Teaching helps make you a better learner.

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When you are in a workshop, the instructor seems to have the easiest bit of the day – that person already knows the tune – it’s the participants that are trying desperately to learn the music being shared.  But is it actually easier to teach than to learn?  And what could be more fun than sharing a tune so you’ll have more people to play it with?  To get to that point, you’ll have to teach it!
Still, many of us have experienced the very real challenges that teaching to someone else poses.  Trying to share a tune with someone else highlights just how well we know it ourselves.  To teach a tune, you have to have a complete understanding of the tune. Well, at least it helps.
And so, sharing a tune with someone else will help you make sure you have that tune down rock solid.  If you want to teach it well you will also have to think through all the patterns, the fingerings, and the intervals.  You will have had to think about the phrases, how they related to one another, how many there are, how similar or different they are to one another, and whether those phrases are reminiscent of other tunes (thus, of course, increasing the confusability quotient!).
Wouldn’t be easier if you started out that way?  What if you took approach learning the tune as though you will turn around and teach it?  To get to that, you’ll have to be sure to really look and really listen.  Find the patterns or repeats, note how many phrases there are, look at their structure.  And think from early on how you’re going to teach it on to someone else – soon!

Join us on the Journey!

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Summer is coming fast and you are probably planning your vacation.  I really hope you choose to join us in September for the 2014 Harp the Highlands and Islands tour!
See breathtakingly beautiful Scotland with us – we are planning a great time for all.  Whether you are a harp player, play another small traditional instrument, or just appreciate Scottish music, you’ll enjoy a wonderful time.
Each year we build on the previous outings leveraging the resounding success of our previous Harp and the customized Scottish Highlands tours. We include music of course, but also history, stories and anecdotes that enhance your visit and make the scenery come alive!

We have expanded the tour this year to encompass the magnificent route through to the west coast of Scotland, the source of so many wonderful tunes.  And we are so excited to be able to be working with the Cromarty Arts Trust to offer you the opportunity to expand your trip and add on participation in the Harp Village.

This will be a veritable musical feast – I hope you’ll come along.  Details and additional information on www.jeniuscreations.com/

Just bloom

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You know I like to get inspiration wherever it appears…and recently I found this quote (I found it online – who knows who said it) –

A flower does not think of competing 
with the flower next to it.   
It just blooms.
It’s a good lesson…and one we could all stand to learn and review every day.  We often compare ourselves to other people…and often for no reason, or worse, for the wrong reasons.  Here are four reasons why you should just knock it off…and use that energy for something else – like practicing so you can be a good as you can be!

  1. Often you are wrong – you are not comparing yourself to that other person, but rather to what you think that person is.  You are working on an illusion and there’s no way you can compare to something that doesn’t exist!
  2. You’re missing out. When you are comparing yourself to others, you may be so worried that they’ll find out that you think you’re not as good as they are.  And that’s when you miss out, that you’re not open to learning from them.  Whether they are more experienced than you (or whatever it is that makes you think they are better than you) or just appear more confident – just think about what you could learn from them if you were open to it.
  3. You’re missing out of the fun of playing if you spend all your time and energy worrying.
  4. Eleanor Roosevelt may have said it best, “you wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.”

If you need objective quality evidence – record yourself each year.  At about the same time each year, record what you’ve been working (I like the holidays – you’re likely to be playing the same music each year and then you can really hear you far you have come!).

The person you can compare yourself to successfully is – you.  Look at how far you have come.

I know I should be chipper…

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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.

Harp Camp 2014!

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Kris and I had a great weekend laughing and playing and planning Harp Camp 2014.  This is the 19thyear and we are really looking forward to our annual event in Southeastern Pennsylvania!
This year’s theme is “The Game of Music” – we will be having fun, playing games.  Of course, our games will be fun ways to learn those things that help us be better musicians.  Harp Camp is always fun with a very small group size that allows us to make it highly personalized in a supportive environment.  Lever harp players at all levels get the opportunity to extend technical skills…and have fun.

 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.

Harp Camp space is limited – this allows our class sizes to remain small – giving our attendees the personnel attention for which we are known. 
Come out to play with us at Harp Camp 2014!  You’ll have a blast and will learn a lot as well!  Click here for more information.

Summer is coming!

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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.

 
Ann Heymann leads the class for wire strung and historical harps (bray harps welcome) and Charlie Heymann leads an afternoon “band class” for all instruments.
 
Afternoons will include lectures, practice time, and playing in sessions. Classes will be available for beginners who have played for a few months, intermediates, and advanced players. 
 
Returning in 2014: An incredible option to assemble, finish and string your own 27 string wire harp (assisted by Charlie). Please contact Ann for details: annheymann@gmail.com
 
Evening jam sessions offer students the chance to develop accompaniment patterns and learn more tunes.
 
You will have a great time and will learn more than you thought possible – hope to see you there!

Greet the day

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I had the extreme good fortune to be a guest at Holy Cross Monastery this week for a harp retreat with old friends and other friends I hadn’t met before.  It is a lovely place in a beautiful location.  The weather was crap.  Gray.  Drizzly.  Misty.  It was perfect!

Of a morning, I greeted the dawn and was treated to the type of daybreak that only arises from awful weather – a breathtaking, gorgeous, extended crowning of the sun over the earth. 

The great thing about sunrise is that it can’t be rushed.  No matter how many you see (and I do my best to see as many as possible) each is beautiful in its own way and comes in its own time.  And no matter what you do, they simply are.  All you can do…is breathe…and wait for it…and enjoy.

Which is good for us to remember – we must sometimes take the time to simply be.  To breathe.  To allow the day to wash over us.  
This same approach can be brought to your harp and your music.  Don’t rush.  Enjoy the beauty.  Let the music unfold.  Relish that presence.  Practice it.  Until, like placing your fingers, counting, or breathing, it merely comes naturally.  Practice enjoying and not rushing until it comes naturally…and becomes just the way you do it.  

An Affair to Remember

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We are all busy it seems.  We have work, family, friends…and harp.  Sometimes it seems like something has to give – that there’s just not enough time to get everything done. This is especially exasperating if the thing that brings joy to your day is the one thing you don’t seem to get to. Yes, I’m talking to you.  Yes, I’m talking about playing your harp!
When time gets tight and you don’t have time to practice, it is disturbing – being parted from that which adds goodness to your day is not pleasant.  But it also worrisome – because you know that with each day you miss practicing you are getting further from your goals (whether you are focused on learning a particular tune or trying to be prepared to perform)…and that is frightening as well.
If this is happening to you, maybe it’s time to have an affair with your harp!  If you were having an affair, you’d force time into your day to have your fling.  You’d make excuses to be in the same place, to catch a glimpse, to run your hand along the arm.  You might sneak around, hoping that no one caught you. You would expend significant energy to get to the object of your affection. And each time you did, you’d be delighted and eager!
The time might be fleeting, but the frission of excitement each time you were near would be titillating.  And you’d so look forward to the next time – even if you had to manufacture it.
Go ahead.  An affair would be good for you – you could fall in love again…with your harp. 

Harp Care

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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:

  1. take all your levers off and tune each string as accurately as possible*
  2. set all your levers
  3. check the tuning of each string (do this carefully – remember that you have set every lever not just the ones you usually set, so make sure you are getting sharps and naturals where they should be)

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

Stage fright Challenge

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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:

  1. Identify precisely what your “bugaboo” is – are you afraid you are not prepared? not good enough? going to trip on stage?  
  2. Once you have identified it, address it – not prepared?  practice more.  Not good enough? there will always be people who are better than you are…and you will always be better than others. Tripping?  well, that’s been proven to be endearing – at least on national television!
  3. Define what venue will be doable for you at this point in time – where can you play (or for which audience) that will be outside your comfort…but not too far?  Schools and nursing homes are great places to play with audiences that are thirsty for and appreciative of your performance.
  4. Acknowledge that you will feel trepidation – and that it will affect your playing…and go with it!
  5. Be prepared to learn from getting out there – you will be able to be proud of your accomplishment and you can learn what happens (not what you fear will happen but what actually happens!).  Leverage what you learn.  Then you can work on those things as you prepare for your next performance!  

And don’t go too fast – give yourself time to adapt…and enjoy the process!