Harp Stories. New Music. Encouragement.
I am always getting ideas. My brain likes to churn out ideas when I am trying to go to sleep, or as I am rehearsing, or when I am gardening. …I have learned I need those moments of deep quiet just to sit and be and wander. For me, life itself, this world and all of its oddities, bumps, and beauties is a constant source of inspiration. All you have to do is be still and observe.
When I was studying music, perfectionism was the air I breathed, a deeply ingrained cultural standard worked into the very structure of our education. There were winners, and there were losers. … A perfectionist never sees themselves as good enough, and I began to see myself as unworthy. ….When I am mindful, I try to perform with an attitude of kindness towards myself.
The minute you start gigging, you suddenly realize that a very important part of your work is talking to people. But spending many hours a day locked in a practice room does not prepare you for the human side of performance. If anything, it reinforces all our introverted impulses. Here’s a few of the things people say, and my suggestions for gracious responses.
Though it's important to learn to read music and interpret what is written on the page, for me that's just the starting point. … When I'm being creative like this, I don't critique or stop. I just go in a stream of "trying things out". I particularly listen for mistakes, because often my best ideas come out of them. Even if you don't change a note, having fun with the music means letting the song have its own personality. If it's a bouncy piece, make the rhythm dance and feel it in your body. ... If it's a scary piece, give yourself and your audience the chills! When you are playing a love song, feel those lyrics and try to phrase them as a vocalist would. Being an artist and a musical explorer does not mean tamely following the printed page. It's feeling the music inside you and not being afraid to express it.
Of course, it is the music, not the imagery, that drew me to the harp and keeps me coming back. And it is the music I want to share with others. I’m just intimidated by social media, which is so dominated by imagery that doesn’t look like me.
So I’m collecting new images, new storylines, for being a harpist past the age of fairy princess and more like the age of … what? Fairy Godmother? Mystic crone? Aging-hippie harpist?
