What is the spirit of an professional musician? And do you have to be one to have one?

image The usual definition of a professional musician is a person who gets paid for playing music. Simple, and true enough, as far as it goes. But most professional musicians would define it much more broadly.

Professional musicians know it’s not just about the money, although that’s certainly...

Is your sightreading stuck in slow gear?

When I was growing up, I used to love riding the bumper cars at the amusement park. You remember those tiny little cars where you actually try to crash into everyone else and there are no rules? My brother and I would zoom around the rink, aiming for each other, but usually one of us would have a faster car than the other. It was so frustrating to have...

Has your practice lost momentum? Try learning ABOUT your piece. You might just find a new perspective and new energy.

Does this scenario sound familiar? You have a new piece on your music stand and you feel like a race car, revving up for a lightning fast start. Ready, set GO! You dig into the notes, fingering, pedals. You are excited about playing this piece.

Starting a new piece is fun and...

What do you think of when you think of Claude Debussy’s music? Is it the sweeping surge and play of the waves of La Mer? The clarity of his piano preludes? The many moods and colors his music can evoke?

I love playing Debussy’s music. It challenges me to be my most expressive, and at the same time, use my...

In the last post, I offered some ways for busy professional harpists to create momentum in the new year in their playing and in their business.

Today I would like to suggest some similar momentum-creating ideas for adult students or non-professionals or teachers of the same.

I have a number of adult students, and I love teaching them. They are motivated, focused on what they want to do and hard...

If you are one of those busy harpists who played everywhere during the holiday season, you may seriously need a break. Slow down if you need to, but don’t stop. This is the time to create momentum to keep your business thriving and those phone calls and emails coming.

Momentum is a funny thing. It is motion and direction. It seems elusive, but it is easy to create. All you have to do is...

Do your thumbs make you crazy?

Thumbs are wonderful digits to have, but trying to make them behave when you play the harp can be a frustrating experience. They don’t sound the same as the other fingers and they don’t move the same way. The truth is, it takes a lot of care and attention to have your thumbs blend in with the rest of your fingers.

Before you can really try to fix your...

The New Year is the time for setting goals and making plans. But without making your goals part of a balanced life plan, you are likely to miss your mark. One of the keys to setting goals you can actually accomplish is to make them part of a larger picture of your life. After all, your life has many facets and music is just one of them.

The motivational speaker and writer Zig Ziglar talked...

What did you do this year? Now is a great time to take stock of what you accomplished in the past year, so you can make new goals for the new year.

As the New Year approaches, we turn our thoughts to resolutions and goals. I start thinking about my goals around Thanksgiving, because before I can make any goals for next year, I need to take stock of the year I’m finishing. What did I do,...

Need to finish up your shopping in a hurry? Try these 10 easy stocking stuffers for the musician on your list.

I’m not one of those people who shops for Christmas in August. Occasionally, I will find the perfect Christmas gift in the summer. But I really prefer to leave my shopping until November and December, when it helps with my holiday mood.

The difficulty with this is that I really...