At Harpmastery Day in June, my friend and colleague Candace Lark and I co-presented a workshop on “Practice Strategies for Results, Growth and Pleasure.” Here are some notes from the first part of that workshop.

Practicing is difficult. It requires concentration, discipline and time.

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    ©iStockphoto.com/dja65

Performance injuries are every musician’s greatest fear. Our playing is so intrinsic to our being that just thinking about having to stop playing due to an injury can cause nightmares. Even worse is the sense that when you are injured, your colleagues, although...

Posture is arguably the most important physical factor in playing any instrument. It is the first thing our teachers teach us and unfortunately often something we forget to check as the years of lessons roll by. Our posture is the foundation for our technique and our best defense against fatigue and injuries. Whatever instrument you play, if you understand

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Fear is a part of everything we do. And in music performance we confront our fears daily. Unfortunately, sometimes it can become an obstacle that seems to big to overcome.

You don’t need to let fear hold you back. There are clear strategies for battling various specific fears. But whatever you’re afraid of, there are some basic steps to take to arm yourself for the fight.

1. Accept...

Old School. Back in the day. Whatever you call it, I’m old enough to have been there. And a recent Facebook post by a former student brought home to me some of the important changes that I have seen in the harp world.

Her post was this photo with the comment “Well that’s a new one.” But it’s not; it’s an old one. She had never seen a patched string before....

 ©iStockphoto.com/Luis Carlos Torres

Perhaps you are a fan of Evernote, as I am. I use it for everything. It’s my notepad and my filing cabinet, and I can access my files from anywhere.

In case you don’t know Evernote, here’s a quick overview. It is a filing system in the cloud. You can keep your files in Evernote and they sync seamlessly...

Saturday, June 22 I will be giving workshops at “Lark Music Presents Anne Sullivan’s Harp Mastery.” I am very excited about this first-time ever event. I will be able to share some of the valuable things I learned from my teachers and from my own years of teaching privately and at the Curtis Institute of Music. And I am especially looking forward to meeting many of you and...

©iStockphoto.com/Kameel

I love practicing in the summer. I always feel motivated, relaxed and inspired.

It all started the first year I went to harp camp in Camden, Maine. I had never had a daily schedule that was completely my own. I could spend the day however I chose, and the most important thing only my daily agenda was practicing and lots of...

We all have them from time to time, an epic fail in a performance. Whether it’s a memory slip you can’t recover from or a glaring error that cuts to the core, you wish that the floor would open up and swallow you whole. The first installment of this two-part blog post showed you how to move forward and get your groove back if this should happen to you. This second part will show you...

          ©iStockphoto.com/Joan Kimball

We all have them from time to time, an epic fail in a performance. Whether it’s a memory slip you can’t recover from or a glaring error that cuts us to the core, you wish that the floor would open up and swallow you whole. This first installment of a two-part blog post will show...