Practicing Harp Happiness

• Here’s Why You Should Do It My Way: A Teacher’s Response - PHH 230

  I once had a student say this to me: “But it doesn’t work when I do it that way.” We were trying to fix a passage in a piece she was learning. When she played the passage for me, there was an obvious stumble spot, and I had a definite idea about what was wrong and how to fix it. But after a week of trying to implement my suggestion, she came back to me, saying that her old way, even though it wasn’t really working, worked better than mine and so she was sticking with her way.  Please understand that the student didn’t doubt the solution I was offering. She had tried it, just as I had suggested. She had confidence in my ability to help her surmount this difficulty. The frustration for her was not just that the solution I offered didn’t work; it was that her old way was actually better for her, at least at that moment. At that point in our lesson, I could have responded with the all-time favorite response of music teachers everywhere - you have to give it some time.  That would certainly have been a correct response in that it was true, but that doesn’t mean it would have been very helpful. But if I didn’t want to trot out that old standby answer, I had to provide a different one. It was clear to me what she needed to know. She needed to know why.  This was years ago. I hadn’t published all the resources that I have now. I didn’t have the teaching experience that I have garnered in the years since then. But even back then, I was a good teacher, one who not only knew the right way to do things, but was skilled at seeing the underlying problem that a student needed to address. What I needed to learn, though, was how communicate my methodology, not a technique method necessarily, but how I knew my way of solving the problem would be better in the long run. When “just trust me on this,” or “because I said so” aren’t good enough answers, the better response lies in the reason, the explanation, and that requires a teacher to dig deeply into her own expertise. After all, it’s likely been a long while since we teachers asked for those explanations ourselves. We’re at a point where we simply know, and that’s good for us, but less helpful for our students.  So today, I’m hoping to share with you the reasoning behind some of those potential “because this is the way it works” answers. Whether you’re a student or a teacher, or just a harpist who has an inquiring mind, I’m sure at least one of these will click for you. Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:  Sign up for the It's Not Working Webinar Join the Arpeggios with E.A.S.E. Quick Study 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-230  

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• The 3 Things All Harpists Need to Do Well - PHH 229

  If I were to ask you what you think the most important skills are for any harpist, what would you say? There are lots of obvious choices. You might include technical skills, like scales or arpeggios or putting hands together. You could mention skills like note reading, or sight reading, or rhythm skills or knowing basic music theory. What about working with a metronome or playing expressively? All of these are important, and none of them is particularly easy.  While all of these are crucial, I consider them all just part of playing the harp. Every harpist develops these skills continually, every day, over a lifetime of playing. Some of them come more naturally than others, but we become more skillful in all of them over time. It’s also a fact that neglecting one of these essential elements - and my list was by no means a complete one - will limit our playing at some time in some way. Today, though, I want us to think about a different category of skills, skills that are less about actually playing the harp and more about the mindset we bring to our playing. Our ideas and attitudes play a big part in the pace of our progress, the ease with which we practice and play, and the satisfaction and fulfillment we experience along the way. I’ve seen too many harpists struggle in their playing, simply because no one ever told them how musical growth really happens, or shared with them the specific instructions that will enable them to make the progress they want, to play the music they want. These aren’t musical instructions; they are mindset instructions. They relate to our playing, but they also guide the way we work, how we spend our time at the harp. So while they aren’t “do this, don’t do that” directions, they are “put this on a sticky note on your music stand” reminders, and I’ve picked three big ones to talk about with you today. So get out your sticky notes, and let’s get going. Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:  Join the Arpeggios with E.A.S.E. Quick Study Course. Get connected! Join the My Harp Mastery community. 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-229  

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• The Real Reason to Memorize Your Music - PHH 228

  Do you have to memorize your music? Of course not. How’s that for an easy answer? Okay, the podcast is over and we can call it a day. But of course, the answer isn’t that simple.  No, you don’t have to memorize your music, but the fact that you’re asking the question tells me that you’re almost certainly thinking about memorization the wrong way, or at least very differently from how I have learned to think of it. What I want to help you understand today is the role that memorization can play in your musical growth, how it can make you a better musician, how it can help you learn music faster, not necessarily because you are memorizing, but because the act of memorizing brings your focus to the music in a different way. But not if you’re trying to memorize the way you may have when you were young. The kind of effortless assimilation that came so easily to me when I was younger, and perhaps to you too, doesn’t happen with my aging brain. I still memorize, but I use a process that is more conscious, less automatic, and I can tell you that the conscious process is easier, more secure and more interesting. When I memorize this way, I know I know my music. That’s practically confidence in a bottle. What I’m going to help you understand today is the true value of memorization, whether or not you ever play without your music, and how you can develop your powers of memorization, even if you can’t remember where you left your glasses. Memorization isn’t about remembering. It’s about learning and knowing, done purposefully, and it’s not as hard or as scary as you may think. If you’re already a confident memorizer, then that idea won’t be new to you, but keep listening, because there will be a few important ideas and strategies in this episode that will help you too.  Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:  Join the Arpeggios with E.A.S.E Quick Study Course. Want more memorization tips? Check out podcast episode  158, Memorization Basics: How to Make It Stick 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-228    

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• Why Every Harpist Needs a Method - PHH 227

  When I was a beginning harp student, the technical method I was learning - the Salzedo method - was something I took very seriously. From my very first harp lessons, I learned the important points of technique, as Salzedo taught it. I wasn’t studying with Salzedo, of course, but my teacher, Marilyn Costello, was a student of his, and his method was what she taught her students. For a long time, I played the harp in innocent ignorance of the fact that there were other harp methods. In fact, it was a revelation to me in those early years when I discovered that most harpists in the world didn’t use the Salzedo method. Truly, all the harpists I knew in the Philadelphia area were Salzedo method players, and it never occurred to me that this wasn’t true across the wider harp-isphere.  Once that realization hit, I went into what I’ll call Stage Two of my education about harp methods. That was the stage where I believed that everyone who didn’t play Salzedo method wasn’t playing the right way and they would never be good harpists. Ah, the foolishness of youth! It didn’t take me long to realize how ridiculous that was; after all, there were many harp legends I admired who weren’t Salzedo players. Time for another outlook adjustment.  My outlook has undergone many such adjustments in the ensuing years, mostly due to the evolution of my teaching philosophy. The basic underpinning for my thoughts on harp methods can be summed up like this: the method itself doesn’t matter. What matters more is that you follow one. Without a method, your technique and your technique practice is merely a collection of skills. The method is the organizational plan that brings together skills, sound, ergonomics, and more, and unifies them with a cohesive set of why’s and how’s. A method doesn’t leave you guessing about how to do something; it gives you the system to find solutions.  In this episode, I will talk about the key points of technique that every method addresses and I’ll explore a few of the differences in approach between some common harp methods and why each approach works. It’s not about one way being right and the other wrong; it’s about having a plan you can follow. I’m hoping that by expanding your ideas about technique, I can encourage you to consider how following a harp method will make everything about your technique finally make sense to you.  Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:  Fast track your progress - work with a Harp Mastery® Certified Coach.  Looking for a teacher near you? Check out our Accredited Teachers. 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-227  

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• Perspective Over Perfection: The Secret to Playing with Freedom - PHH 226

  I’m sure you’ve seen that famous optical illusion picture that can be perceived either as two faces in profile looking at each other, or as a vase. That image is named the “Rubin Vase,” after Danish psychologist Edgar Rubin, who authored a book in 1915 called “Visual Perception.”  This image, and others like it, have stimulated much scientific debate about how our brains understand and process images.  What fascinates me is that moment when my understanding of the image shifts, that instant where I can see the second interpretation of the picture. Naturally, there’s a technical term for that; it’s called a Gestalt switch. A Gestalt switch occurs when you change your perspective from one view of an image, a sound or an experience. As with the Rubin vase, you first saw it one way - as a vase - and now you see it another way - as two faces. There is much debate about the cognitive processes that allow this switch to happen, but there seems to be general agreement that the switch is hard for an individual to control. Sometimes you just can’t see the faces; you only see the vase. Nevertheless, we are talking about the necessity for you to be able to make that switch in your harp playing.  Here’s the premise for this show. Making your piece sound like music isn’t about what you do; it’s about your perspective. In case I’ve made this sound too difficult, let me reassure you that I am positive you already do this in your playing. You just haven’t thought of it this way before. If you weren’t making this perception change, you would stay stuck on one measure and never get to playing the entire piece. What we’re going to explore today is how to make that perception shift intentional. Why would we want to do this? Because when we shift our perspective from playing the notes to playing the music, we play the music better.  If this sounds a little mysterious, be sure to listen to the rest of the show, because this discussion will help you find more freedom in your playing. It will help you learn and finish a piece faster and allow you to play with more musicality and confidence. I know that sounds like a big promise, but I’m confident I can deliver on it.  Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:  Join us at Back to School Night Are you ready to work with a Harp Mastery® Certified Coach? Click and find out. Work with a Harp Mastery®  Accredited Teacher. 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-226  

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