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.
info_outline
Celebrating of Summer - 20+ Pieces Just For Fun - PHH 216
07/07/2025
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 involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you 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
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/37300280
info_outline
The Superpower of Shortcuts and Why You Need Them Now - PHH 215
06/30/2025
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 , our , or our ! Our is in full swing! Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you 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
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/37211590
info_outline
Recovering from Burnout - the 5R Framework to Recover and Reset - PHH 214
06/23/2025
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: Related podcast: Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you 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
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/37097700
info_outline
Freedom to Choose - How to Make Any Piece Sound Right - PHH 213
06/16/2025
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. ! . Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you 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
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/37011995
info_outline
3 Exercise Books You Should Know and How to Use Them - PHH 212
06/09/2025
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. ! Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you 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
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/36909550
info_outline
Could Your Practice Today Actually Be More Fun? - PHH 211
06/02/2025
Could Your Practice Today Actually Be More Fun? - PHH 211
Every time I talk about putting more fun into your practice, I hear feedback like, “I enjoy my practice,” or “I really like doing the challenging work,” or “My favorite part of practice is my exercises and etudes.” All of those harpists are enjoying their practice, and that’s terrific. But that’s not what I mean. Much of what we do in our practice can accidentally disconnect us from the music we want to make. We identify and correct mistakes. We drill our technique. We repeat passages over and over again. That’s all part of practice, and it is part of what enables us to play well. But there’s so much more that we could be doing in our practice, so much more that is truly aligned with why we are playing the harp. Here’s an example that may help you understand what I mean. A young person wants to be a doctor because she likes helping people. She goes to medical school where part of her training involves working when she’s physically exhausted. Part of her training also helps her learn the ability to detach from her patients, so she can view their cases objectively and clinically, and so that she doesn’t burn out emotionally. Is it any wonder that some doctors lack an empathetic bedside manner? Those doctors may be gifted physicians, but they also may be in danger of losing the connection to their patients. That’s a broadbrush kind of example, and I certainly have had doctors who were both gifted and compassionate. But I hope you see my point as it applies to our harp playing. If all we do in our practice is critique, correct and repeat, we put ourselves at risk of losing the connection to what brought us to the harp in the first place. We risk losing our joy. Today, I would like to help you put more fun playing into your practice. I’ll share a few of my favorite ways to help recapture the rapture and put more creativity and yes, fun, into every day you play the harp. Remember it’s not about right or wrong - it’s about the music. Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: ! Are you a harp teacher? ! Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you 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-211
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/36804520
info_outline
Do You Hear What I Hear? Listening with Your Ears Open - PHH 210
05/26/2025
Do You Hear What I Hear? Listening with Your Ears Open - PHH 210
Four friends went to an orchestra concert. Afterward, they went out for dessert and compared notes on the concert, talking about what they heard. Here is what they said: One person heard the person in the row behind crackling a cough drop wrapper.One person, a flutist, heard that the clarinet wasn’t in tune with the flute.One person, a harpist, heard that the orchestra drowned out the harp solo.One person heard that the piano soloist was humming to himself while he played. Oddly enough, when the review of the concert appeared in the newspaper the next day, it seemed the critic had gone to a completely different concert. The critic described the pianist as being an impassioned player with a fiery technique, the orchestra as presenting a colorful, well-balanced and nuanced interpretation. There was no mention of out of tune clarinets, or inaudible harps or even noisy cough drop wrappers. Yes, this is a fictional scenario, although I’ve been part of very similar discussions. I wanted to relate this to you today, though, to highlight the way we channel our listening. We pay attention to the things that distract us, like noises or mistakes. That’s not in itself a bad thing; it’s part of being observant. Often, however, our listening stops there. Think about how you listen to yourself. You pick out the flaws, the things that you wanted to do better. How often do you take time to identify what you have done well? Would you even be able to identify what you are doing well? Today, we are going to talk about listening for growth, not for comparison or fault-finding. I’ll help you discover how to listen with open ears and an open mind so that the next time you listen to that amazing harpist play the piece you’re struggling to learn, you can find the precise elements in that performance that will help you make your own playing sound the way you want it to. And we’ll talk about how to listen to yourself so you don’t end up in the depths of despair. It’s all about what you listen for. Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: ! Harp teachers! Are you interested in learning more about our Fall Break Retreat? Email me at . Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you 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-210
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/36706930
info_outline
Is Your Practice Not Working? Maybe Hard Work Isn’t the Answer - PHH 209
05/19/2025
Is Your Practice Not Working? Maybe Hard Work Isn’t the Answer - PHH 209
Today I want to talk with you about hard work. I don’t mean how to buckle down and do the hard work. We all know that playing the harp is hard, and we spend a lot of time working out practice techniques, strategies and routines to help us play the music we want in spite of the difficulties. No, what I want to talk about today is how to get out of the “just buckle down and do it” mindset. The truth is that when it comes to playing the harp or even music in general, sometimes trying harder is counter-productive. For instance, the harder we try to get that harmonic to ring, the more it just thuds. The harder we try to play faster, the more our fingers become tense and so they don’t have the flexibility and agility required for speed. The more we drill those recalcitrant two measures, the moe they refuse to flow. But if hard work isn’t the answer, what is? Let me be clear. Hard work, or at least work, is necessary. But the way we approach a difficulty in our harp playing shouldn’t be - cannot be - the same way we solve other kinds of problems. The solution to these difficulties usually lies in the music itself, which is something we most often ignore as we try to do what seems impossible. The approach I want to explore with you today is about looking at challenges, difficulties or frustrations through a musical lens. You truly don’t need to hammer away at that thing that isn’t working. You can use more creative and much less stressful ways to solve it, with the added benefit of keeping the musical and expressive goals front of mind. I have three very specific suggestions for you, ones that are simple to implement and which will give you surprisingly quick results. It’s time to stop beating your head against the wall, don’t you think? Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: Summer is a time to grow with For My Harp Mastery members only: NEW “” Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you 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-209
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/36604420
info_outline
Is Music Theory Really Useful? Turning Theory Into Practice - PHH 208
05/12/2025
Is Music Theory Really Useful? Turning Theory Into Practice - PHH 208
Is studying music theory really useful? Yep. You heard right. I really said that, and I’m a total theory nerd. I’m not going to leave you in suspense. Of course, knowing music theory is useful and helpful and part of being a good musician. But only - and this is a big “only” - if you know how it’s useful. Did you ever take a class in school and the whole time you were sitting in class you were thinking, “I’m never going to use this stuff”? Of course, you did. I remember sitting in my calculus class in high school - which, incidentally, I really enjoyed - knowing that I was going to music school and very unlikely to ever use any of this kind of higher mathematics again. Maybe your useless class was a math course, or it could have been just about any other subject. Sometimes we discovered later that we were wrong; for instance, a little understanding of chemistry is helpful if you’re trying to work out ingredient substitutions in a recipe. At the time, though, the information falls into the category of “good to know, but I’ll never need it.” I taught classes like that when I was teaching at Curtis. The theory and ear training classes I taught were certainly full of information that would be necessary for a professional musician, but that didn’t mean that any of it seemed relevant to students who just wanted to practice. You may sympathize with that feeling, if you’ve taken theory courses with the idea that these courses would help your harp playing significantly. Please understand - I know with every fiber of my being that music theory makes you a better musician and can absolutely be of benefit to your playing. But unfortunately, I have found that most of the time, harpists take theory courses and are left wondering what use they can make of all this hard-won knowledge. These courses don’t come with a hands-on way to apply this knowledge at the harp, a way to make it really useful. That’s what I will share with you today, some common sense ways to make theory practical. Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: Did you miss the “Sharpen Your Focus” clinic? ! Related resource blog post Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you 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-208
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/36519895
info_outline
How to Choose Your Next Piece - PHH 207
05/05/2025
How to Choose Your Next Piece - PHH 207
Shel Silverstein wrote a beautiful and supremely short poem that perfectly fits today’s topic. The poem is called “Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda,” and in just seven short lines, Silverstein sums up the ultimate way to prevent regret. He tells us that all those woulda-coulda-shouldas vanish with one little “did.” Doing beats wishing every day. So if we were sitting in the same room together, sharing a cup of tea, and you asked me what I thought your next piece should be, I’d have to ask you a question right back, “What do you think you want to do?” Life is filled with “shoulds” and “have tos;” our music doesn’t need to be. Our music is personal to us. The music we play, our repertoire, is something that reflects what we like and who we are. It is a personal expression at every playing level. Your personal musical expression starts from the very first day you are capable of playing a melody on the harp. Your music is in you and your music is you. So if you need to choose your next piece to learn, it should be something you want to learn. Back to our conversation at the tea table. When I ask you what piece you’d like to do, you are probably going to tell me you don’t know. So we’ll dig a little deeper. If you are thinking that there is a skill you need to develop and you’re looking for a piece that will help you do that, that’s great. I can suggest half a dozen pieces that will help you with that specific skill. But have you considered trying a sort of piece you’ve never done before? Or what about that bucket list piece that you aren’t sure if you’re ready for? This is the problem; there are too many choices. There is simply too much music in the world, and it’s impossible to play everything we want to. So we need to choose. And what if you chose to make your next piece one that created a “did,” filled a want, or prevented a future regret. That’s what I want to help you with today. I want to give you a little system to help you choose. I also decided to take a sort of light-hearted, fun approach to this topic, so since today is the fifth of May, I’ve created five possible categories to choose from in honor of Cinco de Mayo. After all, we can’t take ourselves too seriously! Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: Today is the last day to clinic. Shel Silverstein poem, Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you 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-207
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/36429830
info_outline
Looking Beyond: Choose Your Focus - PHH 206
04/28/2025
Looking Beyond: Choose Your Focus - PHH 206
Fact number one: Your focus is in your control.Fact number two: Your focus is a critical factor in your success and harp happiness.Conclusion: What you focus on matters… a lot. In the last episode of the podcast, we were talking about focus in terms of placing your chords. I cited one of my favorite Zig Ziglar quotes, “You hit what you aim at.” I’m going to put a different spin on that today. We aren’t going to talk about focusing on a goal exactly. We’re going to discuss how to shift your focus to get you beyond a sticking point or a challenge. Here’s my idea in a nutshell: when we focus on the hard thing, we lose perspective on why we are doing the hard thing to begin with. That can cost us a lot in terms of time, energy and enjoyment. Consider some of the things we focus on that can leave us with a feeling of letdown or even loss. We spend weeks preparing for Christmas, only to realize on December 26th that we didn’t really remember to enjoy the day. Or we put days of effort into making a special meal - Thanksgiving dinner comes to my mind - and everyone is finished their meal and watching the football game almost before we’ve sat down to our own plate. Or we prepare so much for a special performance that we don’t know what to practice the day after it’s over. What about the things we focus on when we’re practicing or performing? Are we focusing on the things that will help us grow and move us forward? Or are we only concentrating on the difficulties that are in front of us, whether those are wrong notes or stumbles or performance nerves? I believe that often we are looking through a microscope at too many of those moments, when we really should be using binoculars to see what lies ahead, beyond the hard part. Instead of going into the rabbit hole where our perceptions are distorted (that wrong note really doesn’t matter that much!), we need a healthier perspective on what we’re actually trying to do, so that we can get past the sticking point and get back to loving the music. Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: for the “Sharpen Your Focus, Elevate Your Performance” Clinic with a Harp Mastery® Certified Coach. Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you 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-206
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/36326075
info_outline
Placing Chords: How to Find the Right Strings the First Time - PHH 205
04/21/2025
Placing Chords: How to Find the Right Strings the First Time - PHH 205
The great Zig Ziglar, much-beloved author and motivational speaker, never played the harp as far as I know, but one of his most often quoted remarks is perfect for today’s topic. Zig said, “You hit what you aim at, and if you aim at nothing you will hit it every time.” If you have ever had difficulty placing the notes in your chords, today I am going to teach you how to fix your aim. Of course there is more to placing and playing chords than just aiming at the strings, but you do have to get to the right ones. This is what makes three-note chords more difficult than two-note intervals, and what makes four-note chords even more challenging. And then there are those four-note chords in both hands at the same time! The more fingers you have to put on the strings, the more possibility there is for error, which is why we’re going to take our time today and really explore what you need to know as well as what you need to do to increase your chances for success. Naturally, none of us gets every note right every time, but when we can read the notes faster and place our fingers more automatically, even the biggest chords are less daunting. By the way, the techniques we will be talking about work for placing arpeggios too, so it’s a double win today! for the “Sharpen Your Focus, Elevate Your Performance” Clinic Experience the power of individual coaching. Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you 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-205
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/36238270
info_outline
Review Done Right: It’s More Than Repertoire - PHH 204
04/14/2025
Review Done Right: It’s More Than Repertoire - PHH 204
Do you review your pieces? If you don’t review your pieces regularly, then keep listening because today we are going to explore the different reasons you might want to start and a few different methods for review you might want to try. But here’s the thing; if I asked a dozen harpists who say they review their pieces how they do their review, I will get a dozen different answers. Some people schedule it; others set a rotation. Some people do both. Some harpists are trying to develop a repertoire list of music they can play at a moment’s notice. Others are trying to keep the last piece they learned in their fingers. (By the way, we’ll talk today about what that phrase, “in your fingers,” means. ) I last talked about review on this podcast in episode 99. That episode is called “The Shortcut Way To Build And Maintain A Repertoire.” In that episode I outline some step-by-step frameworks to grow your repertoire with simple review tactics. I have linked directly to that episode in the show notes, or you can find it by searching for episode 99 in your podcast app. However, I think review is more than keeping your music fresh and ready to play. I believe there is an important learning component as well, because review develops a unique skill set, if you set about it the right way. Review isn’t the same as practice, but it isn’t exactly the same as playing either. It fills in the middle ground, that place where the imperfections get polished out and where we develop a deep familiarity with the piece, one that can surmount the challenges of performance. So today, we are going to explore what review is and is not. I’ll give you some simple ways to work on that unique skill set, and I’ll show you how the simple act of reviewing your music can help you grow as a harpist. It’s so much more than just keeping music in your fingers. I’m excited about this topic, and I hope you are too! Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: Our April Seminar is still available registration is open. For more on review, check out podcast episode 99: Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you 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-204
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/36113975
info_outline
Why Slow Practice Works - and When It Doesn't - PHH 203
04/07/2025
Why Slow Practice Works - and When It Doesn't - PHH 203
My harp background is in the Salzedo method. This is the technique method devised and taught by legendary harpist Carlos Salzedo. It was at the time, the early part of the twentieth century, a startlingly different concept of harp playing and harp technique and the aim was to bring the harp into the modern world. The aesthetic of the method varied in almost every way possible from the French tradition in which Salzedo was trained. But we aren’t discussing physical technique today. We are discussing practice technique, one practice technique in particular: slow practice. Please understand that slow practice has always been a part of harp studies and for very good reasons, which we will discuss shortly. Salzedo, however, was known for teaching his students to practice slowly and loudly. I need to quickly add a couple of disclaimers. First, the loud and slow practice attributed to the Salzedo method is a broad statement, and as such, is not completely accurate. Second, and more importantly, it wasn’t the only kind of practice he advocated. Third, please remember that slow practice isn’t only for Salzedo method harpists; it’s important for us all. That’s the point of today’s podcast: why slow practice is vital for being able to play your pieces accurately and expressively at the goal tempo. I want to explore with you what slow practice is all about and how you can start your own habit of slow practice. We’ll talk about the practice strategies themselves, but I also want to focus on how to use slow practice to eliminate mistakes, strengthen your technique, eliminate hesitations and pauses in your music and to be able to play with more expression and musicality. While I think slow practice can work miracles, there are also times when slow practice is not helpful, and I’ll go over those with you, too. Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-203 Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you you will have access to their transcripts of each episode?
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/36021270
info_outline
Rhythmic Confidence: It’s Not About the Math - PHH 202
03/31/2025
Rhythmic Confidence: It’s Not About the Math - PHH 202
If I had the opportunity to teach music to an absolute music newbie, someone without any previous musical instruction or experience, I know exactly how I would begin. I would start without printed music. That’s hardly revolutionary. The German composer Carl Orff is known today not only for his most famous work, Carmina Burana, but for the innovative methods he brought to musical education. Émile Jaques-Dalcroze created Eurhythmics, not the 1980’s pop band with Annie Lennox, but a system for teaching music through movement. Music schools throughout the world have been teaching young children with the method developed by Shinichi Suzuki which begins by emphasizing learning by ear rather than by printed music. All of these educators believed, as I do, that music is within us and that by learning without the printed page, we can create connections that allow us to develop our natural instinct for how music is organized, in notes and rhythms and chords and more. Our musical notation system is really just a code that we use to transmit and share musical ideas between composer and performer. The actual music doesn’t live there. Please understand; I’m not suggesting that we should all learn exclusively by ear. My meaning is that when we become so accustomed to using the page as our only path into the music, when we sublimate our instinctive musical understanding to deciphering the dots on the staff, we make playing harder. In short, we ignore the very innate connection that brought us to music and to the harp in the first place. Today we are going to explore some very fundamental rhythm concepts through this lens, focusing on the experience first, then the notation, rather than the other way around. I promise I won’t ask you to try playing by ear or to memorize everything or to light candles and repeat affirmations. What I want to do is to give you some very simple ways to change how you think about rhythm. We’ll do a couple of small experiments that I designed to help relieve any confusion or uncertainty you have about basic rhythmic concepts. Even if you feel totally confident about your skill in deciphering and playing complex rhythms, these little drills will help you reconnect to what is truly important about the rhythmic element of our playing. Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: Get more rhythmic confidence with our April Seminar, “Rhythm Makeover.” ! Join the Live Monday Warm-Ups in the . Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you 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-202
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/35925655
info_outline
Are You Practicing Enough? - PHH 201
03/24/2025
Are You Practicing Enough? - PHH 201
Here’s a question we’ve probably all wondered about at some point: am I practicing enough? As a teacher, I can tell you that my experience has demonstrated that if a harpist - and this includes me - has to ask the question, the answer is probably no, you’re not practicing enough. But of course, the real answer is likely a little more complicated. It depends on what you’re trying to do. On the light end of the practice spectrum, if you’re just trying to keep the rust off either your fingers or your pieces, you probably only need a few minutes each day. On the other end, if your ambition is to learn a piece or stretch your technique or develop a skill, you are going to need more time. I know it would be helpful to know exactly how much time you’re going to need, but coming up with a number would just be guessing. Even so, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some factors that can guide you that will keep you from overworking yourself or underutilizing your time. Simply put, your goal is to practice enough to make progress, but not so much that you actually sabotage your efforts. Today I’ll tell you what this means and how I think you can find the right amount of practice time for you. I’ve talked about practice time with you before on the podcast. In the first show of this year, 2025, I shared an acronym to help you remember what to include in your practice. That acronym spelled the word “practice” and the letters stood for Play, Review, Aspire, Create, Technique, I, Connect and Enjoy, That’s episode 190, and I will link to it in today’s show notes. In episode 148, I taught you about practice bursts, short 15 minute chunks of time that you could use to keep on track when your schedule won’t allow you a longer practice session. I will link to that episode in the show notes too. But today, we’re taking a different approach. We’re going to look at why we practice, how our practice can help us maintain the status quo, or help us achieve a goal or help us stretch our skills and grow. We’ll talk about time and how we need to manage it and how to truly enjoy the time we spend at the harp. Because that’s what harp happiness is all about. Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: . Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you 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-201
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/35829850
info_outline
Small Steps to Break Through and Grow - PHH 200
03/17/2025
Small Steps to Break Through and Grow - PHH 200
How do you measure something that is unmeasurable? How do you quantify something that can’t be contained or counted? How do you assess something that is completely subjective? You might think you can’t, but yet, that’s what we attempt to do every day in our practice. We try to gauge our progress. We try to determine exactly when a piece is “finished.” Exact measurements aren’t possible in music. We can’t time our progress. “This piece will take exactly 37 days to learn to the degree of polish that I personally want.” If only we could have that degree of certainty, the whole practice thing would be so much easier. I realize I am guilty of perpetuating this unreality. I often use notional percentages to represent stages of “finish” for a piece. For instance, I’ll call a piece 80% done if I can play most of the notes correctly most of the time at a tempo that’s at least 80% of my goal tempo. It’s hardly scientific, but it gives me and my students a way to judge where we are on our journey with a piece. So what about you? Do you know where you are with that piece you’re trying to finish? Are you at that 80% mark? If so, that’s great, because you’re almost there. By the way, I don’t believe in 100%; perfection is not a practical goal. Instead, 90-95% is what I would call finished. If you’re playing at Carnegie Hall, that’s not good enough, but it should do for just about everywhere else. Or maybe this is what you’ve experienced: you get your piece to 80% without much trouble, but then it gets stuck there. It just won’t get over that last hump to the 90% mark. That hump - and how to get over it - is what I’d like to talk about with you today. I want to talk about the factors that contribute to progress and to growth, as well as how to find the way to close that gap between where your piece is now and where you want it to be. We can’t exactly create “progress by the numbers,” but we can find the steps that will pull you out of the place you’re stuck and move you forward. Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you 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-200
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/35587950
info_outline
Making Music Sing: A Phrasing Primer for Harpists - PHH 199
03/10/2025
Making Music Sing: A Phrasing Primer for Harpists - PHH 199
I’ve been playing concerts with my flutist friend Joan Sparks for more decades than I care to admit. Our work together has included concerts, being Artists in Residence at schools and retirement communities, producing our own concert series, recording multiple CDs (actually even a couple of cassette tape recordings back in the day) and commissioning some significant works for the flute and harp concert repertoire. In fact, one of those works turned into an actual question on the TV show ”Jeopardy.” I’ll tell you that story at the end of the podcast. Of course, our collaboration hasn’t all been about work. We don’t travel as much now for concerts as we used to, but we did a lot of traveling earlier in our career and naturally we are very close friends. In that time, I also learned a lot about the flute. One of the biggest revelations I had was listening to Joan practice her long tones. Now this won’t surprise any of you who have played melody line instruments, but as a harpist with some years of piano lessons in my youth, long tones were practically a new concept. On the harp, we don’t hold a note. We simply play it and it goes effortlessly into the ether. No need to practice long tones. But this also means that we have no control over a note once we’ve played it. We can’t make it crescendo or decrescendo. We can’t add vibrato to intensify it. We can’t create a true legato, where one note connects seamlessly to the next. I think this is partly why we harpists tend not to pay enough attention to phrasing. Yet, phrasing is the breath of the piece. It’s the living component of the melody. It’s what makes the song sing and the piece flow. So today’s podcast is essentially a guide to phrasing for harpists. We’ll talk about everything from what a phrase is and how to identify it, to how to practice it so your melodies can sing. If you’ve been wondering how to get that “flow factor” into your playing, this will be important information for you, so stay tuned. Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you you will have access to their transcripts of each episode? LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here:
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/35587890
info_outline
Etudes: What You Never Knew They Could Do For You - PHH 198
03/03/2025
Etudes: What You Never Knew They Could Do For You - PHH 198
Fact number one: harp technique is hard. That’s a given. Making our fingers steady, stable and strong enough to play in mid-air, defying gravity with every pluck, is very challenging. That’s a fact. Fact number two: our technique is a major factor in our playing. It enables us to play the music we want to play. Or it limits us. If our fingers can’t play it, we can’t play it. It’s that simple. Fact number three: If you feel like your technique is holding you back, there are ways to fix that. And today I want to suggest two ways you might not have explored. These are two ways to use etudes and I think you will find that what we’re talking about today is not the usual etude practice. I often talk about etudes as the missing link between the exercise drills that we do and the music we play. They provide a way to use a single technical skill like a specific fingering pattern in a musical context that is not as complicated as a regular repertoire piece. Practicing etudes in this way allows you to add expression, rhythm and other musical elements that aren’t usually present in finger drills to the skill you’ve been practicing, but without all the challenges that show up in a “real” piece. This doesn’t mean that etudes are easy, not by any means, But they do provide a way to step up a little more gradually to more intricate music. You practice your arpeggio exercise, then you practice an etude that uses those same arpeggios. Then you’re ready to tackle the piece that has those arpeggios in it. But that’s not the way I’m looking at etudes today. Today, I want to tell you about two different ways to use etudes that will give you additional benefits, benefits like playing with more speed, more flow and helping you learn music faster. If you’re the kind of harpist who loves etudes, you’re going to absolutely love these ideas. And if you’ve been lukewarm at best about etudes, you might find yourself dusting off that etude book, because now you’ll understand why etudes have been part of every musician’s studies for hundreds of years. Simply because they work! Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: . . Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected] LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-198
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/35495400
info_outline
Here’s Your Sign: How to Tell if You’re Making Progress - PHH 197
02/24/2025
Here’s Your Sign: How to Tell if You’re Making Progress - PHH 197
The day this podcast episode is released, we will be living Day 55 of this year 2025. According to the calendar, we’ve already had 55 days this year to get things done, to grow, to accomplish. We’ve had 55 days to play the harp. If you set goals at the beginning of the year, this is a good time to check in on them. Are you where you thought you’d be? Are you ahead of the game, checking things off your list and moving on to your next steps? If you are, here’s a huge high five from me. That’s the way to create harp happiness. Today we are going to revisit your goals. We’ll look at how far you’ve come, confirm your direction and realign your course if necessary. We will focus on the progress you’ve been making and where your next steps may be. But if you haven’t seen the progress you had hoped for or expected, no worries. Progress is tricky to measure and sometimes hard to spot, even when it’s happening. When you’re walking the path, you can’t always tell how far you’ve come or how far you still have to go, and that can be unsettling or even frustrating. We’re talking today about how to create progress and, more importantly, how to measure it. I’ll share the three things I think are absolutely necessary for you to make progress, and I’ll give you some ideas for progress markers you can use to make sure you’re moving in the right direction. I want you to keep this in mind too: sometimes all you need is a fresh look at where you want to go and what you need to do to get there. It is often that simple. And I think that’s what our time together today will help you do, find those simple next right steps to move you and your harp playing forward. Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: Work with a Harp Mastery® Certified Coach in our new . Learn my new “Variations on Bendemeer’s Stream” in our . Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected] LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-197
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/35389595
info_outline
What to Do When Your Music is Boring You - PHH 196
02/17/2025
What to Do When Your Music is Boring You - PHH 196
They say that familiarity breeds contempt. Unfortunately, familiarity also breeds secure and confident music. We want to play our music well, and so we need to know it inside and out. That takes time. Learning music also takes time. And the longer we take to learn our music, the harder it can be to stay interested in it. No matter how much we love a piece of music, it is possible to get bored with it. Also, there are times when we are required to learn a piece that we don’t really like, perhaps for a performance or an exam. Practicing a piece we don’t like can feel like torture. I believe there is no upside to playing or practicing a piece you are bored with. If you’re trying to learn it, your practice won’t be focused; your heart won’t be in it. If you’re performing it, your lack of interest in the piece will communicate itself to the listener. It might be a flawless performance but it won’t have you - your personality, your energy - in it, and those are the things that bring a performance to life. This is true not only for concert performances; this is true for every performance, whether it’s a video for Facebook or playing in church or playing for friends. If you are bored with the piece you’re playing, you are, in effect, cheating your listeners. So I want to start by saying right now that you can choose to stop playing any piece that bores you. You have the power to choose; you could even say you have the obligation to choose. You owe it to yourself not to spend your time on something that doesn’t interest you, and you owe it to a potential listener not to present something that you don’t care about. But maybe you don’t want to just put the piece aside, or maybe you can’t. That’s a situation worth investigating. When is it worth persisting with a piece that you don’t like or has become boring to you? When should you just put it away? And if you decide to persist, what can you do to make the piece interesting to you or to at least to help you endure practicing it? I have some valuable ideas to share with you today. Even if you haven’t run across a piece that bores you - and maybe we should say “haven’t yet” - you can use these ideas to keep that musical love light burning. Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-196
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/35119225
info_outline
Working From Both Sides: Arpeggio Skills in Context - PHH 195
02/10/2025
Working From Both Sides: Arpeggio Skills in Context - PHH 195
When I was a kid, even before I had started harp lessons, I used to go to summer camp in the mountains. I grew up in the Philadelphia area, and the closest mountains to us were the Pocono Mountains. These aren’t mountains by Rocky Mountain standards, not nearly as high, peaked or impressive, but they are beautifully wooded and green, with rivers and lakes. In order to get to summer camp, we had to drive through the Lehigh Tunnel which fascinated me. Driving through an actual mountain was a little scary. Of course, the scariness was part of why it was my favorite part of the trip. Tunnels are truly an engineering miracle, in my opinion, especially considering that tunnels can be drilled from both sides to meet - if the calculations are correct - in the middle. The earliest known example of a tunnel that was dug from both sides is the Tunnel of Eupalinos, in the Greek isles, constructed in the 6th century BCE. WIth pickaxes, chisels, hammers and shovels, two teams dug through Mount Kastro from both sides and managed to meet in the middle. The tunnel has some zigs and zags, but the fact that they actually met and broke through is a testament to their engineering prowess. Why is this relevant for us today? Because we’re going to approach the technical requirements of our music from the other side of the mountain. I know you’ve heard me talk about the importance of doing your technique work daily. And naturally, our pieces require our technique to be used in very specific ways. These are the two sides of our mountain: ongoing technical development and piece-specific technical demands. We want them to meet in the middle, where the music is. Today we are going to focus on arpeggios and three different ways arpeggios are used in our music. These aren’t the only ways arpeggios are used, of course, but these are common enough that they are worth our time and attention. We’ll look at these technique challenges and how to meet them from both sides, with exercises that will help you build the necessary skill and with the understanding of the underlying principles that will help you develop your technique for that particular musical instance. It’s all about skills in context today. Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: Books mentioned in today’s show: Grossi, Method for the Harp: p. 129, no. 24; p.120, no. 14; p. 108, no. 2. Friou, Exercises for Agility and Speed: p. 44; p. 23; pp. 33-37. Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected] LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-195
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/35110965
info_outline
Everyday Opportunities to Grow and Discover - PHH 194
02/03/2025
Everyday Opportunities to Grow and Discover - PHH 194
When my husband and I moved into our new house four years ago, we were moving from a very small house that was part of our business in the mountains to a nice, roomy house in a neighborhood. When we moved to the mountains, we had too much furniture to fit in the little house; for instance, we had dining room furniture but the house had no dining room. We had to put the furniture that wouldn’t fit in storage. When we moved to the bigger house, though, we were able to bring it all out again. It was a little like Christmas or at least meeting up with old friends. But there were some spaces in the new house that needed furniture that we didn’t have, and one of the things we decided we would like to get was a desk, specifically, a desk with pigeon holes for sorting papers and a lid that closed, so we didn’t have to look at those papers all the time. Pigeonholes are great for organizing papers or mail or stamps or paperclips. They keep everything in their proper place. They keep the right things in, and the wrong things out, which is precisely why they are so damaging to our harp life. I can hear the screeching of your mental brakes from here. “What? How did we get from a desk to harp playing?” I’ll tell you how. It’s the pigeonholes. Most of us harpists aren’t aware of the pigeonholing we do with our playing. Our warm-ups, exercises and etudes stay neatly in their respective pigeonholes, as do each of the pieces we’re practicing. We may see the intersections but we don’t exploit them. We also try to put our learning in those little boxes, labeling our pieces and even ourselves as harpists by a skill level. Who can tell you that you are an intermediate player or an advanced beginner or a beginner advanced player? There isn’t even any clear definition of what any of those terms mean, and no harpist fits completely into any one of them. We all have individual strengths and weaknesses that make our “level” unique to us and no one else. The worst result of pigeonholing, I think, is that it shuts the door on opportunity. When we choose a label for ourselves as a harpist, we overlook possibilities for growth and for pleasure in our playing. So today, I’d like to reveal to you some opportunities you may be missing. I’d like to show you some different ways to think about your playing and about yourself as a harpist, ones I hope will help you find more joy in your harp journey. By the way, my husband and I did get our pigeonhole desk, and while the pigeonholes are organized, the smartest thing we did was to get a desk with a lid that we can close. There’s a lot going on in that desk! Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected] LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-194
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/35110925
info_outline
Making Connections: Harpist Composer Sophia Dussek - PHH 193
01/27/2025
Making Connections: Harpist Composer Sophia Dussek - PHH 193
Today’s episode focuses on the music of harpist, singer and composer Sophia Dussek. It is partly music history, partly harp history and partly harp technique. But it’s really about connection. I want to help you feel a connection to our roots, to some of the musical and harp traditions that aren’t merely history, but are part of the fabric of our daily harp playing. There’s an African proverb that says,”Walk like you have 3000 ancestors walking behind you.” We harpists so often feel that we’re all alone on our journey. The truth is that we are only the newest leaves on a tree with many other branches full of other leaves, a tree whose roots were formed long ago. Every time we play, we are continuing the traditions of those harpists, so it makes sense to learn a little bit about them. The things we learn about our roots can help us connect to the music we are learning today in a deeper way. That’s why I chose “connection” as the fifth of the five growth areas I identified in my book, Kaleidoscope Practice: Focus, Finish and Play the Way You’ve Always Wanted. When you take time, even occasionally, to enrich and enlarge your musical experience that is apart from your playing, you bring more understanding and dimension to everything you play. And in today’s podcast, I will help you make those connections between the music of 200 years ago and the music that you’re playing now. So today our musical “way back machine” will take us to the turn of the nineteenth century when harp playing had yet to be eclipsed in the drawing room by the piano. Picture any screen adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice” you’ve ever seen, and you will have the right atmosphere. In fact, our heroine for today, Sophia Corri Dussek, was born in the same year as the author Jane Austen. So put on your best muslin frock and we’ll get going. Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: Join the Our is available. Find out more about my Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected] LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-193
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/35019200
info_outline
What a Harp Newbie Needs to Know (and the rest of us need to remember) - PHH 192
01/20/2025
What a Harp Newbie Needs to Know (and the rest of us need to remember) - PHH 192
Do you remember when you were a harp newbie? Maybe you still are, or maybe you’ve been playing for a long time and the time you were a beginner is a distant memory. That’s me, of course, I was a harp newbie a very long time ago. However, I can remember clearly the excitement I felt in my early days of harp playing. You may have heard my harp story, but here’s the short version in case you don’t remember: Apparently, I heard the harp on the radio when I was two years old, asked my mother what it was, and told her that was what I wanted to do. I don’t remember that part, but I do remember my first harp. My parents had gotten some very good advice and started me with piano lessons when I was four, with the understanding that I could start harp lessons when I was eight years old, if I still wanted to play the harp by then. So - no surprise - when I was eight I got my first harp, a Lyon Healy Troubadour. I had a very high stool to sit on too. That was the beginning for me of a very long love affair with the harp. That’s not to say it hasn’t had its ups and downs, but I wouldn’t trade any moment of it. In the decades of harp teaching that I have done, I have seen many students start their harp studies with that same love of the harp and a passion for learning how to play. Some of them maintain that energy, and some do not, not because they’re doing anything wrong, but often they find that learning the harp just isn’t for them. If you’re just starting your harp journey, I’d like to offer you my thoughts on the most important things you can do to speed your harp journey, to maintain your enthusiasm and to find even more harp happiness along the way. If you’re not a harp newbie, I think you may find these things helpful for you, too. These are basics that we tend to lose sight of when the music gets more complicated and we involve ourselves in the details of playing. So don’t stop listening; this may be confirmation that you’re on the right path, or it may be the refresh you need to get you to that next level. I had a lot of fun preparing this show, boiling down the myriad details of playing the harp to just four key concepts that are powerful enough to make big changes for you. Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: Watch for our February seminar series coming soon! Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-192
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/34897975
info_outline
The Technique Triangle: Fingers, Flow and Faith - PHH 191
01/13/2025
The Technique Triangle: Fingers, Flow and Faith - PHH 191
What do fingers, flow and faith have to do with each other? Absolutely everything. The three things are totally interdependent. You can think of them as three corners of a triangle, each corner being connected to each of the other corners. And, just like the legs of a three-legged stool, all three support your playing. I’m guessing you haven’t thought of these three elements together before, or how together they form the core of your playing, so I’ll give you a quick sketch of what we’re going to talk about today. Also, I should be clear that we’re not talking about religious faith on the podcast; we’re talking about trusting yourself. The idea is this: your technique, your fingers, produce flow and give you faith or confidence in your playing. You have to have faith in your fingers doing what you have trained them to do, because they really don’t need you to micromanage them. And you have to have faith that the flow of the piece is what you need to communicate the music. And focusing on flow frees your fingers and gives you faith in your expression of the piece. I know that short explanation probably raises more questions than it answers and that’s what the rest of this show is all about, answering those questions. My hope is that by the end of this episode, you’ll have a new perspective on how your technique could be serving you better, how focusing on flow can make your music come together faster and how faith in the process will free you to get to the music (and out of the slow practice) a little faster. Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: . Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-191
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/34824865
info_outline
Transforming Your Practice in 2025 - PHH 190
01/06/2025
Transforming Your Practice in 2025 - PHH 190
Happy New Year! I’m excited about 2025. I’m excited about all the harp happiness that you and I can add to the world together. I’m excited about the harp goals that I am putting in place for myself this year. And I’m extra excited about the opportunity to talk with you about your goals today. We aren’t actually going to be talking about goals as much as we will be talking about the most important step you will take toward achieving them. Of course, there are a lot of things that are important to the success of your harp goals: your motivation, your time, your choice of goals, whether or not you are working on your goals alone or with the support of a teacher or coach. But perhaps the single factor that is most important to accomplishing any type of harp goal is this: your practice. Without practice, your harp goal is just an idea. Practice is the engine that drives your goal. Whether you want to improve your technique, develop a repertoire, play a concert, learn to improvise, speed up your fingers, or anything else, you can’t do it unless you practice. Your practice makes whatever you want to do with your harp playing possible. Without practice, you may be on the right track, but you aren’t going anywhere. That’s why I chose to make the first podcast of 2025 about transforming your practice. Today I want to give you some different ideas about practice that I hope will help you find new direction, new energy, new purpose and more fun in your practice this year. And not only this year, but starting today. After all, isn’t fun a big part of what playing the harp should be? I think so! Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: Focus your 2025 harp goals with our . Activate your 2025 harp goals with me at our . Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected] LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-190
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/34730265
info_outline
Multiply Your Growth in 2025 - 5 Key Factors - PHH 189
12/30/2024
Multiply Your Growth in 2025 - 5 Key Factors - PHH 189
We are in the final days of 2024, and I, for one, am looking forward to the new year. Every year, as December draws to a close, I am intrigued by the mysterious possibilities that may lie ahead. What opportunities will I discover? What challenges will I need to overcome? Who will I get to meet or know better this year? I am always excited to start the new year, and I hope you are too. I’m also setting goals for the new year, planning new projects and creating new ways to grow, not just for the harpists in our various Harp Mastery® programs but for myself as well. I have so many ideas that it’s hard to choose which are the key ones to focus on, but over the years I have found that limiting myself to a few goals is critical. If I have too many goals or plans, none of them get the focus they need. On the other hand, if I don’t plan at all, things tend to drift, and I don’t make any real progress. But once I choose my goals, I need to figure out how to accomplish them. I have a sort of checklist that I like to use as I set my goals. It consists of five factors that I have found to be absolutely vital to achieving any of my goals. I call these my multipliers, because I know that whatever goal I set, my progress will be steadier and faster when these five are in place. Like those sneakers that were around when I was a kid, they help me run faster and jump higher. And they can do the same for you. By the way, we’ll be talking about these multipliers in harp terms, but I’ll show you how to apply them to any other goal too. What works for the harp, works for life! Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: . . Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected] LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-189
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/34637550
info_outline
My 2024 Holiday Harp Music Mix - Just For You - PHH 188
12/23/2024
My 2024 Holiday Harp Music Mix - Just For You - PHH 188
A special holiday music mix just for podcast listeners! Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming, arranged by Anne Sullivan I Wonder as I Wander, arranged by Anne Sullivan Ave Maria, by Franz Schubert, arranged by Anne Sullivan Sinfonia, from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, arranged by Anne Sullivan Slumber Sweet, a medley of Christmas lullabies arranged by Scott Lavender In Dulci Jubilo, arranged by Anne Sullivan All harp solo selections are from my Break Forth CD.Flute and harp selections are from the SPARX Christmas Echoes CD.All CDs are available for digital download Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: Listen to our featuring music by Anne Sullivan and other harpist performers. Find some great holiday sheet music or a CD . Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-188
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/34568650
info_outline
3 Simple Steps Toward Realizing Your Dream - PHH 187
12/16/2024
3 Simple Steps Toward Realizing Your Dream - PHH 187
As you probably know, one of the reasons I started Harp Mastery® back in 2012 was because of the number of adult harp students I was meeting who were frustrated by their lack of progress. Although these harpists were at different stages and interested in varying kinds of music, what they had in common was an incredibly strong desire to play the harp, a desire that kept them practicing despite the challenges they were encountering. Although I hadn’t come up with the term “harp happiness” yet, I knew that I had to help these harpists find a path that would give them the joy and satisfaction they were looking for in their harp playing. But years before that, I had already discovered something that shocked me about adult harp students. I had started a class for beginning harpists of any age - the classes usually had teenagers and adults - and I became intrigued by the reasons these students wanted to play the harp. Many of the adults had wanted to play the harp since they were young and were finally able to pursue their dream. I’m embarrassed to admit this, but it had not really occurred to me before that there were so many people who had always wanted to play the harp but, for one reason or another, hadn’t been able to. There was the woman who told her parents she wanted to play the harp, and they bought her a clarinet. Another who wanted to learn the harp in high school, but her high school only offered harp lessons to one student every other year, and she was in the wrong year. A third was told by her parents that a harp was simply out of the question and she could either play the piano they already had or not play music at all. Not all the stories were like this, but there were enough, in fact, too many. As an aside, I will say that there’s another very happy story connected to this class and I’ll share that with you at the end of the episode. What’s important about these stories is that for these people, the dream of playing the harp never went away. Life took them away from the harp, but their desire to play was never extinguished. We all have dreams or bucket lists, things we want to do but feel unable to do now. As a harpist, maybe there is a special piece you want to learn, a place you want to play. Maybe you want to develop a repertoire or learn how to serve others with the harp. What I want to talk to you about today is how to start making those harp dreams happen. Your dreams shouldn’t be gathering dust on a shelf. And it’s no use telling yourself that those dreams don’t really matter, because I can tell you, from my experience with those harp students in my first class and hundreds more that I have worked with since then, your dreams do matter, and they don’t go away. We’re quickly coming up on a new year. Imagine how exciting this year could be for you if you were able to make your dreams into your reality. It’s not as hard as you think. Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-187
/episode/index/show/harp-happiness/id/34455490