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Why the Harp for Christmas?

Dec 19, 2016

What is it about harps and the Christmas holidays?

It’s certainly a busy time for harpists. (Okay – that’s a huge understatement. This can be an insane time of year for a harpist.) Harpists of all ages and abilities are in high demand. Christmas and harps just seem to go together.

Carolers sing of “angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold.” And...

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Making Music Practice Musical Practice

Dec 11, 2016

Do you just practice your music, or is your practice musical as well? Does your practice feel like just a jumble of notes?

I couldn’t begin to estimate the number of times I have told a student, “Good. Now play it musically.”

In my mind, my words are reminding the student that musical expression needs to be a constant consideration, a regular part of learning music.

But...

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Transitions: Working in the Spaces

Oct 16, 2016

 

transitions

Transitions make the difference.

In life, we admire those who appear to glide easily from one phase of life to the next.

In music, we applaud artists whose seamless performances create a musical momentum that carries us along its path.

How we handle the transitions we face is the difference between success and stress, flying through the notes or flubbing them.

Whether we are...

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You (Yes, YOU!) Can Read Music Better!

Sep 25, 2016

Yes, YOU can read music better – faster, more easily and fluently – whether you’re already an accomplished musician or just beginning your musical journey.

Why am I so certain? Because of what I learned in my 19 years of teaching that subject exactly at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music.

Having been a student at Curtis myself, I understood the students I was teaching....

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Are You Talented Enough?

Sep 18, 2016

The Young Mozart

“You’re SO talented!”

I always appreciate the thought behind the compliment but it chafes a little too, as if talent alone was responsible for the quality of my performance. My performance went well because, like all musicians, I practiced properly and prepared thoroughly. In fact, talent played only a minimal role. Most of my success was due to plain hard...

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Answers to Your FAQs

Jun 12, 2016

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,...

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Is it a Mistake or a Symptom?

May 30, 2016

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...

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Everyday Practice Mistakes: Change Them Today!

May 08, 2016

Is there anything you should change about your practice?

Our daily practice is our path to progress. It's how we develop mastery of our instrument and increase our understanding of music in general.

Shinichi Suzuki's famous quote,"Practice only on the days you eat," illustrates so vividly the importance of making practice a daily routine.

But anything we do every day can become so routine that...

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How to Discover Your Musical Signature

May 01, 2016

What is your musical signature? Maybe you've never given it any thought, but I can assure you that you have one. So how do you find it, or refine, or even define it?

Handwritten signatures are special. I remember practicing mine when I was a teenager, mostly when I was doodling during class. What did I want it to look like? I experimented with slanting my letters to the right and to the left,...

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5 Things Your Desert Island Composer Can Teach You

Apr 18, 2016

If you were stranded on a desert island and could have with you the music of only one composer, whose music would you pick?

It’s an old question, and one I almost always find difficult to answer. I love so much music, it is almost impossible to narrow my choices to one. But inevitably, my thoughts do circle back around to one composer: Johann Sebastian Bach.

On a recent trip to Germany, I...

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