Everyone knows you have to tune.

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Any sentence that starts with “everyone knows…” typically includes something that actually only a few people know and possibly even fewer understand.  So, why do you have to tune?

Tuning serves many functions, some aesthetic, others functional.  Let’s start with the aesthetic.

The harp makes a beautiful warm rich sound that we enjoy.  Tuning is one of the many elements of achieving that tone.  If your strings are not each in tune, the sound of each string will “fight” with the sounds of the other strings.  This is not pleasant to hear.  Even being off by a hair (as indicated by the needle and lights on your tuner) will be noticeable.  And the more off your strings, the easier it is to detect that you’re not in tune.  And of course, you will instantly sound better if you are in tune!

We habitually tune to an A of 440Hz.  This is a convention – you can tune to any frequency you choose (e.g., Highland pipers tune A to about 470 – which is just about our Bb!).  We elect to tune to A440 (just like a lot of other instruments) which allows us to come together as a group and play (or to play with other instruments).  Be sure to check that your tuner is calibrated to A440 or you’ll be in for a nasty surprise!

 
Now for the functional.  Each harp is designed with specific tensions in mind.  The harp maker goes through a great deal of work to develop the shape and sound of the harp and these calculations all account for the specific tension of each string as well as the overall forces of all the strings working together.  Keeping your harp in tune will keep all the strings at their appropriate tensions and will allow the harp to work together as the harp maker designed it.
 
And perhaps my favorite reason for regular tuning.  Frequent tuning improves two things.  First, the more you tune (read “practice tuning”) the better you will be at it (does this sound familiar?).  Second, the more you tune, the better the strings will stay in pitch.  Tuning the strings helps to “train” them so they require less tuning.  Frequent tuning makes you more accurate and faster at tuning so you can get to playing!
 
We will spend a couple of weeks talking about tuning because I have found that for something “everyone knows” many people are confused and a little afraid (or just plain tired of having to change out broken strings).

Risky Business

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No matter how many times you might step in front of an audience, it is always a little stressful.  There is a lot on the line, whether you are playing to put someone to sleep or getting up on a concert hall stage – especially if it’s just you and your harp. 

Why is it stressful?  Because you are taking a risk!  It might not, on the surface, be as dangerous as we typically think of risky behavior, but there you are, taking a risk. And we learn from very early not to take risks!
One of the good things about leading a double life is that you have twice as much material to work with!  I was talking with a colleague about risk taking – he was talking about Alpine skiing racing (literally – he started his skiing career in the Alps!).  He’s even published work on this area: http://www.academie-air-espace.com/publi/newDetail.php?varID=180.  But I started thinking immediately about performing. 

We can take a page from the book of risk takers – the tightrope walkers, skiing racers, mountaineers, and others.  What do professional risk takers do to minimize the risks they take?  Well there are many things, but here are three to start with – you can use them to improve your comfort when you step on stage:

1. Preparation – successful risk takers are prepared.  They do not proceed unless they are prepared.  They spend a great deal of time and attention to assuring that everything they need they have.  You must also be prepared –know what “being prepared” means to you (determine what your comfort will require you to do), do not be bullied into performing before you are ready, perhaps schedule in “growing” time to perform for small, unthreatening groups (you might go from performing for your cat, to then performing for your sister, before venturing out to your church or other larger audience).

 2. Routine – develop, practice and solidify a routine.  The experienced risk taker understands that an established routine allows not only assurance that all is well beforehand but it also frees up time for your brain to do the heavy work you are going to ask of it while you are performing.  You need a routine – pack up and set up your harp in a particular order, use a checklist if you need one, practice your set list, in that order, etc.  Routine also allows you to reduce your worry (because it can improve your preparation) which allows you to focus on the music rather than on your fear.
 
3. Connectivity with people – Successful risk takers work collaboratively with other people.  This connectivity provides not only support but also feedback.  Build your connectivity with other harpers – you’re not in this alone.  Find a teacher, mentor, friend who will provide you with honest, kind, usable feedback to improve your performance.  Build what you learn from their feedback into your preparation and routine.  And to build your connection – be willing to share what you know with other harp players.

Go on – take a risk!

Are you out there?

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I’d like to take a moment to thank you for reading and following my blog. I hope you’ve gotten something for your efforts! I enjoy sharing what I know (or sometimes don’t know) with you. And I look forward to your questions and comments as well.

But sometimes, you’re very quiet and I then I feel fairly lonely. So I ask you to let me know –

Which posts of you enjoyed the most?

Which posts have you enjoyed the least?

What would you like to know more about?

What topics you are interested in seeing?

What content you are interested in?

What other blogs do you read?

Do you check in, or are you a subscriber?

Other comments or questions you might have?
Please leave a comment below.  I look forward to your feedback, and working with your suggestions. Thanks for being a great community!

Hang out with people who play better than you do.

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Every once in a while it is gratifying to be the most accomplished person in the room.  But the good news that it doesn’t last!  There is a lot of pressure on you when that happens.  So, the remedy is to hang out with people who are more accomplished than you are – or as we say colloquially, people who are better than we are!

Why? Because research shows that hanging out and playing with people who are better than you are will raise your game and help you develop.  Playing with them makes you be better because you have to work hard to try to keep up.

 

Those better players may be other harpers but it is also possible that they will be playing some other instrument.  Either way, you always have a lot to learn, so get in there!

It can be daunting (trust me, I know!) but it can also be exhilarating and just plain fun!  It is intimidating but if offered the opportunity, take it!  Don’t let your insecurity get in your way. Don’t second guess yourself or fill yourself with fear.  Take it as it comes, enjoy the time (it will be fleeting), and learn as much as you can from the experience.  Use what you learn to make yourself better. 
And when the day comes that you are the most accomplished person in the room, share with the same grace others have shown you – and make someone’s day!

Get back to your harping

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The summer is, for all intents and purposes, over.  The kids are back in school, everyone is back on a tighter schedule, the days are noticeably shorter and (at least in some places) starting to be cooler.  You might have spent less time at your harp while you enjoyed the beautiful summer.

But cooler days have the potential to mean more time to be at your harp.  There it sits, all gorgeous and beckoning.  But just like getting the kids out the door early is a challenge at the beginning of the school year, getting back to your harp after a summer holiday can be difficult.

Autumn means returning to schedules – often tightly choreographed schedules.  That schedule thing can really get you, making you realize how much you have left to get done in the (noticeably shorter) day.  You have to fit practicing in – you know you’ll be getting the inevitable holiday requests sooner than you are ready.  You have a tool to help you, you just have to use it. 

To get more out of your time at the harp, use your calendar to your advantage.  Here are four ways to help you get your practice time in, reduce the “it’s a chore” feeling, and make some progress:


1. Mark it down – write practice time on your calendar.  Just like you would any other appointment.

2. Make it a priority – sitting to your harp is good for your physically and mentally so make (and keep) that appointment with yourself.  Don’t cheat yourself – make your harp time a priority.  Does your time at the harp rates above other pressing tasks like washing the newspaper or reading the dog.

3. Plan ahead – spend a little time planning what you will do when you get to your harp.  What do you need to practice?  What do you want to work on?  What deadlines do you have coming up?  Make sure you have a little time to work on those things you need to work on.  And don’t forget to have fun – it shouldn’t be all work!

4. If it can’t be a priority, make peace with that – there are times where other things are more pressing, or we make them more important, or we allow them to take more of our time. That’s ok, but accept that and work with it.  If your harp priority has shifted lower, for any reason, do not beat yourself up about not practicing, just acknowledge that right not you will spend less harp time each day and accept the loss you will experience (in tune memory, in technique, in strength, etc.). 

After all, you’ll get back to your harp…when the time is right!

End of Summer

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Happy Labor Day!  Whether you’re celebrating or simply watching the waning summer – enjoy the holiday and take your harp to the beach (or at least think about it!).

Pomegranate Orange Tuttifruity Cola – mix it up

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Have you seen those new Coke machines? The one where you can craft your own soda?  You can pick any flavor you like, just about – and make up your own combinations. You can mix flavors and get something new. Or you can get the same thing every time.

I know what I like. I like it a lot. I get it over and over again.

It’s easy to do the same thing with our music.  Once we finally learn a tune (once we have taken smaller bites!) we can really settle in and enjoy the fruits of our labor. Sometimes, we have so much fun playing a tune we have (finally!) gotten that we practically play it to death. In fact, sometime we will play it until other people are ready to pull their own ears off – just because we are so enjoying that feeling you get when you finally have it down!

We often will do the same thing with our arrangements. We will use the same basic patterns, chord structures, phrasing, and expression. After all, we know we like, we know we can do, we know were comfortable with.

But sometimes “same old same old” just isn’t good enough anymore. Every once in a while we need to mix it up. We have to leave the flavor of the month, whatever it is that makes us so very comfortable, and try something new.  Set some time aside in your practice to come up with some new flavors – you might find something surprising…that you like even better!

Teaching is the best way to learn

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Learning tunes is one of those never-ending challenges. The matter how many you learn not only are there thousands more, but great composers keep generating new ones! Although we know we will never get to the end and learn every tune ever, we keep trying.

But what do we mean when we say learn a tune? Do we mean that we have gotten it down enough that we can (barely) keep up at a session? Do we mean we have a down well enough to play to an audience? Do we mean we have it down well enough to never forget it (by the way – no such thing!)?

We sometimes fool ourselves by thinking we know a tune cold. But, how cold is cold? If you want to know if you actually know a tune, try teaching it to someone else.
 
You may make the mistake of starting to teach the tune off the top your head. This will quickly fail you. To be able to teach the tune, you have to know it – really know it. You have to learn not just the notes, but also the structure, the phrases, how the parts fit together. You will be well served to know which pieces are in the A part and appear again in the B part. Or what motif underlies every phrase? What is the underlying theme? Where will you be going? From where?

These types of analyses of the tune will impact how you choose to teach it. Really doing this work will allow you to teach the tune more easily. And all of this is exactly what you need to do… to learn it in the first place!

Listen!

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As musicians, we strive to develop our skills, to improve our technique, our repertoire, our span of knowledge. We want to get better – typically we are working on our ability to perform. Whether we are renowned for our performance on the world stage, or simply playing to amuse our cat, we work to be worth listening to.

But how often do we listen? Be honest.
Do we take the time to really hear ourselves? Do we actually really listen to others when they play? I don’t mean the listening where you relax and let the sound wash over you (even though that is one of the benefits of playing our beautiful instrument, but that’s not what we mean here).

Involved listening is another skill that we must develop. This is an essential skill. Whether you are solely ear trained, solely paper trained, or somewhere in between. It is from this type of all attentive listening that you learn important elements like phrasing, ornamentation, style, and expression. And like every other skill, you can build your involved listening. Here are four things you can do to get better at involved listening.
  • Focus. You can spend all day listening, but if you don’t pay attention, you won’t actually hear anything. Take the time to focus on what you’re listening to.
  • Think. What are you listening to? Are you hearing the melody? The harmony? A particular phrase? Think about captures your attention and decide if that’s what you want to focus on.
  • Pause. Remember that music is a communication so the pauses are almost as important as the sounds. Listen for those pauses. What do they mean? What do you want them to mean?
  • Reflect. Now that you’ve listened to the tune that you’re interested in. You have to think about how you’re going to make it yours. Reflect on what you’ve listened to and how your to bring it out and you.

Being involved with your music by truly listening will allow you to become a better musician as well as appreciating other people’s music all the more.

This is harder than it looks

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I just got a fancy new software package. It’s perfect for me – now instead of typing on my keyboard, I just talk to my computer.  It really isn’t hard.   Except now it is.  I’m having to learn to do things completely differently. My little machine listens to me and dutifully writes down everything I say.

This is a problem. You see, I’m not used to saying aloud what I’m trying to write. And actually, it’s quite challenging to write while you’re talking – this is very different.  When I’m typing it just comes out.  I can correct it on the fly (of course when I’m typing the computer isn’t trying to guess what I said or how to spell it either!).  So, I am going to learn how to do something new. It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be.

How many times do we think this when we’re learning a tune? We think it should be easy. It’s an easy tune. Everybody else learned it really quickly. It’s not that complicated! I should be able play this. 🙁

 

And yet sometimes we run into tunes that make us do things differently. Sometimes what is easy, isn’t. It might look easy on paper. It might have been easy for the person next to us in the workshop.  But it’s just not coming together for us. We’ve all been there – we don’t like being there, but we’ve been there. And so what are we supposed to do?
 
Here are three things we can do to make it easier (whether it’s learning a tune, or how to type by talking):
 
1. Take it slowly. Whether the tune is simple or if the software says you can use it right out of the box, we need to give ourselves the time to absorb what it is were trying to learn. Zorching off as fast as we possibly can, because “it’s easy,” just makes us frustrated. Take your time. (Yes, I am always exhorting you to slow down…because, usually, this is the solution!)
 
2. Think –  what about the tune is challenging. It’s not likely the entire thing is hard for you. It is more likely that there is just one thing that you’re struggling with. Take the time to examine what’s giving you a hard time and see if you can parse that into smaller elements that you can work on independently. Once you have those down, fit it into the rest of the music – slowly.
 
3. Quit worrying about whatever everyone else is doing. I saw recently a really good quote that said something about never forgetting that you only see other people’s “highlight reels” while you focus on your own “bloopers”.  Mostly people won’t own up the having a hard time…they’re too worried about what everyone else will think…but really – no one else cares. So forget the litany in your own head about how you’re never going to get it and realize nobody else will admit that. Get over it and get back to work.