but good friends have shared bad news and it has accumulated to drag down my heart.
So I will do those small things that will be soothing – to think on my friends, to wish on them some small measure of comfort, and
to sit with my harp, playing away any pain.
Sometimes you don’t need to practice – sometimes, you just need to play.
Popular activities return, including our Afternoon Tea, Directed and Creative Ensembles and a rousing round of Bach to the Drawing Board! While we have many “alumni” attendees, the warm, welcoming environment is open to new participants as well – join us, we’d love to have you!
The format tailored to you – no frustration. Workshops geared toward your proficiency and comfort level and you’ll experience three days filled with creativity and fun. Workshops cover diverse topics from learning to performance to composition and improvisation.
It’s about that time to plan your summer – especially your harp summer! Of course the best choice would be to join us in Scotland on the Harp the Highlands and Islands tour in September! But to be ready, I’d highly recommend you participate in the Ohio Scottish Arts School harp program.
This year’s instructors include the amazing Sue Richards, Ann Heymann (a must see for anyone interested in wire harp!) and Corrina Hewat. In addition, Charlie Heymann will be teaching those elements that make us better musicians not just better harpers.
From the OSAS website:
The Scottish Harp classes will focus on:
• Basic harp technique for beginners and intermediates.
• Repertoire at all levels, including tunes for competition sets.
• Scottish style, including ornaments, lilt, and dance types.
The nylon/gut harp classes will study Scottish dance music, airs, and songs, focusing on ornamentation, Scottish style, accompaniment, and learning by ear.
It has been a rough winter for just about everyone – temperatures going up and down, rain, snow, ice, more snow. Heater on, heater off, windows open, windows closed. All that change can be hard on your harp. You probably find your harp is out of tune more than “usual”. While all that is happening, don’t forget to check your regulation.
Regulation is a technical term for periodic maintenance for your harp. It keeps it in good working order (or playing order if you prefer!). Lever harp regulation is important and no less essential than it is for pedal harp. How often you need to regulate is determined by harp type (with pedal harps needing more frequent regulation than lever harps) and how often you play (with more played harps needing regulation more periodically). And if you are very picky about your tuning you might want your harp regulated more often. If your lever harp is needs regulation, you will notice that when you set your levers your sharps are not accurate or your naturals aren’t right. Your levers can be off in either direction (too sharp or too flat).
Not sure if you need regulation? Here’s a way to tell:
If your tuning with the levers set is not as accurate as it was with the levers off, you may need regulation. There are, of course, matters of degrees (how far off are they) and your tolerance for any variance. It is most likely that the levers you use the most will be the most affected (because you’re are always engaging and disengaging them, the bracket has more opportunity to move).
If you do need regulation, you can do it yourself, although I recommend you go to your luthier. If you decide to do it yourself, I suggest you find more experienced harpers who do their own regulation and ask for help and guidance before doing it yourself – it requires patience and calm.
Regulation is a small maintenance activitiy that will allow you to enjoy your harp as well as making it “healthier” so you can play it longer. Stay regular my friends!
* you can do the same procedure to check your pedal harp regulation
People who have stage fright often think that the people they see on stage are different. That the people on stage don’t have any anxiety about being up there, in the spotlight, the object of the attention of all the people in the audience. Boy are they wrong!
The only difference is that the people on the stage have mastered looking calm. I don’t know a single performer who doesn’t have some level of anxiety about performing. Granted the level of anxiety and come of the symptoms are different, but everyone feels it.
The other difference is that performers have, one way or another, overcome the anxiety. That is because the reward is too great to miss. However, if you haven’t overcome the terror, you don’t know what you’re missing [it is also possible that it isn’t a reward to you!]. If you have set yourself the challenge to overcome your stage fright, there are a few steps you can take:
And don’t go too fast – give yourself time to adapt…and enjoy the process!
We all play our harps for our own reasons – we love the feel, we love the creativity, we love to perform, etc. But sometimes we need more. Sometimes we need to give back, to help others, to do more. You can use your harp in service – and the harp is an excellent way to do that. Here are three ways you can give back with your harp.
