Episoder
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There are three ways we learn how to play the harp. The first and most obvious one is by doing. Playing and practicing is our âgo toâ method for learning. You canât actually learn to play the harp without playing it.
When my son was about 12 or 13, he fell madly in love with football. There werenât any teams he could play on at his school or in our community, so he had to be content with playing football video games. Not the same thing, of course. Even so, when he got to high school and finally had the opportunity to play on a real team, he was actually surprised to find out how different the game was when he was on a real field instead of a virtual one.
The second way we learn is by instruction, by having someone show us how to advance our skills or teach us new ones. In todayâs world there are countless ways to get instruction: lessons, coachings, videos, online courses. But instruction can teach us more than how to get our fingers to obey our commands. For example, a music theory class can help us learn the elements of music like keys, harmony, melody, structure and form. Thatâs an important part of our harp playing too.
Today, though, weâre going to talk about the third way to learn to play the harp, and thatâs through music itself. This is the part of learning that goes beyond the doing, beyond the fingers, notes and rhythm, to discovering how music communicates and learning how we can communicate it through our harp playing. This may be an advanced concept, but the methods we are learning today (going back to learning method two, instruction) are ones every harpist at every skill level can and should use. We are going to talk about how music can show you how to be more musical. If that sounds a little circular, donât worry. Iâll sort it all out for you.
Our particular focus areas today will be two techniques that are extra challenging for harpists, more so than for other instrumentalists. Weâre talking about legato and rubato, and we are going to be looking at them through the music of two pianist/composers, John Field and Frederic Chopin. Whether youâve played their music or not, there is a lot for us all to learn from them, so get ready for some beautiful music and some ideas you can use to make your own playing more expressive and beautiful.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:
Join our 12 Days of Harp Happiness 2025: Nocturne for a Midnight Clear Related resource Maybe Your Music ISNâT Romantic blog post Harpmastery.comGet involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-184
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Are you feeling a little bit scattered or unsettled at the moment? Itâs no wonder. Chaos is all around us in this crazy world, and thereâs precious little we can do to fix it. But the chaos in our own personal harp world is something completely different. If youâre feeling any chaos or overwhelm about your harp playing, I have good news for you; this kind of chaos is something you can fix. Absolutely.
Even in a year when we arenât bombarded on every side by messages of gloom and doom, these last few weeks of the year are hectic. In the midst of the holiday festive preparations and the holiday music preparation, we struggle to find focus. There have been times in the past when I have alternated between frantic practice sessions and times when Iâve tried to practice but ended up just sitting at the harp, unable to figure out what I should be practicing. There was so much I felt I should be doing, that finding the focus to actually do any of it was nearly impossible. Those were frustrating and demoralizing times, for sure.
Of course, that âtoo much to do and too little time to do itâ feeling isnât exclusive to the holidays, but today, as the holiday countdown is beginning, seemed like a good day to sort out the harp overwhelm so you can put these ideas for finding focus into action now. Weâll talk about the three kinds of overload - the overload we create, the overload we accept and the overload we imagine - and Iâll share how I deal with them. I also want to help you explore the most common âfocus fiends,â the habits we think are helpful but are actually robbing us of our time, energy and yes, harp happiness. Weâll banish the sneaky âfocus fiendsâ and start hanging out with some new âfocus friends.â
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:
Join our 2024 12 Days of Harp Happiness celebration!
Related resource Giving Thanks Daily: A New Practice blog post
Harpmastery.com
Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-183
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Manglende episoder?
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âWhat can I do to make my music more expressive?â
If Iâve been asked that question once, Iâve been asked it a thousand times. This isnât a beginner question, either. It usually is a question of an intermediate level player. Once harpists achieve a fair level of technical competency, they have enough bandwidth to consider how to make their playing more musical. Until that point, itâs all about getting the right fingers on the right strings.
Naturally enough, most of us look to the dynamics to make our music more expressive. Itâs a good plan. Following the dynamic markings that the composer has included allows us a glimpse of what the composer intended the music to be. Dynamics create differentiation in the music that helps a listener hear the intent of the music as well. And dynamics add variety so our music is more interesting. Dynamics are a great place to start if youâre ready to make your playing more expressive.
Usually, however, the harpists who ask me about making their music more expressive are already working at the dynamics. Thatâs why theyâre asking the question; they arenât sure why their music still doesnât sound the way they want.
Today, Iâm going to share my ideas on the techniques of musical expression that lie beyond the dynamics. Iâm talking big picture concepts here, ideas that will, I hope, change the entire way you approach your music from practicing to performing it. These ideas are for every harpist at every level; beginners can use them and advanced harpists can always use a reminder about them.
Every piece, whether itâs super simple or virtuoso concert repertoire, can and should be played expressively and beautifully. Itâs not about the number of notes you can play or the speed or facility of your fingers. Itâs about finding the musical heart of what you play and not being afraid to put your own heart into it. Donât let that scare you, though. I have some ultra-practical strategies for you that will help you make your music as expressive as you want it to be.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:
Join me at our February Getaway retreat. Register today!
Donât miss our November Seminar Series, âOn a Roll.â
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Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-182
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When you think of harp music, is there a characteristic harp sound that comes to mind, a musical gesture that belongs to the harp more than to any other instrument? A glissando, maybe? Thatâs certainly one of them, and a favorite of mine. Another one that I find very powerful and very harp-y is a rolled chord.
Harps were meant to play chords, especially rolled chords. They sound liquid and rich, even plummy. You can listen to an orchestral recording and when the harpist plays a rolled chord, you know it. Itâs almost as if everything melts for a moment. If you want to check out some of those moments, just stick with me because weâll be talking about a couple. But I also want to talk to you about how to make your rolled chords sound just that magical.
In my opinion, we often forget that our rolled chords play a significant role in our musical expression. I hear so many harpists playing their chords blocked or flat when the music clearly calls for a chord thatâs more lush and romantic. In fact, this is one of my pet peeves and something Iâm likely to go into a rant over given the opportunity. Iâm not ashamed about this though. I felt totally vindicated when I was in a workshop given at the World Harp Congress by the famous French harpist Isabelle Perrin. She was talking about the opening chords of the FaurĂ© Impromptu, and suddenly she was off on a rant just like mine. The frustration she expressed was that too many harpists play blocked chords all the time, when rolled chords would be infinitely more musical. She didnât know it, but she was ranting to the choir, where I was concerned.
Rolled chords are part of the native language of the harp. Today I want to help you roll them well, to understand how to fit them in and most of all, how to use them to add expression to your music. Weâll explore the differences between flat, cracked and rolled chords. Weâll deal with some of the critical technical aspects of rolled chords, too. But mainly, I want you to learn how to love them and how to use them to create more depth of expression, more beauty in everything you play.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:
Our November Seminar series on rolling chords is starting - join today!
Related resource: Podcast episode #92, Quick Fix: Roll Your Chords Right
Listen to Marilyn Costello with the Philadelphia Orchestra, playing Rimsky Korsakovâs Scheherezade; the Pas de deux from Tchaikovskyâs Swan Lake, and Debussyâs Danses sacrĂ©e et profane.
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Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-181
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The sinking of the unsinkable Titanic still fascinates us all over a hundred years after the disaster. Itâs the subject of all sorts of speculation and theories, and thereâs one of those that is actually relevant to our topic today. The question is this: if the Titanic crew had performed all the safety drills they were supposed to, if there had been enough lifeboats and if the passengers had been drilled in lifeboat procedures, would so many have perished when the ship went down?
Some people have noted that a routine safety drill on the fateful Sunday morning was not held. This has been attributed to several factors including high winds and the morning church service on the ship. Even with that, however, there was only lifeboat accommodation for about half of the passengers and crew onboard. Was the ship thought to be so well-designed that safety preparedness could be relaxed?
Probably not. But the safety regulations for passenger ships that we have today came in part out of the hard lessons of the sinking of the Titanic. In fact, the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) was established in 1914 following the disaster, and mandated, among other things, that ships carry sufficient lifeboats for everyone onboard.
So whatâs relevant in this story for us? If youâve ever worked hard to make your piece bullet-proof or crash-proof or otherwise âunsinkable,â you may have been ignoring some of the important preparation to help not only prevent performance disaster, but to recover from it. When youâre preparing to play a piece, expecting that mistakes will happen and learning to recover from them is the most important part of your practice. You can hope that you wonât make any mistakes, but if you havenât prepared for how to meet them if they happen, youâre playing a dangerous game. The icebergs are there and you may or may not hit them. But just as some emergency preparedness may have saved lives aboard the Titanic, your harp emergency preparedness could save your performance too.
On todayâs show, weâll explore the myths around mistakes, perfection, excellence and safe performance preparation procedures. Thereâs a lot for you to learn in this episode, so grab your cup of coffee and letâs get started. And - safety first! - donât forget to buckle your seat belt!
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:
Weâve announced our November Seminar Series - join now! Related resource Perfection, Productivity and Performance blog post Harpmastery.comGet involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-180
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A little while back, I did a podcast episode about the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, and why I believe studying and playing that music is so important for harpists. If you want to go back and listen to that episode, it is Episode 154, and I will put a link to that episode in the show notes.
Understandably, after that podcast aired, I was asked why I was emphasizing the music of Bach who didnât write anything that we know of for harp, when there are brilliant harp composers whose music we could study. I agree that studying music written for the harp is important for every harpist. But the music of Bach has been considered foundational for generations of music students, and itâs no less important for us harpists. In fact, it is precisely because Bach didnât write for harp that we need to be extra-intentional about including his music in our studies.
There is a drawback, however. The difficulty factor of much of his music makes it inaccessible to beginning students, and beginning students, particularly adult beginners, could benefit so much from studying his music. So today, I have three goals. First, Iâll show you what you can learn, even as a beginner harpist, from Bachâs music and Iâll demonstrate how you can learn it. Second, Iâll share a practice page that you can use as a warm-up or for more practice on this material. And most importantly, in the course of our time together today, I want to help you connect with the beauty in Bachâs music. Even though he never wrote anything for harp, he surely did write music that is beautiful, even transcendent, when itâs played on the harp.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:
Download your free Bach Study Sheet PDF Related resource 3 Bach Pieces Every Harpist Should Know and Why podcast Get the Harp MasteryÂź app for iPhone and iPad Harpmastery.comGet involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-179
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There are plenty of things we can muscle through: fatigue, a headache, the last email, the last pot to wash, paying the bills. But we canât muscle through harp playing, especially when it comes to our fingers. For all that we talk about strong fingers and considering how hard we work them, they and the bones, tendons and muscles that support them are relatively fragile. So when we talk about strengthening our fingers, we donât want to do any more heavy lifting.
Today on the podcast, we are going to talk about how to train your weakest fingers to be stronger by training them the right way, gently.
What do we mean by saying a finger is weak? How do you know if a finger, or even more than one finger, is weak? Weak fingers can manifest themselves in one of four ways.
First, you may have knuckles that collapse or lock up. When this happens, your finger may feel like it gets stuck on the string or frozen; it wonât move when you want. Or it may play unevenly or unintentionally play more than one string at a time.
Second, it may not have the same tone or volume as the other fingers. It might be louder or softer. It can feel like the volume knob is broken.
Third, it may feel awkward or uncoordinated, compared to your other fingers. It may not place accurately. It may not play well in combination with other fingers.
Lastly, it may not be independent. Actually, lack of independence is at the heart of some of these other issues, too. When your fingers can function independently, they have good dynamic control and can play evenly and equally with the other fingers in whatever combination is called for. Clearly, this doesnât mean that every time you stumble over a fingering, itâs because of weak fingers. More likely, you just have a new finger pattern to learn. But a finger that causes you to constantly accommodate it, is a weak finger. And today, youâre going to learn exactly what to do about it.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:
Get the Harp MasteryÂź app for iPhone and iPad.
Related resource Strengthen Your Fourth Finger blog post
Harpmastery.com
Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-178
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Do you have no sense of rhythm? Has someone told you that you have no sense of rhythm? Or do you sometimes wonder if you do?
Right off the bat, let me tell you that if someone said that to you, I know they are dead wrong. In the first place, I donât believe that people can be so connected and drawn to music that they commit themselves to studying and learning an instrument for years without an innate sense of rhythm. Rhythm, like any other musical skill, is a subject that is studied intentionally in music schools. Itâs not a topic that is merely left to chance with an âeither you got it or you donâtâ philosophy. The great Elvis Presley said, âRhythm is something you either have or you donât, but when you have it, you have it all over.â However, his meaning and our investigations into a sense of rhythm are somewhat different.
My point is that if you think you need to develop your sense of rhythm, you probably do; so do we all. A sense of rhythm is completely trainable. After all, we all live our entire lives with rhythm. Actually, we are rhythm - in our heartbeat, our pulse, our breath. Rhythm is as natural to us as breathing; in fact, it is breathing.
So why is it so hard? My observations have led me to the conclusion that although we have a sense of rhythm, we frequently donât obey it. Even worse, we often actively ignore it. We actually choose not to play in rhythm. Our sense of rhythm is there; we just flip the switch and turn it off. Itâs usually not intentional, and thatâs the good news. All we have to do is find the switch to flip it back on, and itâs really not so difficult. All you have to do is believe and commit to one sentence, an attitude you need to adopt, at least for the duration of this podcast and, I hope, a lot longer.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:
Get the Harp MasteryÂź app for iPhone and iPad.
Related resource Your Metronome Speaks blog post
Harpmastery.com
Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-177
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Ten years ago, I wrote a small book. It was my response to the frustration I observed some harpists experiencing. These harpists were diligent in their practice and dedicated to doing everything right. But they still werenât able to play their music the way they wanted.
Some told me that they just couldnât get the notes, the fingering and the placing correct. Others said they couldnât get their music anywhere near an appropriate tempo. Some couldnât look at their hands and the music at the same time. Others couldnât make their music flow. And none of them seemed to be able to discover a solution to their problem.
I started asking harpists questions, in order to find out a little more about what the real source of each of the issues might be. What I discovered was that, although the symptoms manifested differently in each individual, there was really only one problem, one that all of them shared. No one had ever told them how to practice.
What I discovered in my own harp journey was that practice really wasnât about what I thought it was. It isnât enough just to play something over and over again until itâs right. The goal of practice isnât perfection; itâs music. When your practice isnât helping you make music, you can be pretty sure youâre doing it wrong.
The right kind of practice starts with the right kind of focus. Iâm not talking about mindset or concentration. Iâm talking about practicing for the results you want, the results that are more than the right notes, results like flow, expression and musicality.
That was the starting point for my book. Kaleidoscope Practice: Focus, Finish and Play the Way Youâve Always Wanted. I used the word focus to describe five focus areas which can serve to direct your practice so that you can actually play the music you start. Iâd like to explain those focus areas to you today and give you some of my favorite practice tweaks that may revolutionize the way you think about your practice, the way they revolutionized mine.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:
Get the Harp MasteryÂź app for iPhone and iPad.
Check out the Kaleidoscope Practice ebook and PDF workbook, The Harpistâs Playbook in the Harp MasteryÂź shop.
Related resource: Donât practice for perfection! blog post
Harpmastery.com
Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-176
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If I had to give the shortest possible explanation of what a daily harp warm-up is, it would be this: your warm-up is the prelude to your practice.
Why a prelude? A prelude is most often defined as a short piece of music intended to be an introduction to a longer one. It sometimes uses musical themes or ideas which appear in the larger work, but the preludeâs most important function is to set the scene, the mood or the tone for what follows.
Thatâs how I like to think about a warm-up. It sets the scene for your practice. It allows for a transition from your possible hectic daily non-harp life to a more calm and focused musical space. My warm-up, which I will tell you about later in the podcast, is a moment I truly treasure in my practice. It is also a temptation moment, which I will explain later too.
Iâve talked about warm-ups on the podcast before. Episode 98 was a mini masterclass on warm-ups. Episode 120 was about three important skills that your warm-up could help you strengthen. I have linked to those episodes in the show notes so you can find them easily.
But today, I want to talk about the warm-ups I recommend most often to my students and why I think they are so good. These may be warm-ups that you already use, and if thatâs the case, I will give you some tips on how I think you can use them to your best advantage. If you have another warm-up that you like, these tips will help you get more out of that warm-up too.
As I mentioned, I will also tell you what I do to warm-up. It doesnât fit the conventional mold, but it does fit the main purposes that I believe are most important for any warm-up. Thatâs really the point of this episode today, to show you a different way to look at your warm-up so that your prelude to your practice can save you time, build your skills and be one of your favorite parts of your practice too.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:
Register for the Learn It Tonight webinar. Calling all iPhone and iPad users! Download our new Harp MasteryÂź App! Related podcast episodes: Warm-ups with a Focus and Make Your Warm-up a Triple Related resource Cool Down Properly: Your Best 5 Minutes of Practice blog post Harpmastery.comGet involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-175
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If youâre like me, you probably hate it when people change the rules in the middle of the game. I donât necessarily mean in an actual game; thatâs clearly wrong. But there are always new and better ways of doing things that require us to make a total change in what we do. Brush your teeth up and down, or side to side or in a circular motion. Drink 6 glasses of water a day, or 8 glasses or 4. Eggs are bad for you; eggs are good for you. Itâs hard to keep up.
Of course, these arenât really rules at all. Theyâre just conventions, best practices which change in order to keep up with advances or new discoveries.
Your practice is the same way. The habits and strategies that worked so well for you at an earlier stage of your harp life may not be as effective for you now that you have more experience. If you cling to those habits, you will likely slow down your learning speed, spending unnecessary time and energy.
Today I will show you five habits, good ones, that may no longer be helping you. I am sure that you are committed to at least one of these five, and I want to help you move on to a new stage in your harp life. We won't just talk about the habits you should abandon, but weâll talk about what new habits you should consider adopting to replace them.
Remember, a habit should be a helper, an aid to doing what we need or want to do. But a habit is only a hindrance when we are ready for a better way. Thatâs what I want to help you discover today, a better way.
Donât think your practice habits need updating? If youâve ever thought you could be learning music faster, or sight reading better or wished you had a stronger technique, then youâre ready for a refresh.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:
Register for my Learn It Tonight Webinar on Wednesday, September 25.
Related resource 4 Harp Rules You Can Break blog post
Harpmastery.com
Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-174
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Do you remember the story of Chicken Little?
This is a classic childrenâs story and like a lot of the classic stories there are multiple versions. The basic story goes something like this:
An acorn falls from a tree and hits Chicken Little on the head which leads Chicken Little to conclude, erroneously, that the sky is falling. He decides he has to hurry and let the king know about this calamity. Along the way, he collects some of his bird friends - Henny Penny, Lucky Ducky, Goosey Loosey, Turkey Lurkey - who are similarly terrified by the idea of the sky falling and join him on his journey to see the king.
The classic story then comes to a climax in classic gruesome childrenâs story fashion. They meet up with Foxy Loxy who pretends to join them but actually lures them to his den and eats them.
I donât think any of us are going to be eaten by Foxy Loxy today, but Chicken Littleâs flurry of anxiety is not that different from what many harpists experience in their practice and performance. Chicken Littleâs misperception of a perfectly natural phenomenon - the acorn falling - created widespread panic which could have been averted with just a little understanding. The panic, anxiety or even chaos that we can feel when we are overwhelmed by performance nerves or when we arenât sure that our practice is getting us anywhere, can be relieved too. All it takes is looking at it differently.
Today, Iâm going to talk about ten things that may be causing you anxiety, hopefully not panic, in your practicing and in your playing. Iâll give you simple ways to change your thinking about each of these, along with definite action steps to counteract the chaos. Trust me; no matter how nervous or overwhelmed you feel, the sky isnât falling. Every one of those painful acorns could actually grow into a mighty oak that will support your playing, if you decide to plant it rather than run from it.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:
Learn It Tonight: The Flower Duet free webinar Related resource Flux-ibility: Staying Focused Through the Next Wave blog post Harpmastery.comGet involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-173
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We are the product of our influencers. The current wisdom says that if you want to know what a person is really like, look at their circle of friends. The thinking goes further to posit that if you want to elevate yourself, whether in your income, your fitness, your intellect or your spirituality, you need to associate with those who have the attributes you would like to develop. Itâs not just that you adopt the habits and thoughts of the people you associate with; your brain patterns actually change.
In the 1950âs a Swarthmore College psychologist named Solomon Asch observed an interesting phenomenon. A group of volunteer subjects was asked to estimate the length of a straight black line drawn on a white card. Asch discovered that each personâs estimate was dependent on the estimation of everyone else in the group. People actually saw the line differently based on the opinion of the people with them.
Physiologically, the brain craves reward, which it receives when we have our own ideas or thoughts confirmed by the people around us. When our ideas are opposed to those around us, the pain center of the brain, the anterior insula, is activated.
We could choose to remain silent and not express our different ideas. Our brain, however, is wired to change our ideas to conform with those around us. A network formed of the anterior insula and the medial frontal cortex registers the difference between our ideas and those of others as an error and becomes active to try to eliminate the difference. Fascinating and a little scary. Our brain is more active in adjusting our choices and our attitudes than we are aware.
This is why it is so important to choose your circle of friends wisely. This is also why it is important to choose your circle of harp friends, and your harp role models, wisely.
Today, I will share the qualities that I think are important in a harp role model, starting with the qualities I admired in the harp role models I had early in my harp life and how they influenced me in ways I am only just beginning to realize. My hope is that this will help you discover more harp role models to inspire your harp life, and maybe even help you be a role model for other harpists yourself.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:
Join a Harp MasteryÂź Retreat Related resource Do You Have a Harp Hero? blog post Harpmastery.comGet involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-172
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Do you think of yourself as creative?
From time to time, a harpist will tell me that she doesnât feel she is very creative, at least not in a musical way. I instinctively challenge this, because I believe that anyone who persists in studying the harp for more than a few months is nurturing a gift and a desire that is, at its essence, creative. I also believe, though, that much of our practice and pedagogy shifts us away from the creative spirit. This is unfortunate, to say the least. We risk drowning our enthusiasm for the joy of creating music in the hard work that is part of studying it and learning to do it well.
There are endless ways to add more creativity into your harp playing. Certainly, musical expression is creative, but thatâs just scratching the surface. Iâve linked in the show notes to a blog post in the Harp MasteryÂź archives that outlines just a couple ways to add creativity to your practice. But there are so many ways that the harp can not only be an outlet for our creativity, but can actually help our creativity develop. One of those ways is arranging music.
Today we are going to explore arranging music as a creative exercise. Maybe youâve never tried arranging music, at least not beyond adapting a piano piece for the harp. Maybe youâve arranged lots of pieces and even published your arrangements. Whichever group you fall into, the approach we are going to take today will help you stretch your creative powers in a logical step-by-step, but still creative, way. If that sounds like a contradiction in terms, it is, but thatâs where the artistic process of music lies, at the intersection of intuition and intention.
If arranging sounds like something youâd like to do but havenât tried because youâre not sure how to go about it, youâre going to love this simple step-by-step approach which will work with classical pieces, folk tunes, hymns, pop songs, any kind of music. If youâve done arrangements before, youâll find this approach may really simplify your creative process and give you some new ideas to try as well.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:
Mindset and Method workshops at the Harp MasteryÂź Fall Retreat! Register today! Related resource Practicing Outside the Box: 2 Ideas for Creative Practice blog post Harpmastery.comGet involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-171
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I donât know if you know this, but most Mondays I hold a live video call. I call it our Live Monday Warm-Up, and thatâs how it started, as a simple warm-up for anyone who wanted to join me. But like most things, it has morphed over time and now itâs actually a warm-up and a mini-masterclass on harp technique.
I love these Monday calls and look forward to them each week, not just because I love to teach, but because I love to interact with the harpists that show up and participate with me. They are a pretty loyal group and I will take this opportunity to give them a shout out for showing up every week. You can join us any Monday you like. The calls are free and we stream them through the Harp MasteryÂź Hub and live on our YouTube channel.
On a recent Monday, though, the call went a completely different direction from what I had planned. We were going to practice fourth finger slides, but a chance comment in the chat started me off on a 25 minute discussion about performance nerves. It was an incredible discussion with many powerful ideas on that call, not just from me but also from the other harpists on the call, and I wanted to share the recording with you here on the podcast.
Iâve edited out the actual warm-up portion of the call, and please remember that this was a live call so youâll hear me talking off the cuff, totally extemporaneously. Youâll also be able to tell how passionate I am about this topic, one that is absolutely vital to every harpistâs harp happiness.
You will definitely want a pen and paper to take notes, because there are lots of words of wisdom here, from me and from the others on the call. And Iâll be back at the end with some final thoughts for you.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:
Want more on performance preparedness? Come to the Harp MasteryÂź Fall Retreat! Join us on the Live Monday Warm-Ups in the Hub or on YouTube. Related resource Lose the Lucky Socks: 3 Strategies for Performance Nerves blog post Harpmastery.comGet involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-170
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Juggling. Patting your head and rubbing your tummy. Walking and chewing gum.
Coordination challenges come in all levels of difficulty. Playing hands together is another one, but itâs one that we harpists eventually get comfortable with. Your right hand does one thing and your left hand does another. For the most part, everything works out, until we encounter polyrhythm, that is.
Whatâs polyrhythm? The technical definition of polyrhythm is one of those dictionary definitions that cause more confusion than it clears up. According to the New Harvard Dictionary of Music, polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. I warned you.
In terms that are probably more meaningful to you, 2 against 3 is an example of polyrhythm. In a general sense, it is two rhythms that donât normally go together and that, as a consequence, present a rhythmic coordination problem when you try to play them. A group of two notes, as in two eighth notes, played with your right hand at the same time as your left hand plays an eighth note triplet is a very common example of what Iâm talking about. And these rhythmic challenges crop up everywhere from the music of Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms to Chopin and Debussy to folk music.
So today, Iâm going to help lower the difficulty factor of these rhythms for you. Weâll start with a perspective which may be a different one from the one youâre used to. Hint: itâs not all about the math. Iâll show you the best ways to practice them and how I think you shouldnât practice them. If these rhythms always stop you in your tracks, we will try to clear the tracks and get you moving today.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:
February Retreat registration is now open! Related resource Why Counting Counts and Why You Should Be Counting blog post Harpmastery.comGet involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-169
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Today Iâm doing something different on the podcast.
I donât usually talk about whatâs happening in my life because this podcast is not all about me; itâs really all about you, me and our harp playing. That means I talk about what I think is important for you to be able to enjoy your harp playing at every step of your harp journey. But a few weeks ago, I participated in an event that reminded me about some essential truths, concepts that have made the difference for me in my journey, and which I think may make a difference in yours as well.
That event was the first, and likely the only, reunion of harpists who attended the Salzedo Summer Harp Colony in Camden, Maine. In terms of numbers, the alumni who attended the event represented a small fraction of the harpists who studied there between its founding in 1931 and the early 2000âs when the program ended. But for those of us who were there, the reunion was an event like no other.
So today, I want to tell you a little about the Colony itself, about what studying there was like, about the impact it had on me as a young student and most, importantly, the powerful lessons I learned - or perhaps relearned is a better word - at the reunion. These lessons arenât exclusive to classical music harp players or those who use the Salzedo technique; they are for us all. And I guarantee you will enjoy learning a little about this unique harp experience, one that no longer exists and will never be replicated.
I would like to also state clearly that although I am no spring chicken, I never studied with Carlos Salzedo. I did study with his pupils for almost all of my harp life, including my summers in Camden. I just wanted to be clear about that in case you try to put a timeline together in your head as you listen.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:
Attention teachers! Register now for our Teacher Accreditation Course! Link to the Salzedo Harp Colony Reunion article in the Penobscot Bay Pilot. Related resource Rejecting Perfection blog post Harpmastery.comGet involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-168
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Right now, Iâm in a tug-of-war with myself.
Usually, Iâm all about helping my students and pushing myself to set goals, to find the next level, to discover more harp happiness through progress and growth. But itâs summertime, and Iâm facing a tough choice between leveling up or lazing in the sun. I will admit that sometimes the sun wins.
This struggle isnât just a summertime struggle, though. In our harp playing, we are continually caught between two opposing ideas: to achieve and accomplish or to simply enjoy. Itâs not just about lazing in the sun. Itâs really the conflict between the two ways we approach the harp each day. Do we practice? Or do we play?
Ideally, of course, we do both. Playing the harp means exactly that - playing music. Practicing the harp includes all the woodshedding, the repetition, the struggle to clean up notes and fingers and rhythms and make our playing (note that word again!) the best it can be. In a perfect world, our practice would be balanced between the two, with both in fair, if not exactly equal, measure.
This idea of harp balance is one that I like to revisit from time to time. It helps me keep or maybe regain my perspective. Am I doing enough in-depth work, or too much, or not enough? Mostly, it helps me remember why I am sitting at the harp in the first place, because I love to play the harp. Thatâs what underlies every moment I spend improving my technique, or drilling a few tricky measures, or memorizing a piece for a recital. Itâs the motivation for my teaching and even for this podcast. I know you love playing the harp and I want to help you continue to love it.
So thatâs what we are going to dive into today, how to regain your harp playing balance. Weâll talk about how the various parts of your playing and practice fit together. And Iâll share how to make sure that your harp playing goals donât get in the way of your harp playing contentment.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:
Coaching Registration opens soon. Join the First to Know list today! Related resource The Pursuit of Mastery blog post Harpmastery.comGet involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-167
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Many harpists can remember the first time they saw someone play the harp. The harp itself looked magnificent: tall, majestic, maybe gold. The harpist might have looked magnificent too, maybe a lovely lady in a flowing gown. The harp and the harpist together made an impressive picture. No wonder people want to play the harp. More than any other instrument, the harp is decorative. It makes a visual statement just sitting in a corner. And when it speaks, itâs magic.
We can all agree on that much. But thereâs more to a harpistâs appearance than just sitting behind the harp in beautiful clothes. Thereâs a more important visual aspect to playing the harp, one that draws a lot more debate, and that is what we look like when we play. Iâm not talking about any funny faces we might make. Iâm talking about how we gesture with our arms.
To an audience, harp gestures look graceful. We harpists know, though, that there is musical purpose behind them. While different harp playing methods have varying ideas about the look of harp gestures, most agree about their importance to our playing. And while they look lovely, those gestures arenât easy. They are awkward to practice and they feel unnatural at first.
Today, Iâll talk about how to make your harp gestures graceful and musical. Weâll review how to practice them and why you should. Trust me, you absolutely should. It doesnât matter what harp method may be in your background, the basic principles are the same. And if youâve always felt just a little awkward or self-conscious trying to be graceful at the harp, this discussion should make you feel a lot more comfortable.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:
Just for teachers! Register for my new Teacher Accreditation Course on August 10th! Related resource Rich, Warm, Round: How to Create Your Sensational Harp Sound blog post Harpmastery.comGet involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-166
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I was googling around the internet the other day when I ran into an article that began with this question: âI have completely different fingerprint patterns on both hands. On my right, each finger has a very distinct and similar loop pattern. But on my left hand each finger has a distinct whorl pattern. Why does this happen?â According to the article, there is not a definitive scientific answer for this, but the question still intrigues me, particularly in light of our topic for today.
In harp playing, our right and left hands have very distinctive roles, at least most of the time. Our right hand usually plays melody while our left hand plays an accompaniment. Most of the time, the melody that our right hand plays is made up of connected notes. Our fingers need to place from one note to the next to make the melody sound singing and smooth.
Our left hand accompaniment, though, is often made up of chords and low notes, so that our hand needs to lift to negotiate the necessary jumps between octaves. Our hands may be playing the same harp, but theyâre doing very different things.
Usually itâs our right hand that gets the spotlight, but today we are going to focus on the left hand. I want to walk you through the technical details of some of the most important patterns the left hand plays, as well as help you prepare your left hand for those moments when it gets the spotlight. These five key techniques will help your left hand be ready for anything that comes its way.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:
Just for teachers! Enroll in our 1-Day Teacher Accreditation Seminar Free PDF Left Hand Techniques Practice Sheet Related resource 3 Strategies for Left Hand Fluency blog post Harpmastery.comGet involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-165
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