Planner vs Journal: What do you need?

You have endured my repeated suggestions that you keep a harp practice journal.  I hope you have taken me up on my suggestion and that, in so doing, you have begun to understand why I make the suggestion.  I also hope you saw, in short order, how the act of journaling can help you become a better harper.  Simply by entering the conversation with yourself, you are able to capture your thoughts, feelings, successes, plans/goals and good ideas.  And with review (or just idly flipping through) you can get an appreciation of all your hard work (and maybe a glimpse of the work you would be well advised to undertake – later...in the future....let’s not get too crazy!).

Recently, one of you asked about using a practice planner as a journal.  Well, a planner is different from a journal, so today, some thoughts on each and an insight into how I (try) to use these with my students. 

Planners and Journals serve two different functions.  A Planner is forward looking, capturing what you should be working on, and how to schedule it all into your practice time (by the hour, the day, the week, the month, the season, the year, etc.).  It describes what your teacher (or you, if you are actively using it) would like you to work on so that you continue to grow and so that you build the skills needed for the repertoire you will attempt in the future.  It helps to organize your time spent and usually includes short term goals (which are actually criteria that, when reached, indicate readiness to move forward).

A Journal, on the other hand, is, by definition, a retrospective of your work – mental, physical, emotional, and more.  It can incorporate external factors (e.g. “I didn’t practice all week because I was on a cruise, but when I returned, I was delighted to be behind the harp once again and I quickly conquered my new tune that I was having trouble with before” or "I had a terrible week at work and I just didn't feel like practicing which explains why I haven't made progress with my tunes this week, but next week should be better!").  You write in your Journal after you practice or play, while reflecting on what happened, why, how you feel about that, and perhaps what you’d like to add to your planner (to avoid a negative or to reinforce something you see needs shoring up).  And of course, you will, on occasion, go back and read through your thoughts and feelings to rediscover items that have fallen through your mental cracks.

A practice planner should be very clear and detailed – a set of instructions for the week.  What (specifically) should you be focused on?  At what point, then, do you move on for the next time? How many times to do the scales? In which key? What are your warm-ups this week? What skill builders will you do? What musicality exercises will you work on?  How do you know when to stop?  How good is good enough? What is expected of you in the practice time allotted?

A journal allows you to express your assessment of your practice time and your ideas on your progress (NB – this is NOT a platform for your inner critic!  Rather you are capturing your opinion in a constructive way, so you can grow from it).  You might include thoughts like "although I thought I'd never “get” those funky chord exercise note progressions, with three days of focused attention, I do “get” it and can now focus on the technique work that the exercise is needed for".  A little work, a little assessment, a little reflection, a lot of growth!  You are also not limited in how you might capture those thoughts, reflections, and feelings - write, jot, paint, whatever will help you remember later on.

So, which should you have? A Planner or a Journal?

You need the Planner and the Journal!  The real question is – in what form? The right answer is – in the form that works for you!

You can use simple planner sheet (want a free one? Subscribe here!) and a journal book.  Then you have two things to work together to suggest your practice time.  You want (and need) order and structure for the planner, so that the homework notes from your lesson help you to structure your practice time and to prepare for your next lesson.  But you also need and want the freedom to capture your thoughts as they come and as they are best expressed.  If you’re lazy like me, you want to have it all in one place.  I prefer this for my students because it also provides a continuity to our discussion from lesson to lesson – one place for all thoughts.

Are you already journaling?  Using a practice planner? What's your method?  And if you’re not, what’s stopping you? Journals and Practice Planners can help you grow and focus your work while reminding you that you love to play!  No matter what form it takes, there is a lot of potential in writing it down.  You can do this yourself – just get a notebook and start writing.  But if you’d like a bespoke one, I can help you with that too - just leave a request in the comments and I'll get back to you with details.  

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First Day of Spring – Get outside!

No matter where you live, the first day of Spring can be a wonderful day.  The farther you are from the equator (and whether you have Spring in March or September), Spring portends change and newness.  Although I grew up near enough to the equator that Spring is just another day on the calendar, I now live where Spring occurs very palpably.  And although it is my least favorite season, I still very much look forward to it’s arrival.

Here we are slowly transitioning from winter, and just now we are enjoying a faux May day.  Of course, we’re not quite there yet and we will be returning to our regularly scheduled March in just a few hours.  But for the moment, it is Spring.  And it’s a perfect day to take get harp outside...and play!

There are all kinds of reasons to take the opportunity to do it right now!

• The fresh air will do you good.  There’s a reason “Spring Cleaning” is a thing.  We have been cooped up in furnace air for months, so a little fresh air will be a welcome change (and you also want to enjoy it before A/C season shuts you up again).
• The sunlight will do you good.  This is a perfect time – bright clear days while the sun angle is changing – it’s not beating down on you or your harp.  No sweating on the soundboard.  No worrying that the glue might be in jeopardy.  Research keeps showing the importance of getting some sun – to collect Vitamin D precursors, to stave off the winter blahs, and to put the finishing touches on your adaptation to the time change.  Playing your harp will only enhance all that.
• The warmth will do you good.  Some research suggests that you will feel better with just 15 minutes of contact with the earth each day.  When it’s Spring, it is warm enough to take your shoes and socks off and keep your feet on the ground.  No matter how it operates, taking 15 minutes to stand still (or sit still) will do you good.
• Being present will do you good.  Sometimes when we take our harps outside, we are worried – will the harp be stable? will other people hear me? does anyone see me?  We might feel exposed with our bare arms and our bare harp.  But that’s not the point.  Instead -  be present.  Enjoy the feel of the wood, the strings, the air, the sun, the deck/park/garden/yard in which you are sitting, the breeze, the sound.  Be present and remind yourself how much you enjoy the feeling of playing – no matter how experienced you are (or aren’t). 

Spring is a great time to remind yourself to be thoughtful.  After the bundled up, flurry and flutter of the holidays and the start of the new year – take a breath.  Be here.  Now.  Enjoy your harp.

Go play now.  Spring is fleeting.  Soon it will be Summer, with its hustle and bustle and A/C and harp events!  Ok.  Gotta go – the deck is calling me, the trees are beckoning, the birds are off key so they need help.  Where will you play?  Let me know in the comments below! 

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! 

We’re all made of Stories – The Comparison Trap

We humans observe…and then compare.  We are always collecting data about the world around us,  analyzing it, and then selecting a winner.  We have a classification scheme for winners and not winners - so we see where we rank in there.

This comparison trap is insidious in two ways.  It assumes that you are an unbiased (and knowledgeable) arbiter of truth and it rarely takes context into account.

And typically, when we make comparisons, we find ourselves wanting.

Finding yourself wanting is not motivating.

Are you a “Fair Witness” *?  Are you certain that you are qualified to critique the performance of others relative to your own?  And can you say, perhaps with more certainty, that you are qualified to evaluate your own performance – clear eyed and unbiased?  Are you a Fair Witness to yourself that you can only report the truth with no trace of bias?  Likely not – you have a vested interest in the outcome, so be honest about your ability to assess.

I just learned that my sister writes poetry.  I learned this while thumbing through an anthology in which she is published!  This very clearly highlighted the second point of context.  You very rarely have insight into the context of others (even in a close relationship).  Even though we are all made of stories – we don’t tell them all to everyone.  And there are some we tell no one.  In addition, many have no insight into the context of themselves, much less that of others.  And even if you know someone, you might not have an accurate view of their context. 

On occasion, you'll hear someone "praise" another by stating baldly that playing the harp comes easily to (another).  I find this both horrifying and irritating.  You might think you should be delighted to receive what might be meant as a compliment.  But because you have worked quite hard to be where you are, and even if you give the illusion that it comes easily, you might rather be annoyed that someone has discounted all that hard work.  When you compare your own playing to someone else’s (or someone compares themselves to you), you never know the entire context – where they are, what is happening, or how your comparison may upset them.  By the same token you may not be fully aware of how things affect you and impact your own playing.

As the trope goes (did you know that “trope” originated as a music term?) Comparison is the thief of joy.  Why do we make comparisons?  Because we're good at it.  We are quite adept at making pairwise comparisons (choosing a preference between two options).  There are entire lines of research built on these comparisons – we’re that good at making them!  But in this case, our strength (comparison) is a real weakness - because, you don’t have to pick!  Someone else can be good and you are still too!

In addition, comparing yourself to someone else is more likely to make you feel bad than to make you play better (and you can see how that’s not helpful – the comparison makes you feel bad, so you’re not motivated to practice, so you do not become better (and may lose ground), which makes you not play as well the next time you’re with others and your comparison results in your poorer showing – etc.…you can see how that’s a downward spiral of not very helpful).   

At a recent workshop I overheard a relatively new harper wistfully comment, “I’ll never play as well as (insert significantly experienced, p-r-o-f-e-s-s-i-o-n-a-l harp player here).” ** Well, DUH!  Of course you don’t!  You’ve been playing the harp for 10 minutes and they’ve played for 20/30/40 years.  You dabble, fit it in, get to it when you can, as a hobby.  That person is a pro – it’s their job!  And they are seasoned, they work at it – you know, for hours – every day.  And they are absorbed in multiple aspects of being a musician, not just the practicing for 20 minutes when they can!

Of course you don’t play at the same level!  When I overhear this, I am always tempted to ask, “Do you w-a-n-t to play at that level?  Or do you just wish you played at that level?”  Big difference!  (of course, the start of the difference is – you know what I’m going to say – practice!)

Do you say to every Dentist or Auto Mechanic you meet, "oh, I wish I pulled teeth or rebuilt transmissions as well as you"? Bah! No, you don’t, so why do you do that with harpers? (and if you do, stop, you’re creeping people out!).

But how can you escape the Trap and emerge solid in your own story (and possibly helping other people grow fully into their own stories)?

Be honest – and clear – about where you are and where the other person is (and the path from here to there).  And be frank about your willingness to take that same path (or not)!

Be content, but not complacent – You are where you have gotten.  You are not your harp hero.  But you might be someone else’s (did you ever think about that?).  So kindly and gently encourage yourself to continue to work and grow.  You already know that it is work to continue – but it’s fun work!  And there’s no deadline, so just keep at it.  

Be analytical (but only part of the time) – note how much you have grown as a harp player.  No, really note – be aware.  At one point you hadn’t even touched a harp – and look at you now!  One of the reasons I’m always exhorting you to keep a journal of your practice is so that you record (and therefore don’t forget and can review) your small, “every day” successes!  Because those small accomplishments are what matter.

Be-YOU-tiful (stolen from a tea towel!) – you are amazing!  Be that.  You have strengths and weaknesses – just like everyone else.  Celebrate your strengths.  Be mindful of your weaknesses.  Work on those weaknesses you want to be stronger at, set up systems to support the ones you know need work (but are still working on), and forget the rest.  If you have to, turn your picture upside down so the weaknesses are in fine print at the bottom rather than in headlines at the top of your page. 

There is one comparison that does matter – how are you now relative to you previously?  Are you growing?  Are you becoming the you that you want to be (not wish – but want).  Do your thing.  Let everyone else worry about being them.  Do you have another way of keeping your thief of joy in check?  Share that in the comments!

* If you haven’t read this, you might enjoy it – at your local library or at online

**I have no problem making this claim since I hear this at nearly every workshop I attend.

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Let the sun shine!

It’s early March and so here in the US, whether you agree or not, it’s time to set the clocks ahead – it’s Daylight Saving Time.  Yea.

It’s not really all that bad.  It does lead to “longer” days, in that, while the sun is up as long as it is going to be each day, the clock pushes us to use more of it awake.  So it feels like we have more daylight than we do.  So then the question is – what are you going to do with all that sunlight? 

Well, you could use it to play your harp more!  And like anything – there are bad things but also good things about moving the clocks to take advantage of the sun.

 

What are the bad things? 

You have to get used to it.  Your body is not wired to make these jolting shifts and it might take you a little time to adjust.  If you don’t want to experience a wrenching difference, you could take a few days to prepare yourself – go to bed, eat, and go for a walk 15 minutes early each day from now until Sunday – that will help ease you into it.  If you can’t work this shift into your schedule, at a minimum, keep to your current schedule so that you are only adapting to one hour change (sort of like jet lag!).

Everyone’s health takes a ding.  Research has shown that there are more of all kinds of accidents – car, industrial, just being dumb.  But also there are more heart attacks and strokes for the first week of the time change – so take care of you! Eat carefully, sleep, and take a little exercise (use all that extra daylight to go for a walk!).

Then add your harp into the mix! Now you can look at the good things -

First, acknowledge that although the time change can be a bother, you will adjust in just a few days.  So cut yourself some slack.  Be nice to you – don’t do a lot of forced or concentrated practice.  Instead, just play and allow the sound energy to envelop you – all that vibroacousticness might help you adapt (well – it can’t hurt!).

After the first week of adaptation – you’ll be ready to use all that glorious sunlight to be more energetic – you can apply that energy to your practicing.  Practice in natural sunlight.  Go outside (as I write this, it’s about 20^oF so that idea might have to wait!) or open the curtains and play in the window.  Just take the opportunity to enjoy the sunshine!

You can let the beautiful lengthening days be an inspiration – make music, play music, share it with others!  Can you compose an improvisation of the day, the transition from night to day or from day to night?  It’s in you – let it out!

You may enjoy playing more. Sunlight helps combat any kind of “blahs”, so if you layer that over the joy you get from playing – you’ll be nearly euphoric.  Keep that up for the eight months of DST and you’ll be…happier?  Probably!

You’ll have more time to practice.  Of course you won’t.  But you’ll feel like you do.  When the day is unending – you can practice in the morning, in the middle of the day, and in the evening and still have loads of day remaining.

So there are good things about changing the time for the spring.   Layer that on top of the gentle flow of time here on earth, longer days, warmer days, an uptick in harp events everywhere (!) and it just doesn’t seem so bad.  Spend a little time preparing this week and you’ll have eight months of enjoyment (before we have to get ready to go back again in November!).

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!