Category Archives: Practice

Winter is coming…..

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It’s solidly December – and nearly winter. And with that we’ll have the continuing cold that feels as though it will never end. Ever. Never. (If you’re near me on the US Eastern Seaboard, you know that hard to believe, since it’s been so cold already!)

We seek warmth – Cups of tea.  Mugs of coffee. Fireplaces. Sweaters, coats, scarves, socks. We do so many things to fend off the cold.

And for us as musicians and harp players, keeping warm – especially our fingers – is so important.

You are designed to keep yourself warm and one way to do that is to close down circulation to your appendages – your hands and feet and specifically your fingers and toes. Of course, you also may get cold hands and feet when you’re practicing because you are focused and sitting still which does not encourage circulation to your extremities.Being able to feel your fingers is so very helpful when playing! With impeded (or vacated) tactile sensation, you must look at the strings to continue playing. You also lose cues as to what you’ve played, where you are, where you are going. You may find that you can’t manage the harp very well – you may not know until after the string has sounded if you played fortissimo or piano, legato or staccato – or if you even played the string at all! Being cold will require you to use all your senses, even to get through tunes you know cold (pun intended).

So, how can you keep warm, since Winter is Coming…

  1. Do not book outdoor gigs. Even Florida has winter! When the temperature dips below 55o you will be clumsy and less able to feel your fingers. Personally, I set the threshold at 65o so that I am warmer and there is no worry about being too cold once I start playing. Spring and summer and even early autumn may be fine, but winter is right out. Make it part of your contract so that there are no questions.  Just don’t.
  2. Dress warmly. If your core and head are warm, your body will have less need to divert blood to your core, which will keep the capillaries in your fingers (and toes) open – and warmer. As you may have heard as a youngster, “Put on a sweater, I’m cold” – if you need to, designate a “practice sweater”.  And have a scarf ready in case you need it to ward off chill.
  3. Plan breaks in your practice time. I’m sure you already do this, but in colder weather, take more frequent breaks. Be sure to move and stretch. Wiggle your fingers. Get up from the bench and walk around a little. If you are thinking, “just a little longer, I’ll practice just a little longer” stop and take a break.
  4. Wear fingerless gloves or wrist warmers. Ok, this is standard advice, but I don’t use these, because, usually my wrists are inside my shirt and sweater sleeves and they are already warm. It’s my fingers – the parts not covered in fingerless gloves – that are cold! So, I don’t find these helpful.  However, I know loads of people who love them, swear by them, and wear them. They’re definitely worth a try.
  5. Turn up the heat. I’m a cheapskate but even I turn up the heat when it’s practice time. Because otherwise I just waste my time (being cold). Even more thrifty and parsimonious than I am? Sit in a window and let the sun do its thing (but be sure to move your harp out of the sunlight when you’re through).
  6. Invite friction. If you start to lose feeling in your fingers, rub your hands together for a little friction warmth. This will give you a little more feeling of warmth. And if you’re smart about it – it will double as a light hand massage!

These things will allow help you keep warm when playing throughout the winter. How do you keep your fingers warmer? Let me know in the comments.

Give it a rest!

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There are so many things we can do with our harps to make a noise – typically beautiful, but not always. And there are all the effects – from bowing the low strings to PDLT to damping to glissing – we have all kinds of ways to disturb the air and get sound.

We each spend time practicing our favorite sounds. Or those required by the score (Bernard Andres comes to mind quickly, but there are others…). We might even spend time actively seeking out new noises to make from our instruments or perfecting our technique to assure we get the effect we meant (harmonics come to mind). We work hard to get noises from our harps.

And of course, we spend a great deal of time learning to play so that we know exactly how to touch our instruments, so we get what we wanted – beautiful tone, deep, sonorous chords, compelling melodies, captivating harmonies.

But there is something else that we should practice that will enhance all this. We always let this get by us, and yet, it is often the secret sauce that really “makes” the tune. It allows the audience time to reflect. It gives you a space to think. It helps insert life into the tune. And it seems to terrify so many of us.

What is it that we’re so afraid of?

Is it a technique that is difficult to master? Nope

Is there some “signature composer” that we should have already thought of (but we haven’t)? Nope

Is it some advanced riff that only the best musicians get? Nope again.

It’s the magical, useful, and all too undervalued rest.

You know – silence.

The space b-e-t-w-e-e-n the notes. The ones you might shave in the fast tunes (which is why you end up playing faster). The ones you wish you didn’t have so many to count in ensemble. The ones that can completely make (or break) your competition air. The ones that, when used appropriately, get your audience right where you want them, in the moment, with you.

Why do you need to practice your rests? Well, mostly so you will be comfortable – with the silence. We often “clothe” ourselves in the protective wrapping of notes. We think that we will be protected if we have the notes or that we are vulnerable and exposed in the space between.

How about you turn that thinking on its head. In fact, the rests are the most free part of the melody. Rests add a strength to the harmony that the sounded notes cannot. And they give you a little bit of a breather.

You already know how to make a rest. You just don’t play (or you also damp). And you don’t play for some finite amount of time (as described by the music). You create an absence of sound. You don’t generate any sound.

Of course, as you practice a piece, you would generate a rest if required by the composer in the piece. But, there are other useful times for silences – between pieces? Under thunderous applause? When you want to get the attention of the audience?

So, how really do you get comfortable with rests? Especially the long ones. Because, contrary to popular belief, that is not time made available by the composer so you can fidget! That’s true whether it’s a 16th rest or a thousand bars of rest in an ensemble piece. No matter how long or short, you need to wait, be quiet, and be ready, but not overeager, to come in.

Short rests are relatively easy to practice because they are a direct part of the melody.  You can practice them with your metronome, just like every other element of the music.

For the longer rests, between tunes or to create a mood, here’s a suggested practice element.  This can help you become more consonant with the emptiness of the rest. Use your watch (but only sparingly).

One of the most difficult things to do is to estimate how long you have been sitting, making silence. I had the opportunity to play for a meditative event. In this playing, it is important to leave a little space for thinking, praying, and contemplation.  So, the rests become ever so much more important! A full minute is not too long to wait. I actually used my watch.

And learned something so important – when I had finished a tune and was waiting to begin the next, I had thought, “oh crikey, I better get going or they’re going to think I’ve fallen asleep.”

Watch check – 18 seconds. What?!? Only 18 seconds? It felt like a week.

I was aiming for 90 seconds. It felt like forever had gone by. Boy was I wrong!

After that, I start practicing estimating the amount of time that had passed since the end of the tune. (Reality check – to you the tune might end when you start to play the last chord, but to the audience, the tune ends when they can’t hear the lingering reverb any longer (or you complete your gesture) – which could be a while!)

My hack for estimating time – because it’s rude to check your watch over and over – is to sing the Birthday Song in my head.  It takes about 10 seconds to sing (don’t rush it just because you’re not singing aloud). I breathe. I position (and then check) my fingers when I’m ready to play again. I don’t rush. Want to leave a minute? Sing the song six times through.  To get 90 seconds sing it 9 times.

This ability to “tell time” without telling time will also make your presentation easier on your audience and on you. You can assure you leave some “breathing room” between your tunes.  When you are not in a rush, you are more present which makes your music more lifelike and fuller. And what’s not to like about that?!?

So, incorporate full rests (no shaving of note value) and waiting rests (silences between) into your playing and Give it a rest! How do you make space for the silences?

What are you afraid of?

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Many of us took up the harp (or knitting, or golf, or baking, or something else) as a hobby – something we enjoy. Something that makes a pleasant way to spend time whilst also making us happy. Because these activities are fun and happifying (why yes, I did think that I had just made up that word…which made me happy, but it’s in the dictionary – it’s a real word which makes me happier still), sometimes the pleasure drives us to keep at it – allowing the activity to consume more and more of our time and other resources.

To whit
“What is the right number of harps to own?”
“One more!”

The pleasure. The fun. The happiness. The enjoyment. The drive to learn more, experience more, enjoy more – the thirst for the activity, only slaked by more of it. Ah, so sweet! Playing the harp is a most excellent hobby!

And then, someone prevails upon you to play at church, or a wedding, or a tea, or a funeral. And you agree. It’s just this one event. You’re helping someone else. You’re bringing solace, or contributing to joy, or setting an atmosphere, or creating a milieu. What fun.

And then it hits you. You’re not a performer. You’re not a pro. What have you done?!?

The safety of being an amateur falls away.

And you’re left, terrified. What will you play? Do you have enough repertoire? What if you make a mistake? W-h-y did you agree to do this?

The fear creeps in…like a freight train!

Does fear grip your joy? Does it chase away the happiness? Does the color drain from your delight?

But wait! What are you afraid of? No, really. STOP!

Identify – and name – your fears. By naming your fears (e.g. “I’ll be laughed at”, don’t name it “Harry”), you begin to hold them up to the light. To see what they actually are and to work around them. Maybe start by reminding yourself that loads of people share your fears. And no, that’s not different for you – despite you telling yourself that…just like all the other people do!

Afraid you’ll make a mistake? Some mitigations are available against this. Practice more, only play things you feel strongly confident about, create (and practice) repair points throughout the music, practice “playing through” the mistakes you make, and practice improvising on the tunes. Don’t plan to play anything shaky (do not plan to “pull it out of a hat” while performing – that very rarely goes well!). And build your program to support you – start strong, back every (relatively) weak tune with a “comforter” (a strong, well learned tune) and end strong. Practicing these things will help you feel more confident and help to fight off the fear.

Afraid you won’t be good enough? You’ll be fine – build a strong program, prepare and practice, remember it’s only one day (and that we all have good days and bad days, even your harp hero!). Remember the point of each practice session is to get a little better, stronger, more poised than the practice before. No, you’re not _____ (insert name of current harp crush), but they didn’t ask her to play their event, did they? Nope – they asked YOU! Get out of your own way and play!

Afraid of the audience? That they may laugh, or boo, or leave? Or worse, that they feel nothing. Remember that you are communicating, and they are eager to get the message! Remember too that you are giving and it is not a contest. If you intend to give, what you give will be just right to meet that intention. Also remember that while about 20% of kids (and even fewer adults) have music lessons to learn an instrument, over 80% of adults report wishing they played an instrument! They are too impressed, in awe, and/or envious to laugh or boo. [SIDE NOTE: I hope you have one of the most amazing antidotes to this – to have an audience member seek you out to tell you how much they enjoyed your music. It will make your heart swell with pleasure and pride! And before you dismiss their comments as them “just being nice”, remember this – that person so enjoyed your music that they fought their own fears to come up to you, possibly face your rejection of them(!), to share with you that you made a difference to them (sometimes effusively, sometimes haltingly) and that they are grateful. Honor that, use it build your own confidence – and DO NOT THROW IT AWAY! {Haven’t had this experience? Be patient}]

Afraid you’ll embarrass yourself? The only way to do this is to be unprepared and to not bring your best effort with you. Do the work, and don’t let the fear stop you.

What are you afraid of? Don’t be! Instead enjoy all the things you learn, feel, and share and really get into it. And don’t let fear steal your joy – just enjoy.

Do you get fearful when you sign up to perform? How do you go about getting past it? Was it worth it? Let me know in the comments!

Just one thing

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I don’t just play the harp because it’s there. I really enjoy it. I look forward to the time I get to spend, whether it’s practicing for an event or just playing around. Of course, sometimes it’s work. And I do remember the very early days so clearly – when the certainty that you’ll never “get this” is ever so much higher than the surety that you will. But time passes and that feeling subsides.

Given that, but even so, I was taken aback when a new student asked me what would be the ONE thing that should be done within the allotted daily practice time that would take that student from a beginning beginner to intermediate harper in the short term?

It took me a bit of time to think of an answer. The easy – and inaccurate – answer came to mind immediately. I wanted to say – PRACTICE is the one thing. But that’s not only unkind and flip, it’s also wrong! Because practice – in and of itself – is not the one single thing that will make that movement from beginner to intermediate quick or even possible.

What?!? you say! That doesn’t sound like something you would say here in the blog. After all – look at all the blog posts you have written about the importance of practicing! You must have made a mistake there. But I haven’t. And I’m not contradicting myself either.

Because there is a one thing that every student can work on – starting from the first practice after the first lesson…and on and on until it’s time to stop playing (is that even a thing?). What would this magical one thing be?

FUNDAMENTALS!

Now, I’ve nattered on about fundamentals before, but…from the mouths of harp babes (as it were) we hear the true questions emerge – and the answer is the same – always the same.

So, no matter what level you find yourself – there are always fundamentals to revisit and address. If you’re just beginning, your one thing might be assuring that every finger goes back to your palm. And if you’re more than a beginner but not very advanced your one thing might be placing ahead. And if you’re very experienced, I really hope you’re not smugly thinking that this doesn’t apply to you because you can always be working on thinking ahead, and leveraging those skills you practiced as a beginner to inject more musicality into your tunes.

So take a minute to really think about what your one thing to focus on should be. Don’t be flip – really assess what you could best work on to improve yourself enough to move to the next level. Don’t forget to capture it in your journal so you can see your development. And having this in your journal will allow you to move from the first One Thing onto the second One Thing, the third, etc. Because you know there will always be a just One (more) Thing to work on.

What’s your one thing? Let me know if the comments!

Lights! Camera!! IMPROVE!!!

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I frequently suggest that you record yourself playing because it gives you an opportunity to evaluate your progress. An audio recording can be so helpful because it lets you truly hear yourself. And all it takes is a free app on your phone or tablet.

Of course, you can listen to yourself while you play, but there are so many impediments to actually hearing yourself while you’re playing – you are in the moment, you have to wrangle your harp, maintain your posture, manage your breathing, ride herd on your fingers, remember the music, and so much more! All that makes it so hard to listen and to hear while you’re producing music that it is no wonder you miss so much and it is clear that being able to listen and attend better can only help.

But recently, I’ve come to appreciate the amazing utility of video recording! It has all the benefits of audio recording that allows you to hear yourself. But video recording also allows you to see so many additional things – so clearly!

Does your teacher consistently (or repeatedly) tell you to get your thumbs higher? Even though you practiced and practiced.  You did all the the work – why can’t she see that? Do you get the same thing with placing? Do you get told – a lot – to place ahead all while thinking that your teacher isn’t paying attention, because you know you place! After all, you did practice – over and over – so why doesn’t she see how high and well placed your fingers are?

The video tells all!

This picture is of one of my students – recording herself while she played. And she was astounded! She was able to see her hands – in situ. And even though she’d been looking at them – now she could see them! She watched in amazement…and horror! Because she saw what I see – and comment on – in every lesson. All the while she thought she had done all the things I suggested, thought that she had nailed it – only to be told, again, that her thumbs were dropping. Suddenly she knew! And she said at her next lesson, “when I fixed all that, it really was easier to play…just like you said!” (such words a teacher loves to hear! ♥)

The amazing part of this is learning that your teacher isn’t a broken record (nor a hateful shrew!). But it is understandable – while you’re playing you have so much to which you must pay attention that you have no spare capacity to attend to one more thing. It is a brain thing and we all have these limits. It’s not good or bad, it just is.  And video can help you overcome it!

Note – these don’t have to be high quality “National Geographic” videos – prop your phone or tablet on your music stand, get some good light – and voila – you have videos that are good enough – to see what you are doing when you think you’re doing everything right!

You can use the videos to see what you’re doing so you can improve. The video also provides a record so you can (hopefully) see improvement – and see bad habits as they are developing so you can nip them in the bud before they become habits. And you can bring the video to your teacher to help you squelch untoward stuff before it hardens and to show what has transpired since you last met.

If you don’t have a teacher you can use your video to tame your inner critic while identifying what needs work. You can evaluate your video and then work kindly with yourself to improve. And if you have the opportunity to have a lesson after a workshop, you can share the video with the visiting teacher to help give a better idea of where you are and what you need help with – which will make your lesson go so much better!

So, by using equipment you already have (phone or tablet), you can significantly improve your playing, help your teacher help you, and create spare capacity to think – all of which will serve you well to improve your playing. And all it takes is – Lights! Camera! Improvement!

Made a video? Want to share? Leave me a comment – can’t wait to see it!

Go Ahead – Make My Day

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Teaching is a very fulfilling way to spend one’s time. There are few things as motivating as seeing a student “get” something the first time, to share the joy of a person playing more confidently or accurately, to experience the culmination of a student’s hard work right there in your studio.

I enjoy sharing the harp with others. I always get a thrill when I see progress and it’s enhanced when they see that they have made progress! Such a feeling!

Part of teaching is to share hard earned knowledge. By passing on the wisdom of previous harpers and other musicians, we teachers seek to help students build shortcuts through those tedious (but necessary) things. We don’t want to watch you struggle. It’s not that we won’t help you get out of the struggle – but if we can help you avoid it, then you have that much more energy to tackle the next challenging thing!

And so, weekly, we tell you to keep your thumbs up, your hands closed, your elbows up, your back straight, your head up. We entreat you to place your fingers, to slow down, to pay attention to the myriad details that are central to making each note.

And why do we do this? Because we want you to succeed. We want you to master the instrument – in as straight a line, as quickly as possible. We have been there – that’s why we’re sitting beside you!

And I know that you believe yourself to be doing all the things I ask of you. That you wonder if I’m not being a little bit too harsh with you. Or perhaps that I have run out of things to say and so I repeat myself. After all, you have got this!

And so I sit beside you and try to come up with new ways to say all those things that I have noticed you might improve upon. I don’t want to beat you up about the same things week after week. I don’t want to beat you up at all! I want you to play as well as you can, as soon as you can – and then move on to learn even more. If only I could get you to place and keep your thumbs up!

Teachers share this frustration – the gap between what we tell you and what you think you have done. And we laugh because we know that we can tell you something a thousand times but if a workshop presenter comes through and says it, you will likely come back to your lesson, clutching this pearl of wisdom and share it with us – as though we hadn’t suggested it in the past. It’s actually sort of a laugh we share. I actually put together a workshop based on this idea. And really, we don’t care where you get the information – as long as you use it!

One thing I often suggest to my students and to you here is that you record yourself. Your recording doesn’t have to be fancy – you can use your phone, a voice recorder meant for meeting – you could you use a cassette tape. It doesn’t matter, as long as you can hear yourself!

So, imagine my delight and surprise when one of my students came to her lesson last week with the opening – “I recorded myself playing as you suggested” (internal gasp! She was listening!). What floored me though, was what came next, “ I’m not keeping my thumbs up – just like you keep telling me” to which I wasn’t sure what to say. “Told you so” didn’t seem like a useful way to move forward!

But what was the most endearing and important was what she did next. Throughout her practice sessions that week – she continued to work. And continued recording – so s-h-e could see that she was making improvements! What a delight to hear! What an affirmation! What lovely hand position! And what fantastic tone!!!  She totally made my day!

So, please – use the information your teacher shares with you – the techniques, the tools, the tips. And incorporate all those nuggets into your work time. You’ll learn more, you’ll see improvement, you’ll know where to focus as you move forward and learn more about how you play. And you’ll make your teacher very, very happy.  But remember – it’s not about the teacher. It’s about you – learning to play, enjoying playing, and doing the work that you need to so that you can play better!

How do you capture your practice, incorporate your teacher’s suggestions, and evaluate your playing? Leave me a comment about how you move forward – I’d love for you to share your ideas – and progress – with me!

What are your worst habits? Four ways to identify and then fix them

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Habits are supposed to serve us. They are behaviors we perform without thinking.

Habits can be good – like brushing your teeth, putting on your seat belt, or going to bed on time.

Or habits can be bad – like eating ice cream every day, biting your nails, checking your phone during dinner.

Habits are like callouses – forming slowly over time. They form when we’re busy paying attention to other things.  And so, insidiously, they creep into your processing, your playing, and you never notice.

And while you are not noticing, the bad habits grow stronger. Until one day – you see a photo, a reflection, or a friend laughingly points out that you look like a troll with a harp! Or worse, you develop pain in your neck, shoulder, hip, hand, arm that you d-e-f-i-n-i-t-e-l-y notice after you’ve been playing. Or sometimes you notice it when you’re away from the harp – and you wonder what you’ve done.

Bad habits can be general – you’re slouching on the bench or your head is thrust forward as you look at the strings. Or they may be quite specific – your hands are not closing on your elbow is dragging your forearm along the edge of the soundboard, your feet are not flat on the floor. But all bad habits are called “bad” for a reason – these habits are not serving you or your harp playing!

What? You’re not screaming in pain? No one has laughed at your bad posture? Maybe you don’t have any bad habits…or maybe you just haven’t noticed! Insidious, remember?

How would you know? Here are four surefire ways to find your bad habits –

  1. Check it out.  Hang a full-length mirror where you can check your look while you’re practicing. This is not a decorating tip (although you can also use it to help light your space better too!). Whether you hang the mirror or get a cheval glass on a stand – put it where you can look up and see what you look like while playing. This requires no help or technology.
  2. Have a photo shoot.  Enlist a friend or family member to photograph you “in the act” when you don’t expect it. This is the same idea but might be a little less discombobulating – having the photos will also tell you things you might rather know before you sit to your next practice session.
  3. Star in your own show.  Videotape yourself – this is relatively easy now – just prop your phone on your music stand and prepare to learn all sorts of things (that you might rather not know – but will help you!). The second step is the most important – watch the video! See what you’re doing when you aren’t watching.
  4. Play freeze tag.  Remember freeze tag? When you begin to practice, set a timer for some random number of minutes. When it dings – freeze! Then very carefully check yourself out – look at your hands, arms, legs, head and back – are you where you want to be? How’s your posture? Make corrections, reset the timer, and go back practicing. If you are sitting for a long practice session, plan to do those a number of times including toward the end of your practice when fatigue will contribute to bad habits – you might even have some that don’t come up until later when your fatigue enhances them.

Any of these ways will help. A combination of them will give you a fuller picture of what you need to fix.

How do you fix your bad habits? Go back to the fundamentals! They are called fundamentals for a reason!

When you started playing, you learned these fundamentals – go back to them. Pull out your beginning book – whether it’s Sylvia Woods, Deb Friou, Bonnie Mohr, Maria Grossi, or any of the other beginning books – and head to the beginning, working slowly and carefully on the exercises that first helped you to learn those fundamentals.

Of course, there’s a whole other set of musicality bad habits but we can deal with those another time. Work on the fundamentals of playing first.

What are your worst habits? Let me know and we can compare notes!

 

 

Practice made simple – Make and Keep a Schedule

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I’m always nattering on at you about how important practice is – for lots of reasons. And you probably laugh and think (or say out loud?) “easy for you – that’s what you do for a living!” Well, let’s pull that thread, shall we?

First, like you, I have a life – a home and house that need care and tending. And perhaps like you, I’m not big on housework or tending to anything! But these things must be done. Groceries, call my Mom, laundry, prune the dog, take out the trash – it’s all there.

Second – only in my dreams do I have all day to play the harp! Yes, I’m a professional, so yes, it is work and it is a business. And yes, that means I often get trapped in Administrivialand – doing paperwork, making phone calls, sending email.  On the package its all flowers and hearts, but on the inside, it’s still work! Booking students, gigs, networking, advertising, blogging, website maintenance, teaching students, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera*.

Third – I have a day job too – just like you. With its commutes and joys and challenges.

And somewhere in there – I still need to fit in practicing. So, how to do that?  I find a schedule is very very helpful. But you need more than that. You need to keep the schedule. And in doing that you will allow yourself to meet some other gates as well:

  • You will be better able to focus – this is time you have set aside, so you don’t need to be thinking about how it’s time to wash the dog or vacuum the garden. Focus on your practicing.
  • You will have built in time for self-evaluation – because you have dedicated time, you can apportion it to include self-evaluation. Are you playing as well as you’d like? If not, how should you change your practice to improve? If you are playing as well as you’d like – what should you take on as a new challenge?
  • You will have time to get stuff done – because you have identified time to work, you won’t have to just “cross stuff off the list” but rather, you can bear down and work on individual elements of your playing until they are smoothed out while you also identify other things that need work.
  • You will have time to be generous – to yourself (and by extension others) you will have dedicated time to play more fluidly so you can be more comfortable while performing, all the while learning to be nice to yourself as you progress and develop as a harper.
  • You will have time to schedule for your best – you control your schedule so you decide when to practice. If you’re not a morning person, do not bother scheduling your practice for 6am! It’s your day, if you need to practice from midnight – do it! Just be sure you work with yourself. And be flexible – if you need to change the schedule, change the schedule!
  • You will have built in time to capture everything – be sure to include journaling and recording as part of your practice time. They need to be – and if you plan them that way, they will get done.
  • You will have built in time to be creative – creativity requires time and tools and time – if you add creativity time into your practice – you will have the time!

That is a lot to schedule in so it’s important to remember that there are seven days in a week. You don’t have to do the same thing every day.

Having a schedule means that you can have hard days and easy days, days that focus on a specific thing and days when you “play around”. Having a schedule means that you know which days are which, and that you are actually getting to all the things you have identified as important.

Be prepared to do work when you have scheduled it and include some “free time” to enjoy yourself! And what could be more simple than that?

* be the first to identify  the source of this quote in a comment for a prize!

Do you smell that? Ten ways to make it through the Dog Days of Summer

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It’s summer. Ok, it’s epically hot (or maybe it’s epochally hot) – after all, it is August. One might argue that it is most augustly August. One thing is for certain – it is one of those times in the year when it is challenging to get motivated to do work.

I get it. It’s a bit of a lull – school hasn’t started, the holidays are forever away (ha!), everyone is on vacation or wishing they were on vacation – and working hard just is not appealing. And these are the Dog Days of summer. Despite all this, we don’t want to our playing to stink – to smell like something left over from the Dog (days 😊). So maybe take a moment for something better – take time to smell the roses.

Huh? What does smelling the roses have to do with playing the harp? Nothing. And everything!

When it’s too hot to even think about sitting down and doing the work – maybe you need to not. Maybe it is better to take the time to smell the roses (of your harp playing) if only to remember why you even do the work. After all, if you aren’t motivated, you’re not going to get much work done anyway. And a lot of us do this for fun (even though it can be work) – so it’s important to, on occasion, remember what it is you enjoy about it.

Maybe you need to give yourself a mini-vacation to beat the heat.  If you do need a vacation – here are ten ways you can give yourself a little break, to take time to smell the roses here at the height of the dog days:

  1. Just start playing – then see what comes of it. I get it, simply getting started is difficult. Because – ugh. Even with the air conditioner on, you are facing sticking to the bench, sweating on the soundboard, having your fingers feel tacky on the strings. So, maybe, just sit down for 10 minutes. That’s quick enough to be done before the sweat starts to drip. Just feel your harp, hear the sweetness, and smell the wood….
  2. Rest when you need it. As I mentioned above – school will be starting, and the holidays are coming – and you’ll be inundated with life before you know it – so set this time aside to get a little rest.  It will help you enjoy being at your harp to practice so much more when you’re ready to start up again.
  3. Make a list – so you don’t forget what you wanted to do. Especially if you are resting – that doesn’t mean you’re not thinking. Use the rest time away from the harp to think – about what you are playing, what you’d like to be playing, what skills you need to work on (really – be honest – are your arpeggios smooth and flowing? Are your glisses accurate? You know what I mean – there’s always something that needs work!). Capture that in a list so you can be focused when you are ready to buckle down after your break.
  4. Replan. We were very careful to not set goals this winter but you have had half the year to progress – are you on target? You can take this time to evaluate if you’re doing the things you think you need to do to make progress to get when you’d like to be.
  5. Indulge yourself. Yes, this could be pack it in and get a cookie. Or you could simply play what you want – play things you know well, or things you haven’t played in a while, or things that just make you smile.
  6. Switch it up. Switching up can take a number of forms – you could turn your practice “upside down” (do all the activities backwards – end with exercises, start with polishing). You could take your practice in 10-minute segments throughout the day. You could practice at some other time of the day than you usually do. Just do something different to help you bring fresh perspective to your playing.
  7. Take a walk. I know, I’m always telling you to go for a walk. So maybe actually do it this time!
  8. Read a book. You can learn so much away from the harp. There are prose books about the harp (have you read Tree of Strings? Or Pentacle: The Story of Carlos Salzedo and the Harp?) and about music (have you read Lies My Music Teacher Told Me?). Learning new things might help you learn your music more quickly, or better, or just bring a new feel to your playing.
  9. Go shopping – buy some new music! Take yourself out for a music spree. Buy some new downloads or some sheet music – having something to look forward to will be fun.
  10. Smell the roses – literally! Buy yourself some flowers for your harp room! Brighten up the space. Enjoy the scent and sight while you’re playing. Try to play the flowers (make an improv that reflects what you see, what you smell, how you feel). Alternately – find some while you’re out walking.

No reason to let the Dog Days of summer be the dog doo days. Smell the roses, treat yourself gently, and enjoy the time when you maybe don’t feel like playing. What other things do you do to help motivate yourself through these doldrums? I’d love to hear from you – I can always use new tips to avoid slacking.

Technical Ecstasy

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I’m sure that your teacher has exhorted you to work on your technique. I have too. And hopefully, you too, urge yourself to work on developing, strengthening, and enhancing your technique.

I know I have, on many occasions over the last few years (ok, way more than a few). And we all know that technique is central to playing. It is essential to growing and developing as a player. And while you might see a brilliant musician play with less than exemplary technique, those tend to be rarer than not. While you might aspire to play like that person – you could just smarten up your technique – so you don’t have to work so hard to pull it off!

So, I’m sure we are agreed – Technique is important!

Technique is important – but you have to watch carefully that you make music!

Technique is important – but you have to watch carefully that you make music!

I’m not going to debate that.

However….

Technique is not where we make music!

W – H – A – T?!?!?

You read that right – and I mean it! Technique is not where you make music. Technique is the hard work you do so that your ability to play becomes effortless. It is a tool – a means to an end.

I once saw a video of a cellist making an A440*. There he sat, tuner on the floor just below the cello, playing an A over and over – watching the needle on the tuner, working (very hard) to make an A accurately, consistently, repeatedly. [Note: this video also made me so grateful to play the harp where we set and forget (sort of) our tuning. I’m delighted that the pitch part of the intonation is not part of the deal!]

By the end of the video, it was clear that the work on technique had helped to play better. But it was also clear that it was not music. It was carefully executed sound.

Because music isn’t just sound (yes, I know you already know that, but it bears repeating). It has been said that the music actually happens in between the notes.

What?!

Music is not just the notes. It is not just putting noise into the air. Music includes putting in the silences, the spaces in between. It also includes adding the breathing, the inflections, the dynamics, the pulse, the tempo. It includes all the shading, highlighting, and storytelling you can get in there!

Of course, you can see that your good technique will make it easier for you to do all those things. Technique is necessary but not sufficient to achieve making music. I’m sure you have all heard some people who play technically accurately but with no music. They achieve Technical Ecstasy (with apologies to Black Sabbath). They try to master the music, but instead the music (typically via the tyranny of the dots) has mastered them. In fact, when you see these performances or hear these recordings, you have no doubt that all the notes have been delivered – but you are left empty – hungry for and bereft of the feelings you get from a lesser (technically) performance delivered with heart.

So, I encourage you to continue to work on technique (of course) but also to devote practice time to breaking out and rendering music – not just notes. This is easiest if you record yourself to reveal what is coming out of you – and working on that too.

After all, technical ecstasy won’t give you music, but music may just lead to ecstasy, technically!

* I wish I could remember who that cellist is – I’d give credit if I could!