HARP MUSIC for YOU!

Here are some thoughts and tips about practicing I’d like to share to harp students who want to improve ways of playing this wonderful instrument. Often we take for granted the time we spend in our studio trying hard to learn our music.

Well in my experience I have realized that the word »hard« it is to avoid. And another fact: It is not only the quantity of time you spend practicing but the quality of your practice routine.

Here are some tips I have discovered through out all the years by practicing the Harp. I have found that this time is very important to achieve a good performance. We all know of course that the way we prepare our selves for any performance is important to get good results.

To begin I think that the practicing time it is like a Ritual. I think that is a moment to enjoy and love as well as concentrate all our efforts to be able to have solutions for all our technical difficulties and to make the best out of the expression of the music. I Personally always have something hot to drink on my little table, air the room while i am stretching and little things, decorations to make the ritual a comfy place to be.

All this will help to relax our body and mind so this time will be very productive. It is the moment of being connected completely with the music and let our selves go to be able to express the emotions that every piece of music can give us. Isn’t this the purpose of playing an instrument? the music will help us to overcome the technical problems and not the opposite!

Even before sitting down I strongly recommend to take a few minutes to stretch our arms, back and neck. Also I think that the forward bend is important to bring more blood and oxygen to the head – this will help our concentration. At the same time relaxing our minds by breathing . Like this we will avoid tensions and physical problems that can led to panful results. We are now prepared to learn faster and more efficiently.

Taking also a few minutes of your favorites fingering exercises will help you relive some tense muscles and help to warm up a little. I sometimes warm up by playing some difficult passages very slowly so at the same time I can memorize tricky parts. I remember my wonderful teacher Judy Loman who was always saying: Practice L and S! Loud and Slow! It is this moment when we can strengthened our fingers and think about the structure and harmony of the piece.

Being aware of the body’s position all the time is crucial. The positioning of the hand is very important so is the one of the shoulders — don’t screw your back — feel comfortable.

During my song studies I usually rotate the music so I at least play the same piece every second or third day. And when I think that some piece is pretty ready to play I start to play it as I would play for someone or in public. Like that your mind gets the habit of picturing the audience. In the practice room we usually play for our selves and we forget that the main objective is to transmit the music to the audience. Once I heard: The interpreter is the bridge between the composer and the public. So it is good that we think about playing for someone while we practice. Make it also a routine.

One tip that has help me to overcome memory blanks is to play the piece with a lot of interruptions. I mean that when you stop or interrupt for a few seconds any passage you must be able to know how to continue, so you know exactly the notes and the pedals you need to be able to continue. This is a good training for the performance.

If you want to write your comments about this subject you can write me an email

Here are two very interesting books I recommend to read:

The Confident Performer By Dr. David Roland
The Inner game of Music by Barry Green