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It’s October, the time of year when upcoming college auditions are weighing heavily on the hearts of music students. It’s a stressful time with so many questions that seem impossible to answer and so much preparation to be done. I routinely give my students four points to remember to guide them through these rough waters with the least amount of turmoi...

As the weeks rush toward the busy holiday season, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and stressed out. So many performances, so much music to learn, so little time to relax. At times like this it’s easy to feel…well, grumpy.

But feeling grumpy does not help you make beautiful music.

So before the grumpiness takes hold, take action. Follow these seven steps, and enjoy the busy times!

First, a couple ...

Here’s a challenge Sherlock Holmes would enjoy:

Take the members of a professional orchestra. Put them in civilian clothes, no tails or black gowns. Line them up. Now try to guess which instrument each plays. There are the telltale calluses, marks, fingernails, etc., that you could use to identify the masters of particular instruments. But aside from those features, the stereotypical images may s...

         Franz Liszt, 1858

When is music big-R “Romantic” and when is it only little-r “romantic?”

Much harp music sounds “romantic” in the little-r sense of the word: beautiful, lush, expressive. But in musical academia, big-R “Romantic music” is something more. And since we play so much music that is little-r and big-R romantic, the topic seems worthy of a little discussion.

First, it helps...

What is your technique? Which method do you play? Which of those potentially conflicting factions do you belong to?

Like other musicians, we harpists certainly have many choices. There is French method and Russian method, Salzedo, Grandjany and more, plus equally specific folk harp methods. Do you even know which one you use? Or – horror of horrors – don’t you use any particular method?

This tec...

It’s Labor Day here in the US, a day our nation honors the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. And how do we observe it? By taking the day off, and having one last barbecue to celebrate the end of summer vacations and our return to school and work.

Today I am celebrating Labor Day by sharing with you a dozen of my favorite quotes from my sp...

Wouldn’t we all like to make our lives easier? I certainly could use help with that myself.

For me, everything is easier when making music is enjoyable, rewarding and fun, with as little hassle or stress as possible. Unfortunately the stress and the music seem to be inseparable. Playing music provides plenty of challenges on its own, technical ones and musical ones. Then there are the logistical ...

The audience is hushed; the lights are dimmed. The performer walks out on stage, trying to make her stride confident and hoping that the confidence will show up in her playing as well. Will the audience like what I play? Will they be disappointed? Will they like me?

Over my years of teaching I have helped countless harpists prepare for performance. Some of the performances have been consequential...

Here we are at the halfway point in the year. As we begin the second half of 2014, we can seize this opportunity to reevaluate, redirect or recommit to our goals. Many of us have long since forgotten or abandoned our New Year’s resolutions. In some cases, our plans have changed and made our resolutions irrelevant. Some of us have given up, and the more determined ones among us have made real progr...

Not sure what Baroque music is exactly? Uncertain about how to approach it musically? Do you know the particular musical characteristics that are the essence of Baroque style? This post is not a music history lesson, but it will give you the information you need to play this kind of music with understanding and style.

First, the facts

I promised this wouldn’t be a history lesson, but some basic...