (also, his father was a pro basketball player so you know that right off the bat he was going to have to be better than good to make the cut). It was what else he said that captivated me:

    Picture2He spent a long time dedicated to crafting his skills. He’s quoted as saying, “It’s still a work in progress but with anything, if you stick with it and keep working at it, eventually you’ll figure it out.”!!! This is a man, considered to be at the top of the heap in his profession, who understands that fundamentals are called that because they support everything else you do while performing.  And he also understands that development isn’t a “one and done” proposition but rather the result of steady, consistent, intelligent work.

    He also talked about doing specific things to make his practice harder than his performance – he practices on gravel so when he gets to the court, working the ball will be easier. This is the same as practicing in the dark, while people talk to you, on a scary carpet, in a variety of places, or some combination of these, so that when you’re in the gig you’re prepared and can play well.

    The other thing he said that really struck me was this, “You either put the work in and reap the benefits….or you try to take shortcuts….But it doesn’t work that way…” Yikes – so true! We all know that no one wants to play exercises, but they do have a direct impact on your later ability to play.

    The underpinnings of practice are the same, whether you play basketball or the harp. What you put in shows up in your results. The inverse is also true – if you don’t do the work, you’ll only get part of the way. This is true whether you are a full time professional, a part time professional, or an amateur content to play for the cats and the drapes.  Be as good as you can make yourself, know where you are going so you can get your hard work in and enjoy the rewards of good performance.

    *Men’s Health, November 2015

  • Daylight Savings Ends – Five Ways to Stay Motivated!

    Daylight Savings Time ends in the US on Sunday morning – don’t forget to set your clocks back and enjoy another hour of well deserved sleep.

    And get prepared because that early darkness at the end of the day can be extremely unmotivating – it will feel like you should be in bed when it is only 5pm! Yikes. In addition, it’s also the beginning of the “Curl up on the Couch with some Tea and a Cozy Throw” days which makes it so easy to flop down and watch TV or read a book. But you know that you need to practice and that every day you do not practice means it will be that much longer until you get where you want to be.

    Picture2So, here are five ways for you to stay motivated during the dark time –

    • Don’t wait until the end of the day to practice. It will be just as dark in the morning but changing it up might be just what you need to stay engaged and practicing!
    • Fool yourself. Add more lighting to your practice area to fool yourself into feeling like it’s not the middle of the night.
    • Plan your time. If you know what you’re going to do when you’re practicing, it won’t feel so much like it will never end!
    • If you can’t think of anything to work on, make something up (stretch yourself, prepare to play for a new audience, push yourself to grow).
    • Start with easy stuff you love…and then doing the hard work (exercises). Make it enticing to sit down, start with the fun (and then knuckle down!).

    If you can “fake it ‘til you make it” through the first few weeks, you’ll get through the tough end of daylight saving and you might even be well on your way to an even better holiday repertoire.

  • On the road to Nationals!

    I am so honored to have judged the Scottish Harp Society of America‘s 2015 US National Scottish Harp Championship!  In addition, it was exciting to have the opportunity to work with Seumas Gagne (the Distinguished Judge, friend, fab performer!) as well as the organizing coordinators of the Harp Competition at the Stone Mountain Highland Games.  And, of course, a special thank you to the Title Sponsor – Clan Currie Society whose generosity has significantly contributed to the success of the comp.

    So this week’s post is short while I continue to bask in the glow of having gotten to see some amazing talent, meet some new people, see old friends, play and share and laugh, and get hand cramps from my pathetic penmanship (or pencilmanship really!).  Concerts, fun, and of course, an EXCELLENT competition with a large field of competitors.

    What could be more fun?