When you took your last vacation did you take your instrument with you?

I heard an alarming statistic the other day. According to recent research, about 41% of U.S. workers don’t use all their vacation time, and some 56% of Americans haven’t taken a vacation in the last 12 months. In other words, many of us are just too busy to take the vacation we have earned. And that...

Octaves – the interval that we harpists play perhaps more than any other. From a musical perspective, octaves add richness and depth to the music we play. But from a technical perspective, they can be surprisingly challenging to play well.

We all know the basics. Octaves are most often played with thumb and fourth finger. But there’s much more to a well-played octave than that. In...

Today, as we in the United States celebrate the founding of our country, we will remind ourselves of the freedom we enjoy, freedom that is the very core of our national heritage and our American attitude. We recall the famous words from our Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their...

What do you want to accomplish this summer? Will you just get a nice tan or will you be more ambitious?

For me, since my teen years, summer was always about projects - reading the complete works of a single author, learning to knit (that one didn't work out so well), practicing my Christmas repertoire, or maybe cleaning out the attic.

Naturally, I still went on vacation and hung out with my...

What does success mean to you - money, happiness, playing that one amazing piece of music, building your dream house? Whatever your personal definition of success, there is a path to get there, and it's not just hard work.

Think of the metaphors we use for hard work. We put our heads down, our noses to the grindstone, burn the midnight oil. We think of success as the result of grit and...

Need answers?

One reason I love teaching is being able to help students find solutions for their challenges. I should confess that I am a puzzle-fiend. I love crosswords, cryptic crosswords, sudoku, mystery stories, jigsaw puzzles, you name it, and the harder the better.

So it's only natural for me to apply that puzzle-solving addiction to my teaching. Finding the crux of s student's problem,...

Lately it's all about passion. Pursue your passion; follow your dream. Are you just going to pursue it, or do you really want to succeed?  What price are you prepared to pay for the level of success you want?

We know that big dreams require big sacrifice. We see Olympic athletes live apart from their families for months at a time to attend the best training center. They keep strict food,...

Mistakes are easy to spot. We hear a wrong note, an incorrect accidental or rhythm. We can feel it - it just wasn't right.

But is your mistake simply that - an error - or it is a symptom of a larger problem? And how would you know the difference?

Sometimes a mistake is just a random slip, in the way that sometimes a sneeze is just a random sneeze. But we know that if we start sneezing more...

There's an entire culture built around GTD: Getting Things Done.

In my experience, getting things done is less about productivity and hustle and more about planning, setting realistic expectations and preventing panic. Whether you're worried about learning music or just making it through your busy day, it is possible to make progress on the things that matter to you as long as you don't let the...

Charles Gounod

(1818-1893)

"My mother wants the Ave Maria played. Does it work on the harp?" asks the bride-to-be.

So, I play her a few bars of the famous Schubert song.

"No, that's not it," says the bride.

"Oh, you mean the other Ave Maria," and I play her a few bars. Happy bride, happy harpist.

It's the other Ave Maria, the melody that composer Charles Gounod wrote as an embellishment...