Practicing Harp Happiness

My husband's family is German, and even before we were married I discovered that one of the things I had long heard about German housewives was true, at least in my mother-in-law's house: Germans take a clean house seriously.

By American standards my own house isn't filthy. I keep it fairly neat and decently clean. But my mother-in-law saw clean in a completely different way. There was no dust in her house, not even in the corners under the beds. She used paste wax to keep all the wood surfaces gleaming. And the only exceptions she made to the "keep your feet off the furniture" rule, were her grandsons. Cleaning didn't just mean mopping the floor; it meant scrubbing it on your hands and knees.

So why am I talking about this on the podcast? Because just like there are different levels of clean, there are different levels of knowing a piece. Sometimes we find this out the hard way, when we think we know a piece and then try to play it for someone else and discover that we lose our place or can't make it musical or even forget how it starts.

One of the ways we learn our music at a deeper level is by studying it away from the harp. You know the basic idea: listen to recordings, study the printed music and look beyond the playing of the notes to what the notes might actually mean. Just like deep cleaning, this approach helps you reach the places that regular practice doesn't reach, like seeing patterns or chord progressions or repeated sections. But studying your music can do much more for you than that, as long as you know what to look and listen for. It can actually help you develop important skills that will apply beyond one particular piece to all your harp playing. Plus, it's not nearly as taxing as scrubbing a floor.

So on today's show, I will show you what to look for, what to listen for and how you can speed up your learning with some specific study methods. You don't need specialized knowledge of music theory to do this, and you don't need to take a lot of time. But I can pretty much guarantee that you will find this both interesting to do and rewarding. And it's fun too!

Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:

• Last chance for the Finish It Intensive
• Join the March Hub Challenge, "Jigging It"
• Related resource The Aeolian Harp 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-147

See if you can guess the answer to this.

What can sometimes feel gently rocking like a boat on a lake on a calm summer's day, and other times puts a lively spring into your step? It isn't hard, but it's never simple. You've almost certainly encountered it in your harp music, and even though you may be able to play it easily, you may not be able to explain it. You might think of it as double trouble or as a triple threat in the way it compounds the challenges in your music. Can you guess what it is? If you're the type who likes to figure things out, pause the podcast here for a moment and then come back when you're ready for the answer.

Ready? Here's one final hint: the answer is a meter signature, and I know it's one you know. Maybe you've guessed it. The meter signature or time signature I mean is 6/8. I know you've seen it and played it. "Greensleeves" or "What Child Is This?" is a melody that is most often written in 6/8. It has that gentle lilt to it, like the rocking boat I mentioned a moment ago. Irish jigs - think "The Irish Washerwoman" - are very often in 6/8 time. That's the other side of 6/8, the rollicking dancing side.

Today I'd like to discuss some of the important characteristics of 6/8, not just how to count it, but why we count it that way. We'll touch on the other time signatures that share those same attributes, ones that may puzzle you when you first encounter them like 6/4 or 12/8 or 3/2. We'll also talk about the practicalities of these meters, what kind of fingering or placing strategies are best and why. And along the way, we'll clear up some of the music terminology that may be confusing. I want you to come away from the episode feeling like you've learned something useful and practical, something that will help you play the harp better not just today, but over the long term too.

Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:

• Our Finish It! Intensive starts next week. Learn more and register now!
• Our new March Hub Challenge starts today in the Hub.
• Related resource Got Rhythm? 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-146

I am always interested to hear what first attracted harpists to the harp. It's fascinating to learn the many ways that the harp can draw a potential student. My own story is that I heard the harp on the radio and told my parents that was what I wanted to do. The important part of this story for me is that it wasn't a gold harp or a pretty dress that drew me to the harp, but the sound that pulled me in. Naturally, there's nothing wrong with the gold harp or the glamor look, but the sound was - and is - important to me.

Whether or not it was the harp's sound that first attracted you, sound is important to us. So why don't we spend more of our time listening to our playing? We devote a lot of energy to reading the notes and teaching our fingers to play the right strings. Somehow there isn't always time to just spend listening. But it's an important habit and one that we are going to spend a little time with today.

This is a playalong episode, meaning that I will play and you will be able to play along with me. I'm going to lead you through a warm-up that will help you focus on your fingers and your listening skills. There's no printed music for this; just follow my directions. If you've participated in one of my Live Monday Warm-Ups, then you know how this works.

I realize that podcast listening time is probably not usually harp time for you, but even if you're not at your harp, you can still benefit from listening now. And of course, you can come back to this episode and play along with me later. However, if you're driving or doing something that requires your concentration, perhaps anything more focused than stuffing envelopes, be sure to keep your wits about you.

Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:

• Register for the Finish It! Live Intensive.

• Related resource, The Practice of Listening: Why It's Essential for Every Musician 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-145

Let's take this as a given: our technique is at the heart of everything we do at the harp. Intellectually, we know this to be true, but that doesn't prevent us from being surprised when we run into a passage in a piece we're learning that our fingers just can't manage. What the heck? We've been doing our daily exercises and most of the time our technique is up to the challenges in any new piece. So what happened this time?

If you've had that experience, rest assured, my friend, that you are not alone. We've all been there. Sometimes a moment like that is just a wake up call, reminding us that we've slacked off a bit and we've been taking our technique work a little too casually. Technique practice done correctly requires our attention and focus. It also requires a plan for growth.

The basic drills or exercises we rely on are scales, arpeggios and chords. In theory, keeping those skills fresh should enable us to play about three quarters of anything we encounter. But I don't have to tell you that's not the way it seems to work out. Keeping those skills sharp is just the beginning. We need to keep them growing too.

It makes sense when you take a moment to consider. As we become more experienced harpists, we become more skilled too, which means that we are likely playing more music and more complex music too. If our technical proficiency isn't growing with the rest of our skill set, we will find ourselves blocked by passages or entire pieces that are beyond the limits of our fingers. You're with me so far, right? Good, because there's only one conclusion to draw from this, and it's one you may not be thrilled to hear. We have to keep challenging our technique so that it keeps up with the music we want it to serve. We have to keep looking for the next level of technical improvement in order to feel confident in the next level of music that we want to play.

Simply put, our technique is our great enabler; it makes playing our music possible. This also means it can be our biggest roadblock, one that will prevent us from playing our music or at least from playing it with the artistry we want. So what do we do? We reach beyond the everyday technique work that doesn't challenge us and look for some ways to level up our technique to keep pace with our music. So on today's show, I'll teach you the three areas to consider leveling up and how to go about it. Just remember, finger freedom is musical freedom!

Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:

• Register for the Finish It! Live Intensive

• The Magic of 1% Webinar Replay is LIVE on the Harp Mastery® home page.

• Join our February Hub "Express Yourself" Challenge

• 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-144

Today I'm going to tell you how to improve anything. I know that sounds like a tall order, but we harpists are all about improvement. Every day in every way we want to get better and better. Many of us like this idea too: slow and steady wins the race. Yes, but remember tortoises live for a very long time. They can afford to take only the slow and steady approach. Some of us have a little shorter time frame in mind.

I'm a fan of the author and productivity guru Brian Tracy. His book "Eat That Frog" is one of my favorites when I need a little kick to conquer my procrastination. There's a quote from his book that I considered as a starting point for our discussion today: "Practice the philosophy of continuous improvement. Get a little bit better every single day."

But something about that left me a little unsatisfied. Yes, certainly the continuity of improvement, like practicing every day rather than once a week, is important for us harpists. However, that same philosophy is what seems to keep a lot of harpists from making bigger progress. When you seek improvement ONLY in small stages, you get only small improvements. And I hear from harpists all the time that they don't feel like they're getting anywhere, and asking me to help.

And so I'm going to try today to shake up that "slow and steady" habit just enough to make the improvement that you're looking for actually visible, to get where you're going faster. I've broken this down into three easy steps and one hard one. I realize that may not sound like the help you've been looking for, but I think it will be more encouraging than you might think.

Extra good news - this is a system you already know and have been using, but perhaps you haven't thought of applying it to your harp playing. It really will make everything just a little simpler and should help you identify what you need to do so that you can actually experience growth.

Sometimes that tortoise strategy of "slow and steady wins the race" isn't what we're looking for. We secretly know that the hare was onto a good thing by sprinting ahead. He just didn't have the good sense to actually get to the end before he stopped. You're smarter than that, I assure you.

Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:

• Click here to register for the webinar, "The Magic of 1%: Learn the Small Steps That Add Up (Almost Magically!) To Big Progress"

• Join our February Hub Challenge, Express Yourself

• Related resource The Fork in the Road 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-143

Every restaurant chain, every chef has their "secret sauce." It's that unique ingredient that makes their food taste special every time. It's part of their culinary signature.

There is a secret - or maybe not so secret - sauce in musical expression too. It's rubato. It's the element of musical pacing that breathes life into music, that keeps it from sounding dull and robotic, that helps a melody sing and rich harmonies unfold with spaciousness.

Today's podcast is an exploration of what rubato is and how you can use it to add depth and expression to your playing. I'll explain how to figure out where and when to use it, and equally important, when not to use it. I'll play some examples for you too, so you can hear exactly what rubato is. I imagine that you are going to have one of those "aha" moments as you are finally able to put a name to that thing that's been missing from your playing.

I'm not saying your playing is unmusical. But rubato is something most musicians don't understand, and it is something that is hard for even experienced teachers to explain. Singers and instrumentalists who play a melody line instrument like the flute or violin know a lot more about rubato than we harpists do. That's partly due to the fact that, unlike a flutist or a violinist, we can't control the sound of a note after we have played it; we can't actively sustain it or crescendo as we hold it. As a result, we tend to focus on the coordination of our two hands, on the chords or the vertical dimension of our playing, rather than on the horizontal melodic line, which is where rubato has the biggest effect.

But music lives in both those dimensions - horizontal and vertical - as well as the dimension of time. Using rubato is a way to use time to allow us to express the other two dimensions of music, how we create freedom and flow. And it's so much fun.

I hope I have intrigued you, because I really want you to listen to the information I'm going to share today. It will likely change the way you approach playing a piece. It may possibly change the way you practice a piece or what you consider a hallmark of a good performance. At the very least, I'm pretty sure that you will want to try it out with one of your pieces as soon as this episode is finished.

Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:

• Join our new Hub Challenge, "Express Yourself."
• Related resource: Intermezzo sheet music PDF in our shop.
• 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-142

I might as well get this out of the way. This is going to be one of those podcasts that sounds like it's telling you you're doing it all wrong and you've been doing it wrong for years. I say it's going to sound like that, but I want to be clear that's not the point of our topic today. The real point is finding a path to growth, a path forward, and often finding a path forward means doing something different. So I want you to approach this topic with that progress mindset, because the ideas I'm about to share with you about how I think you could or should approach a new piece might sound a little uncomfortable, and that's exactly the point.

You may know that the only one-on-one teaching I do is with my Gold Circle students. These students are special, not because of their playing level - they run the gamut there - but because of their commitment to their harp playing. They take their harp playing seriously, and that's why I feel privileged to be able to work with them and help speed them along their paths.

I'm mentioning this because one of my Gold Circle students, Beverley, shared with me something her French teacher told her when she was studying French in high school. In essence, it was this: the teacher gave the beginning class a rule that she qualified as only a rule for now. As the students became more experienced, she said she would rescind that rule and give them a better one, but that second rule wasn't something that would be useful for them at this earlier stage of their learning.

Thanks to Beverley for that example, because that's how I want you to understand what I'm going to give you today. It's not a grammar rule, obviously, but it's a way - three ways, actually - to start learning a piece. I can almost guarantee that these ways will either sound exciting and inspiring or terrifyingly impossible. But what's important is that I think you will see that they make sense as a way to leverage the growth you have already made.

So while you may be comfortable with the system you've been using, I'd like you to consider the idea that, although it was a system that worked well at the stage where you were, there might be a better system for the stage where you are now.

Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:

• The 2024 Harp Happiness Challenge winner will be announced on Friday! Join me live in the Hub!

• Related resource Practicing Differently: 4 Steps to Faster Learning 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-141

If I had to choose one finger pattern that I could count on to almost always show up in a piece, it would be an arpeggio. Arpeggios and the harp go together like peanut butter and jelly. In fact, the Italian word for harp is arpa, which has the same first three letters as arpeggio. That's because the word arpeggio comes from the Italian word arpeggiare, which means to play on a harp. See what I mean? Peanut butter and jelly.

Whether the arpeggios show up as full sweeps of sound over the entire range of the harp or simply a left hand accompaniment pattern or anything in between, arpeggios are everywhere in harp music, so it's essential to learn to play them well.

The first time a student comes across an arpeggio, they are shown how an arpeggio is really a chord in which all the notes are played one after the other instead of simultaneously. They are taught the rules of placing for arpeggios and given exercises to learn to read them quickly and play them fluidly. But often, when the arpeggios get faster or more complex, those basic skills are not enough.

We don't simply want to play them cleanly; we want them to sound even and clear.We don't want to play them only at exercise speed; we need to be able to control the fingers over the full range of tempo possibilities.We don't want them to sound clunky or plunky; we want them to be beautiful arching gestures.In short, we want them to ripple.

So today, we will talk about the finer points of arpeggios. Naturally we will go over all the basics of placing and playing, but we'll dive deeper into how to shape your arpeggios, have them sound relaxed and flowing, and yes, to make them ripple.

Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:

• Our 2024 Harp Happines Hub Challenge in the home stretch. Join us!
• Agile Arpeggios PDF
• Related resource 12 Great Arpeggio Pieces – That Aren't "The Little Fountain" 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-140

At its most fundamental, music is sound over time. When you take away the rich harmonies, soaring melodies, complex structures and intricate rhythms, that's all you have left: sound over time. It doesn't sound very creative or artistic, but those two elements are the basis of all music. How any single performer combines them is where the artistry lies.

However, that kind of time, the meter and rhythm, isn't our topic for today. The kind of time management I want to explore with you today is more about the practical side of our harp experience than the artistic side. It's about your practice time: how you spend it, what you focus on and how you set your intentions for the day or for the week.

We're also going to talk about the time it takes you to learn a piece. I am frequently asked how long it should take to learn a piece, and it's a question without a simple answer. There are numerous factors to consider, including the amount of time you have to practice and your current skill level as compared to the difficulty level of the piece. But perhaps the most important factor is how well you manage your journey through the different learning stages of a piece.

That journey is a little different for all of us, but I want you to walk away from this episode with a few action steps that you know will make a difference for you. I want you to get to the fun part, playing music, instead of staying stuck in practice mode. So we are going to review seven ways to make better use of your practice time so you can make progress faster, learn music faster. And one of those ways will be adapting the best practice practices to your own particular learning style. We'll revisit the German Shepherd, Greyhound and Beagle learning styles and give you some specific strategies that will suit your own practice breed.

Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:

• We are starting Week 3 of our 2024 Harp Happiness Challenge in the Harp Mastery® Hub. Jump in and join us!
• Related resource Which Is Your Practice Style: Greyhound or German Shepherd? blog post
• Related podcast: Find Your Practice Style: Style No. 3 "The Beagle"
• 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-139

The Little Engine That Could was just plain lucky. If you remember that children's book, when the little engine had to take over for the bigger engines to pull the train loaded with toys over the mountain, he kept telling himself, "I think I can," even though it seemed clear he was much too small to succeed. While the "I think I can" strategy worked for the little engine, in the real world that mindset is responsible for more failure, frustration and disappointment than we are led to believe. Thinking positively is not what is necessary for a positive result. It's not a bad thing, but it's not the only thing, and if it's not grounded in reality it can be damaging.

You don't achieve confidence by trying to build confidence itself. True confidence is a natural result of properly directed actions along with a positive mindset. Without the actions and the experience that comes with following through on those actions, a confident attitude will let you down nearly every time. You need the proper ingredients to build confidence. Confidence is the cake that comes out of the oven, but it isn't what goes into the oven. What goes into the oven doesn't look like cake at all, but if you've followed the recipe, the batter miraculously becomes a cake. That's the kind of confidence you can count on and it's much more powerful than just a "can do" attitude.

Think back to the last time you started a new piece feeling confident that you could meet the challenges it would present. Of course, you knew there would be difficulties in the piece that you would need to work on and conquer, but you were secure in your belief that you would be able to finish the piece and play it with assurance. That's the kind of confidence that comes from positive past experiences, the habit of success. A habit of success allows you to meet challenges and obstacles with the inner certainty that you already have the skills and strategies you need in order to overcome them. Your certainty is built on your track record of growth and achievement; you know you will be able to succeed because you have proof. Obviously the trick is creating those positive experiences that create that inner feeling of confidence. That's part of what we will talk about today.

We'll also talk about what sabotages our confidence and how to break a cycle of disappointment, if you ever find yourself losing your confidence. Plus, I'll share the most important habits I believe you need to make sure that your confidence is baked into all your playing.

By the way, confidence isn't just for performing. We play with more flow, more musicality, and fewer mistakes when we play with conviction and confidence. So whether you want to perform for others or just enjoy your playing at home - my hope is that you'll do both! - you'll find today's ideas invaluable. Just like the Little Engine That Could, you'll soon be saying, "I knew I could!"

Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:

• Our 2024 Harp Happiness Challenge in the Harp Mastery® Hub is starting its second week. It's not too late to join!
• Related resource Do You Worry About the "What-Ifs" ? 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-138