If you are practicing for perfection, working to make a piece or an excerpt note-perfect, you may not be using your time wisely and you may be missing out on the real benefits of good practice. You may be frustrated, and even setting yourself up for failure.

A music student was telling me about his practice. He was discouraged; the things he was working on ...

I’m new to Pinterest.

It usually takes me awhile to figure out new social media sites, but Pinterest intrigues me. I love to learn about people, places and ideas. I could wade through web pages for hours looking for an elusive bit of information or possibly just exploring, looking for a serendipitous discovery.

And Pinterest is the perfect “bulletin board” for organizing and sharing some of th...

…or, You Can’t Rush the Pig

Trying to hurry through your music practice? When practicing music for a concert, or even for your weekly lesson, it is vital that you allow yourself enough preparation time.

Lately in this blog, we have discussed how to create your personal musical vision statement. This process includes setting intermediate goals as steps toward your ultimate vision, each goal with ...

©iStockphoto.com/AnsonLu

Do you have a personal musical vision statement? By turning your dreams and goals into your own musical vision, you can achieve more, enjoy productive practice time, and take more pleasure in your playing.

In part one of this two-part blog post, I explored the differences between dreams, goals and vision. Here in part two, I will help you create your own personal music...

©iStockphoto.com/hidesy

Practice with Your Brain, my Musicianship Rule #11, is all about “informing your performance.” It means bringing the best of your musical knowledge to your practice and paying attention to everything on the page. It means going beyond just playing the notes, and seeking to understand everything you are able about the piece of music you are learning.

Over the years I hav...

We have just survived the hottest July on record, and there’s no reason to expect August to be any cooler. Try these harp care tips to get you and your harp through the dog days of summer.

In the Philadelphia area where I grew up, the three H’s – hazy, hot and humid – are an almost daily constant in the summer weather forecast. And in my parents’ house, we didn’t have air conditioning. There were...

No room for a harp!

You deserve a vacation, some time off away from everything, even away from practicing the harp. But how can you make sure you don’t lose momentum when you’re not able to practice for a week or two?

Some instrumentalists have it easy. They can grab the handle on their instrument cases and go.

Not so for us harpists. If you have a little harp or a Harpsicle, you can take tha...

This past weekend we saw Michael Phelps win his 22nd Olympic medal, earning him the title “Greatest Olympian of All Time.” What does that incredible achievement mean for the other athletes who compete in these and future games? How can they or any of the rest of us ever expect to be “the greatest”?

http://youtu.be/gHFhGDWP9Fs

In sports, it is often easy to identify the great ones. The numbers te...

At some point in every music student’s life comes the moment when she must learn all the key signatures. And at some point for every teacher comes the question from that same student: “Why do I have to know them?”

There are some easy reasons that we all give our students. They may need to learn them  for an exam. Or we can truthfully tell them that key signatures...

We had another fabulous week at this year’s Harp in the Mountains Summer Festival . As always happens at camp, I was reminded of some truths about practicing, performing, teaching and leadership that I’d like to share with you.

This is the sixth year for Harp in the Mountains Summer Festival. It is held at Hemlock Acres Campgr...