You’ve seen the markings:

“Expressively”  

“Dolce”

“Tenderly”

“Furiouso”

“insert-your-favorite-emotion-here”

And there is no confusion – after all, you speak English and you’re pretty good at music Italian.*

But, when the rubber meets the road – or more appropriately – when your fingers meet the strings, do you play it like you mean it?

Don’t get me wrong, it can be challenging to play it like you mean it.  There are mental, technical, and performance challenges that can each get in the way of you being able to do so.  What does that mean? Well…

Mental – let’s deal with the easy one first.  What does the expression (as given in the expression marking) mean to you?  You do need to know what the words mean – then you can begin to imagine what that particular expression feels like and then how it might sound.  For example, if you don’t know what “misterioso” means, it will be difficult to determine how it will sound (or how to make it sound like that)!

These expressions can also be thought of as being aligned along a continuum (just like the emotions they are meant to represent) so there can be subtle differences between them.  For example, what’s the difference between “happy” and “joyous”?  Think about how those expressions make you feel.  Is joy a flat thing (maybe like a ramp going up?) or is it undulating (like a roller coaster)?   Does sweetly mean to be played quietly – or is there more to it than that?  Once you’ve thought through that, then imagine how that feeling might sound.

Keep in mind as well that how you feel about the music and about the expressions might change.  And that’s ok, it just means that you can change up how you play that tune to reflect how you are choosing to express it just then!

Technical – once you have determined what you think about the tune and its expressions and emotions, then you need to pull out all your technique chops to execute!  Expressive playing is built on solid technique.  When you mean to play pppp you must be able to get that out of your harp, and it needs to be disctinct from ppp.  You also have to handle yourself so that when you ask yourself to make a change … you get what you demand.

Performance – it’s all well and good to know what you want to come out of your harp and to be physically able to play it.  But when you are performing, you still have to have the control to bring it all together and not only conjure those emotions in your own imagination but also to evoke the same emotions in the minds of the listeners.  That requires that you be focused on those emotions – to be present while performing and not letting your mind wander!

All of these things can be achieved – you just have to (you know what I’m going to say…) practice them.  Here are a few ways to actually practice.  BTW – this assumes that you already know the tune – it’s really hard to emote when you are struggling to remember what the next note should be.

Make a list of emotions – happy and sad are a start but really plumb your thesaurus – exuberant, dolorous, playful, martial – get some really meaty emotions on your list (look them up if you have to!).

Start simply – pick a tune you already know well as an initial “workspace”.  Try to play that tune from each of your listed emotions – angry, hungry, petulant, tired, whatever comes to mind.

• Don’t be afraid to change the tempo, the rhythmic flow, the arrangement
• Don’t play it once, grimace, and quit! This is another one of those white knuckle things that’s like driving on an unknown mountain road – you have to focus, to worry and to work – and then, when you are sure it’s all coming apart and you’re going to plunge off the side, you reach a summit and suddenly, you see a beautiful and welcoming valley right before you.  AAaaaaaah! An exhilarating ride…once it’s over.  And a ride you can do over and over again enjoying each time.
• Keep iterating – as before, no emotion is flat.  There is happiness in times of sorrow, joy in the midst of despair, grief in celebration – explore all those different faces of the emotions.
• Be sure to be contrary – find the happiest sounding tune you know and turn it into a dirge.  Turn a lament into a jig!.  At a minimum this is a good exercise, and it has the potential to allow you to view the tune in a completely different way.
• Lather, Rinse, Repeat – as you get more facile with playing with these expressions, practice moving from one emotion to another. Crash from one to the other and back again.  Once you’ve done that, can you gently slide from sad to happy and back again.  (PS – yes, you can, do not doubt it).  Start slowly, find your feet, and build from there.  Find what techniques you need to strengthen and then fix those gaps (PS Don’t mistake pppp for air harp – it’s a very controlled playing that is quiet yet still present!). 

This is your story – tell it your way – and like you mean it!

Are you playing like you mean it?  Do you tell the story your way?  If so, share how you do it.  If not, share what you need to learn – in the comments!

* If not, add that to your list of things to learn – even if it’s just for the sake of learning.