Category Archives: Quotes and Thoughts

A Wonderful Week of Teaching in the Mountains

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Massanetta

I have been enjoying my second year teaching in the mountains at Massanetta Springs, VA at the Church Music and Bible Conference.  This year’s theme, “Instruments of Peace” was certainly appealing and the students were incredible. I was so pleased to have two return (always gratifying when someone knows what they are getting into and chooses to spend time learning with you!) and having a new (to me) person join us.

They were great – again willing to try new things and being so gracious with their time and experience. I cannot adequately express how much I enjoyed the time with them!

Here are a few photos from my week – what a beautiful place! As usual, I didn’t take as many as I should, but I’m happy to share that I did better than usual! 😆

Preparing to play the prelude for the Tuesday worship service. Why yes, they did perform well at the end of Day 2! I was so proud for them.

I l-o-v-e labyrinths! This little jewel is in the woods and doesn’t seem to get a lot of traffic but it was perfect for me and my harpsicle!

1. I was so glad to be be invited to return to Massanetta Springs to teach this summer. 2. I remain terrible at selfies!

Another stalwart heart enduring an impromptu “come and try” – I’ll grab anyone who looks twice and encourage them to give it a go!

Oh, come on – its summer! A little ice cream is good for you. And besides, you can’t play the harp all day!

Both of these lovely people came again this summer – I was delighted to see them!

This is from an “offical” come and try. I loved the enthusiasm of the kids and the joyfulness of the adults – especially here where they shared the harp for a Pentatonic Improvisation (Thank you Marianna and Kris for forcing me to learn this all those years ago!)

I hope youre having as much fun this summer as I am!  What have you been up to? Let me know in the comments (and if you have a photo to share, let me know and I’ll make it work!

 

PS – due to (irritating and boring) logistics issues (mostly driven by my travel schedule) I’m still on my phone so please forgive any formatting and spelling blurps you might find).

Quote, “

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At some point in planning I must have thought being on the go for two months was a good idea, because I booked myself up to do just that.  I’ve shared some with you (and some of you have shared with me which is great!). I’m still in the middle of all that and find myself with loads of good ideas but stuck in a bit of an internet desert, so I’m using my phone to post – ugh.  So this week, I’ve shared a quote with you.  It’s not much but I hope you enjoy it. I’m sure I’ll wander out of the desert shortly and I’ll see you next week!

Doubt

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This week I was feeling the need for a little inspiration – probably because it’s August and summer and sunny and delightful, so of course I want to be outside enjoying the niceness.  But I’ve got other things to do…like practice.  Do you ever notice how when you most need to practice you also most feel like you need to be more than that?  Or maybe that’s just me.  Either way, this week, just a little share.  If you feel that way sometimes too, this can serve as a reminder that when you’re standing on the horizon, nothing looks close (or do-able) but just like the dawn, just give it a sec and you’ll get there — don’t doubt!

Subscribers received this as a letter sized print.  Not subscribed?  We can fix that – just go here.  Did you like this (or something like it)? Let me know in the comments!

Color outside the lines?

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It’s all there in Black and White.

The treble lines, the bass lines.

Five lines of instructions (actually, 10 for us – plus ledger lines!). Play this note at this time…and all those other notes too, in order, as written.

So let it be written, so let it be done!

Except…wait a minute – last week we talked about the importance of asking questions…including my favorite – why? And a few weeks before that we talked about how sometimes meter and tempo get conflated and confused. So, this is sort of the same idea – We often make flawed assumptions about how we know what to play. And this week, we’ll talk about another flawed assumption that can make playing more difficult (and a way around it!)*.

Sometimes we mix up the register and the hand. This is especially easy to do because we are taught that way. And, to be honest, about 99.99999999999999999999999999999% of the time that is the right solution. But sometimes it’s just silly. Imagine if you were presented with this**:

Your experience, your practice and your efficiency all drive you to play all that mess in your left hand – even as the music tells your right hand to pack a bag and go on vacation! And you will likely tear yourself inside out trying to make it happen – possibly with the right hand sympathetically gripping the sound board tightly in terrorized support, hanging on like a terrified passenger on the back of a wobbly Harley.

Or what about this?

Same thing, only this time it’s the left-hand packing for a trip to the Bahamas!

Why do we do this? Well, because the ink said to, so we must.

It has always been thus.

But do we really? NO!!

Because while the ink tells you What and When –

it actually says n-o-t-h-i-n-g about How!

Read that again.

Of course, it’s easy to think like that –

Bass = Left hand and Treble = Right hand

And it’s easy to not think about what hand makes sense to be playing at that point.  After all,

Melody = right hand and harmony = left hand

Sic semper tyrannis

But does it even make sense to do it that way?***

After all, you have one harp and all the sounds come from it. Harmony and melody – all from one source – so really, which hand you use doesn’t really matter.

Now, I’m not advocating that you throw away all that practice and tradition. Instead, I’m suggesting that when you are struggling to make some fingering work, try to work smarter rather than harder.

I’ll remind you: the staff tells you What and When but

not How!

There’s another benefit of thinking about “breaking” the arrangements differently – and that is that the more ways you can look at the music (divergently), the more you will see new ways to play it. You’ll also “discover” patterns that were previously hidden from you that can then be leveraged, and the more you will think creatively (yea divergent thinking!).

Remember that the ink is a guide, but you must make the journey!

Do you ever color outside the lines?  What wonky passages have you struggled with and how did you overcome that?  Let me know in the comments!

* Special thanks to Rachelle Morgan who asked this question in Ask a Harp Pro on Facebook!

** Unceremoniously pinched from Rachelle’s question but slightly modified

***I need to credit Sue Richards for teaching me to think this way. Otherwise, I’d still be fighting to make stupid stuff work out and playing slowly, unable to catch up.

Go confidently – and be nice

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So, there’s still a dread disease across the land, there is still very little work for musicians, and we’re all getting tired of sitting in front of our computers creating/consuming/enduring content.

Sigh.  What’s a harper to do?

I saw something online this morning (of course, because where else am I gonna go?) that really stuck with me.

Self confidenceYou see, I spent pretty much ALL day yesterday working on something at the intersection of my harp and my computer.  It was a struggle to figure out where to start.  But I shouldered all my perfectionistic professionalism and got on with it.  And after hours slogging through (and I mean h-o-u-r-s), I learned that I had gotten absolutely nothing usable!  Then I spent even more hours trying to save what I had, only to recognize that it would be faster (and probably more satisfying and less frustrating) to start over again than to continue to try to salvage it.  It was disheartening (and worrisome – I have a deadline!).  I felt like I wasn’t going to be able to do this.

But the words I saw this morning were spot on.  They spoke of continuing on, and staying confident, even when you’re not sure where you’re going.

I hope you feel confidence when you’re playing – especially when you’re struggling with a particular piece or technique.  It’s very difficult to keep confidence front of mind when you have had a bad rehearsal or when you make a video of your playing (like I frequently suggest) and see something you didn’t think you would (I’m pointing at you unclosed fingers, dropping elbows, craned necks, and bent wrists!).  It would be so easy to become disheartened and to set it aside.  But like so many setbacks, there are lessons to be learned – about the music, about your playing, and about yourself!

Don’t let your self-confidence take a hit when you have setbacks or challenges.  It is easy to go down the path of loss of confidence – especially with our music.  And while you’re being confident, that you’re nice to you as well.  But it’s important to remember a few important details:

  • Typically our lack of self-confidence has nothing to do with reality. Your perception of your performance is usually far different from your real ability.  If you have received kudos in for your playing, those people are not lying!  So stop lying to yourself.
  • Remember to praise yourself – and mean it.
  • You will have challenges.  As you work through them, be nice to you!  The mental health pros say “practice kindness and compassion” – do that with yourself!
  • Finally, realize that you can say no to yourself.  You wouldn’t accept unreasonable requests from others, don’t make unreasonable requests of yourself!  Of course strive to learn and grow, but don’t ask yourself to do things you don’t want to do are just aren’t ready for!

So, today I’m redoing all the work I did yesterday.  Am I feeling less confident?  Nope, not anymore (of course I wallowed for a little bit – I AM human!).  Today I’m going to use everything I learned yesterday and get it done!  Do I know where all this will lead?  Nope, I have no clue.  while I do all that, I will remember that I am doing the best I can and I will succeed, although it might take me a little longer than I thought.

If you hit a rough patch, I hope you’ll continue on, stay confident, and persevere.  You may not know where you’re going…until you get there.  Anyone else in this spot?  What are you doing?  Let me know in the comments!

You are filled with a sense of urgency. Be patient.

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– thus spoke my fortune cookie

It is the end of August, that magical time of year…when it has been so hot that it is nearly impossible to believe the winter will ever come.  When the holidays feel so far away that you can’t even think about them (even though Halloween candy has been on shelves since the afternoon of July 4th).  And this year, any planning will be done while wearing a mask, contemplating how to have your usual holiday celebration while everyone is inside small boxes on your phone screen.

So, it is exceedingly difficult to get motivated to begin to practice holiday music!

But really, it’s already September, and with accelerated schedules, some might normally be expecting to play Christmas music by early November.  Of course, this year, everything is off.  But even that isn’t much comfort – because people are trying desperately to be out and about and back to normal and we don’t know when what we have always considered to be normal will return.  Which means that just when you’re sure you’ll have nowhere to play, someone will contact you begging you for help!

Any of these can really tarnish your willingness to bring your holiday repertoire up to snuff while simultaneously possibly putting you in the situation of not being ready when the call comes.

And no matter what angst others have expressed, I’ve also heard a lot of people saying some variation of, “I’ve had all this time, I should have already mastered an entire new repertoire, but I haven’t even warmed up!”  And that’s about when the Fortune Cookie seems to be prescient!

It’s entirely possible that you will have absolutely nowhere to play holiday music in 2020!  It’s also possible that – even if you only play for the cat and the curtains – they won’t be really up for holiday music this year.  And although I don’t have many, I am already booking for holiday events, so –

2020 is definitely going to be a test of your internal motivation!  Here are a few reasons that I’d like to encourage you to start working on holiday music now:

  1. You already have most of it!  One of the best things about holiday music is that, after the first few holidays, you pretty much have the repertoire licked.  That isn’t to say that you don’t need to take it out and dust it off and give it a good polish.  But you really don’t have to start from scratch – score!
  2. Since you’re only having to polish and shine, you really can use this part of your repertoire to both evaluate your growth in the previous year AND to work on expanding what you already know.  If you’re not struggling to remember the melody and the chord progression, you can work on new bits of arrangements, adding introductions and codas, making holiday mashups, etc.  And with most of the tunes already in your memory, you can select a few to add for this year.
  3. Think of it as an easy exam!  This is rep you play every year!  You can use it as an opportunity to see how you’ve grown over the year.  (If it helps, pinch your own cheek while saying “My, how you’ve grown” in a sing-song-y voice).
  4. Fake it ‘til you make it.  I don’t usually run into the holiday season squealing with glee…if I could drag my feet any more on it, I totally would.  But the reality is that the tunes are friendly and that can be uplifting.  And while playing holiday tunes doesn’t make me giddy with excitement, they do help propel me out of the darkness of the expanding night.  So, practice the rep, paste a smile on your face, and I’d be surprised if you didn’t start to get the holiday spirit (no matter how hard you try to avoid it).
  5. You really may have no where to play this year – but that’s ok.  Having a package of holiday tunes will give you the opportunity to play for yourself.  I don’t know about you but, especially in the busy holiday season, it can be really nice to reconnect with your instrument…and remember why you fell in love in the first place…and easy, well-learned tunes can help with that.
  6. And, if you are socially distant from everyone you love, like, or tolerate – you can have a ready-made gift from the heart!  Even I have managed to make a ton of videos – mostly for students, but some for other things.  If I can do it, you can do it.  Prop your phone up on your music stand, turn on a lamp, and make a video to share.  It’s easy to share with those you love/like/tolerate – and it makes a lovely holiday gift at a very reasonable price!

So, throw off the ennui, plaster a smile on your face, dig out your holiday standards, and blow off the dust.  Be patient as you work through the doldrums of the time and allow yourself to have enough time to do the work.  What are your favorite holiday tunes?  Do you feel like you comfortably know how to make a video and share it?  Am I fishing for ideas for upcoming blog posts?  Let me know in the comments!

Welcome June

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In the long sad time, when the sky was grey

And the keen blast blew through the city drear

When delight had fled from the night and the day

My chill heart whispered, “June will be here”

A June Tide Echo, Amy Levy

I find that I’m a little mournful just now.  In my original plan, by now I’d be already in Edinburgh, joining friends, seeing sites, sharing tunes (writing on originally scheduled blog post topics!).  I’d be helping students prepare for competitions and performances and recitals.  I’d be trying to decide what, from my “OSAS at Oberlin” stash would be appropriate for “OSAS at the blissfully air conditioned Baldwin-Wallace”.  I’d be organizing my calendar to practice teaching, practice weddings, practice performances, composing, arranging.

[I refuse to think of life before all the sickness of this year-to-date as “normal” because there is no normal.  There is only change we do not see.   And normal = mundane and who wants to be mundane?!]

But as for right here, right now, it is easy to be suckered in by things around us (like social media mostly, although regular media isn’t really helping any either) and its unending stream of “content” (some good, some pathetic).  And for good or bad, I found that I was being sucked in and becoming envious of the people who were posting clever, or at least amusing, videos of their funny children, hilarious pets, perfectly executed, while distributed, performance art, or oops-filled online meetings.  Increasingly, I was feeling particularly peeved that I, a creative and artistic person, was not also generating huge vats of content…like so many artists posting (highly edited) stuff.

But maybe, with a little shift in focus, I can see that this is not the truth of it.  I am doing inventive things (but maybe not subjecting everyone else with the outputs).   And then I remembered one of my favorite quotes. 

Never compare your blooper reel with everyone else’s highlight reel.

This quote should probably be updated to include the words “tightly curated and heavily edited” highlight reels.

I remain excited for this summer and I’m trying to embrace all the changes (yes, I’m mournful and still remain excited…I’m complex like that).  I’m also trying to appreciate that those changes represent potential.  I still look forward to next summer when I might have even more time with friends in Scotland – and the extended absence will definitely make the hearts grow fonder.  I’ll have more tunes to share and a whetted appetite for sites, sounds, smells and tastes.  My students will outgrow the music we started to ready for performance this year and will move on to other pieces to ready for next year’s events and venues.  Pieces we might not have even thought about if “everything was normal”!  I’ll have time to consider the joyful memories of the items in the “OSAS Oberlin” bin while dreaming up what excitement we will find in our new OSAS location in Barea, OH.  And hopefully I’ll be scrambling to get from competition to wedding to workshop – happily busy and working.

Be careful of the perfectness of what you see.  Spend time with your harp – Imperfect time. Try new things.  Play new stuff.  Play old stuff…in new ways.  Share what you feel like sharing.  What are you doing?  What are you planning for next June?  What imperfectly perfect thing are you working on?  Let me know in the comments!

Travel is Broadening

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You already know that all of us are back from the Harpa Scotland 2019 Retreat. If the photos, videos, comments, and smiles are any indication – it was another brilliant success. Harpa is so much fun because it has a simple formula:

HARPA = 

amazing musicians + fantastic tour guide + incredible roadie = 

sharing music joy + enjoying each other + adventure!

You’ve heard the maxim that travel is broadening – and not just from delicious cakes and scones! As you travel with your harp, you develop or hone many sterling qualities including forbearance, faith and patience! Whether you like it or not, you must let go, trust the Fates, and be patient (outside the “Oversize Luggage” belt mostly!).

Most of us are control freaks (especially about our harps). Many of us do not know this about ourselves (or if we do, we underestimate).  Few things will test your mettle like traveling with your instrument and entrusting it to the TSA. And while American (airline) may hate guitars, I’m pretty sure it’s the TSA that hates harps. Or at least, hates harp cases. I qualify this, though, to say that although I have gotten my harp back partially latched or completely unlatched, it has always weathered the journey (Forbearance?  Faith?  Probably both).

But more than that, traveling with your harp opens doors you might not even know were there otherwise. We have been places we likely would have gone right by – simply because those places opened themselves up to the possibility of us playing there! We have never played anywhere dull. This openness on their parts helps us to be more open on our part – to see new things or to see familiar things differently (including toilets, refrigerators, and door locks!). And once we are opened, adventures appear around every bend.

Our trips are always small – this time we had seven. This allows us to go places often overlooked or bypassed. It also ensures we don’t travel as a band of tourists – simply observing, never venturing outside our comfort. But it also generates a community and engenders sharing with one another – we gel in ways that big groups never get. We become a traveling family, if ever so briefly. We share our experiences – and our cookies! And that sharing is part of the fun. And the more fun we have together, the more fun we find. And so it grows!

But perhaps the best bit is that we meet other people – in restaurants and cafes, at attractions, in our accommodations. We were invited along to a stramash by someone we met at one of our concerts. See how that works?! At the time we weren’t sure we knew what a stramash is, but we kinda thought we did, and we went along to it. It was a blast! We got to play tunes with local musicians, we heard some new ones, played some shared favs and heard some lovely singing. We got to share the joy of making music – in a fun, organic, very Scottish way! (Just to confirm, a stramash is a seisiun).  We met a delightful couple at a fish and chips restaurant…because they photo bombed one of our group selfies! It is these brief interactions punctuating the trip that not only make great memories, but really define good travels. While chatting with an audience member we learned of a museum that none of our research had unearthed. And later, once there, we met and chatted with more lovely locals and learned more than just looking at some displays would ever have wrought.

All that leads to learning more about yourself. You learn where your unknown assumptions and ignorances lie and have the opportunity to examine them. These assumptions and ignorances are not good or bad, but examining them means you can rethink their utility. I’m not talking about bigotry but rather biases like what we select for our concert program, how we introduce ourselves and our music to the audience, and how we meet them where they are when we perform (and appreciating when they’re not where we thought they’d be!). A small group also learns to accept more – the morning person must be patient while the not-morning person strives to not be cranky at the start of the day (and vice versa at the end of the day).  We help one another – with luggage, and art supplies, and fingering, and leftovers, and making tea (and more tea, and yet more tea!).

And best of all – each trip is different. The harp attracts all kinds – players and appreciators and audiences. We make lifelong friends and brief – but enriching acquaintances. Even if we return to a place, it is new, and we grow in it. And being invited back is a pleasure and a privilege.

So Harpa 2019 is in the books – an unqualified success. We’re all home, laundry cycled (mostly), gifts given, postcards received (mostly). And we look forward to the next time!

Once we sleep off our jetlag, we will start planning the next Harpa outing!

But we’re also finalizing plans for the 2020 Harp the Highlands and Islands trip – details coming soon. Would you like to be broadened (by travel and cakes)?  Want to be part of the action and first to know the details? Leave me a comment to that effect below!

PS: Photo credit for this week and last go to the Harpaniks and especially Donna Bennett, Therese Honey, and Robin Pettit.