The Perfect Piece 2

So last week I mentioned the Perfect Piece – the post on crazyforewe.blogspot.com that really got me thinking.  But then I didn’t tell you what it got me thinking…so this week, I’ll share that with you – Ellen included a quote from a very well-known knitting designer, Sally Melville, who said that a "perfect piece" is something that is easy, artistic, and wonderful to wear.

And isn’t that true – think about the tunes you love – what about them makes you love them?  How are they perfect?  They achieve that perfection because they have some or all of these characteristics Sally mentions.  They are usually easy (when I say easy, I mean that even if they are technically challenging, the fall into your hands).  Or they beg you to give up their artistry through the story that you hear when you listen to the tune.  And they are wonderful to wear - you can’t help but share those tunes with anyone who will listen. 

As in knitting, where Sally also indicated that it’s not the complicated garments that are perfect, so with our music – it is the simple, it is the elegant, it is pleasure without fuss.  These gems are only made more brilliant by what we put into them.  We, the harp player, bring the life into the music - we set the beauty free.

Remember that when someone asks you to play, or you are playing for yourself.  Play the perfect piece.  Let those ideas bubble up and come out of your head through your fingers.  Enjoy the perfect piece – and revel in the perfect peace it might add to your day.

A perfect piece

You know I'm always exhorting you to build your creativity and confidence. One of the ways I try to do that is to seek inspiration as many places as possible. That's just the way my mind works - I see something and immediately think of other places I could plug it in elsewhere. This is probably an extension of my inherently laziness, but it works for me.

So, I was delighted to find today's title on one of my favorite blogs, crazyforewe.blogspot.com. I take a lot of inspiration from knitting - but not for the reason you think. Ellen, who writes the blog, is an amazing knitter, but an even more amazing person - she is patient, kind, and has a broad philosophy that welcomes everyone into her shop...even people who knit like I do.

You must understand my love/hate relationship with knitting - I am not very good at it. And you know why - I don't practice. I expect, since it looks so easy, that I should be able to sit and just produce incredible beauty and utility. And besides, loads of my friends (especially my harp friends) do it, so I should obviously be able to do it too. Does any of this sound familiar?  Do you ever think this way when you are practicing or out playing in a group?

But like playing the harp, knitting takes work, dedication, interest, and a willingness to learn, to practice the less exciting bits to get to the beauty that is hidden in the middle of the ball of yarn.  If you want to be a good knitter, or a good harper, you must tend to the small things (like hand position, exercises, careful learning, repetition, etc.) so that you have the capacity to tend to the big things (like musicality, expression, depth, phrasing, etc.).  And there are no shortcuts. 

Taking your breath away

Breathing is essential – we all know that.  So, why is it that so many people don’t breathe when they get behind their harp?  Most people don’t even realize they aren’t breathing.  Of course, you don’t see people turning blue, but you do see people just not breathing enough.  So, how do you keep the wind in your sails?  Here are three things you can do.

1.       Start by taking a deep breath – when you sit to your harp, take a deep breath.  Let that breath relax you.  If the simple act of taking the breath didn’t dissipate your stress, then take another. Deep, slow breath – focus on the breathing.  That breath will help you not only get oxygen in but can help you relax enough to both enjoy your time at the harp but also to get more from it!

2.       Breathe while you’re thinking about it – whenever you have a free second in your brain (that is, if the thought “breathe” enters your head) take a breath!  No short, panting breathing, but gentle, deeper breaths.

3.       Practice breathing.  I can already hear you, “when I’m practicing, I already have a lot of work to do and you want me to add another task!”  But, just like you have to practice the physical task of setting levers you have to practice breathing.  If you practice the breath as part of the overall physical activity of playing, when you are not practicing (you know, when you’re competing or on stage) you will breathe.  Which will be good – because you’ll need it!

Try these three tips – it will be like a breath of fresh air in your playing!

Somedays, it feels like you'll never get up!

Some days, the time is fluid, the needful things all seem to be complete and there's your harp, all ready to be played.  But other days are like the third day of a diet - you know, the day you start to backslide, cheat, eat M&Ms because they're small and they don't count.

Those are the days on which your life gangs up on you - there's so much to do and no matter how hard you work, you don't get the needful things completed, the only thing that changes on your "Things to Do" list is that it keeps getting longer, and when you fall exhaustedly into bead, you jolt awake with the thought, "oh, [bother], I never practiced today!"  And, because you're exhausted, as you slide into sleep, you feel guilty and just a little fatter (well, the harp equivalent). 

H.G. Wells is quoted as saying, "If you fell down yesterday, stand up today."  He's got a good point.  We all know we must practice to maintain our hard won gains (and so as not to embarrass ourselves when someone asks us to play an impromptu concert).  But we also know that we live in the world and stuff happens.

On those days (which do sometimes stretch into weeks) be kind to yourself.  If your harp buddy was confessing that practice was a word he could no longer even spell, would you start castigating him?  If your workshop roomie let slip that she's kind of in a hiatus from actually practicing, would you read her the riot act?  No, you wouldn't do either of those things. You would express kind hearted support – you’d try to make them feel better – after all, things come up.

So, don't do that to yourself either.  Recognize that harp, like everything else in your life, is clamoring for your attention.  Recognize that because you love your harp so much you might actually favor it over other things on the good days (cleaning would be one of those things!) so you feel keenly the not good days when you don’t get to play.

Make a promise to yourself to be gentle with you, praise your good, and accept that less good.  Know that sometimes you need a little break to return to your love affair with a light heart.

And aren't we lucky - the loves of our lives sit there, patiently waiting, going out of tune (this must be the harp equivalent of when your dog chews your shoes to express displeasure!).  So, when things calm down, go back, play the old, well worn, easy stuff that you don't forget and the next day, take on a challenge! 

Just ‘cause you fell down today doesn’t mean that tomorrow won’t be better and you can get right up…onto your harp bench!

What does your space look like?

What does the space in which you practice look like?  Is it warm and inviting, beckoning you to come play?  Or does it look the bigger cousin of the kitchen junk drawer? 

What you put around you impacts your time at the harp.  And since none of us has enough time at the harp, we need to make sure our surroundings help us maximise that time rather than gnawing on our conscious or our unconscious thought.
 
No matter whether you have an entire wing of your house devoted to enshrining your harp or if you have your harp wedged into a corner, you should make sure that your surroundings help you play, practice, grow, and enjoy.

So, here are four things you can do to improve your space so that you enjoy being there more and get better performance from yourself while you are there.

1.  Make the space inviting and comfortable.  This is clearly personal and you should make the space yours.  There are number of things that can make the space better for you.  Make sure you have good lighting.  Have enough space to safely play and store your harp.  Will the dog run through and knock it over?  Do you have enough room for your bench.  If you have a small space, be sure you have enough room for good form and technique throughout the range of the harp (when you play the top strings, are your elbows brushing the walls? Then move!).  You may have to move the furniture around (but since its not a harp, I'm sure no one will notice or care!). 

2.  Have on hand the things you will need - eventually.  You know you need a tuner and lighting and space for your harp.  But there are other things you need to store nearby as well - music? music stand?  extra strings? a string chart? whatever other bits and bobs you want to have there.  Make sure those things are easily accessible so you have them when you need them.  For instance, if a string breaks during your practice, it might not be enough to have the strings close by, you might also need string ends, candle gum, pliers, et autre accoutrement.

3.  Of course having things near by means your must have a place to put those things.  And that you actually put them in their place when not in use!  Organizing your things will keep the space tidy so it won't be a distraction while you're practicing. 

4.  Use the space you have to do the things you do.  If you don't just play but also have people listen, you'll need a comfortable place for them to sit. If you do a lot of arranging, you'll need a place for your pens and pencils, manuscript paper, erasers (if you're at all like me!).  If you do recording, you'll need the recorder itself and a stand or table.

Each of us uses our harps and the space in a very personal way.  Make sure you organize your space so you can accomplish all you want to without having to "fight" the room to make your accomplishments.