Practicing Harp Happiness

Shel Silverstein wrote a beautiful and supremely short poem that perfectly fits today's topic. The poem is called "Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda," and in just seven short lines, Silverstein sums up the ultimate way to prevent regret. He tells us that all those woulda-coulda-shouldas vanish with one little "did." Doing beats wishing every day.

So if we were sitting in the same room together, sharing a cup of tea, and you asked me what I thought your next piece should be, I'd have to ask you a question right back, "What do you think you want to do?"

Life is filled with "shoulds" and "have tos;" our music doesn't need to be. Our music is personal to us. The music we play, our repertoire, is something that reflects what we like and who we are. It is a personal expression at every playing level. Your personal musical expression starts from the very first day you are capable of playing a melody on the harp. Your music is in you and your music is you.

So if you need to choose your next piece to learn, it should be something you want to learn. Back to our conversation at the tea table. When I ask you what piece you'd like to do, you are probably going to tell me you don't know. So we'll dig a little deeper.

If you are thinking that there is a skill you need to develop and you're looking for a piece that will help you do that, that's great. I can suggest half a dozen pieces that will help you with that specific skill. But have you considered trying a sort of piece you've never done before? Or what about that bucket list piece that you aren't sure if you're ready for? This is the problem; there are too many choices.

There is simply too much music in the world, and it's impossible to play everything we want to. So we need to choose. And what if you chose to make your next piece one that created a "did," filled a want, or prevented a future regret. That's what I want to help you with today. I want to give you a little system to help you choose.

I also decided to take a sort of light-hearted, fun approach to this topic, so since today is the fifth of May, I've created five possible categories to choose from in honor of Cinco de Mayo. After all, we can't take ourselves too seriously!

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

• Today is the last day to register for the "Sharpen Your Focus" clinic.
• Shel Silverstein poem, "Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda"
• Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]

Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts you will have access to their transcripts of each episode?

LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-207

Fact number one: Your focus is in your control.Fact number two: Your focus is a critical factor in your success and harp happiness.Conclusion: What you focus on matters… a lot.

In the last episode of the podcast, we were talking about focus in terms of placing your chords. I cited one of my favorite Zig Ziglar quotes, "You hit what you aim at."

I'm going to put a different spin on that today. We aren't going to talk about focusing on a goal exactly. We're going to discuss how to shift your focus to get you beyond a sticking point or a challenge. Here's my idea in a nutshell: when we focus on the hard thing, we lose perspective on why we are doing the hard thing to begin with. That can cost us a lot in terms of time, energy and enjoyment.

Consider some of the things we focus on that can leave us with a feeling of letdown or even loss. We spend weeks preparing for Christmas, only to realize on December 26th that we didn't really remember to enjoy the day. Or we put days of effort into making a special meal - Thanksgiving dinner comes to my mind - and everyone is finished their meal and watching the football game almost before we've sat down to our own plate. Or we prepare so much for a special performance that we don't know what to practice the day after it's over.

What about the things we focus on when we're practicing or performing? Are we focusing on the things that will help us grow and move us forward? Or are we only concentrating on the difficulties that are in front of us, whether those are wrong notes or stumbles or performance nerves?

I believe that often we are looking through a microscope at too many of those moments, when we really should be using binoculars to see what lies ahead, beyond the hard part. Instead of going into the rabbit hole where our perceptions are distorted (that wrong note really doesn't matter that much!), we need a healthier perspective on what we're actually trying to do, so that we can get past the sticking point and get back to loving the music.

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

• Register now for the "Sharpen Your Focus, Elevate Your Performance" Clinic
• Take lessons with a Harp Mastery® Certified Coach.
• Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]

Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts you will have access to their transcripts of each episode?

LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-206

The great Zig Ziglar, much-beloved author and motivational speaker, never played the harp as far as I know, but one of his most often quoted remarks is perfect for today's topic. Zig said, "You hit what you aim at, and if you aim at nothing you will hit it every time." If you have ever had difficulty placing the notes in your chords, today I am going to teach you how to fix your aim.

Of course there is more to placing and playing chords than just aiming at the strings, but you do have to get to the right ones. This is what makes three-note chords more difficult than two-note intervals, and what makes four-note chords even more challenging. And then there are those four-note chords in both hands at the same time! The more fingers you have to put on the strings, the more possibility there is for error, which is why we're going to take our time today and really explore what you need to know as well as what you need to do to increase your chances for success. Naturally, none of us gets every note right every time, but when we can read the notes faster and place our fingers more automatically, even the biggest chords are less daunting.

By the way, the techniques we will be talking about work for placing arpeggios too, so it's a double win today!

• Register now for the "Sharpen Your Focus, Elevate Your Performance" Clinic
• Experience the power of individual coaching. Get started with Harp Mastery® Certified Coaching today.
• Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]

Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts you will have access to their transcripts of each episode?

LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-205

Do you review your pieces? If you don't review your pieces regularly, then keep listening because today we are going to explore the different reasons you might want to start and a few different methods for review you might want to try.

But here's the thing; if I asked a dozen harpists who say they review their pieces how they do their review, I will get a dozen different answers. Some people schedule it; others set a rotation. Some people do both. Some harpists are trying to develop a repertoire list of music they can play at a moment's notice. Others are trying to keep the last piece they learned in their fingers. (By the way, we'll talk today about what that phrase, "in your fingers," means. )

I last talked about review on this podcast in episode 99. That episode is called "The Shortcut Way To Build And Maintain A Repertoire." In that episode I outline some step-by-step frameworks to grow your repertoire with simple review tactics. I have linked directly to that episode in the show notes, or you can find it by searching for episode 99 in your podcast app.

However, I think review is more than keeping your music fresh and ready to play. I believe there is an important learning component as well, because review develops a unique skill set, if you set about it the right way. Review isn't the same as practice, but it isn't exactly the same as playing either. It fills in the middle ground, that place where the imperfections get polished out and where we develop a deep familiarity with the piece, one that can surmount the challenges of performance.

So today, we are going to explore what review is and is not. I'll give you some simple ways to work on that unique skill set, and I'll show you how the simple act of reviewing your music can help you grow as a harpist. It's so much more than just keeping music in your fingers. I'm excited about this topic, and I hope you are too!

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

• Our April Seminar Rhythm Makeover is still available
• Register now for our special Clinic in May: Sharpen Your Focus, Elevate Your Performance
• Coaching registration is open.
• For more on review, check out podcast episode 99: The Shortcut Way To Build And Maintain A Repertoire
• Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]

Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts you will have access to their transcripts of each episode?

LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-204

My harp background is in the Salzedo method. This is the technique method devised and taught by legendary harpist Carlos Salzedo. It was at the time, the early part of the twentieth century, a startlingly different concept of harp playing and harp technique and the aim was to bring the harp into the modern world. The aesthetic of the method varied in almost every way possible from the French tradition in which Salzedo was trained.

But we aren't discussing physical technique today. We are discussing practice technique, one practice technique in particular: slow practice. Please understand that slow practice has always been a part of harp studies and for very good reasons, which we will discuss shortly. Salzedo, however, was known for teaching his students to practice slowly and loudly.

I need to quickly add a couple of disclaimers. First, the loud and slow practice attributed to the Salzedo method is a broad statement, and as such, is not completely accurate. Second, and more importantly, it wasn't the only kind of practice he advocated. Third, please remember that slow practice isn't only for Salzedo method harpists; it's important for us all. That's the point of today's podcast: why slow practice is vital for being able to play your pieces accurately and expressively at the goal tempo.

I want to explore with you what slow practice is all about and how you can start your own habit of slow practice. We'll talk about the practice strategies themselves, but I also want to focus on how to use slow practice to eliminate mistakes, strengthen your technique, eliminate hesitations and pauses in your music and to be able to play with more expression and musicality.

While I think slow practice can work miracles, there are also times when slow practice is not helpful, and I'll go over those with you, too.

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

• Join our April Seminar series, "Rhythm Makeover."
• Study with a Harp Mastery® Certified Coach.
• 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-203

Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts you will have access to their transcripts of each episode?

If I had the opportunity to teach music to an absolute music newbie, someone without any previous musical instruction or experience, I know exactly how I would begin. I would start without printed music.

That's hardly revolutionary. The German composer Carl Orff is known today not only for his most famous work, Carmina Burana, but for the innovative methods he brought to musical education. Émile Jaques-Dalcroze created Eurhythmics, not the 1980's pop band with Annie Lennox, but a system for teaching music through movement. Music schools throughout the world have been teaching young children with the method developed by Shinichi Suzuki which begins by emphasizing learning by ear rather than by printed music.

All of these educators believed, as I do, that music is within us and that by learning without the printed page, we can create connections that allow us to develop our natural instinct for how music is organized, in notes and rhythms and chords and more. Our musical notation system is really just a code that we use to transmit and share musical ideas between composer and performer. The actual music doesn't live there.

Please understand; I'm not suggesting that we should all learn exclusively by ear. My meaning is that when we become so accustomed to using the page as our only path into the music, when we sublimate our instinctive musical understanding to deciphering the dots on the staff, we make playing harder. In short, we ignore the very innate connection that brought us to music and to the harp in the first place.

Today we are going to explore some very fundamental rhythm concepts through this lens, focusing on the experience first, then the notation, rather than the other way around. I promise I won't ask you to try playing by ear or to memorize everything or to light candles and repeat affirmations. What I want to do is to give you some very simple ways to change how you think about rhythm. We'll do a couple of small experiments that I designed to help relieve any confusion or uncertainty you have about basic rhythmic concepts. Even if you feel totally confident about your skill in deciphering and playing complex rhythms, these little drills will help you reconnect to what is truly important about the rhythmic element of our playing.

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

• Get more rhythmic confidence with our April Seminar, "Rhythm Makeover." Join now!
• Join the Live Monday Warm-Ups in the Harp Mastery® Hub.
• Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]

Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts you will have access to their transcripts of each episode?

LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-202

Here's a question we've probably all wondered about at some point: am I practicing enough?

As a teacher, I can tell you that my experience has demonstrated that if a harpist - and this includes me - has to ask the question, the answer is probably no, you're not practicing enough. But of course, the real answer is likely a little more complicated. It depends on what you're trying to do.

On the light end of the practice spectrum, if you're just trying to keep the rust off either your fingers or your pieces, you probably only need a few minutes each day. On the other end, if your ambition is to learn a piece or stretch your technique or develop a skill, you are going to need more time. I know it would be helpful to know exactly how much time you're going to need, but coming up with a number would just be guessing.

Even so, that doesn't mean there aren't some factors that can guide you that will keep you from overworking yourself or underutilizing your time. Simply put, your goal is to practice enough to make progress, but not so much that you actually sabotage your efforts. Today I'll tell you what this means and how I think you can find the right amount of practice time for you.

I've talked about practice time with you before on the podcast. In the first show of this year, 2025, I shared an acronym to help you remember what to include in your practice. That acronym spelled the word "practice" and the letters stood for Play, Review, Aspire, Create, Technique, I, Connect and Enjoy, That's episode 190, and I will link to it in today's show notes.

In episode 148, I taught you about practice bursts, short 15 minute chunks of time that you could use to keep on track when your schedule won't allow you a longer practice session. I will link to that episode in the show notes too.

But today, we're taking a different approach. We're going to look at why we practice, how our practice can help us maintain the status quo, or help us achieve a goal or help us stretch our skills and grow. We'll talk about time and how we need to manage it and how to truly enjoy the time we spend at the harp. Because that's what harp happiness is all about.

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

• Join the April Seminar course, Rhythm Makeover.
• PHH #190: Transforming Your Practice in 2025
• PHH #148: 10 Surprising Benefits of Practice Bursts
• Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]

Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts you will have access to their transcripts of each episode?

LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-201

How do you measure something that is unmeasurable? How do you quantify something that can't be contained or counted? How do you assess something that is completely subjective? You might think you can't, but yet, that's what we attempt to do every day in our practice.

We try to gauge our progress. We try to determine exactly when a piece is "finished." Exact measurements aren't possible in music. We can't time our progress. "This piece will take exactly 37 days to learn to the degree of polish that I personally want." If only we could have that degree of certainty, the whole practice thing would be so much easier.

I realize I am guilty of perpetuating this unreality. I often use notional percentages to represent stages of "finish" for a piece. For instance, I'll call a piece 80% done if I can play most of the notes correctly most of the time at a tempo that's at least 80% of my goal tempo. It's hardly scientific, but it gives me and my students a way to judge where we are on our journey with a piece.

So what about you? Do you know where you are with that piece you're trying to finish? Are you at that 80% mark? If so, that's great, because you're almost there. By the way, I don't believe in 100%; perfection is not a practical goal. Instead, 90-95% is what I would call finished. If you're playing at Carnegie Hall, that's not good enough, but it should do for just about everywhere else.

Or maybe this is what you've experienced: you get your piece to 80% without much trouble, but then it gets stuck there. It just won't get over that last hump to the 90% mark. That hump - and how to get over it - is what I'd like to talk about with you today. I want to talk about the factors that contribute to progress and to growth, as well as how to find the way to close that gap between where your piece is now and where you want it to be. We can't exactly create "progress by the numbers," but we can find the steps that will pull you out of the place you're stuck and move you forward.

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

• Join our March Seminar
• Learn how to close the gap with my Finish It Course
• Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]

Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts you will have access to their transcripts of each episode?

LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-200

I've been playing concerts with my flutist friend Joan Sparks for more decades than I care to admit. Our work together has included concerts, being Artists in Residence at schools and retirement communities, producing our own concert series, recording multiple CDs (actually even a couple of cassette tape recordings back in the day) and commissioning some significant works for the flute and harp concert repertoire. In fact, one of those works turned into an actual question on the TV show "Jeopardy." I'll tell you that story at the end of the podcast.

Of course, our collaboration hasn't all been about work. We don't travel as much now for concerts as we used to, but we did a lot of traveling earlier in our career and naturally we are very close friends. In that time, I also learned a lot about the flute.

One of the biggest revelations I had was listening to Joan practice her long tones. Now this won't surprise any of you who have played melody line instruments, but as a harpist with some years of piano lessons in my youth, long tones were practically a new concept. On the harp, we don't hold a note. We simply play it and it goes effortlessly into the ether. No need to practice long tones.

But this also means that we have no control over a note once we've played it. We can't make it crescendo or decrescendo. We can't add vibrato to intensify it. We can't create a true legato, where one note connects seamlessly to the next.

I think this is partly why we harpists tend not to pay enough attention to phrasing. Yet, phrasing is the breath of the piece. It's the living component of the melody. It's what makes the song sing and the piece flow.

So today's podcast is essentially a guide to phrasing for harpists. We'll talk about everything from what a phrase is and how to identify it, to how to practice it so your melodies can sing. If you've been wondering how to get that "flow factor" into your playing, this will be important information for you, so stay tuned.

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

• Join our March Seminar, "Variations on Bendemeer's Stream"
• Announcing the Finish It Course with The Quick Start Guide to Learning Like a Pro
• Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]

Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts you will have access to their transcripts of each episode?

LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-199

Fact number one: harp technique is hard. That's a given. Making our fingers steady, stable and strong enough to play in mid-air, defying gravity with every pluck, is very challenging. That's a fact.

Fact number two: our technique is a major factor in our playing. It enables us to play the music we want to play. Or it limits us. If our fingers can't play it, we can't play it. It's that simple.

Fact number three: If you feel like your technique is holding you back, there are ways to fix that. And today I want to suggest two ways you might not have explored. These are two ways to use etudes and I think you will find that what we're talking about today is not the usual etude practice.

I often talk about etudes as the missing link between the exercise drills that we do and the music we play. They provide a way to use a single technical skill like a specific fingering pattern in a musical context that is not as complicated as a regular repertoire piece. Practicing etudes in this way allows you to add expression, rhythm and other musical elements that aren't usually present in finger drills to the skill you've been practicing, but without all the challenges that show up in a "real" piece.

This doesn't mean that etudes are easy, not by any means, But they do provide a way to step up a little more gradually to more intricate music. You practice your arpeggio exercise, then you practice an etude that uses those same arpeggios. Then you're ready to tackle the piece that has those arpeggios in it.

But that's not the way I'm looking at etudes today. Today, I want to tell you about two different ways to use etudes that will give you additional benefits, benefits like playing with more speed, more flow and helping you learn music faster. If you're the kind of harpist who loves etudes, you're going to absolutely love these ideas. And if you've been lukewarm at best about etudes, you might find yourself dusting off that etude book, because now you'll understand why etudes have been part of every musician's studies for hundreds of years. Simply because they work!

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

• Work with a Harp Mastery® Certified Coach in our new Lessons program.
• Learn my new "Variations on Bendemeer's Stream" in our March Seminar course.
• Become a My Harp Mastery member - join today!
• 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-198