Just ONE thing

I don’t just play the harp because it’s there.  I really enjoy it.  I look forward to the time I get to spend, whether it's practicing for an event or just playing around.  Of course, sometimes it’s work.  And I do remember the very early days so clearly – when the certainty that you’ll never “get this” is ever so much higher than the surety that you will.  But time passes and that feeling subsides.

Given that, but even so, I was taken aback when a new student asked me what would be the ONE thing that should be done within the allotted daily practice time that would take that student from a beginning beginner to intermediate harper in the short term?

It took me a bit of time to think of an answer.  The easy – and inaccurate – answer came to mind immediately.  I wanted to say – PRACTICE is the one thing.  But that’s not only unkind and flip, it’s also wrong!  Because practice – in and of itself – is not the one single thing that will make that movement from beginner to intermediate quick or even possible.

What?!? you say! That doesn’t sound like something you would say here in the blog.  After all – look at all the blog posts you have written about the importance of practicing!  You must have made a mistake there.  But I haven’t.  And I’m not contradicting myself either.

Because there is a one thing that every student can work on – starting from the first practice after the first lesson…and on and on until it’s time to stop playing (is that even a thing?).  What would this magical one thing be?

FUNDAMENTALS!

Now, I’ve nattered on about fundamentals before, but…from the mouths of harp babes (as it were) we hear the true questions emerge – and the answer is the same – always the same.

So, no matter what level you find yourself – there are always fundamentals to revisit and address.  If you’re just beginning, your one thing might be assuring that every finger goes back to your palm.  And if you’re more than a beginner but not very advanced your one thing might be placing ahead.  And if you’re very experienced, I really hope you’re not smugly thinking that this doesn’t apply to you because you can always be working on thinking ahead, and leveraging those skills you practiced as a beginner to inject more musicality into your tunes. 

So take a minute to really think about what your one thing to focus on should be.  Don’t be flip – really assess what you could best work on to improve yourself enough to move to the next level.  Don’t forget to capture it in your journal so you can see your development.  And having this in your journal will allow you to move from the first One Thing onto the second One Thing, the third, etc.  Because you know there will always be a just One (more) Thing to work on. 

What’s your one thing?  Let me know if the comments!

What do you see? Obstacles and Goals

E. Joseph Cossman, the well-known entrepreneur, is quoted as saying, “Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal”.  That’s worthy of being embroidered and hung over your harp. 

And this point couldn’t be more true than when you have heard a beautiful piece of music that you desperately want to play….and then you see the sheet music.  Few things are more disheartening than that initial visual assault of the dots.  All those pages!  All that ink!  All those notes! All at the same time!  Chords and ornaments and complex rhythms - who has that many fingers?!?

I always tell my students that there is nothing they cannot play.  There may be a wide gulf between where they are just now and the skills a particular piece requires – but that just means that the path to playing that piece lies in not being afraid of a little hard work.  It also means that it might take some time to master the music, but – there is nothing you cannot play*.

Clearly, the music is playable (remember – you heard it!).  So, the real challenge is to focus on the music.  And to stop staring at the obstacles.  Keep an eye on the goal – see past the dots.

What are the obstacles, typically?  And how do you see past them?  Here are some that are reliably likely to trip you up:

1. Poor, or as-yet-undeveloped technique.  When you hear lush beauty, it is backed by strong, solid, developed and practiced technique.  Always be working on your technique including learning things you haven’t had to use before.  For example, if you’re self-taught or just haven’t gotten there yet – do you know how to do a glissando correctly? Always be on the lookout for things you haven’t learned how to accomplish properly and include them in your overall practice plan.
2. Lack of practice reading.  If you are not a strong reader, even looking at relatively simple music notation can be intimidating.  And looking at a complex piece of music (whether it has a complex rhythm, a lot of big chords, or notation that’s new to you) can really throw you.  Reading, like every other aspect of playing, requires practice.  Identify music that you can read with some effort, and practice.  Work and time will get you to that place where you are comfortable identifying the notes and their names, the intervals by their locations, and repeated patterns used throughout the piece.  If you need it - do some flashcards time.  Learn and practice analyzing the page and you will get better at it – and that will make it come more easily too.
3. Not making the time to get the music.  If you are growing into a piece of music – you need to give yourself time.  Time to analyze, to work, to practice, to become comfortable with the music and the playing of it.  If you are working on a stretch piece – or if you have identified a long-range goal, be sure to give yourself the time you need to do the work, including any things you have to learn to master the piece.  If you are a relatively new harper, there may be a large number of things you need to learn – and that’s ok – as long as you give yourself the time to learn all of them!

There are other obstacles, but for now, keep your eye on your goal.  Don’t lose sight of the path. Give yourself permission to divert and learn.  And periodically you can return to the piece.  And make sure you know what you can see.

* don’t be obtuse – of course there are arrangements that may not fit on your harp, but assuming the arrangement is appropriate to your harp (that is, if there’s pedal markings and a lot of accidentals, you might want to pass on trying to play it on your lever harp – but even then, if you’re really up for a challenge, you go ahead and give it a try!).

Lights! Camera!! IMPROVE!!!

I frequently suggest that you record yourself playing because it gives you an opportunity to evaluate your progress.  An audio recording can be so helpful because it lets you truly hear yourself.  And all it takes is a free app on your phone or tablet.  

Of course, you can listen to yourself while you play, but there are so many impediments to actually hearing yourself while you’re playing – you are in the moment, you have to wrangle your harp, maintain your posture, manage your breathing, ride herd on your fingers, remember the music, and so much more!  All that makes it so hard to listen and to hear while you’re producing music that it is no wonder you miss so much and it is clear that being able to listen and attend better can only help.

But recently, I’ve come to appreciate the amazing utility of video recording!  It has all the benefits of audio recording that allows you to hear yourself.  But video recording also allows you to see so many additional things – so clearly!

Does your teacher consistently (or repeatedly) tell you to get your thumbs higher?  Even though you practiced and practiced.  You did all the the work - why can't she see that?  Do you get the same thing with placing?  Do you get told - a lot - to place ahead all while thinking that your teacher isn’t paying attention, because you know you place! After all, you did practice – over and over – so why doesn’t she see how high and well placed your fingers are?

The video tells all!

This picture is of one of my students – recording herself while she played.  And she was astounded!  She was able to see her hands – in situ.  And even though she’d been looking at them – now she could see them!  She watched in amazement…and horror!  Because she saw what I see – and comment on – in every lesson.  All the while she thought she had done all the things I suggested, thought that she had nailed it – only to be told, again, that her thumbs were dropping.  Suddenly she knew!  And she said at her next lesson, “when I fixed all that, it really was easier to play…just like you said!” (such words a teacher loves to hear! ♥)

The amazing part of this is learning that your teacher isn’t a broken record (nor a hateful shrew!).  But it is understandable – while you’re playing you have so much to which you must pay attention that you have no spare capacity to attend to one more thing.  It is a brain thing and we all have these limits.  It’s not good or bad, it just is.  And video can help you overcome it!

Note – these don’t have to be high quality “National Geographic” videos – prop your phone or tablet on your music stand, get some good light – and voila – you have videos that are good enough – to see what you are doing when you think you’re doing everything right!

You can use the videos to see what you’re doing so you can improve.  The video also provides a record so you can (hopefully) see improvement – and see bad habits as they are developing so you can nip them in the bud before they become habits.  And you can bring the video to your teacher to help you squelch untoward stuff before it hardens and to show what has transpired since you last met.

If you don’t have a teacher you can use your video to tame your inner critic while identifying what needs work.  You can evaluate your video and then work kindly with yourself to improve.  And if you have the opportunity to have a lesson after a workshop, you can share the video with the visiting teacher to help give a better idea of where you are and what you need help with – which will make your lesson go so much better!

So, by using equipment you already have (phone or tablet), you can significantly improve your playing, help your teacher help you, and create spare capacity to think – all of which will serve you well to improve your playing.  And all it takes is – Lights! Camera! Improvement! 

Made a video?  Want to share? Leave me a comment – can’t wait to see it!

Go Ahead - Make My Day

Teaching is a very fulfilling way to spend one’s time.  There are few things as motivating as seeing a student “get” something the first time, to share the joy of a person playing more confidently or accurately, to experience the culmination of a student’s hard work right there in your studio.

I enjoy sharing the harp with others.  I always get a thrill when I see progress and it’s enhanced when they see that they have made progress!  Such a feeling!

Part of teaching is to share hard earned knowledge.  By passing on the wisdom of previous harpers and other musicians, we teachers seek to help students build shortcuts through those tedious (but necessary) things.  We don’t want to watch you struggle.  It’s not that we won’t help you get out of the struggle – but if we can help you avoid it, then you have that much more energy to tackle the next challenging thing!

And so, weekly, we tell you to keep your thumbs up, your hands closed, your elbows up, your back straight, your head up.  We entreat you to place your fingers, to slow down, to pay attention to the myriad details that are central to making each note.

And why do we do this?  Because we want you to succeed.  We want you to master the instrument – in as straight a line, as quickly as possible.  We have been there – that’s why we’re sitting beside you! 

And I know that you believe yourself to be doing all the things I ask of you.  That you wonder if I’m not being a little bit too harsh with you.  Or perhaps that I have run out of things to say and so I repeat myself.  After all, you have got this!

And so I sit beside you and try to come up with new ways to say all those things that I have noticed you might improve upon.  I don’t want to beat you up about the same things week after week. I don’t want to beat you up at all!  I want you to play as well as you can, as soon as you can – and then move on to learn even more.  If only I could get you to place and keep your thumbs up!

Teachers share this frustration – the gap between what we tell you and what you think you have done.  And we laugh because we know that we can tell you something a thousand times but if a workshop presenter comes through and says it, you will likely come back to your lesson, clutching this pearl of wisdom and share it with us – as though we hadn’t suggested it in the past.  It’s actually sort of a laugh we share.  I actually put together a workshop based on this idea.  And really, we don’t care where you get the information – as long as you use it!

One thing I often suggest to my students and to you here is that you record yourself.  Your recording doesn’t have to be fancy – you can use your phone, a voice recorder meant for meeting – you could you use a cassette tape.  It doesn’t matter, as long as you can hear yourself! 

So, imagine my delight and surprise when one of my students came to her lesson last week with the opening – “I recorded myself playing as you suggested” (internal gasp!  She was listening!).  What floored me though, was what came next, “ I’m not keeping my thumbs up – just like you keep telling me” to which I wasn’t sure what to say. “Told you so” didn’t seem like a useful way to move forward!

But what was the most endearing and important was what she did next.  Throughout her practice sessions that week – she continued to work.  And continued recording – so s-h-e could see that she was making improvements!  What a delight to hear!  What an affirmation!  What lovely hand position!  And what fantastic tone!!!  She totally made my day!

So, please – use the information your teacher shares with you – the techniques, the tools, the tips.  And incorporate all those nuggets into your work time.  You’ll learn more, you’ll see improvement, you’ll know where to focus as you move forward and learn more about how you play.  And you’ll make your teacher very, very happy.  But remember – it’s not about the teacher.  It’s about you – learning to play, enjoying playing, and doing the work that you need to so that you can play better!

How do you capture your practice, incorporate your teacher’s suggestions, and evaluate your playing? Leave me a comment about how you move forward – I’d love for you to share your ideas – and progress – with me!