Welcome to Notes from the Harp! This month focuses on a goal that's near and dear to me: helping you see that you are exactly where you need to be on your learning journey with the harp. There is no such thing as perfection, so don't be your own worst enemy.

Being willing to play and stay open to your own ideas is what makes you the best harper you can be. Remember that learning is an adventure, and as always you'll find tools here to help make it easier. I hope you enjoy the inspiration!

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In This Issue:

Article
Choose "Play" Instead of "Perfect"

Technique Tip of the Month
Stop That Buzzing

Improvisation Starter of the Month
Galaxy Music

Resources
Music Theory Treasures

This month’s article is a gentle reminder to be kinder to yourself about your learning process. It grew from my watching some of my students struggle mightily with their inner critics, in the same way that I have struggled with my own.

All of us tend to forget that playing the harp is a skill we're learning, and that skill-building takes time (regardless of how "smart" we are). We even forget that we're learning to play the harp because we just love the way the harp sounds!

So with that in mind, here are some suggestions to take that perfectionist pressure off yourself. I can't promise that they will spring you from the prison of high expectations for good, but you can return to these strategies whenever you feel overwhelmed by your own impatience.

Play without music: there is no surer way to clear away expectations about matching someone else’s idea than to make up your own sounds or songs on the harp. Nothing elaborate required; just find sounds you like. This will also make you a better listener, and you’ll notice the beauty of the tone (and how you produce it).

Be silly: play with glisses, play random notes and chords, do improvisation exercises that are just for fun (this months Improvisation starter is a good one to try).

Play as "wrong" or badly as you can: go on, I dare you. Think the world will end? Try playing badly, and an interesting thing happens. But I don’t want to spoil it for you. You have to find out for yourself.

Look for what went well: when you finish playing anything, before you let yourself even think about what needs “fixing”, find at least three things you liked about your playing. This is not just good for your self-esteem, it’s great for your musicianship.

Focus on one aspect of technique at a time: if its thumbs, that’s all you look at. Ditto for dynamics. Phrasing. Not buzzing (see technique tip for help with this). At your lessons, you can even ask your teacher to pay attention to one specific thing. Lots of us need this reminder!

Focus on one phrase or hand at a time: If you always struggle to play all the way through, hands together, you are taking the slow boat to China. Isolating practice spots and learning how each hand works by itself are truly fabulous shortcuts. And your progress is gratifying because you have achievable (smaller) goals.

Record your progress: even if you don’t take lessons, keep a notebook with goals, things to work on, a repertoire list, and any feedback you get when you play for others. Be sure to review it when you feel stuck. You’ll be amazed at how much you’ve really accomplished.

Record your playing: if there is one magic technique, it must be this one. Even a cheap tape recorder can let you hear yourself. Remember to focus on what’s right (see above) before paying any attention to what you don’t like. Chances are, you’ll be impressed with something you’re doing.

Relax consciously after every note: you are the only one who can check your body for tension. If you spend lots of time stressed over every note, try saying “place, play, relax” as you go. I’ve also put one of my daughter’s beanie babies on my right shoulder, just to remind me to keep from hunching.

Smile: see if you can play a whole piece with a smile on your face. It will change more than your attitude!

Write a short statement about why you want to play the harp: keep this handy, and reread it whenever you’ve had a long session or you need confirmation that you’re doing this because you love it!

Forget the harp police: in spite of the fun and loony humor at the Harp Police Gazette, the harp police are ~ like the perfect harpist ~ entirely imaginary. Guess that means that no one will be knocking on your door to bust you for whatever infractions you’re worried about. So, be silly, lighten up, and have fun!

Buzzing is the bane of many a beginning harper. It’s especially hard to play "note-y" chords in the bass, because those strings, whether wire or wrapped nylon, vibrate in wider patterns. You can see them moving for a long time. So what is a harper to do?

First, check for hand position. Notice if you’re catching that vibrating string with a fingernail. If so, change the angle of your fingers so that you will avoid the nail. Usually, students are placing from above, or sideways, making it all but impossible to avoid buzzing. The answer is to place from below. Keep your fingers down after they close open your hand right to the notes and replace them without “breaking the plane” with the top of your hand, and a lot of buzzing will disappear.

Another thing to check is timing. Often, buzzing happens because you’re over-anticipating when you place. Yes, you want to place in advance, but at exactly the right time. Place just before you’ll play, and with deliberateness. Hesitation will always create buzzing, as will sloppy placing of a group of notes as less than a unit.

Finally, play the passage very slowly, changing your hand position ever so slightly until the sound is clean. Now do it again, and if it’s still clean, figure out just what you did to get that sound. Remember, you are ultimately the only one who can determine what fine adjustments in your finger angle or approach will allow you to “land” the notes without buzzing.

Once you know what to do, practice it until you do it automatically. You will get it, I promise.

Here’s a fun improv starter that especially appeals to the child within all of us. Fix your levers so that you have the following scale: C D E F# G# Ab (or A#, either one; you're just eliminating the A by doubling a musical note) Bb C. Now play with running up and down the scale, glissing, and playing random notes. Sounds like what we think of as space music, don’t you think? If you play certain intervals between your two hands it can sound very eerie.

You can also try using A-natural in this exercise, although that isn’t strictly speaking part of the whole-tone scale (hey, did you know you just learned some theory? You were playing with the whole tone scale . . . ). Have fun with this; there are no wrong notes.

Here are some wonderful online tutorials to help with music theory and rhythm. Everyone learns differently, so even if you've explored music theory online (and off), there are always new gems that may help you "click" with something you've never quite grasped.

This first site does a fine job with music theory basics, from notes to key signatures and beyond. The pages are nicely interactive, with answers becoming clear as you point with your mouse. Find it here:
Basic Music Theory Tutorials

This extensive site features drills, lessons, and lots of other resources to improve your listening and understanding of music theory: eMusic Theory Site.

For those of you who understand some music theory but get confused by the chord notation on lead sheets, I found a wonderful resource that uses a flash presentation to take you through identifying chords in a fun and logical way. Check it out here: Lead Sheet Chord Symbol Tutorial

Finally, a real gem to help you count any rhythms you're unsure of. In this cool gizmo, you enter the note values from your musical passage. Then, it counts the rhythm out for you correctly! You can hear it over and over again until you know it. Check it out here: Online rhythm counter.

All content by Susan Zevenbergen, Copyright 2007.

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