I’m back home after two glorious weeks in Ireland and Scotland. We had a wonderful group who made every nook and cranny of each day so much fun! This time I decided to be fully present and not worry about posting here. Even so, I – as usual – didn’t take many photos (I find that bring present means that “take a photo” doesn’t enter my mind!). But I did take a few, so I’ll share some that I love. Now that we’re back, it’s time to plan the next trip so let me know if you’re interested and I’ll share the details as the trip forms! Until then, here are a smattering of snaps from our adventure –

Being back also means getting back to practicing. There are some real benefits of being away from your harp for a manageable amount of time. There’s the clarity that a break brings. You have time to think about what you’ve been playing, what you would like to be playing, and seeing a little better what you might need to spend some focus on. You hear tunes you don’t know and would like to. You hear tunes you don’t know and are happy to keep that way.

One thing that I also noticed was that I really enjoy having my harp handy, ready for me to slide onto the bench and play whatever comes to mind. I don’t notice that regularly, but I feel it keenly when I am without. With all that time away, what do I think I need to focus on now? I thought you would never ask! I’m wanting to get back to basics – with dedicated time for exercises, etudes, and book work. You know, those things that are so easy to put aside when you convince yourself that you don’t have time (right along with getting some movement in and eating carefully!).

It would be easy to set these things aside. After all, the holiday season is racing up so there’s so much to prepare. Granted, much of it is review and polish, but there are also so many new tunes to learn and learn and the calendar isn’t getting any bigger! However, that is e-x-a-c-t-l-y when you should return to basics. Because what are exercises and etudes, after all? They are really just a bunch of patterns linked together. And those patterns can be linked together in a bunch of ways…which make up tunes (like holiday music!). For instance, before I play Carol of the Bells, I could spend a little time on a fingering exercise of 1-2-1-3-1-2-1-3 while moving around the scale. Before I try to take on Ding Dong Merrily on High, I could spend focused time with partials scales so I can play Glooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooria smoothly, comfortably, and confidently!

So the next time you try to convince yourself that you don’t have time to do exercises and etudes, remember that they are just the types of patterns you’re going to call on (repeatedly) as you get your music pulled together. No matter what time of year, you’ll be using that stuff so you might as well get to it! What exercises will you add to your day? Let me know in the comments – I love learning new patterns!