Category Archives: Other

Ten-dresse* yet ten-ty** – On approaching ten- years

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Welcome to 2019! Another year begins. Time to think about and plan for another year at the harp!

Becoming what we will be this year often starts by looking back. And looking back at this blog, we see that we have been here since 2009 – that means we will celebrate ten years of sharing about harp, travel to Scotland, musicianship, and more (hence the ten heavy title for this week).

Wow.

It seems like only yesterday that we began. I started the blog to share my excitement about creating the Harp in the Highlands and Islands trip with my dear friend David. I had dreamed of going to Scotland with my harp and playing so many great tunes right at the places they commemorated, in the air of the history they chronicled, in the peace of the glens, along the gentle sweep of the waters, and in the majesty of the mountains.  But a chance conversation made it become real.

What’s not to be excited about!?!

In that time, the trip has had some amazing guests who really made each outing an adventure. And David and I have had a blast getting to gather new friends each year (“a true pleasure” just doesn’t manage to capture the joy, fun, and interest we’ve been able to enjoy at each trip!). We are so fortunate! We have honed each trip and every year brings something new. We are excited to be trying something new this year with the Harpa Retreat! We’ll let you know more about that as it develops but it will bring together the professionals of the Harpa trips to a slower paced, creativity focused week together – with the customary Harpa performances for charity mixed in – because, after all, we are performers – we l-o-v-e to perform! The perfect vacation!

But early on in writing the blog I realized that as much as I love to share the travel and the music, there was more to share. Although I look forward to going to Scotland, planning to go to Scotland, preparing to go, developing tunes to teach, helping travelers plan (and pack!), there was more to share. And while the trip is a week or so, we’re harp players for the other 50-some-odd weeks of the year – and that stuff needed to be said too!

We’ve talked about technique and ergonomics (based on my career as a Human Factors and Ergonomics professional and experience teaching specialized lessons to prevent or ameliorate problems or injury), elements of musicianship and professionalism – from practicing to performance, from planning to anxiety, from prepping for a thorough and satisfying lesson to assuring you have everything you need in your gig bag, and more.

And still there is even more. You’ve mentioned things you’re interested in (and I’m always glad to hear from you – you have great questions and insights!). Sometimes I have an answer at hand – and sometimes I have to do some homework, but I’m jazzed to learn something new.

And I do view this time with tendresse and look forward quiet tenty! Ten years is certainly something to celebrate. And through the coming year we will do exactly that! One thing we’ll be doing is migrating away from BlogSpot to my website (if you want to do that now, subscribe to receive the blog by email ). You can also follow me on Facebook. There will be “birthday presents” (giveaways) sprinkled lightly throughout the year. And of course, content laden posts!

Thank you for following me this far – let’s see where we get to! Leave me a comment – I l-o-v-e (and hearing from you!) – especially if you have good ideas for the coming year! See you next week!

* defined as fondness (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tendresse )

** defined as attentive (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tenty)

The Nights are Long

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As the year draws to a close, the nights are long. We have time to reflect (ok, we make time to reflect since the nights are so long!).

I hope you have had a full and fulfilling harp year. My wish for you remains primarily that you enjoy making music, that you have learned and shared and grown and loved the time at your harp.

I hope you are both pleased with your progress and that you hunger for more.

I hope as you look back over the year you see your continued development and that you have begun to form new goals. And I hope you have flourished and stabilized and that you are becoming the musician you want to be.

I hope you are happy with yourself and with your journey and with your music.

Reflect, and enjoy what you see!

Just be you, only a little better

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As much as we talk about it, I hope you have developed an appreciation for the physical athleticism of being a musician.  From carrying your harp to sitting behind it playing Carolan’s (or Handel’s Bb) Concerto – playing the harp is physically demanding! And playing it well is even more so. You need strength and stamina to get through practicing, performing or teaching.  And while it is comfortable for us to focus on the “pretty” or the music, we need to face the reality – it’s a lot of work!

Given that, it’s time to acknowledge that being more physically fit will only help you play better and feel better between sessions at the harp. This doesn’t mean you need to be ready for the next Ninja Warrior casting call. Nor does it mean that you have to become a CrossFit adherent.

It just means that you should put taking care of yourself further up on your priority list. Acknowledging that this will benefit you in multiple ways.  Being in better shape can only help!

There are loads of workout plans available in books, magazines and online, so you can find what works best for you. A simple and effective answer might be to just take a walk each day and spending time focusing on assuring you are actually breathing! If you want to do additional cardio or calisthenics, or weight lifting, that could also help you improve your strength which would help too.

But you don’t have to become Arnold or Richard Simmons. Be you – just a little better!

Christmas is coming

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Are you ready?  We know it’s coming – it happens the same time every year.  It’s easy to be only sort of excited. On the one hand, it’s easy – you know all the songs and you can kind of get away with playing the same stuff every year.  On the other hand, that can get sort of boring, never learning anything new and always playing the same stuff.

So, what’s a harper to do?

christmas-is-coming

Well, you could take the easy way out – no one would know.  You’ll entertain your audience, even if it is the curtains and the cats.  You will coast through the season and all will be well. You’ll play stuff you’re comfortable playing and your stress level can stay (relatively) low. But you would know you hadn’t learned anything new.

Or you can take the difficult way and play all new music – the crazy carol written in 12/8, that jazzy arrangement of your favorite post-war song, that new, lever change filled music that was published lately.  You’ll have to work really hard (actually, you should have already started), you will be stressed out nearly every time you play and you will be uncomfortable until January!  But you will know that you have stretched yourself.

Maybe the best path to take is the middle road – add some new pieces while continuing to play your favorites.  That way, you can have a little growth, but from a strong base. You will know you have had a little stretch and you will still be able to perform confidently.

At your various outings, play those tunes your audience will be happy to hear.  And don’t forget that nothing makes Christmas music more enjoyable than mixing it with other music. Even the cats will enjoy that!

What makes a good musician?

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One can be a good musician even if one is not a full time professional . What makes a good musician? If you’re a regular reader, you might think that this is where I would say, “practice, practice, practice”!

But there is so much more to it than that! You see, musicianship is a journey not a destination – which is cool because it always gives you something to work toward! In that vein, here are six things that make a musician different from someone who just plays an instrument:

Musicianship

  1. Persistence and Practice. One could argue that practice is the working definition of persistence. But really, persistence involves more including focusing on continuing to grow, finding new music that inspires you, and pursuing places to play that fit your goals and still let you grow.
  2. Knowledge and Learning. There is so much to learn to be a better musician and real musicians are always learning. Whether it is gaining new tunes, mastering a new technique (coupled hands anyone? solid harmonics? you get the idea), or studying music theory, gaining knowledge can only result in stronger playing.
  3. Community. Even soloists are part of a community! We have communities of harp players as well as the greater communities of musicians (orchestra, sessions, workshop participants, etc.) and the environments in which we play – those communities help us grow and provide milieux in which development can be nurtured. Communities give us a base for our other developments.
  4. Listening. Just as we make sounds, we listen to sounds (music) from others (and ourselves). And as we listen, we learn more about music, what we think of it, what we like (and don’t like) and other perspectives on the music we make – you cannot listen to music enough!
  5. Be willing to take (and use) critique. Whether it is family members, audiences, or judges, gaining feedback, analyzing those inputs and using that information is a sure way to become a better musician.
  6. Enjoy the challenges you set for yourself – related to all of these is setting challenges for ourselves and enjoying stepping up to them. These challenges don’t have to be big – they just have to be yours (and they do have to be challenging!) so that we can learn and enjoy them.

So, the next time you think you’re not a musician, check to be sure your wrong! And just keep being you while you continue to develop into a good musician.