We all want to have a prodigious repertoire that will allow us to play for hours with little to know effort.  But how do you get there?  You know that it will take some time to develop a deep repertoire but there are three steps to getting there quicker.

1.       Play the classics.  While you know “Twinkle” because you learned them at your first lesson, that doesn’t mean that your audience won’t love it when you play it!  Bring out and play all those eight-bar tunes!  The tunes you know are the ones to play – they’re not trite, they’re fun…and…you know them!

2.       Rearrange your tunes.  Whether you learn by ear or a strict page reader, you can make more of your repertoire by “letting go”.  You can use the same chord progression (which means you only have to remember the one progression) but present it in different ways – 5ths, octaves, blocked chords, broken chords, rolled chords, various collections of these).  This will allow you to play a tune through as many repeats as you need.  If you’re playing off the paper, you might want to write in the chord names – make it your own lead sheet.  And, if you can, add in some alternate chords for variety.

3.       Timing is everything.  Music is a means of communication.  What you choose to communicate is up to you.  The tunes you know can often do double duty – especially when you have no time to prepare.  Most of the “fast tunes” you know can be slowed way down – way down!  This will instantaneously increase your store of airs.  But remember too that your store of airs can be sped up – thus increasing your cache of fast tunes (this does take some practice!).  And it’s relatively easy to do – the biggest challenge is to actually play slowly!  The chord progressions stay the say, but break the chord up which will help you stay slow.

All these will, at a minimum, double your repertoire – as quickly as today.  Don’t forget to write out a list of your tunes – don’t want to forget any of them!

Each year we have an excellent experience and when it’s time to go we are certain that the next year can not possibly be better.  And each year we are wrong!

OSAS was brilliant this year – I wish you all could have been there.  We learned some great tunes – can’t wait to really get them under my belt!  Lots of time singing – and we waulked a length of cloth which we later shared as a group. 


Tiffany Lingle got this photo of Karen, Wendy and me having a great time in session

We learned some lovely tunes, including snappy pipe tunes from Jo Morrison, songs from Seamus Gagne, a fantastic air from Sue Richards. Ann Heymann introduced us to the Sterling Heads roundel and the possibilities that it contains as well as sharing the Bunworth harp replica – a stunning copy guided by history.  We had lectures on teaching and technology, fiddle history, reading Gaelic, and rhythm.

I was delighted to act as master of ceremonies for both the instructor concert and the “OSAS got Talent” variety show, as well as having the opportunity to be the counselor for the girls on the first floor!  Our harp kids are just cool people – which is always nice. 

And there were sessions, cookies, more sessions, games, knitting, singing with the weeping beech, and the practically mandatory trip to the bead store. I was too busy having a good time, soaking up music and culture and language to remember to take photos.  

There’s some wonderful photos and reminiscences in the latest Kilt and Harp which is posted at the SHSA members site, the forum – www.shsa.org/forum

And I am beyond delighted to have been invited to teach at OSAS next year.  I already have ideas and I hope I’ll see you there in 2012!

No big post today – I’m at the Ohio Scottish Arts School having my head stuffed with new tunes, seeing old friends, making new friends and playing like there’s no tomorrow.  Maybe you can come next year?

I’ll post some highlights of OSAS next week – in the mean time, give us a tune!

I’ve taken the month of March to tell you about some great harp opportunities that are available this summer. I mention these particular events because I have participated in each of these events in the past.  I am confident that if you choose to go to any of these you will have an excellent learning opportunity – and you’ll have fun!  There are many harp events throughout the summer and this was not meant to be an exhaustive list – just a sampling, so I’ll end with the last of my suggestions – Harp Camp.

I’m particularly partial to Harp Camp because it is not only where I have such fun teaching and sharing – it is also where my harp life began.  This will be the 16th consecutive year for Harp Camp and each year Director Kris Snyder puts together a wonderful teaching staff.  I wasn’t at the first few, but I am delighted to be invited back again this year.  Lucy Stevens, the wonderful arranger and performer, will also be teaching this summer. I am so excited – we have done all the planning and have put together a really nice workshop for you – if I may say so myself!

Harp Camp is a great learning environment.  The setting and the facilities allow participants to be comfortable.  That comfort allows you to safely try new things, meet new people and ideas, and grow regardless of your level of experience and expertise. In fact, Harp Camp is an excellent place to come if you have never played the harp before and are not certain it is for you. At my first harp camp, two of us were in that category…one is now a harper (me) and the other decided that it wasn’t really for her, but don’t worry, she had another instrument to fall back on.

Harp Camp will be in the lovely Glen in Southeastern PA which is beautiful (that’s not really what its called – but that’s what it reminds me of).  This setting lets you breathe and be creative.  In addition, we have a variety of activities that all contribute to our growth,  In case you’re worried, we don’t spend 8 hours a day slaving behind our harps – we spend the days in a variety of activities and we have FUN too! We approach developing our musicianship in a number of different ways and in many modalities – it’s exciting and I am very thrilled to be returning!  We have a variety of learning experiences, exploring basics of music, technique, performance, as well as creativity, ensemble play, arranging and writing, improvisation, and other aspects of being a solid musician. We also play games, enjoy good company, and play a lot of great music together. It’s a busy workshop – jam packed with harpy goodness!

We’ll be updating the website so you can find all the particulars and I’ll post here when the information is available.   Don’t forget the date – join us for Harp Camp 28, 29, and 30 July!

The Somerset Folk Harp Festival will be held in Parsippany, NJ July 14-17 and in conjunction with the Historical Harp Society Conference.  Somerset is a great conference – see people you know, meet people you’ve only dreamed of meeting, and learn from some of the brightest stars in our modern harp pantheon.  With over 90 workshops to choose from the question is not will there be anything to go to but rather how will you ever decide on just a few in the available time.  In addition, the vendor area is a veritable cornucopia of temptation and delight with products ranging from delightful jewelry and trinkets to harps that are beautiful, mellifluous and harp-lust inducing!  And if it needs it, you can even take your harp to the doctor – and have it regulated!  All in one place and for an excellent price.

No matter your interest area – historic, wire, Celtic, Latin, classical, bedside – there will be workshops.  There are sessions on business, teaching, and other “tools of the trade” for professionals and those contemplating becoming professionals.  And there are excellent concerts each day of the event.  And even more – there are jams, the Carolan marathon, fancy dinners,  meeting old friends, making new friends, and harps everywhere! 

Somerset is well run, fun, informative, and worth the trip.  Early Bird registration offers a great deal on the registration price and is open until May 14th.  For all the details go to the website (being updated frequently with even more information, presenters, performers, exhibitors and more) – http://www.somersetharpfest.com/.  Don’t miss it!

Those of you who know me personally know I’m really big on going to school to learn cool stuff. So it is essential that I tell you about/remind you about/encourage you to come to THE OHIO SCOTTISH ARTS SCHOOL. I have been fortunate to participate in OSAS for a number of summers and each year I learn more than I thought possible – so you need to know more about it too!

This year, OSAS will be held June 25—July 1, 2011 at the quaint Oberlin College campus in Oberlin, Ohio (just south of Cleveland). OSAS is sponsored by the Scottish-American Cultural Society of Ohio, Inc.

From the website, “It is the intent of the OHIO SCOTTISH ARTS SCHOOL to provide comprehensive instruction in traditional arts of Highland dancing, fiddling, harping, piping and drumming, by nationally and internationally recognized teachers. At the end of the week, the students will have increased their knowledge of theory, improved their basic skills and technique, and been exposed to new material.”

OK, originally when I pasted that in I was going to delete all the other arts, but you need to know the full scoop! The school provides a great opportunity not only to improve your harping but also to learn from other students as well. And we learn all sorts of things all day – from breakfast straight on through ‘til the end of the sessions that erupt each evening.

Again, from the harp portion of the website:

All Students are expected to bring their own instrument. 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.

Evening jam sessions offer students the chance to develop accompaniment patterns and learn more tunes.

The nylon/gut harp classes will study Scottish dance music, airs, and songs, focusing on ornamentation, Scottish style, accompaniment, and learning by ear. 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.

Ann’s class will focus on fingernail and damping techniques for the wire-strung clarsach but any harp is welcome since such techniques were also standard fare for gut harp. Repertoire will range from beginning pieces to ports, strathspeys and reels. The creation of two level-appropriate groups will allow for individualized instruction and practice opportunity as well. Afternoon lectures will include an overview of fingernail technique, the “coupled hands” technique, and a discussion of symbolism in harps.”

And the instructors this year are, as every year, AMAZING! This year we will have:

Seumas Gagne, Jo Morrison, Ann Heymann, and Sue Richards! It’s enough to make your head explode in excitement!

Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to learn more about the harp, the culture, the music! For more information go to the OSAS website: http://www.ohioscottishartsschool.com/home_files/osas_harp.htm

And if you’ve never been to OSAS before, give it a good think – it is a warm, inviting learning environment that might feel daunting if you’ve never been – but that could not be further from the reality – don’t let the thought of all that yummy Scottish harping scare you – its a blast you’ll never forget!

Harp Camp is 16 this year!  Old enough to drive – and believe me, it has been a driver in my life since my first Harp Camp experience! 

Director Kris Snyder has invited me to teach with her again in the lovely Glen in Southeastern PA and I am very excited to be returning!  In addition, Lucy Stevens, the wonderful arranger and performer, will also be teaching with us. I am so excited – we have gotten together to do all the preliminary planning – and boy do we have a great workshop planned for you!
I cannot express what an honor it is to be invited back to teach.  Harp Camp is a fantastic learning environment – warm, supportive, fun, creative – and has launched the careers of more than one harp player in the region!  And if you know of harpwishers (people who wish they played the harp but don’t know how to get started) this is an great opportunity for them.  People who have never touched a harp have the chance to begin to play at Harp Camp!

Harp Camp will be in its 16th year, is conducted in a beautiful setting, and allows you to learn with and from some amazing harp players of all levels and ages.  One of my favorite parts of Harp Camp has always been watching students teach each other and learn from one another – it is always humbling to realize the gifts each student brings – both to learn and to teach.

We have a variety of learning experiences, exploring basics of music, technique, performance, as well as creativity, ensemble play, arranging and writing, improvisation, and other aspects of being a solid musician.  We also play games, enjoy good company, and play a lot of great music together.  It’s a busy workshop – jam packed with harpy goodness!

We’re updating the website so all the particulars are not out there yet, but they will be soon and I’ll post here when the information is avaiable. 

In the interim, I highly encourage you to save the date and join us for Harp Camp 2011 28, 29, and 30 July! 

I assume you play the harp because you have a passion for it.  And if it is a passsion, then you should give it all you got…so, beyond the “work” that we’ve talked about previously, you have to bring some passion to it too.

To really flame that passion you need to start with beliving in you and concentrating on your vision of you in your passion.  This will help you really get there!  And of course, once you have that vision, you will be able to set your goals (where you’re going) that help you achieve your passion.  Throughout all this, you will have to be realistic…ensure you can do something toward your goal everyday (practicing is a good start).   In additional you’ll have to realize that you can not give up – its your passion, it’ll keep you going…Do what you love!

It’s been a few weeks since the excitement and invigoration of the New Year.  We’ve cleaned up after the parties, put away the decorations, written the thank you notes for all our lovely gifts received, and set our goals for the coming year.

And by this point in time, most of us have already forgotten the goals (or resolutions) we set for ourselves.  I challenged you to set yourself some music and musicianship goals for 2011…did you think of some?  Did you write them down? 

From William Jackson’s wonderful Land of Light lyrics I find these particularly captivating, “Now dawns the age, now comes the call”. Now is the time!  Take out your goals, review them, remind yourself of the excitement you came into the year with.  Evaluate your promises to yourself – are they realistic in the cold light of February?  Will you be able to make progress on those goals?  Have you set enough goals to keep you focused and few enough that you’ll be able to progress?

And remember to make a plan for those goals – you have to have a workable plan – workable for you!  Keep on it, and don’t worry, I’ll check back on you!

I’ve beaten the “work hard” drum a couple of weeks in a row, so a slightly different bent today…It is important to motivate yourself and to work hard.  But Tony Schwartz suggests that there is another key to building toward greatness.  And this one requires a little help.

He points out the importance of seeking feedback from experts periodically.  Heavy emphasis on periodically.  This is not the same as a weekly lesson…

This input requires that you identify an expert and cultivate a relationship with that person.  They must be free to give you the benefit of their experience and you must be ready and willing to accept what they offer you. 

Ask for directed and specific feedback – this will highlight the areas to which you should devote more time and energy in the short term future.  You must craft the questions you will ask before you meet to work with your identified expert to assure that you get the feedback you want.  Going in unprepared will waste their time and thereby reduce the utility of the feedback you receive – help that person focus on the areas you’d like to explore.  Of course, building a relationship will also allow you to identify the areas in which you’d like to focus before meeting.  It is also important to explore the topic areas in which you would like help. 

No one person will be able to help you fine tune every aspect of your playing.  Therefore you must both tailor your request for help and the questions you ask to the specific areas that person can help you grow in and identify other people with whom you should work. 

Recognize some important aspects of asking an expert for help – this person is recognized by you and others as an expert which is why you seek their feedback – respect the inputs you receive, even if they are tough to swallow at first.  Do not mistake the feedback of your peers as being equivalent – experts are identified as such specifically because they are not peers (this is slightly different in very high levels of performance – but for most of us, it is accurate).  Note the feedback you received.  And be prepared to meet again. 

And between those meetings – grow, grow, grow!