Planning ahead – for the Somer(set)

I’m very excited to share that I will be teaching at this year’s Somerset Folk Harp Festival in Parsippany NJ!   I’ll be presenting a workshop on my own.  And even better – I’ll also be co-teaching another workshop with Donna Bennett!  It just gets better and better - two workshops!  Yea!! There will be more than 100 workshops and I’ll be in great company with an amazing pantheon of presenters!

In case you have missed it, the Somerset Folk Harp Festival is amazing.  It is a 4-day conference that celebrates diversity in music, as well as the talent and experience of the folk harp world. It provides a great opportunity to do what you need to move forward, whether that is to focus on one type of music, or to solidify specific skills, or try out something new. There are opportunities to learn new things in every--single--session!  And the Exhibit Hall – yikes!  It’s jammed with harps and music and accessories and stuff and more stuff…so much harp shopping in one room!

The festival begins on Thursday and runs through to Sunday.  I will be teaching Friday afternoon.  First up is a workshop called Sounding Scottish from 1:30 – 3pm.  This will be a hands-on workshop, for all levels of play.  We’ll be working and learning by ear.  And yes (don't worry), there will be paper too!  Here’s the write up so you know what you’re getting into:

Love Scottish music? Wondering how to make your tunes sound more Scottish? Scotland has captivated people for hundreds of years and inspired composers, artists, and authors. In this workshop you will learn specific elements and techniques to ensure your tunes sound Scottish. Jen will teach tunes to apply and practice those techniques and use images, video, language, sounds, geography, myths and legends of Scotland as muses to provide inspiration for your own take on the music.

And then, in the very next workshop session, Friday from 3:30-5pm, I will be working and teaching with Donna!  This will be so much fun!!  We’ll be teaching Creativity Tools to Improve Practice & Performance.  This is also an all levels (including companions!) hands-on workshop exploring your creativity – and you know we are all creative, so bring on the companions!   Here’s what you’ll find in the workshop description on the website:

In this workshop, you will learn the skills, tools, and techniques that bring the creativity secret to your work as a musician or a teacher. Find out how to actively apply creativity tools and techniques to improve your personal work processes and your overall approach to harping. These tools can prepare you for projects and gigs, regardless of your level of accomplishment or years of experience. Jen and Donna will give you techniques to help generate better ideas and expand your arrangements and repertoire without adding to your learning load.

If you haven’t looked yet, the hotel is already available and there is a lot of information already available on the Somerset website.  You can also register at the early bird rate until 1 May (which is a really good approach - not only do you get a lower rate, you get your summer planned!).  The registration includes all the workshops you can fit into your day, entry to the Exhibit Hall (otherwise known as Harp Shopping Nirvana), tickets to the concerts (where you will see and hear Harp players you probably always wanted to see in concert).  If you can’t make it to all four days, you can register for individual days too (Kathy has thought of everything!).  To register, you can go here.

I hope you’ll come along to the Festival – and come to my workshop!  Will I see you there?  If so, let me know in the comments below.  Hope I see you there -

New Year – new repertoire? Eight places to look for tunes

Did you notice how far we are into the new year?  And still I haven’t encouraged you to set goals, or intentions, or to pick a word for the year, or any of the other ways we get around to identifying what we think we should accomplish in the coming 365 days?  Are you wondering if I am ill or when the other shoe will drop and I’ll be getting on you to set some goals and make some resolutions?  It is January after all.

Well, the answer is – I'm not!  You already know that stuff and even if you didn’t, you hear it everywhere you turn.  And, if you recall, last year I suggested you skip it all together. Instead, let’s talk about something else – your repertoire.  Yup – repertoire. 

I am often asked where tunes come from.  Everyone knows that – the Stork brings them.

Ok, maybe not.

Your repertoire isn't a solitary thing.  It is the backbone of your playing.  It stands as a culmination of your work.  And whether you’ve been playing for 2 months (and have a tiny but well-practiced set of tunes) or playing for 1000 months (in which case you may have a large and varied repertoire consisting of tunes you learned at the beginning but never played, tunes you’ve been playing the whole time and tunes you just learned) your repertoire is certainly one measure of your work.  And you can always add to your repertoire - because there are so many tunes out there still!

But where do tunes come from?  Especially the tunes that are cool, or captivating, or just plain fun.  There are l-o-a-d-s of places to get music!  Tunes are everywhere!  You almost can’t not find new tunes.  Here are eight places you might look for tunes to play:

1. From your friends.  After all, what are friends for?  And what could be more fun than sharing tunes?
2. At Harp Circle you’ll have at your disposal a collection of tunes clearly suited to the harp (and you can either combine this with 1 (above) OR make a new friends and then (see 1, above).
3. At sessions there are continuous tunes – some of which you’ll know, but loads of others that you’ll have never heard before!  And remember, just because you’re at a session doesn’t mean you have to play all the time – sometimes you can just listen and find some stuff you’ll want to play later.  Those are the tunes you can capture in a notebook or record them so you can find them and learn them for the next time you are at the session.  If you session regularly, you could learn 12 – 50 tunes each year.
4. Books! Harp books are full of harp tunes – and are readily available online.  If you’re especially keen you can even buy a download of a book – instant gratification!  There are loads of places to find these – I usually get mine from Sylvia Woods Harp Center* or the Virginia Harp Center**
5. Pipe and Fiddle books capture tons of tunes – most of them playable, all of them worth at least reading through.  Fiddle books are pretty easy to read – after all, they only use one line!  Pipe books are conveniently full of tunes.  You might have to work a little harder to find the tune, what with the tiny print, the sometimes odd font (some are typeset to look hand written (or that actually are handwritten)), and the omnipresent ornamentation (which could be viewed as a playing and fingering challenge, but often is just kludging up the page for the rest of us).*** 
6. Published collections.  There are a number of collections that have been published including the Athole, the Glen, the Mackintosh, the Marshall, and the Lochnagar Collections.  I purchased a number of collections from Thistles and Things****. There’s nothing quite as grand has having a real-hold-it-in-your-hands book copy of the collections.  And I find that every time I comb through one of the books, like magic, tunes appear that I swear were not there before!
7. Online sources. You can search the web for all kinds of tunes.  Weather you trust The Session or you are looking for J. S. Skinner tunes in his own hand (from the University of Aberdeen Library), music is available online.  Not looking for traditional music?  You can also find non-trad music online.  Having trouble finding what you want?  Change up your key words and keep looking beyond the first page of google results.
8. YouTube/Spotify or other video/audio tracks. Ok, technically these are also online sources, but they’re different from finding sheet music.  This is a great way to find tunes by bands you already know, by bands you’ve never heard of, in varying presentations (harp, fiddle, pipes, didgeridoo, other instruments).  Again – just keep looking. You might have to use the English name, the native name (the title of the tune in Scots, Scots Gaelic, Irish Gaelic, French, Spanish, etc.), or multiple titles (e.g. I love the tune “Over the Hills and Far Away” – do you have any idea how many tunes have that title?  No, I was not looking for the Led Zeppelin version, but I found it!).

All these sources will help you find new tunes to add to your repertoire.  There are so many tunes out there – let’s find as many as we can…and keep ‘em in circulation!  I’m sure you have other sources – let me know what you have found in the comments below and we can share that here soon!

* Oh, come on, who doesn’t buy stuff from SWHC?!?  She’s got a number of books that might just have exactly what you need – usually in a very approachable way. This is not a paid advertisement – don’t freak out.   

** It’s my blog, I can tout my local Harp store.  And they have a knowledgeable staff and good stuff on the books racks. This isn’t a paid advertisement or product placement – please continue to not freak out. 

*** Let's be fair, the pipers do use all that ink, it is just a little intimidating when you first start to look at it! I have gotten a lot of lovely fiddle and pipe books from Skye Music Shop and lately from Duncans Highland Supply - both lovely people and very helpful.  If you'd done well so far, I'd urge you to continue to not freak out at this point.

****Just a shout out to my friend Patti Tillotson who’s run a great little shop from Harpswell Maine for a long time.  This is not any kind of paid advertisement – you've done well holding off so far, still, don’t freak out.  She’s got great stuff! 

I do not receive any kind of compensation for any of these links – they’re just places I go and sources I use.  Please don’t freak out - I'm not trying to sell you anything nor are these affiliate links. If you elect to visit my suggestions, I am confident you will receive good service and excellent source material.  If you happen to mention that you saw them here, then maybe they'll be glad - I know I will be!

Ten-dresse* yet ten-ty** - On approaching ten- years

Welcome to 2019!  Another year begins.  Time to think about and plan for another year at the harp!

Becoming what we will be this year often starts by looking back.  And looking back at this blog, we see that we have been here since 2009 – that means we will celebrate ten years of sharing about harp, travel to Scotland, musicianship, and more (hence the ten heavy title for this week). 

Wow.

It seems like only yesterday that we began.  I started the blog to share my excitement about creating the Harp in the Highlands and Islands trip with my dear friend David.  I had dreamt of going to Scotland with my harp and playing so many great tunes right at the places they commemorated, in the air of the history they chronicled, in the peace of the glens, along the gentle sweep of the waters, and in the majesty of the mountains.  But a chance conversation made it become real.

What’s not to be excited about!?!

In that time, the trip has had some amazing guests who really made each outing an adventure.  And David and I have had a blast getting to gather new friends each year (“a true pleasure” just doesn’t manage to capture the joy, fun, and interest we’ve been able to enjoy at each trip!).  We are so fortunate!  We have honed each trip and every year brings something new.  We are excited to be trying something new this year with the Harpa Retreat!  We’ll let you know more about that as it develops but it will bring together the professionals of the Harpa trips to a slower paced, creativity focused week together – with the customary Harpa performances for charity mixed in – because, after all, we are performers – we l-o-v-e to perform!  The perfect vacation!

But early on in writing the blog I realized that as much as I love to share the travel and the music, there was more to share.  Although I look forward to going to Scotland, planning to go to Scotland, preparing to go, developing tunes to teach, helping travelers plan (and pack!), there was more to share.  And while the trip is a week or so, we’re harp players for the other 50-some-odd weeks of the year – and that stuff needed to be said too!

We’ve talked about technique and ergonomics (based on my career as a Human Factors and Ergonomics professional and experience teaching specialized lessons to prevent or ameliorate problems or injury), elements of musicianship and professionalism – from practicing to performance, from planning to anxiety, from prepping for a thorough and satisfying lesson to assuring you have everything you need in your gig bag, and more.

And still there is even more.  You’ve mentioned things you’re interested in (and I’m always glad to hear from you – you have great questions and insights!).  Sometimes I have an answer at hand – and sometimes I have to do some homework, but I’m jazzed to learn something new.

And I do view this time with tendresse and look forward quiet tenty!  Ten years is certainly something to celebrate.  And through the coming year we will do exactly that!  One thing we’ll be doing is migrating away from BlogSpot to my website (if you want to do that now, subscribe to receive the blog by email ).  You can also follow me on Facebook.  There will be “birthday presents” (giveaways) sprinkled lightly throughout the year.  And of course, content laden posts!

Thank you for following me this far – let’s see where we get to!  Leave me a comment – I l-o-v-e (and hearing from you!) – especially if you have good ideas for the coming year!  See you next week!

* defined as fondness (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tendresse )

** defined as attentive (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tenty)

Happy New Year!