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Practicing Harp Happiness

Anne Sulllivan
Practicing Harp Happiness
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  • Celebrating of Summer - 20+ Pieces Just For Fun - PHH 216
    This week I started my yearly ritual of going through my drawers of music and pulling out new pieces to play. Actually they aren’t all new; some are old friends that I haven’t played in years. Others are pieces that have been sitting around waiting for me to get to them. Others are favorites that I seem to pull out every summer and play for a while.  It’s a summer thing for me. Perhaps because my playing schedule is a little lighter, I don’t feel as pressured or as driven. Also, though, I just want to play music, music that fits my vacation mindset.  So this week as I was looking through the stacks, I thought maybe I could give you some ideas of pieces that might fit your summertime mood. Or if it’s not summer weather for you right now, maybe these pieces will add some sunshine to your harp playing.  Some of these are classics from the harp repertoire or classic transcriptions for harp. Others are newer compositions you may not know. I’ve thrown in a couple popular music selections, just because. And I’ve themed them in a very summer-ish way: music about water, the sky, the garden and daydreams. It’s a little fanciful, but that’s really the whole idea. I’ll play some bits and pieces of some of them for you, too. And if you feel inspired to check out any of these for yourself, I’ve put all the selections I am mentioning today in a handy list for you, which you can download right in the show notes. You’ll be able to find these at the usual harp music retailers, like Harp Column Music, Atlanta Harp Center, Vanderbilt Music Company, Harp.com and more. If you have trouble finding one of them, just post a message in the Harp Mastery® Hub, and we’ll help you find it! Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:  Get the PDF of pieces mentioned on the show. Week 2 of Christmas in July Live call tomorrow. Super Summer Challenge continues. 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-216  
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  • The Superpower of Shortcuts and Why You Need Them Now - PHH 215
    There’s a third kind of shortcut, though, that I want us to think about today. It’s the kind of shortcut that comes with experience. I remember when I was learning to sew and following all the directions very carefully so that I wouldn’t mess up. I even learned which pattern companies had the clearest directions, and which seemed to presume that I knew more than I did, so there were steps missing. Those missing steps weren’t shortcuts, per se; they were just knowledge that a more experienced sewer would have.  One day, I watched a professional seamstress start to cut out a dress. She was making a concert dress for me, and I was excited to watch her start on it while I could watch. What turned out to be an even bigger thrill was to see that instead of painstakingly pinning the pattern onto the cloth, the way I learned in Home Ec class, she just laid a few weights on the pattern to hold it lightly in place and cut around it. What a shortcut and a timesaver! And why had I never thought of that? Of course, I had never thought of that because I didn’t have the experience and the confidence that comes with that experience to see that as a possibility. I was still following the directions, step by step. That step-by-step method was an important part of my learning, because it showed me what was necessary to get the best result. It wasn’t necessary to pin every pattern piece in place. It was necessary to lay out the pieces on the cloth correctly and to cut them carefully; the pins were a helpful tool, when you needed it, but not strictly necessary.    Harp playing has those kinds of shortcuts too. There are practice and learning strategies that are important at some stages of our harp journey that we can rethink and adapt as we gain more mastery. If we cling to our old learning habits too long, we end up slowing our progress and growth.  So today, I want to help you learn about harp shortcuts, not specific shortcuts, although I’ll mention a few, but how to look for and discover the shortcuts that could make a difference for you right now. This is about using your experience and your knowledge from all the harp playing you’ve done to help you learn faster, practice more effectively and play more confidently. It’s about making it easier, and who wouldn’t want that? Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:  Our Christmas in July celebration is starting and you’re invited! Join the weekly live calls, videos and mini-workshops from the Hub, our YouTube channel, or our Harp Happiness HQ Facebook group! Our 2025 Super Summertime Challenge is in full swing! 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-215  
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  • Recovering from Burnout - the 5R Framework to Recover and Reset - PHH 214
    It’s summer time here and time for a little R and R, rest and relaxation, maybe even time away. You might be feeling like you need some time away from whatever stress you’ve been experiencing. I hope it isn’t your harp playing that’s been causing the stress, but even playing and practicing the harp can cause frustration and burnout. If you’re feeling like you need a break from your harp playing, I’m here to help and to make sure you take that break in a way that will bring you more confidence and more joy in your harp playing again. Actually, at the time you are listening to this, I am on vacation with my husband. We are in Bermuda, which is one of our favorite places to vacation. We went there for our honeymoon and loved it so much that we planned to go back every five years. We’ve missed a couple of those five year milestones; COVID was one of the reasons, of course. But this year, we’re going back and I can’t wait. Often people will ask me if I take a harp when I’m on vacation, and I rarely do. If it’s an extended trip, or I have a special project or performance coming up, then I will take one, but I firmly believe that no matter how much we love the harp, it’s beneficial to take some time off. Like the old Coca-Cola slogan, “it’s the pause that refreshes.” It’s good for us physically to relieve our fingers of the stress of practice. It’s even better for our perspective. It forces us to pick up our heads, let go of the busyness of practice, and reconnect with the harp and with music. Aside from having to coax slightly sluggish fingers back to work after we get back, there are no negatives to taking a break. I realize we have podcast listeners all over the world, and if you’re living in the southern hemisphere, you’re starting a winter season, not a summer one. But you don’t have to wait for summer to try out this framework. It can help keep you balanced all winter long! Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:  Get on board with our 2025 Super Summertime Challenge! Related podcast: Small Steps to Break Through and Grow - PHH 200 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-214  
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  • Freedom to Choose - How to Make Any Piece Sound Right - PHH 213
    Have you ever made something and it turned out ok, but somehow it just didn’t look right? Maybe you thought those two paint colors would go together, but now you’re not sure. Or maybe the furniture arrangement in the living room looked great on paper but it sort of doesn’t work now that you see everything in place. I think we’ve all had those moments. I had one not long ago with a photo I was doing. It wasn’t quite right, but since I had to get it done, all I could do was to shrug and sign off on it, whether it was right or not. But if a piece of music we’re working on doesn’t sound right, we want to fix it, not forget it. I’m sure you know what I mean. You’ve been working hard on a piece. You muster up your courage to do a recording of it and after a lot of takes, you come up with one that you think is pretty good, without noticeable mistakes or hesitations. Then you listen to it, and something’s not right. Is it too slow? Are you not making the dynamics clear? How come it doesn’t sound the way it sounds in your head?  This is truly a challenging point, because it can be difficult to know the precise things you need to do to make the music sound the way you want. Assuming that the notes and the rhythms are correct and that you’re playing reasonably expressively, what else is there? That’s the question we’re going to answer today. I’m going to identify three things that are essential to make any piece of music sound “right.” These three are the same whether you are playing a classical piece or a folk piece or a hymn or a pop tune. When each of these is in place, your piece will sound like you want it to. And the bonus is that you have choices. Every one of us harpists makes these choices, but you may not realize the power behind them. These choices are what makes one harpist’s interpretation of a piece sound different from another harpist’s, even though they both may be beautiful performances. My friend, you have the power to make your music sound right to you; all you need to do is exercise your freedom to choose. Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:  Our 2025 Super Summertime Challenge starts today in the Hub. Participate and win! Download the free Harp Mastery® app. 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-213  
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  • 3 Exercise Books You Should Know and How to Use Them - PHH 212
    Since you’re here with me today, I know you are the kind of harpist who knows that technique matters. You take your warm-up seriously. You have exercises and etudes that you play regularly, maybe even religiously. You subscribe to the motto, “If your fingers can’t play it, you can’t play it.” But there may be times when you, even as dedicated to your technique work as you are, need a new direction, some more motivation, inspiration and know-how to move your technique to the next level. Here’s the thing we don’t want to think about. We have our favorite exercises and they fit perfectly into our practice routine. We know how they go, so we don’t have to struggle with notes, and we can focus on our fingers. Unfortunately, if we are that comfortable with them, they probably have lost some of their value for us.  Now I’m not going to tell you that you have to abandon the exercises or drills you love. I’m just like you; I have my favorites, and I am not about to give them up.  But I am going to suggest - very strongly - that you need to switch them up with some that will provide you with a little more challenge. When I started doing this in my own practice, I found that it sharpened my technique, not just because my fingers were learning new patterns, but also, precisely because I had to pay attention to the notes for a change, I was even more focused on what I was doing. No chance to go on autopilot, even for a minute.  So today, I am going to share information about three exercise books you might not know, but that I think you should. Why? Because your technique work should be about leveling up, and if you’re doing the same-old same-old, you definitely aren’t leveling up. I’ve also included links to each of the books, so you can find them easily, but you can purchase them from any retailer you like. I don’t get a commission from these links; they are purely for your convenience.  Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:  Our 2025 Super Summertime Challenge in the Hub starts next week. Join the Hub today so you don’t miss it! Big Book of Exercises for Harp by Isabelle Frouvelle Exercices et Etudes by Edmond LaRiviere Conditioning Exercises by Carlos Salzedo 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-212
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About Practicing Harp Happiness

Is playing the harp harder than you thought it would be? Ever wish you knew the secrets to learning music that only the experts and the eight year old YouTube stars seem to know? Want to finally finish the pieces you start and play them with ease, confidence and joy? Harp Mastery founder and Harp Happiness expert Anne Sullivan believes every harp player can learn to play the music they want the way they want. Tune in as she clears the confusion around topics like fingering, technique, sight reading and practice skills and shares the insider tips that help her students make music beautifully. Whether you’re playing the harp for fun or you’re ready to take your playing to the next level, each Practicing Harp Happiness episode will reveal the strategies and insight you need to fire your imagination, enjoy your practice and love your harp playing.
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