Don’t slag off

Aside

If you’ve been reading my blog for more than about 15 minutes then you know that injury prevention is important to me. If it hasn’t been 15 minutes yet or you don’t remember seeing these posts check out this post, this one, and this too.

Injuries aren’t fun. After all, they hurt! But more importantly they can take you away from playing. It’s difficult to sit on a hard bench when your back aches or is “thrown out”. Having a crick in your neck can turn into a headache while sight reading. Overuse “ouchies” in your hands can curtail your practice so that you don’t spend as much time at the harp as you planned/would like to/need to. And an injury that is untended or uncared for can lead to enforced time away while you recover.

Hopefully, you’ll take good care of yourself, and this post will be irrelevant for you forever. However, it is estimated that 70 – 80% of musicians have developed an overuse injury – which suggests that the odds are ever in your favor … to get hurt.

While that’s sobering (and a little disheartening) let’s move to the next question – if you’re injured and need to rest and recover – away from the harp – do you just slag off and wait?

No, of course not!

There are loads of things you can do to keep your recovery time useful and moving forward! Here are ten:

1. Read a book. Whether it’s Sanger and Kinnaird’s Tree of Strings, Rensch’s Harps and Harpists, or McCaffery’s The HarpMaster of Pern, you can stay connected to your instrument by reading a good book.

2. Read a score. We’ve talked before about sight reading practice – this is a perfect time. You could sightread by reading a note and then fixing your gaze on the appropriate string to be played, or you could point to the string as you read. You can also work on your sight singing (or hearing the music in your head).

3. Learn your intervals – do a little ear training. Find and identify particular intervals in music you already know. Go online to find ear training exercises. It does get easier – I promise.

4. Compose. You can do this in your head and sing what you come up with into your recorder. When you’re healed you can move your tune onto the harp.

5. Study your theory. Find a good theory book and work through it. Don’t skim – do the exercises!

6. Listen to music. Find new things to work on later, when you’re healed. It’ll give you something to look forward to.

7. Read all the posts in this blog! (No, really)

8. Go for a walk (or knit, or some other thing that’s sort of meditative and quiet) and sing your rep in your head to keep it in there.

9. Restring your harp (if it needs it). You might need practice changing strings and this will do it. At a minimum, it will build your confidence for quick string changes!

10. Have coffee with a harp friend to enjoy their growth, commiserate on your injury, and stay connected to your harp world.

If you’re not injured, celebrate – but take care too. Hopefully this assures you that, should you become injured you will be able to keep working. And it might give you some ideas if you find yourself there. Not every injury will require weeks to recover (for instance, I am quite good at cutting my index finger just before gigs). I’m sure there are loads of other things you could do while you heal. If you’re already hurt, which of these have you done/are you likely to try or do you have other ideas? Please share them in the comments!

What do you want less of?

Posted on November 1, 2021 by Jen

We are strivers. Don’t believe me? Of course we are – we are always trying to be better harp players. We try to learn new music. We work to polish the music we already know. In other words, we strive to improve ourselves – we’re strivers!

And, all in all, that’s a good thing. We work hard doing something we love, and we have very good reason to be very proud of our accomplishments. Add to that my unending exhortation that you practice, and you might be very confused by the headline.

Because I do always suggest you find more time to practice, that you be more organized, that your write down – oh, I don’t know – everything, and that you put yourself out there more. More, more, more – I’m always asking you to do more.

But not this week. This week, let’s turn that around –

What do you want to do less of?

Now, before you do the dance of joy, think carefully about what you’d like your answer to be. Because it’s worth examining not only what you’d like to do less of but also why you’d like to do less of it.

For instance, if you said you’d like to do scales less – why? And how? Do you just not want to do them at all? Or do you want to do fewer of them? What would you gain by doing them less?

What if you said you just wanted to spend less time practicing? Again, why? Not enjoying your time at the harp? That would be sad. Or is it that you feel like you spend all that time and maybe aren’t getting where you’d hoped you’d be?

You can do this little exercise – asking what you’d like to do less on – with just about every little thing that makes up your practice. This might lead you to ask “Why?” again. Here are five reasons to figure out what you’d like to do less of (and then actually do less of it):

I want to spend less time sitting at my harp practicing. Is it the practicing that you want less of? Is it that you want to spend more time playing for enjoyment? If that’s it – maybe you need to manage your time at the harp a little more tightly – being sure to reserve time at the end to play for fun, to reconnect with your harp, to remember why you were practicing in the first place, to remember why you fell in love in the first place.
I want to spend less money buying books. Ok, is this really a bad thing? Well, maybe a little (full disclosure, I believe that the correct number of books to have is the same as the correct number of harps – one more). If you find that you have too many books to use, or that the number of books you have is overwhelming, or that you’re just not using them, consider parting with some of them. First go through them and learn what it is about the books you don’t use that is keeping you from them (are the arrangements too hard, too easy, not your style? Was it your favorite book for a while but now, you know all the tunes and you do (or don’t) play them so you don’t need the book? Or did you never really take to the genre?). Now you can keep the books you need and want and dispose of the ones you don’t. How should you dispose of them? Well, you can have a book swap with your harp friends. Or have a book sale. You could donate them to a school program. You could sell them off. So many choices, all oriented to making sure you have less (actually fewer) books to deal with.
I want to spend less time working hard. Sometimes we hang on to ways of working that may be “tried and true” but aren’t necessarily useful. If you are still making yourself play something 25 times perfectly before you will move on, you might be stuck there. There is no correct number of times to do something, so you might need a new metric for when something is learned. I’m sure it’s more than one repetition, but it’s probably not 25 either. I tend to be more focused on how the pass went (was I confident of the notes and their values? did I get the fingering with ease? did I feel like I had the time I needed to get from shape to shape?) than on how many I had banged through (or keeping count of how many I have done).
I want to spend less time on mindless exercises. Ok, let’s start with the “mindless” exercises…exercises should n-e-v-e-r be mindless. They are not developed for vacuous completion. Each of them will teach you something, if you let it. Before you do any exercise (be it scales, arpeggios, or technical studies) you should know what it’s meant to help you with…and whether that is something you need to work on. My rule of thumb is that the more I think “I hate this” the more I need to do it – I’m hating it because it’s not easy, so I need to really knuckle under and do the thing. You’re probably more mature than me, so you probably have a better way of gauging this for yourself.
I want to spend less time getting nowhere. Well, nowhere is often defined less by where you’re getting and more by knowing where you’re headed. Have you actually defined what you’d like to be doing or what the path there might look like? Why yes, this does sound suspiciously like having goals and knowing how you intend to achieve them. You could spend less time in aimless practice by spending a little more time figuring out where “there” is.

As much as I love playing my harp, do I also enjoy mindless hours grinding on music in various states of disrepair? NO, I do not. If you also do not, I’d suggest you spend a little time figuring out what you’d like to spend less time doing so you can spend more time practicing in a way that moves you to where you’d like to be. AND that you spend enjoyable time with your harp.

What would you like to strive to have less of or to spend less on? There are so many possible answers – what’s yours? Let me know in the comments!

How to Never Run Out of Things to Practice

Posted on October 25, 2021 by Jen

Do you ever have that feeling like you’re casting about trying to decide what to practice? You know you should be practicing, but maybe you don’t know what to work on. Even if you have a teacher who helps structure your practice time, do you feel hesitant on where to start on other stuff outside your lesson?

No? It’s just me then?

Yeah, I didn’t think so.

It can be a little challenging to think of what to practice, especially at those points on the calendar (like now) when we know we should have already started on holiday repertoire (but maybe haven’t). Or at the end of the year when you’re staring into the abyss of the upcoming year, but not knowing what you might want to come out of it with. Or thinking about the upcoming competition season and preparing to perform, but not being ready to buckle down.

There are all kinds of reasons that we can be a little stumped on what to be practicing at any one point in time. And if you’re an externally motivated person (that is, if you need something or someone outside of yourself to get you kicked into action), it can be very difficult to determine what you should be practicing, which can lead to procrastination….or worse, just not practicing!

So, this week, a few ways to help ensure that you never run out of things to practice!

1. Keep track of what you’re working on, how long you’ve worked on it, and your assessment of your progress to date. Why yes, this is just another thinly veiled suggestion that you keep a journal, but it will help you keep in mind what you’re working on right now (and how well it’s going) as well as whether you need to keep working on it. It also gives you an idea of which tunes might need to be parked so they can marinate for a little while (that’s fancy talk for “put it away and bring it out again later”).

2. Keep a list of tunes you would like to play. Just note them down, preferably with as much detail as possible (title, composer, anything else that helps you find it later). You can’t possibly learn all the tunes at once, so you will be well served to write down the ones you’d like to learn…later. Don’t worry about it getting too long – you can always add to it, or cross titles off as you go along (and you get the added bonus of crossing titles off as they move to your “learning” list! and you begin to practice them).

3. Focus on what you’re practicing now. When you’re practicing, don’t think about what you’ll practice next. Think about what you’re practicing now. Save thinking about what you’ll do another time…for another time… and actually practice while you’re practicing. If you have a great idea while you’re practicing, jot it on your list of tunes you’d like to play and then get back to your originally scheduled practicing.

4. Make connections between music you already know and that you have to learn. It is always useful to be a thinking musician. It’s an illusion that great musicians just sort of channel stuff. They are actively involved in the music they play. They analyze the music. They don’t let it just wash over them! Thinking about what you already know, what you’d like to learn and how they’re related will help you find tunes you like and will make practicing easier (because similar patterns will be easier the second time and even easier the third, etc.).

5. Be curious. It’s all well and good to know what you like and play that, but be curious about it – what is it about the music you love that captivates you? How far away from the exemplar can you go and still love it? What other music has those same traits? Does it appeal to you, and will you learn it? Being curious means you’ll find new things to play in places you wouldn’t necessarily look which not only broadens your repertoire but also will expand your thinking.

6. Refer to something you practiced before. Why yes, you can always practice something you used to play to death but haven’t in a while. Keep those oldies but goodies in your hands and in your memory so they’re ready to go when you are! Those tunes are, after all, the core of your repertoire.

Don’t be left feeling like you don’t know what to practice or how to get started. These six simple steps will help you pull it together so you can never run out of things to practice. What else should we add to the list? Let me know in the comments –

Travel on my mind

Posted on October 11, 2021 by Jen

Since we celebrated World Tourism Day before, travel has been on my mind. Ok, that’s not entirely true, because travel is a-l-w-a-y-s on my mind! I should have a little framed cross stitch like this:

But anyway. While traveling is always fun – especially if you are not one of those passengers who scream at Flight Attendants, Gate Agents, or other passengers – traveling with your harp does have some challenges. I talked about some of those here and here. Those have to do with the transport of your harp. This week, let’s talk about when you get there.

Because while 99.999% of the 7 billion people on the earth l-o-v-e the harp, the remaining 0.001% will be booked into the room next to yours. Never fails.

I should start by pointing out that I have played on the balcony of my hotel and thereby met new, interesting and interested people. Just like if you’re playing at home, few things draw people to you like playing your instrument and sharing your music.

However….and I learned this the hard way, sometimes people are not so happy to learn you play an instrument. Once, I was in Memphis TN (yes, known as a music city) with that powerful sound generator, my Harpsicle – when someone called the front desk to complain. Yup, it happened. Funnier – someone else was practicing the bagpipes in that same hotel…some people’s kids.

So, keep in mind that quiet and discretion are important while staying in accommodations like hotels, motels, and B&Bs. But how do you get quiet and still get to practice or play? Here are a few ideas:

The first is a physical intervention. Weave a scarf or tie between the strings. Push it close to the soundboard. This acts as a muffle and therefore makes your playing quieter. Don’t put off selecting your scarf for the last minute – the scarf (or tie) needs to be long enough to run the length of the strings. It also needs to be narrow enough (for a scarf) or thin enough (if you use a tie) so that it doesn’t bunch up (which results in too much “thup-i-ness” that I find distracting). This is not as easy as using your hat to muffle your trumpet, but it is infinitely better for the harp (after all, we’re not playing the trumpet and I’ve tried waving my hat in front of the harp, but it didn’t make it any quieter!). I wish I could tell you I thought up this tip but I learned it from Therese Honey.

The second method is to use a musical technique. This one seems to be tricky – just play more quietly! You might have seen this marking before –

pppp

But have you ever tried using it? Ok, now I’m being a bit snide. Dynamics are a thing… and you can use them in your practice. You could play as pianississimo as possible and see what happens to your playing. You can also do this at home, no need to wait to be booked into a hotel. There are some things that happen when you play quietly. You will be able to play slightly faster (yup). You may be more accurate – because you’re being careful. You may find that you even have time now to close (whodathunk?). And because of all that you might find that, overall, you’re just playing better. In addition, learning to control your volume will make you a better musician.

Both of those work well for practicing or playing for enjoyment. This last suggestion is really for practicing rather than playing for enjoyment – you can “placeplay”. I do this with my students (and I’m pretty sure they hate it, but it works!). “Placeplaying” is moving through the finger shapes of the tune. Place the first shape, then close the fingers (don’t play, just close) and place the second shape. Remember that between these is actually another shape where the shapes overlap which is its own separate shape. Keep going: place – close – place – close – place – close – place – etc. through to the end of the tune. Keep placing but do not play. I love this because you learn things about the tune while you’re doing it. You can develop a new appreciation for the tune through this – you see shapes you missed, musical ideas you can see but not hear and you learn to think about the tune on a different level (like how although auditorily a “musical idea” is finished, on a physical level you’re actually in the middle of the idea). This is also an excellent way to learn a new tune – because you have to break it down and really look at it.

So, there you have it – three ways to play your harp in a hotel room and not bother other guests. Have you found other ways to coexist with other travelers? Hope you’ll share in the comments!

Do You Count?

Posted on September 13, 2021 by Jen

I often think about tunes in “layers”. All the layers are important, but some are easier to master than others. The layers include the notes, the fingering, the phrases. And then there’s the counting. There are loads of elements that define the music, but time might be the most challenging to really get learned and honed – to get right.

When you get to brass tacks, music is really a sequence of sounds and not-sounds (rests) over time. And so, to be true to the melody, share the message, and communicate with our listeners, we have to keep the count.

Sometimes, as harp players, we become inured to the silence – we get so little of it with our wonderful resonant instruments. Harps love to keep on playing and that lovely sound “hanging around” may make us lazy – it may feel like it will be easy to get away with not counting. But that is an illusion.

Counting can be a challenge when you first begin to learn a tune. There is so much to learn and all of it important. We have to keep the important stuff in mind – actively use it. Time is challenging but it can be so rewarding! It will help your audience follow your message, it will make playing with other musicians a greater joy, and it will help ensure your tune is what the original composer meant it to be.

Previously, I have said that I don’t advocate rigid adherence to the beat. That wasn’t really accurate. Rather, it is essential to know that timing of the piece and work within that. With poignant airs you might bend the time to build the expression, but that works best by manipulating the times. Laments need to be sorrowful, but it should never be lamentable! But the difference will be in how you deal with the time.

It is essential that you learn to count. Ok, I know you can already count. You have to learn to count while you’re playing…and keep counting, maintaining your counting throughout your playing. Only when you have mastered this tool of communication can you begin to modify its application as appropriate to tell your story. I know counting can be hard – it’s one more thing to do while you’re also trying to remember what notes come next, which fingers to use, that you need to breathe, etc. Pesky layers!

So how do you add counting to that task? Carefully.

First, start slowly. This really is another task you will have to perform while also doing all the other things you have learn. Counting is another thing you have to think about as you bring the tune together – make sure you go slowly enough that your brain can keep up!

Second, practice. Counting while you’re playing takes practice. You want to practice counting enough that it becomes automatic – no matter what you’re playing or where you are in learning it (just starting, polishing, anywhere in between!). One method I suggest is to include this in your practice away from the harp. An easy way to practice is while you’re walking or running. This gives you a physical beat to follow so you can work on counting.

Third, be consistent. You can’t practice counting the tune once and be done! Make practicing counting a regular part of your practice. If you really are not counting at all – start with simple tunes you already know. As it gets easier, move on to more challenging tunes and tunes you are learning. You will get better!

Finally, always be working on it. Once you can consistently and accurately count, start making things more complicated and related to other music. Remember to count to the smallest note value (e.g., the eighth notes if they’re present or 16ths – you will have to do some analysis). Use whatever counting device works for you – vocables, fruits and veg – whatever works!

Of course, there’s (always) more to the story, so send me your questions and share your insights in the comments. In the meantime, stand up for your music – make sure you count!

It helps to have a plan

Posted on August 30, 2021 by Jen

What are you going to do this week? It’s a fairly innocuous question. But it has the potential to be a very good week.

But a little bit of preparation can ensure that it is a very good week. All you’ll need is about 15 minutes and some paper. You can do this on whichever day is your night before your week begins. You know that writing it down helps bring the thoughts out and makes them real.

So, what should you capture there before you start your week? Here are some ideas:

1. What would you like to accomplish this week? Try to be specific so you’ll know if you’ve done it.

2. Make a plan for each day. Remember that you can include all the things that are part of practicing including analyzing new music, listening to tunes, practicing at the harp, practicing away from the harp, rhythm work, improvising, all the things! Don’t forget to plan which days youl might be away and have little time to practice as well as the days that you know you just really are not going to make it to the bench. Be realistic!

3. Show up – every day. If you have plan, it is certainly easier to stick with it.

4. Don’t waste your time – since you have thought about what you’ll be doing, do it – fully. Don’t skate through your practice.

5. Be present. Put your phone away, turn the tv off, close the door (if you have that luxury). It’s a brief part of your day – be a part of it.

6. Take the good with the not as good (and include the inevitable flow of your development into account when you plan your week.

7. Set your priorities – out loud. You have already set them, whether you articulate them or not, so you might as well include them in your thinking.

8. The clock is your friend. Not only do you want to be sure to have identified when in your day you will sit to play, you also need to know how long you intend to play. Not only do you want to avoid packing it in too early on a rough day, but you also want to keep the rest of your life going too!

9. Make a note – when you’ve done for the day, jot down what you accomplished and what you need to do the next time (which might be a tweak to the plan).

10. Don’t let a little bit of structure make you forget that you enjoy this!

You might also strive to always play at the same time of day. I don’t suggest that only because that I can’t really support that. My schedule is never that regular. If you have (or crave) a very steady schedule, then definitely do try to keep to a scheduled time. But if it doesn’t really drive you, don’t worry about having a regular time – so long as you regularly make time.

Do you have a plan? Will you try some these? Which ones? Let me know in the comments.

Admiring your handiwork

Posted on July 19, 2021 by Jen

Is there any more satisfying feeling than letting out a beautiful harmony?

When you’re beginning it will be the satisfaction of actually playing the single note – the right note at the right time. Even better if you used the finger you intended and the note that sounded wasn’t a complete surprise! *

As you become more experienced and more practiced, you add more notes to the harmony, but that joy of the sound doesn’t really dim.

And all of that would be great…if there was only one harmony note or chord required. But inevitably, the arranger had other ideas and puts a long succession of harmony notes together.

And that’s when the hitch enters the git-along!

The more surprised and delighted you are by the notes hanging in the air, sparkling and glistening like a goldfish in Fairy Dust, the more likely you will be captivated. And why shouldn’t you be? After all – goldfish! Fairy Dust! Delight! You did good – your handiwork is admirable.

But that pesky arranger…now you’re expected to do it again. Probably in a different place on the harp. With another finger. And probably at the same time as some melody note! And again. And again. And again. Measure after measure. And then…the repeat!

Are they mad?!

Sadly, bringing the tune out means you have not really got time to admire your handiwork at the same time you are delivering one admirable handiwork after another. So unfair!

One of the mysteries you get to unlock relatively early in your journey is this sublimation and accumulation of little joys for a big burst of delight at the end of the piece.

What? Ok, here’s the translation, sans waxing lyrical –

When you are playing, once you have closed for that note (or chord) –

Move along!

Get where you are going next!

There’s nothing to see here! **

Because there is a next chord and the one after that, etc. ad nauseum.

This needs to be practiced – this moving from one beautifully executed thing to another. Because if you think about playing a tune like it is a puzzle to put together, or a problem to solved, or a recipe to follow – your brain needs to sequence through the information – left hand here, right hand place and play – now left hand, back to right hand, and on again.

As soon as you play the left hand, your brain drops thinking about that harmony and that left hand like a hot potato and rushes on to the next thing (probably a melody note or whatever comes next in the sequence). And it doesn’t think about the left hand again until it must!

All in all, no big deal – you do this all the time. It’s called serial processing. But what’s happened? Well, you played the left hand note (or chord). You’ve closed beautifully (right?). And you left it there hanging over the soundboard. So now, it’s later and time to get to the left hand on again. AND IT’S NOWHERE NEAR WHERE YOU NEED IT!!! Because you left it there, hovering over the sound board, handiwork to be admired.

So, how to fix this? Well – you practice! Practice moving while you have the time, and train your brain to process in a controlled serial fashion.

To start with, SLOW DOWN. Serial processing means you’re dealing with one thing at a time. You might think you’re a multitasker, but nope, it only looks like it. For highly practiced activities you can switch rapidly between them but that’s not multitasking. If you’re not well practiced at moving, you will need additional time to think about it and then make it happen.

LOOK AT THE INTERFACES. This is how I think of the timing – it is the interface between the left hand playing, the right hand playing, the melody, the harmony, and time. Getting all of these to line up is tricky, especially at first. Start by finding where they all touch each other – this is a good place to start.

LOOK FOR THE HOLES. This is where no notes are being played in either hand – this helps form a scaffolding for your thinking and makes a good movement time!

SLOW DOWN. Don’t ask me how I know you’ve already sped up!

MAKE THE SHIFT. As you begin to play, think ahead. Play slowly enough that you can think. Once you’ve placed, you don’t need to think about where your fingers are. And if, as soon as you play, you move to the next place and get your fingers on to the next shape, then you don’t have think about it again until the next time! This is one of the things that more experienced players are better at…. because they have more practice and they have learned to think ahead.

See what we did there? We shifted moving and placing further forward in our thinking sequence rather than letting the notes come at us like a fusillade. But you do need to practice thinking like that. The sequence becomes play –> move –> place –> play –> etc. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

All of this is predicated on your already having learned the melody enough to being to add the harmony. This is also equally applicable to either hand and to reading or playing by rote. It does take practice. And it is totally worth the time to avoid feeling rushed and unconfident. And once you master this, you can focus on other things that will improve your musicality.

Have you really learned how to move along rather than admiring your handiwork so you can get where you need to be next? Do you have other strategies? Let me know in the comments!

* Sometimes you tell me that you feel like I am speaking directly to you. That’s because…I am! No matter where you are on your journey, the difference between us is likely just time and focus. I was a beginner at one point – an adult who struggled with making time to practice, showing up for lessons embarrassed that I hadn’t had enough practice because I was busy doing other things, but willing to take the lash (which, of course, never came, because I had wonderful, cherishing teachers who gently corrected my technique and repertoire and encouraged me to become the harp player I wanted to be). I thought it would be easier. I love playing my harp. I was afraid of a lot of things – playing in public, music I hadn’t learned yet, embarrassing myself, not getting better, failing – the usual stuff. And I remember it like it was yesterday – because it was (figuratively). I share my thoughts here so that you can learn from my mistakes…and go on to make your own spectacular mistakes that I hope you’ll share with me! We’re all learning – I’m just willing to talk about it! 😉

** We’re talking about the left hand/harmony but this is also applicable and just as important in the right hand/melody.

Zoom! Bang!

Posted on April 26, 2021 by Jen

As a harper, I have been reading with interest the “sudden” spate of articles on the ills of working from home for over a year. As a Human Factors Psychologist and Systems Engineer, I am only surprised it took this long for the articles to hit.

Everyone who couldn’t get away from me has received lectures (from my professional perspective). I have related the importance of chair height and table height, arrangement of keyboard, monitor, mouse, lighting, and other elements of the workspace. I have hectored friends, neighbors, and people I don’t even know about drinking enough water and not drinking too much coffee; the importance of avoiding incessant snacking; building a schedule; getting some outdoor time; and keeping work-work and home-work separate (not trying to do household chores between meetings) – all things I know from my professional specialty and as a person who has worked from home for over 15 years.

But now, I’m going to direct all that energy at you … and suggest a way forward!

I know you’re used to me prattling on about injury at the harp, but one thing you might not have thought about is what our current altered reality has done to us. There are so many things we either did differently before or things we haven’t been able to do at all over the last year. That that time away can build the potential for losing focus and technique…all of which may result in injuries – at the harp or away from it.

Just this week I have learned of harpers who have sustained injuries away from the harp that are impacting their playing – ugh. One is a student who fell off a skateboard. Even if that wrist isn’t broken, it will need to heel. And that will be weeks away from the harp. Another was telling me about a big work project – at home, on a laptop doing work that would normally have been done at the office on a desktop – with its ergonomically designed desk and much bigger keyboard. So now we’re working on caring for the overuse injuries from typing in this new position – injuries to the same structures that are central to playing the harp.

As we have all languished at home, it has also been easy to allow our basic skills slide. If you don’t have in person lessons, your thumbs might fall, your shoulders might cave, your chin might jut, and your spine might crumple. In addition, so many of the cues teachers can pick up on from in-person lessons are missing or are flattened online. So, it is likely that there are elements of technique that are dissolving from your daily practice and are not highlighted in your lesson.

And that’s not good – ragged technique and poor posture are not just a challenge to overcome – they can be a gateway to injury.

So, what can you do? Have a zoom call……with yourself!

If you’re not familiar with zoom (zoom.us) it is a free application that allows you to have a video interaction with others. *

At the beginning of each day I do a zoom meeting with myself to verify my cameras are pointing in the right direction, that the lighting is good, and that everything is set up before my first student. As I’m teaching, I watch my student. That means that if I need to look at my harp, I would have to look away. But, I can see my harp on the screen which means I can still see both my student and my harp. After all, I want to be sure they are able to follow and understand what I’m doing or to verify that I need to do it again. One day while teaching, I noticed (and was really pleased with) my hand position (I know, silly things make me happy).

And that got me thinking about how on the screen I could see things I can’t see from “behind the harp”. Moreover, I could make small changes and see the effect right away.

You can do the same thing. How? You just have to host a meeting with yourself. Yup – host a meeting, but don’t invite anyone else! You have the full screen, you can see yourself clearly, and while you watch, you can make small adjustments. As you make these adjustments (move to the middle of the string? raise your arm just a tiny bit? create greater space between your thumb and fingers? actually preplace or use the fingering you worked out? the list could go on…) BANG! – you can immediately see the effect of each change.

And seeing can certainly be believing.

I often suggest that you video your practice so you can see what you’re doing…and what you’re not doing. It gives you a different perspective (and may make teacher comments mean more to you). I also always remind you of the big red delete button…because the point of the video is to learn, correct and go on, not to hold it for posterity. However, I also know that many of you still don’t do this. So this similar (but completely ephemeral) idea seemed like a good one. Watch yourself play but don’t record it. See what you’re doing (from the vantage point of your teacher) and make small adjustments until what you see matches what you’ve heard in all those lessons – high thumb, relax, close, place…breathe!

DO ALL THE THINGS! SEE ALL THE THINGS!

I also find that the meeting view is better – clearer and brighter – than on the video.

So, are you willing to zoom with yourself to help be bang on? If you do, let me know how it goes and what you learn. And if you’re not willing to try, I’d like to hear that too. I’m always looking for better ways to teach and I learn so much from your comments!

* And no, of course I’m not getting any compensation – but this is also not an endorsement. I have used zoom, skype, facetime, and messenger – as long as you have the function without actually having someone else on the line, it’ll work.

Plan for a Productive week

Posted on April 12, 2021 by Jen

You have a crazy busy schedule. Ok, I may not know you, but since most everyone does have that kind of schedule, I’m going to take a guess that you, like so many others, do too. People with busy schedules usually have a strategy to keep all the plates spinning and balls at the top of the arc (a strategy from juggling). Not having a strategy can be a problem, because – you know – life. Do you have a strategy to assure you get to play throughout the week? Here are ten things to do on Sunday to be ready for the coming week so that n-o-t-h-i-n-g gets in the way of your harp time! PS – There’s nothing magic about Sundays. Do this on the day of the week that you think of as the day before the start of the week. PPS – if your mother is anything like my mother, nothing on this list will surprise you! My mother is a master organizer, and this is the sort of thing I learned at her knee. But if you weren’t raised by a logistical genius like I was, now you’ll know what you need to do, so go do it…

Peruse your notes. Whether it’s your lesson notes or your practice journal, figure out what you need to be thinking about while you’re practicing. The only thing worse than not being ready for your lesson because you didn’t practice is not being ready because you practiced the wrong thing! And trust me, your teachers don’t write those notes for their own health – use the notes!
Review your practice from the previous week. What worked? What didn’t? What derailed you? What do you need to carryover working on? Did you practice the things you meant to? If not, why not, and what did you do instead? There’s good info in reflecting on these questions!
Write down your priorities. Even if you’re not gigging, you probably have some place you’d like to go on your harp. But you already know that you can’t do everything all at once. And we know that preparing music (from selecting to analyzing to learning to polishing to performing) doesn’t happen in one day or even one week. Figuring out what you should work on this week to make progress. Writing it down will help move you along even more.
Look at your planner. Which day this week are you definitely not going to get to play or practice? Oh, come on, be honest. There’s always a day where everything else takes priority and you know you’re not going to get to your harp. Know when that is and modify your plan to fit your life. I sometimes have days where really, I’m driving all day. For those days, I plan for “head practice” – load the tunes to be learned and listen listen listen (and sing along to know you’re getting it). Or use time when you’re walking or running (a great time to think about rhythm while you enjoy your own metronome-ness. You might not make it to your harp, but you will still get a little bit done.
Plan your practice days. If you know what you should do (see 1 above), and what you want to do (see 2 above), and when you have available to do it (see 3 above), then it makes sense to figure out what each day might look like. This is a concept I stole from body-building – even if you workout every day, you don’t go hard on everything every day (or you will crash). Which day will be your hard-core technique day? Which is going to focus on learning and repeating? Which day is your “play date” with yourself? Don’t wait for the day you feel like doing the thing you need to work on most (or you’ll never do the thing), make a plan.
Do the Laundry. No really, get your chores sorted before the week begins. Maybe you don’t do laundry on Sunday night but having a plan to get all your “responsibilities” taken care of throughout the week means you won’t have to give up your precious harp time to do something uninteresting like cleaning the bathroom. This stands for everything that might take up time you would rather spend playing and includes all those chores that you know will eat up the time you have if you wait to do them (I’m looking at you meal planning!).
Prep your space. No matter if your studio is a 25 ft x 25 ft room dedicated to your music or a sliver of floor between the couch and the wall, maintain it! If you need to, neaten it up, make sure everything you will need is close to hand (for instance, I’m currently going through stickie notes like there’s no tomorrow, and all my pens had gone walkabout, so I had to restock –). Tuner need batteries? Tuning key under a pillow in the other room? Get it all sorted so you’re not spending the few moments you have looking for stuff.
Load your music stand. As in 7 above, make sure the sheet music, notes, or other references you need are on there. And that the other stuff is not. By the end of the week, I have so much paper, so many music books, and paperclips, clothes pins, pencils, etc. on my stand that if I didn’t do this, on Monday my first task would always be to pick up all the junk I dropped.
Get yourself ready for Monday. It won’t do any good to spend all this time prepping for playing if you aren’t ready for the rest of your Monday. Be sure you spend a little time getting yourself sorted to have a good week. Get your bag sorted, plan your clothes, put gas in the car. Of course, most of this list will suffice for that as well – just make sure you also have yourself organized and ready to go for the week. Then you’re less likely to have everyday disasters eat into your harp time.
Be nice to you. This is a great time to remember that you need to do something nice for you. Give yourself a manicure and massage your hands and forearms. Find some decadent emollient cream (and use it, don’t wait for a special occasion!). Breathe while you do this, relax, and you have a mini-spa session!

This list is not exhaustive of course. But if you take a little time out of your Sunday to prepare for the week, you will find that you have more time to play and practice. And because you spend that time on Sunday, the rest of the week’s harp time can be less stressful because you’re ready and not fighting fires during that time. What do you do on Sunday to prepare for you harp week? If you don’t have a regular routine, did you give this a try? Let me know in the comments!

Quantity or Quality?

Posted on March 22, 2021 by Jen

Which is better – Quantity or Quality?

Sometimes Quantity is all it takes. Cash is a good example – most of us would rather have a high Quantity of it than a few pristine pieces (unless you are a numismatist!).

And sometimes Quality is really what’s needed. A cashmere sweater is a good example – the Quality is important and will make a difference.

But what about when it comes to your practice time? Then, which is more important?

I frequently implore you to have a practice journal and to use it to make better use of your practice time. I suggest to you that you learn by ear, that you learn by reading, that you do whatever you need to do to learn the music and to help yourself become a better musician.

And if you focus on that you’d think that I think that Quality practice time is essential.

But think more on it. Think of all the times I have also implored you simply to sit at your harp and touch it. To noodle, even if you didn’t feel like playing. To stay in touch with your instrument, even if for a very brief time.

And if you focus on that you’d think that I think that Quantity practice time is essential.

And you’d be right!

WHAAAAAAT?

Yup. You’re Quality and Quantity of practice time are both important. Because each results in different gains – and all the gains are helpful.

First, we can start with the much-maligned Quantity of practice. Don’t “people who know” always tell us not to waste time on garbage practice? Typically, yes, they do.

But let’s take a page from successful writers (did you see what a phenomenally bad pun I laid in there? Yes, I did!). Successful writers often differ from less successful writers in that they write more. And they have “tricks” to do that. They set aside time to write, they guard that time jealously, they use the time to write (not to sharpen pencils or check internet sources, or daydream, or to surf Facedegram for “inspiration”). And when they have no idea what to write, they just write. And they just write junk until something better comes to them. Because sometimes Quantity is helpful.

When you’re practicing, this is time that you might not be “productive”, you’re not focusing on the intervals, or pursing musicality. You might not even be trying to learn the tune – you are just playing. But you have showed up. You are at your harp. You might be playing just junk – and that’s ok because it’s you, playing and spending time on the bench. And if you keep sitting there playing, maybe the junk will transform into something else. Or maybe not. What you don’t know is when the “something else” will show up as “something better”. Just because it doesn’t appear right at that moment when you’re at the harp doesn’t mean that it won’t appear later, or in another tune, or just by preparing your mind for something yet to come. You’re going for Quantity.

So, yes, Quantity practice days are good. Some of the time.

But what about Quality? This is so talked about I feel like I almost don’t have to mention it. But I do. Because you need to have defined what a Quality practice session consists of. And this is trickier than it sounds – because Qality today may be Quantity tomorrow (and vice versa, see “something better” above). Quality is not a monolith. There are some general parts of practice that will help define a Quality practice session, but they are just big categories (warm up, technique, learn new stuff, solidify somewhat learned stuff, polish solidified stuff, performance practice, etc.) and within in each of these you will need to define what is Quality for that particular practice session. For instance, this is where you define what “settling” is – you don’t want to settle for good enough when you’re seeking Quality (but you would if you’re in a Quantity practice session). In a Quality practice session, you will not accept settling, you will expect yourself to accomplish something (have the phrase learned, smooth out the fingering in the tricky spot, have figured out how to get the left hand moving in rhythm, etc.) and you will work until you get it. You’re going for Quality.

The most important thing about Quality and Quantity is that they are both needed – at different points for different reasons. You can’t skip one and rely solely on the other. And no, one is not better than the other – they are two faces of the same coin. They both have value. And there is room for both in your practice sessions.

I’ve heard from some of you (not in so many words) that in the last year you have been stuck in Quantity practice rather than Quality practice. And some of you are pillorying yourselves over it. If this is you, stop. Instead, think about all the time you have spent on your bench – not losing ground, not giving up, not letting your playing slip away. That is Quantity practicing serving its very useful function. You will resume Quality practicing when your time is right. And not a moment sooner. And that’s ok.

So, if you find yourself “stuck” and not moving forward but you’re still playing, rejoice in your Quantity practice. When you’re ready you’ll resume Quality practice. And if you’re preening over your all Quality all the time approach, you might want to think about the occasional Quantity session, if only to enjoy the fruits of your labors.

Are you stuck in Quantity time or Quality time? Or do you have a mix in your practice sessions? What do you use Quality time for? How about your Quantity time? Let me know in the comments – I’m looking forward to learning from you!

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