The popular thinking is that New Year’s resolutions are a waste of time and while I don’t fully agree, I understand the reason. Resolutions are usually constructed to fail. In fact, while more than 55% of people believe they will keep their resolutions, less than 10% of people (and some studies say as little as 4%) actually do.

The problem is that although we feel motivated, even excited, by the ...

By this time many of us have played the harp online for friends, family, or in more structured performances. If you have already made your internet debut, you have probably experienced some of the challenges unique to online concerts. While Zoom or any other platform may be the only way to play and hear live music safely right now, virtual concerts have a unique set of challenges that can frustrat...

Sometimes the impossible...isn’t.

In 1954 when Roger Bannister became the first person to run a mile in under four minutes, he didn’t just break all the records. He demolished an idea that had long been held to be a truth: the idea that human beings were incapable of running a mile in under four minutes. 

John Bryant, a British journalist and himself a runner, notes that runners had been s...

Music is a necessity of life for me. I’m guessing it may be for you too. Music runs through my head every waking moment, and probably when I’m sleeping. Making music and teaching music, particularly helping others enjoy their own music studies, are the activities that claim most of my time and energy.

Of course, my musical journey has been far from smooth. I have had disappointments and frustrati...

Once again, the pandemic is forcing us to shut down. Hard times like these sap our energy and our motivation. It’s difficult to feel motivated when you feel the walls closing in around you.

Yet this is the traditional time for us to make goals, to think about plans for the new year, to shed the unproductive habits and instill healthy ones. You may be wondering if this is the time to dig deeper to...

I wanted to share this comment with you because it touched me deeply. 

"My harp happiness is that Ms. Anne Sullivan works so hard to keep harpists connected and encouraged during these very difficult times, including the Facebook posts and updates and Harp Mastery tips and guides. I don't know how to tell you how much of a difference that makes to many, whether we post back or not, except to sa...

I have an entire closet filled with music. It’s organized and filed in boxes, or at least most of it is. And four of those boxes are dedicated just to etudes and exercises. 

Considering the importance of technique, those three boxes aren’t a very big proportion of my music collection, but they are filled with the wisdom and advice of literally centuries of harpists. I have exercise and etude book...

The bar line, that thin vertical line separating one measure from the next. It has several important functions but it can also be a hindrance to smooth, fluid playing.

Bar lines have been used in music since the 15th century as a simple way to visually indicate the meter of music. We know meter as a repeating pattern of strong and weak beats. ¾ time, for example, has a strong first beat (as do al...

I sit down to the piano regularly at nine-o'clock in the morning and Mesdames les Muses have learned to be on time for that rendezvous. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

In Greek mythology the nine Muses were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (the goddess of Memory) and they lived with Apollo on Mount Olympus. They were believed to be the source of all creative inspiration, particularly in the realms of...

When I send out a poll or take an informal survey of a group of harpists, I always ask about their biggest challenge. I want to know what is the biggest obstacle in their path, the one thing that prevents them from playing the harp the way they want. 

Invariably, the number one answer is music reading skills.

The complaints range from “I just can’t learn bass clef,” to, “I have to memorize every...