Practicing Harp Happiness

There are lots of ways to get our music ready for the holidays. Yes, I know it's only July and we have months to prepare, but that's actually the point. You could wait until the week before your first Christmas gig in December to practice your music, and I have to say that there were times in the past that was my strategy. As you might imagine, it isn't a course of action I'd recommend. 
Or you could try the standard Christmas in July method. You learn your holiday music in the summer and then try to hang onto it until the holidays eventually come around. Granted, it's a much better plan than waiting until December, but as a preparation strategy it leaves a lot to be desired. If you've learned your music by the time summer ends, what do you do with it for the next three months?
Naturally, there are a lot of different approaches you could take, and some of those are going to feel more natural to you than others, just based on your personal practice preferences. There are external influences that might play a role as well. For instance, perhaps this is the year that you have ben asked to play Britten's Ceremony of Carols for the first time. The difficulty and scope of this piece will require a more focused approach than standard church or party holiday music. 
While I used to be fairly undisciplined in my approach to my own holiday repertoire preparation - and believe me, I paid the price for it more than once - I am unwilling to let my students suffer the same way. So I have a few "always" ground rules and a couple of "never" caveats that I try to share with them. These have their roots in my own learning the hard way. 
However, I also have a system that seems to work pretty well for most of my students. The odd thing is that I haven't really told any of them about it. We've used the system but I've never given it a name before. So here it is, making its official debut: my 5-4-4-3 plan for holiday music preparation. My students will recognize it, or at least most of it, and I hope this will organize more clearly what we have talked about already. If you haven't studied with me, I'm happy to share this with you for the first time ever.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: 
Join Compose for Christmas and get the best holiday headstart ever!

Register for the Chrysalis Music Workshop 

Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at podcast@harpmastery.com
Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts you will have access to their transcripts of each episode?
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-270

This past weekend was a big one for us in the United States. Not only were we celebrating our July 4th Independence Day as we do every year, but it was an anniversary year for us, our 250th. The parties were more festive, the fireworks more explosive, and all of the celebrations focused on freedom and independence.
I talk often about independence, but naturally I'm usually talking about Independence of our fingers or hands in our harp playing. A key focus of every harpist's technical practice is developing more independent motion of the fingers and more independent playing of the hands. We want our fingers to be able to be equally strong, capable, flexible and expressive. We want our hands to be able to work together to create the music.
But today, I'm going a slightly different direction. I want to talk not about the independence of our hands, but about the interdependence of our hands. It's not a battle where each of our hands is fighting for independence from the other, even if it feels like that physically at times. 
I think it's more to the point to consider the way our hands make music together. This goes beyond trying to figure out how one hand will do one kind of fingering while the other hand does something entirely different. This is about the role that each hand plays at any given moment in a piece of music, how each hand fits into the overall musical picture. 
So what I'd like to explore with you today is a more musical approach to our two-hand coordination, one that goes beyond the usual "hands separately, hands together" practice plan. I'd like to show you three distinct ways our right and left hands work together in a piece of music. You'll see how this could completely change the way you practice, with the result that you'll get to the expressive quality of the music more quickly and, I believe, with much less struggle. 
There is a lot of practical information that we'll cover, but remember this is really just about putting the music first, about seeing a little - just a little - beyond the notes to the bigger musical concepts. Don't think this doesn't apply to you because you're just a beginner or you only play a specific kind of music. Wherever you are in your harp journey, if you haven't learned this way of looking at music before - and I'm betting you haven't - you're going to be so glad you listened to this episode today.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: 
Join Compose for Christmas and get the best holiday head start ever!
Register for the Chrysalis Music Workshop 
Harpmastery.com
Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at podcast@harpmastery.com
Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts you will have access to their transcripts of each episode?
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-269

In 1782, Mozart was corresponding with a fellow composer about the art of composition. Mozart made the point that the true essence of music lies not only in the notes themselves but also in the spaces between them. That thought was echoed a century later by Claude Debussy who said, "Music is the silence between the notes." 
Silence is powerful. One part of the power of silence is its ability to define the notes around it. The spaces between the notes create rhythm. Lengthening spaces create a ritardando. Shortening spaces create an accelerando. Actual silence, created by a rest in the music, causes tension that is only relieved, or possibly heightened, by the next note.
For us harpists, creating silence as we play is challenging. Our music naturally rings and resonates as each string is played. In those moments when we need to stop the sound, it becomes a physical and intentional act. We create silence on purpose. 
But what of those moments between the notes, when we want a note to sustain and to hold the tension into the next one? Do those moments need special attention? I believe they do. 
So today, I'd like to explore the two different kinds of silence we harpists have to consider: what each means and what we need to do to observe those silences with artistry and musicianship. And as we get started, here is another quote to let roll around in your mind. It's from Kate Kennedy's book, Cello: A Journey Through Silence to Sound. She writes this: "Silence is the opposite of music, but it is also its lifeblood — the breaths between the phrases, the drama, the anticipation, and the quality of the breathless hush between final note and applause."  
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: 
Join the Compose for Christmas Challenge

Register for the Chrysalis Music Workshop 

Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at podcast@harpmastery.com
Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts you will have access to their transcripts of each episode?
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-268

As I look back on my childhood and my very first music studies, I realize that I was incredibly fortunate, blessed, actually. Not because I was gifted or because my parents were not only willing but were able to support my harp lessons. Not because I was in one of the music capitals of the world and had access to world class teachers. Not because I had so many opportunities and people that encouraged me along my journey.
Well, yes, I was blessed because of all those things, certainly. But I want to talk today about a different gift that was given to me, one I didn't realize the value of until much later. The gift was this: I was always encouraged to play music outside the box. Let me explain.
I started piano lessons when I was four years old, and my piano teacher was not only a fabulous musician, but a creative and generous teacher. My lessons included all the usual piano exercises - which I hated - and sonatinas - which I loved - and she also made sure that she gave me performance-worthy arrangements of popular music. I played arrangements of "Blue Moon" and "People" from Funny Girl and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" that were written by pianists like Roger Williams. These were fancy arrangements that took quite a bit of technique and a lot of practice to play well, and I enjoyed them. 
But my teacher never stuck exactly to the printed page. She always had some alterations to add a little more pizzazz to the arrangement. We were always taking bass notes down an octave or playing another part up in the high register like a music box, or changing dynamics and tempo. What she taught me was that music was self-expression. It was about so much more than just playing the written notes. It was about making the notes say what you thought they should say.
Please understand; we didn't take liberties with the classics. She made sure I played absolutely every note that Bach wrote on the page. But I learned very early on how to be creative in my music-making, and that has been a tremendous gift. I've never shied away from arranging, and in fact, it's one of my favorite things to do.
I'd love every harpist to learn the freedom of making their music their own, and that's what this show is about. I actually went back about two years into the podcast archives to pull out this episode which speaks directly to this. If you've ever wondered about what it takes to make an arrangement, or how to go about it, this is the episode for you. And afterwards, I want to tell you about an opportunity - a new challenge, in fact -  to work with me on your own arrangement. 
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: 
Get creative with the Compose for Christmas Challenge 

Go even further at the Chrysalis Music Workshop 

Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at podcast@harpmastery.com
Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts you will have access to their transcripts of each episode?
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-267

I don't know if you've ever had this experience, but there's something that happens when you realize that you have to shift your understanding of someone. It's a little unsettling, as if that person belonged in one little box in your mind and now you find out it's been the wrong box all along, and in fact, they don't really belong in a box at all. Your appreciation of that person takes on new meaning and your friendship finds a new level. 
I found that kind of new level with my good friend and esteemed colleague Dr; Louis Anthony deLise, who is my guest on today's show.  Louis and I became acquainted because we were both part of the freelance musical circles in Philadelphia, where I knew him as a percussionist. I didn't discover that his real metier was composing until much more recently and not only has that deepened our friendship, but it has brought a lot of new and wonderful music into my life, for which I am very grateful.
Louis is one of my collaborators on the Chrysalis Music Workshop event for flutists, harpists, and composers that is happening this September in New Jersey. So I thought this was the perfect moment to introduce him and his music to you. As you listen to our conversation, I want to you listen for the words that he uses as he describes composing and composers and musicians, words like adventure, experiment, game, and heart. You have heard me use those kinds of words often, so I know you'll understand why I value my work and collaboration with him so highly. 
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: 
Register now for the Chrysalis Music Workshop  

Listen to To Dance With You by Louis Anthony deLise on Soundcloud

Purchase Celebrations!  sheet music

Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at podcast@harpmastery.com
Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts you will have access to their transcripts of each episode?
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-266