Why do you play?

We all know playing an instrument is “good” for you – impacting brain function, helping you learn more and differently, reducing stress, helping you meet new people, and of course, just having fun.  Bud do you ever stop to think about why you play?

The good news – there are no wrong answers to the question.

The better news – there isn’t just one answer (or at least, there doesn’t have to be).

The best news – there is a test and you ace it every time you sit on the bench!

It is likely that we all play for different reasons – our own reasons.  It is also likely that our reasons are similar.  Perhaps most importantly, all our reasons are good.

But do you ever think about what your reasons are?  I mean really think about it.  Not the tossed off answer you give to people who gawp when you tell them, “I play the harp.”.  Not the easy (and likely irrelevant) answer.  I mean the answer from deep inside you.  The answer that pushes you to work, to learn, to practice. That (or those) answer(s) hold the key!

Your answers don’t need to come out of your mouth (unless you are an irrepressible extrovert!).  Rather, they can be the mind fodder of quiet walks or long drives (like the kind you might make going to the 40^th Annual Ohio Scottish Arts School this summer (more on that later)). These answers are worth pursuing because they hold the questions we should ask ourselves each time we practice.  Here are a few to consider:

I play for my own enjoyment.  This sometimes means “I don’t want to perform”.  This answer appears to lead to the easiest practice – if you aren’t working to perform for others, you don’t need to work too hard.  But in actuality, this might be the hardest to practice for!  If you are the only listener (absent the cat and the curtains), you may discount any progress you show.  You may set the bar too high (or too low).  Or you might stagnate – playing the same music repeatedly but without feedback you might not be driven to continue to develop, explore and experiment.  You must just be sure your practice actually meets the answer – that you are actually enjoying the time at the harp.  Don’t stagnate but explore new things to find those that you enjoy most and develop those.

I’m a performer at heart!  This might be the easiest answer.  People are naturally curious about our instrument and are often in awe of musicians.  They may wish to be close so that they get to participate in the experience.  You know you can focus on preparing a performance package but be sure to include some “me” time in your practice.  Your performance will be improved by including this time.  This might include a return to fundamentals for a focused meditative time, revisiting old material and brining a new perspective to it, or dedicating one practice a week to having fun rather than perfecting and polishing.

I like being unique/playing a rare(ish) instrument.  This may be the most seductive answer because it doesn’t seem to require much practice at all.  To remain unique, you need only say you play and others will still be in awe.  You might not defer from playing but you are also not committing to being a performer, so the bar isn’t set too high.  But you might be tempted to slack off or cheat yourself out of valuable practice time and the opportunity to do more than scratch the surface and thereby miss so many occasions to surprise and delight yourself!  Commit to a more active role in your musicianship – play well enough to let your uniqueness come blazing through your fingers.

I play to put some good in the world. One could argue that doing good requires that you be good – at playing!  Whether you do good in the world as a volunteer or as a professional, one off or every day, your practice needs to assure you are strong enough to get through the session and to move about the world with your harp.  Include strengthening exercises for your whole body as well as exercises for the “playing parts” (after all – all of you is in this together!).

I play because I must!  The harp evokes your soul and emotions in a way no other instrument can, and you are compelled to play it.  In addition, the harp is so forgiving to beginners that sitting and evoking is easy.  But be sure to practice and master many techniques to assure that you can successfully – and consistently – evoke any emotion you choose, when you choose so that you can meet your need.

There are obviously many answers – these are but a few.  No matter your answer, be sure you back it up with a solid practice that permits you to give your best answer! You are going to ace the next test!   What’s your answer?  Leave me a comment and let me know.

Reading is reading!

You cannot practice your reading enough! There, I said it. It’s also true that only by practicing your reading will you ever get any better at it. Just like you practice making the right timbre and holding the notes the right length of time, and getting all the notes in the right order, you can also practice your reading.  Doing so will help you immeasurably to read more music, more easily.

But saying you need to practice and actually doing it may seem like a big leap.  After all, how do you practice reading?  Well, here are some ways you might go about it.

1. Set aside time in your practice to do reading.  I love my kitchen timer - set the timer for 5 – 10 minutes (depending on your overall practice time).  Then spend that time focused on reading.  If you’re a beginning reader, you might identify the names of each note.  When that becomes easier, you might name the note while finding it on the harp. Or you might name each note value (find all the eighth notes, then find all the quarter notes, etc.).  You might start with naming all the rests.  You’ll know best what you should work on by what gives you the most difficulty when you’re trying to read. 
2. Choose wisely.  If you are a beginning reader, you might want to start reading a beginning book (it is helpful to think about how you learned to read as a child – remember those books – loads of pictures and very large type? Find the music equivalent!).  As you become more experienced at reading, you can more on to more complex music, or looking at ensemble  scores!  You might be willing to read music for other instruments (although I would suggest you stick with the treble and bass clefs!). 
3. L-O-O-K at the music!  Analyze it.  Look for the patterns that repeat, find the motif that is moved around (a pattern that starts on different notes in different places). Pay attention to all the ink – it’s all there to tell you something – spend the time to figure out what it is!  Look at the beginning.  Check out the end to get an idea of what's going to happen (this is analogous to reading the last chapter of a book!). I really like finding the patterns and using those to convince myself that it won’t be as much work as I think it will be (especially true with the dot density is high and there is a lot of ink on the page!). Work on building the habit of doing this analysis each time you open a piece of music (and avoid the trap of opening the music and just trying to play it). 
4. Think of the whole.  When you’re beginning to read, you may need to look at each note individually and each line or space of the staff (do you remember when you were young and you had to sound out each letter - like that).  It is overwhelming! However, I promise, with practice you will become better, faster, stronger at seeing the whole (the staffs, the notes, the inflections, etc.) and processing the meaning more quickly!  This will make reading easier and more fun, and definitely less work! 
5. Pay attention.  Once your reading becomes more effortless, you will be tempted to read more quickly and bang through the music as fast as possible.  But remember a couple of important things – faster is not necessarily better and you are reading to take something in – but what are you going to do with it after you take it in?  Keep that end in mind and pay attention the whole way through! 
6. Find the “sight words”.  In word reading there are “sight words” – words you have practiced so many times you can read them without reading them!  Words like – word, so, many, times, you, can, read – well you get the idea!  In the same way, the more you read music, the more these musical “sight words” (patterns) will become clearer. With practice, you’ll see an octave and won’t even thinking about it, you’ll know it’s an octave.  A triad (1-3-5 chord)? Bang on.  Know an F from an A?  Piece of cake.

I know, if you’re just starting out, this seems like magic or malarkey, but it’s not – it’s just practice!  Reading music can be challenging. I used to hate sitting next to a “paper trained” person at a workshop – they’d rattle through the music at a clip and I’d still be placing the first chord.  It can be disheartening.  This may be more so if you’re coming from another instrument – either a one liner (like fiddle or flute) or a flatliner (like piano).   

Be patient and actually practice and you’ll see improvement very quickly.  Or you can go back to wishing – it is a strategy, but it doesn’t work very well!

It still feels so new! Life in Leonardtown

I am very excited that I have a new(ish) studio space!  I’m having a great time teaching Harp and Piano to a whole different group of people and having the opportunity to be active in Southern Maryland again. 

I’ve been kitting out the new space little by little.  First it was carting the harps from Virginia (or borrowing…or both) and working from a delightful electronic keyboard.  But time has been passing and I had gotten a piano specifically for the studio space (all 88 keys and everything!) as well as the keyboard.  Having both really opens up some possibilities – so we’ll be able to do some interesting stuff as we progress.

But this weekend I got the icing for the cake – a new harp (ok, new to me – but that’s excellent because someone else has done all the hard work of breaking it in!). So now the studio harps are a Dusty Strings Crescendo 32 in Walnut and a Dusty Strings FH26, also Walnut.  It sounds so smooth and mellow when we’re playing!

Of course, the unexplored space is between the harps and the pianos – with the electronics going, maybe we’ll do some overdubbing and see what kind of musical mayhem we can make – but that’ll come later, if there’s interest. 

The studio is in Leonardtown, with its great small-town vibe and eclectic shops – and we’re so near the river we can look right out the window if we need inspiration!  I’m delighted to have been invited to use this space at Coaching for the Voyage - what a great group of people to get to spend “work” days with!  We are always looking for interesting potential collaboration spaces and I know something creative will come out of this – there’s a purpose for every opportunity!  And being in Leonardtown – a recognized Arts and Entertainment District – there will be plenty of fun to share both at First Fridays soon to come and other events we haven't even thought of!

Until then, lesson times are available and I’d love to work with you.  I’m also pleased to be offering coaching as well.  Coaching is for those who are relatively proficient at the instrument and don’t need or want regular lessons, but on occasion would like to “tune up” technique.  I’m also offering consulting for those who are looking to stretch and flex their repertoire and would like feedback on presentation, composition or arranging.  If you’re looking for a teacher in Southern Maryland leave me a comment and let me know - and I'll look forward to meeting you!