Enjoy the Silence….

Not just the enigmatic lyrics of a Depeche Mode tune but a strongly worded suggestion.

There is so much sound in our lives.  Every day.  Sounds we enjoy. Sounds we would rather not hear. Combinations of sounds.  So many that we don’t even hear some of them. And so many that we often cannot hear ourselves think. 

And note that I say sound.  You may have mentally transposed that to say noise.  But “Noise” carries a value judgment against the source of the sound or against it’s characteristics (like volume, timbre, pitch, complexity, etc.).  But it isn’t just noise that there is so much of – there’s just a lot of sound in our world.

As musicians, we are familiar with the concept of silence.  We have symbols for many types of silence (well, lengths of silence – almost as if you buy it off the bolt*). We write silences into the music all over the place.

And yet, even as musicians, we often are slightly afraid of silence.  Maybe repulsed is a better word.  Even the best, strictest musicians sometimes cut the sound short, not allowing it the full time allotted in the score.  The longer it is, the more eerie it becomes.

We harp players have an added element to our relationship to sound.  After all – so often we have at least one string continuing to oscillate – to ring on and on and on (the beauty of bass wires…the bane of bass wires).  Actually getting to silence can be difficult for us.  Sometimes silence becomes an anathema to us – because we are no longer used to hearing it. 

Silence, the absence of sound, often makes us uncomfortable.  Especially if we are performing – silence leaves us feeling naked.  Almost as if we think the gossamer of sound provides a veil to protect us – without it, we are bared by the lack of vibration being put into the air.

Despite this, we know intuitively the power of silence.  When you’re looking for an address or you’re lost – you turn down the radio.  When you really (really really) need to study, you go somewhere quiet (even those who insist they need the sounds of the tv to study).  When you need to reflect, you find a quiet spot like a shrine or a meadow or a closet.  But there are other reasons to find (and enjoy) silence.  Silence really can be good for you - for many reasons. 

• Silence is golden (you can take that to the bank!) – you can download John Cage’s 4’ 33” from iTunes for just 99¢.  Better yet, review John Cage’s earlier work and you’ll see how he might have grown into writing this piece (perhaps his most famous, and possibly his best)
• Silence does give you time to think – when it is quiet, you can think. This is especially true when you’re performing – when you not only give yourself time to think – you give your audience time to think too!
• Silence let’s you hear (especially small or infrequent sounds) – yes, I meant that – silence let’s you hear things you don’t hear otherwise.  I live near two of my favorite sounds – a train and an airport – and yet, I only ever hear the trains or the airplanes in the small hours…even though I think I am always listening for them.
• Silence can be soothing – there is medical research that indicates that silence is conducive to soothing and reducing stress.  If you are playing in a clinical setting, knowing this is essential…but it is also helpful if you’re playing for an audience!  And don’t forget that even stress reduction can be stressful, so a little silence will be helpful.
• Silence sharpens your attention – without the distraction of sounds, you can focus on whatever you elect to attend.  Whether this is your own thoughts, a project, or anything else requiring attention, you will have the capacity to focus that attention in the presence of silence.  
• Silence gives you time to breathe – This might be a subset of the previous point, but silence allows you to breathe – deeply, slowly.  And breathing makes just about everything else easier!
• Silence let’s you take a beat (sometimes literally!) – this might be the summation of all the points - when you can take a step back, take a beat, you gain a perspective you won’t otherwise. Be quiet, be still, breathe, think, focus….and then reengage and move forward.

Silence is like Brylcreem – a dab’ll do ya.  Try injecting a little silence into your day and see what comes up.  You can include some silences into your practice – by thinking before launching into whatever needs work or by pausing to think about what you’ve done and what you might do next.  You could incorporate silence into your performances – don’t leap into a new tune as if you’re trying to get away from the last one – enjoy the brief silence (before the wild applause breaks out!).  And you can include some silences into the rest of your day – at the beginning (before anyone knows you’re awake?) or at the end (when everyone thinks you’re asleep?) – you’ll be amazed what you find when you Enjoy the Silence!

*admit it, did you just visualize what a bolt of silence would look like?

Baby, It’s Dry Outside! 8 ways to take care of your skin so your hands can keep playing

No matter where you live, no matter how arctic or temperate, winter tends to be drier than the other seasons.  And it’s easy to tell that when you look at your hands.  In case it had escaped you, you use those hands a lot when playing the harp.  So, keeping them in good shape is a good idea!

Problem is, you use your hands for so many things, it’s easy to look at them and not see them.  Who really checks them every day for wear and tear?  I get it – we’re busy.  We wash our hands, we see them.  We decorate them with rings and bracelets.  But how often do you really look at them?  Your hands are like that – or more specifically, the skin on your hands is like that. 

It’s easy to take your skin for granted.  So, it’s time to add caring for the skin on your hands to your things to do list!

It’s winter, so the air is dry.  And it’s cold and flu season, so you’re washing your hands a lot.  Frequent hand washing strips the natural oils from your skin, leaving it dry and flaky.  Of course, this dryness also gets more likely as your get older.  If you let it go long enough, it is possible that your skin will become so dry and tight that it impacts your playing – yikes!

What happens? Well, you already know your skin can become dry from the dry indoor (and outdoor) air, but healthy habits can also impact your hands badly.  The water and soap from hand washing – both of which draw the oils away – lead to drying.  And the drying after the hand washing can be a problem.  Air driers blow warm, dry air at your hands and towels (including paper towels) can also “rough up” your hands (leading to chapping).  Left untended, after all these assaults (albeit healthy assaults), your skin may become dry enough to feel tight, flaky, rough and it might even split or crack. 

Splitting and cracking is bad for a number of reasons – it hurts and leaves your fingers sore.  Sometimes you’ll also get bleeding – and no one wants that.  Perhaps the worst part is that your skin is part of your immune system and these cracks and splits leave your open to infection.

So, what can you do? You can’t really take the entire winter off (ok, you could but that wouldn’t be fun!).  Here are 8 ideas you can pick and choose from to improve the state of your skin throughout the winter.  Many of these are basic maintenance and some are downright pampering.  But caring for your hands will be good for your health and for your harping!* 

1. Hydrate!  This is a good place to start.  Because the air is so dry in the winter, you need to drink more water – or at least drink enough water.  You can use your favorite rule of thumb (8 glasses, half your body weight, or “drink when you’re thirsty”!).
2. Moisturize.  You might think this goes without saying, but say it anyway!  Use your favorite moisturizer – but use it!  And remember that the skin on your hands is different in different places on your hands.  Lay it on thick on the backs of your hands, get your fingertips, but maybe the palms don’t need as much of a slather?  Put it where you need it.  And use the product that works best for you – there are loads to choose from.  
3. White Glove Treatment.  If you are having trouble keeping your hands moisturized, this works overnight!  Wash your hands, leave them damp, slather on “too much” moisturizer (this is a good time to use an emollient rather than regular moisturizer), slip on plain cotton gloves and go to bed!  Plain white cotton gloves are available on line and are inexpensive.  This keeps your hands warm and traps body heat which seems to help the moisturizer “get in”.  Caveats – you’ll feel ridiculous (especially if you have a roomie) and you will feel much warmer than you would otherwise while in bed (so layer your blankets accordingly).
4. The Black Glove Treatment.  Keep gloves in the pockets of all your coats – and wear them!  I buy the cheapy Walmart ones that come in packs of three and look like they won’t fit a toddler but magically grow to be the right size when you put them on.  They have all the qualities you need – they are inexpensive enough to have a lot of them so if you lose them, it doesn’t matter much (they’re like $1.25 a pair), they come in colors so they go with everything, and if it’s really really cold, you can wear two pairs).  I have gloves in all my coat pockets, in the pocket of my harp case, in my gig bag, in my car, in my purse, and anywhere else I happen to stash them.  Like the white glove treatment, they keep your hands warm which seems to help the moisturizer be more effective and just protects your skin in general.
5. Take care of your nails.  Not only do you need to keep your nails trimmed and filed to play, but you can also apply oil to the nail beds to keep your cuticles supple.  There are fancy nail oils but Vitamin E oil or plain ol’ olive oil also works (you could combine this with the White Glove Treatment – and not get oil all over the place!).
6. Keep your hands clean, but….  You do, of course, need to wash your hands frequently.  But warm water will do – it doesn’t need to be so hot you can barely stand it!  If you can, use liquid soaps.  And when drying – just get to damp rather than completely dry.  Then apply moisturizer.  If possible, try to avoid hand sanitizer (which is typically made with alcohol – don’t believe me? Use it when your hands are chapped, and you’ll find all the little cracks you didn’t know where on your hands – ouch!  Ask me how I know!).  If you’re working in hospitals and health care environments, they often use a hand sanitizer that is not alcohol based.  Of course, patient health is a priority, but still, you need to take care of you.
7. Get a manicure!  This is a little luxury! And while a good manicurist will leave you feeling heavenly (!), you can also do this at home for yourself.  Just be sure you do all the steps on all of your hand!  Don’t leave out the massage. One big advantage of having a professional manicure is adding the paraffin dip which is really lovely and softening!
8. Deal with it.  If you have cracks or splits – deal with them quickly to heal faster and to avoid infection.  Use an antibacterial treatment (often typically carried in an emollient – so a two-fer!) and cover with a bandage (to protect it and to keep the antibacterial in place).  If you have a gig and must play, many swear by the liquid bandage products or superglue.  These hold the crack closed and will certainly make it easier to play – just be sure to try this out b-e-f-o-r-e you try to play any kind of gig, so you’ll know what works for you (but it is definitely easier than a bandage when you play the strings!).

It’s never too late to treat your hands well.  Even if you’re a cracked, bleeding, sore mess – your hands will respond to a little TLC very quickly.  Don’t wait!  Do it today.  Don’t have visibly dry hands?  Build the habit now – before you need to.  These small steps will certainly keep you playing comfortably throughout the cold dry months.  What is in your daily routine?  Do you have other great solutions you can share with the rest of us?  Leave it in the comments below!

*As always, these are suggestions from my experience.  I am not a health care professional nor am I a manicurist or other professional who professionally knows this stuff.   If you have a health concern, see your qualified medical practitioner.  And if you know something that works well – let me know – I’m always looking for good solutions!

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It’s St. Valentine’s Day – show your harp some love!

You would think, for as much as we have a fondness for our instruments, that we would treat them extra specially.  But sometimes, like so many other things we love, we may overlook basic maintenance, neglect derived from the familiarity that comes with daily use of our favorite tool.

Since you want it to last you forever (or at least until you fall in love with a different harp), a little maintenance will go a long way to making you happy, make your harp sound it’s best and to make it a keeper (or ready to sell on, if you do fall in love with a new, different harp).  Regular maintenance will keep your harp in good health for a long time. 

Your harp is a system – all the parts work together to make a beautiful instrument.  If you are not going to treat it as a whole entity, you might as well buy one of those well carved HSO's (Harp Shaped Objects) from an airline shopping catalog.  Regular maintenance will assure that your harp stays strong and sounds good.  That will allow you to enjoy its aesthetics – sound, feel, and look.  The major parts of your system are the Strings, the body of the harp and the articulators.  Since most of you are lever harpers, I’ll focus on that here.  If you are a pedaler and would like equal time, send me a comment and I will be happy to oblige!

1. Strings – are the highest maintenance element of your harp.  Take care of them – they give your harp it’s characteristic sound - you know, the sound you fell in love with at first.  But maintaining the strings will also make your life easier – everyday.
• Tune your harp - DAILY.  All of it.  A-L-L of the strings.  DO NOT, as one person once told me, only tune the ones you’re going to use (yes, someone did tell me that one time – I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry).  If you have had to replace a string, tune multiple times a day until the string settles.  How will you know the string has settled?  It won’t need to be tuned multiple times a day!  Tuning has two other potential purposes or benefits.  First, it gives you a chance to really look at your strings to be sure they are in good repair (and don’t need to be replaced) and second, tuning can be a type of meditation in which you are breathing and really focusing on the harp itself and its overall condition.
• Wash your hands!  No matter the material from which your strings are made – wash your hands!  You will get stuff on the strings – skin oil, cookie crumbs, brownie frosting, mayonnaise, cat hair – it will get on the strings.  Did I mention – WASH YOUR HANDS!  (Caveat – be especially vigilant if you enjoy encouraging potential players to give your instrument a go – I once had a delightful pre-K’er get strawberry jam all over the strings of my little harp before I could stop her.  I didn’t think I’d ever get it all off my wound strings!) 
•  Annually (or thereabouts) – hopefully you listen to your harp while you’re playing it and will hear when the strings have seen better days.  They get “thuddy” – they don’t ring true.  They may also refuse to stay in tune. How frequently you need to replace your strings depends on a number of things including how much you play, how you play, and how much money you have.  A full set of strings can be pricey, so factor that into your budget.  A full set of replacement strings for my Dusty 36 would run about $170 (and if I liked gut, that would rise to $400) so plan ahead. When you do replace your strings – remember that you need one set to install and an additional full set so you'll have spares for potential breakage.  You should know how to change strings on your harp (for when they break), but you can also pay someone else to do the restringing for you. Many luthiers offer this service for a charge.  However, like many other chores, restringing can take on a rhythm which makes it, if not fun, at least not unpleasant.  
2. The Body - Protecting your harp
• Protecting the glue – don’t leave your harp in the car in warmer weather.  Some take this to the extreme of never leave your harp in the car, but that can be a little bit unrealistic.  However, when the weather warms up, just like an infant or a dog, you can’t leave your harp in the car when the inside will warm up rapidly and to a high temperature.  At these higher temperatures, the glue will soften and, with the tension on the harp, it may loosen or at worst, come completely apart…at some time (maybe not right away!).  By the same token, protect your harp from harsh sunlight and away from windows.  Also keep it away from fireplaces or other heat sources!
• Protecting the finish.  All harps have some sort of finish.  Each manufacturer uses their preferred method.  You should check with the manufacturer before attempting to clean the surface with any type of cleaning product.  You can, however, dust your harp regularly with a dry microfiber cloth, or a “Swiffer” type duster (do not use the plastic handle/holder – just keep the duster in your hand).  While dusting, be sure you get the surfaces and anywhere dust can easily collect (like the tops of grommets, between the bridge pins and the arm, inside any frippery/scroll work), and where the column meets the base of the soundboard.  DO NOT use anything wet (unless directed by the manufacturer).  Whatever you do – definitely don’t use Pledge or other furniture polish – it’s your harp, not furniture!  By the same token, do not leave your harp in the car when it is very cold.  The cold will not damage the glue but may damage the finish.  
• Protecting the harp from falling.  Harps seem really big and imposing (especially when you’re carrying them any distance) – until they are not.  Make sure your harp is not in physical danger.  Because they are larger on the top than on the bottom, harps may easily fall over - and some harps are more prone to falling that others.  It is a sickening feeling to hear a harp falling and becoming damaged.  Consider stowing the harp in a corner or other protected space (this is essential if you have rambunctious cats, dogs, or small children).  Don’t storing it in its case – because unpacking it becomes a chore that gets in the way of easily practicing.  
• Protecting the wood – Humidity.  Harps are made from wood (most of them).  Wood is from trees – living things.  So, just like other natural materials, your harp will be impacted by the humidity – swelling when the air is moist and contracting when it is dry.  Dry is the big problem.  Just like it is bad for your skin (think of the ashy flaking of dry winters!) it can be too dry for your harp (you can’t smear moisturizer on your harp!).  Try to keep the air about 45% (this can be very difficult when the heat is on).  You can use an inexpensive hygrometer to monitor the humidity in your home studio.  You can run a humidifier or use a fountain (which is not very efficient for humidifying the air but does a little – and looks nice) to help keep the dryness at bay.
• Transportation.  Moving your harp can be tricky.  Simply leaving your house, putting the harp in the car, controlling the air in the car, then arriving somewhere else to play – you’ve gone through at least 3 microclimates all playing havoc with not only the wood but also the strings!  Just plan for that as you time out your transportation to your event.  While in the car, keep the harp in the case and assure that it is stowed with the levers not constrained (either on its side with levers on top or upright on it’s back with the levers protected (so the harp doesn’t fall over and break levers).  
3. Articulators (Levers!) Required Maintenance.  The upside is that your levers shouldn’t need too much maintenance.  However, sometimes they will need to be regulated.  Regulation is the name for the activity of adjusting the levers to calibrate the pitches of the strings when the levers are engaged.  I’d suggest doing this when it needs it.  "When it needs it" will be impacted by how you play, how much you play, and your harp itself.  You’ll know your harp is out of regulation when, after you tune it, you set the levers and it plays out of tune.  You can regulate your harp yourself, but unless you have the patience of Job and you know what you’re doing, I would strongly recommend you take it to your luthier!  It’s totally worth the cost to not pull out your own hair, or continuously move the levers in the wrong direction or too much or too little.  Just take it – it’s worth the peace of mind to let someone who knows what they’re doing take care of it! (but if you really want to do this yourself, there are instructions on line).  You should also check your levers while tuning or playing to see (inspect really) any cracks, breaks, or other flaws that may become obvious with use over time.

If you have multiple harps – not only do you want to do all the above for each of them, but you also need to make sure you cycle through your harps.  Play and practice on each of them.  This assures that you are tuning them regularly, keeping an eye on them, monitoring the strings, and enjoying each of them.  Be sure to rotate through them – and to really revel in the differences between them [there may also be a benefit from changing from harp to harp in terms of being more comfortable with the variations between them which might make you more confident when playing someone else's harp or when on stage!].

I’m sure there are other ways to show your harp some love this Valentine’s day – and every other day – leave me a comment and let me know what you do!  And happy Valentine’s Day! 

Blogspotters - I am gradually moving the blog over to my website - please go over there, subscribe (on the upper left of the screen) so you don't miss anything.  Unfortunately, blogspot doesn't have all the functionality available on the website, so this site will eventually go away.   Until then, I'll post the same content but please begin to watch that space!