Practicing Harp Happiness

Let me start by saying that technique was a struggle for me. You may have heard me talk before about how my double-jointed fingers wouldn't do what my teacher wanted, let alone what I wanted. I had been playing the harp for nearly ten years before I was able to develop proper mechanics, to make my fingers play with the form and strength necessary for the level of playing I aspired to. Granted, I was still a teenager at the time, so my fingers have endured decades of technical work beyond that, but I want to tell you that harp technique is still something I work on daily, not because I want to, but because I have to.
It's true that our technique gets stronger and more reliable over time. That's the good news. The more we focus on developing the proper mechanics, along with flexibility and speed, the more dependable our technique becomes. However, the results of our technical work can leave us in a moment. 
There is a well-known quote attributed to the celebrated violinist Jascha Heifetz about this very thing. He said, "If I don't practice one day, I know it; two days, the critics know it; three days, the public knows it."  Granted that most of us aren't playing regularly in the same concert halls that Heifetz was, but we notice the same disheartening phenomenon: our technique requires constant attention.  
I'm going to make a big assumption here, that you don't have hours every day to spend on your harp technique. Frankly, I don't either. I have to put time into my technique daily, but it's never as much time as I'd like, or as much time as my technique needs. But having spent years working through my own technique challenges and guiding students through the ones they face, I have three specific aspects of technique that many of us don't spend enough time on. 
These are three very specific and actually very basic technical skills. If you pay attention to these three things, you will be on your way to solving many common technique glitches that prevent your music from flowing the way you want. These aren't cure-all remedies. They are three basic skills that truly matter to your playing. Most exercise books include them, but they don't tell you why they matter. That's what I want to tell you today. 
Here's the thing: if I simply told you what the skills were, you'd probably dismiss them, thinking you already know how to do them, or at least two of the three. The difference comes once you know why they are so important, what they really mean for your playing. Even better, when they show up in a piece you are learning, you'll spot them and know exactly how to make that tricky passage smooth. Are you intrigued a little, maybe a lot? I hope so.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: 
Missing the Live Monday Warm-Ups? Click here to join My Harp Mastery to keep the momentum going!
Blog post on octaves mentioned in the show: Play Better Octaves Today!
Podcast episode #64 on scales: Spice Up Your Scales for Technique, Flexibility and Speed
Finger Independence for My Harp Mastery members: Advance Level of Build, Extend, Advance Course.
Harpmastery.com
Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
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-265

Here are some numbers to give you a little perspective before I introduce my guest today. The average length of a marriage in the United States is 20 years. Business partnerships don't do nearly so well, with nearly 70% failing within  the first five years. We are not a society geared toward longevity. 
But musical partnerships are different from business partnerships and certainly different from marriages, although they certainly have elements of both. My own musical collaborations tend to be quite longlasting, and the one I'm going to share today has not only survived, but grown and prospered and is now in its 40th year. That's right - that partnership is celebrating its ruby anniversary this year. And I'm proud to say that this partnership has been one of the most meaningful in my life.
So it's about time I introduced you to my musical partner of 40 years, my flutist friend Joan Marsh. Together Joan and I have performed and recorded together since 1986. Our partnership as the duo SPARX has been a constant through the births of our children and now our grandchildren. It's been there through our own marriages, house movings, individual playing commitments, individual business ventures and countless hair styles. 
While in this conversation, we share all the usual details about how we came together, our duo history over these 40 years and why our partnership is still so important to us, I want to make sure you understand this one point: a shared musical journey is more rewarding than you can imagine, if you haven't tried it, and vastly more rewarding than we will be able to tell you. But we're going to try.
One of the reasons I want to bring this to you today is that together with our composer friend, Louis Anthony deLise, we have created a new event that speaks directly to the joy of making music together, and in the course of our conversation, we will tell you all about it. 
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: 
Learn more about Chrysalis Music Collaborative Workshop
Live Monday Warm-Ups and Practice Labs are now exclusive to My Harp Mastery members. Join now with this discounted link so you don't miss out!
Harpmastery.com
Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected] 
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-264

There are plenty of things that make me feel old, for instance, when I remember that I used to have to go to the library to do research or that I didn't know who was calling me before I answered the phone. Here's another one that makes me feel positively ancient, and I promise you I'm not that old: I remember my mother handwriting music that my teacher wanted me to learn but was out of print. We didn't have easy access to a copier, although sometimes my dad could make a copy at his work. So, if I needed a piece of music that wasn't very long, my mother wrote it out for me. That feels practically Stone Age now.
When I started arranging music and publishing it back in the 1990"s, there were two programs that most composers had to choose between - Finale and Sibelius. I chose Sibelius on the recommendation of one of my teaching colleagues at Curtis, and I still use it today. It had a pretty steep learning curve when I first started, and it is still a powerful program that takes a little while to figure out, probably too long for a casual user.
In the years - okay, decades - since then, many more music notation programs and apps have come along, some of them as powerful, or nearly so, as the flagship programs, and for the most part, much simpler to use. This has meant that anybody with a modicum of patience for things technical can produce a professional-looking copy of a piece of music. That means progress for composers and arrangers.
It also means progress for any of us, even those of us who just want to learn to play the harp better. That's because these apps aren't just for writing down music you've composed. They can also be useful practice tools. 
So on today's show, I'm going to give you my take on three of the most popular and most user-friendly music notation apps, explaining the best features and the potential deal-breakers of each. I'll also share some strategies to use these tools to help you in your harp playing, whether you are interested in composing, arranging, or just a little curious.

Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: 
For My Harp Mastery members: Bob Dexter's Musescore Presentation
Love the Monday Warm-ups? Use this limited time discount to join My Harp Mastery so you don't miss out.
Harpmastery.com
Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
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-263

When I was a young harpist, there was no internet. I know that would shock a young harpist today who has grown up with the wealth of resources that are available with a single click. I was curious about when exactly the first internet-savvy generation grew up, so with a quick search - everything is clickable - I found the Gen Z'ers are the first internet generation, born between 1995 and 2010. That means those Gen Z adults are now between the ages of 16 and 30 or thereabouts. 
While the internet may feel like a birthright of Gen Z, the rest of us have come to rely on the internet too, and it's a tremendous resource for us harpists. If my teacher wanted me to learn a new piece, I had to go to the record store (I'm hoping there are some of you who remember those!) to look for a recording. Most often, I was out of luck, but I got into the habit of buying any harp record I found in the store, just in case I might want it someday. 
Today, everything is turned around. There are more harp recordings available to a harpist than anyone could possibly listen to. This makes it simple to hear someone else play the piece you want to learn. You might even be able to hear many players with vastly different interpretations, which is an education in itself. 
But even now, there are those times when there is no recording of the piece you want to learn. When that happens, how do you begin? Where do you start? Are there things you can do before you play the first note to help you learn it more quickly and with more confidence in your approach? 
I want to give you a framework for that today, one that will not only help guide you through approaching a piece when you have no idea how it sounds, but one that will develop a set of skills which will shorten the time it takes you to learn any piece. We're going to explore what you can know about a piece just by looking at it, and what you can guess. You may be surprised at how much useful information you have been ignoring until now.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: 
My Harp Mastery course: Making Music Without Your Harp
Podcast episode #147: How to Study a Piece: Look, Listen and Apply
Harpmastery.com
Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
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-262

I'm always wary of instant cures, of instant solutions. You know what I mean, those ads that promise you can lose 10 pounds overnight or become a fluent French speaker in 2 weeks. The funny thing is that nobody believes the promises in the ads, but still we buy the products - just in case. 
There is something powerful about an instant win. It's the tantalizing idea that we could get exactly what we want for almost no effort or investment of time. It never seems to matter that the instant results seem improbable, The idea of something for nothing, or almost nothing, is too powerful to resist.
So today, when I tell you that I'n going to share three things that will make your music smoother almost instantly, I wouldn't blame you if you're more than a little skeptical. But I'll bet you keep listening. And I hope you do, because although these three things aren't easy to put into play, they will make an incredible difference in how your music flows. It's not snake oil; it's just solid harp playing. 
Making our music smooth is just about the most important thing we need to do, and yet our desire to make our music right, sabotages the smoothness with every note. Do we play a wrong note and keep going, even when we practice? Should we correct our mistakes so we don't get into bad habits? Do we do both? Neither? Are you confused yet? 
There really are several things you can do which will change the way you practice and play. They will make your music smoother, not because they're magic, but because they teach you to think about how you play and what you play differently. Even more importantly, they are critical for each one of us, whether we are used to playing music smoothly or not. So if you're an old pro like me, this is a valuable reminder or maybe even a reset. And if you're just trying to figure out how to make your music flow, this podcast will save you a lot of time and trouble.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: 
Stay in touch with everything that's happening: get the Harp Mastery® app!
For another take, check out this blog post: Beyond the Bar Line: The Secret to Seamless Music 
Harpmastery.com
Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]
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-261