Practicing Harp Happiness

I love to read. Maybe you're like me, with several books in progress at once. I seem to have a book in every room that I can pick up when the fancy strikes. Plus, I always have at least one book on my Kindle and an audiobook going for when I'm in the car. I like to think I spend more time reading each day than doing anything else, but that's probably not accurate, just aspirational. 
Summer reading is always my favorite. It feels indulgent to sit outside on the deck or at the beach or under a shady tree and just read. Maybe it is actually indulgent, but it's never wasted time. And today, I'm going to share some of my summer reading with you, books that have particular interest to harpists and other musicians, or at least books I have found interesting.
When I read about music and musicians, I find I'm not just learning facts. I'm releasing myself from the "doing," from being absorbed in practice and playing and all the practicalities that go with my day to day harp life. Instead, I'm able to gain a fresh perspective, to see the musician's life or ideas about music from the outside. I discover possibilities which have gotten buried by my daily practice routine. I learn about the struggles that shaped the lives of other musicians, as well as the breakthroughs that finally led them to their music. I finish a book like that feeling inspired, thoughtful and grateful. 
So find a comfortable chair. We're going to talk about books about music and musicians I enjoyed reading. It's a little bit of a hodgepodge - some biographies, some memoirs, even a novel and an audiobook. I expect that some of these will appeal to you more than others. I found them all worth reading, but I urge you to choose the one or two that seem most intriguing to you and dive in. I've put links in the show notes to the easiest place  to find each of the books, too, so you don't have to waste a moment on the internet when you could be reading out on the deck with a glass of iced tea beside you.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: 
Harpo Speaks! by Harpo Marx on Amazon 
Henriette Renié: Living Harp by Françoise des Varennes on Amazon
Pentacle: The Story of Carlos Salzedo and the Harp by Marietta Bitter on Amazon
The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather on Amazon
Every Good Boy Does Fine by Jeremy Denk on Amazon
Beginner's Mind by Yo-Yo Ma on Audible  (US)
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Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at podcast@harpmastery.com
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LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-272

Ok - I talk about harp happiness a lot. Really a lot. That's because playing the harp has always brought me happiness. Sure, playing the harp is hard work sometimes, and I've had my share of frustration too, but for me the challenges are outweighed by the joy every time. It's the joy that keeps me going and I hope that your own harp happiness sustains and inspires you too.
I mention this because I have a special guest on today's show and she positively radiates harp happiness. Her name is Alexandra Chang, and if you haven't heard of her already, just listening to her talk about her love of music and the harp is going to make you fall in love with her. 
Alex is an electric acoustic harpist and composer and as you will hear, much of her performing is collaborative improvisation, particularly with the Rock City Falls Trio, a cross-genre ensemble. She recently completed a Jazz and Sonic Music residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity for performance and composition and premiered the work A Shared Woven Melody at the Jazz and Sonic Arts Concert as part of their 2024 Gather Listen Hear Summer Arts Festival. She was awarded the 2025 Art Connects Artist Grant. Art Connects is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts & New York State. She teaches at Rutgers University as an Associate Professor of Practice at the Arts, Culture and Media Department. She is also the co-director of Improv Spaces and runs the Improv Spaces Music Festival, based in upstate New York, with creative partner percussionist Adam Forman. 
But before I play our conversation for you, I want to preview three things she mentions that give a more complete picture of her musicianship than just the raw facts from her bio. First, she practices the pedal harp every day. Second, she always has music by Bach on her music stand. And third, she's only been playing the harp for six years. Yep, I couldn't believe it either. 
I will play a clip from one of the selections on her album at the end of our conversation. I want you to hear from her first. So without any more delay, here is my conversation with harpist Alexandra Chang.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: 
Where to find Alex:
Her website: https://www.alexchangmusic.com/

Her bandcamp link: https://alexchang.bandcamp.com/

The Topos Festival where Alex will be playing with the Rock City Falls Trio: Improv Spaces | Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC)

Improv Spaces Music Festival on Sept. 6: Improv Spaces Music Festival | Troy Savings Bank Music Hall 

Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at podcast@harpmastery.com
Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts you will have access to their transcripts of each episode?
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-271

There are lots of ways to get our music ready for the holidays. Yes, I know it's only July and we have months to prepare, but that's actually the point. You could wait until the week before your first Christmas gig in December to practice your music, and I have to say that there were times in the past that was my strategy. As you might imagine, it isn't a course of action I'd recommend. 
Or you could try the standard Christmas in July method. You learn your holiday music in the summer and then try to hang onto it until the holidays eventually come around. Granted, it's a much better plan than waiting until December, but as a preparation strategy it leaves a lot to be desired. If you've learned your music by the time summer ends, what do you do with it for the next three months?
Naturally, there are a lot of different approaches you could take, and some of those are going to feel more natural to you than others, just based on your personal practice preferences. There are external influences that might play a role as well. For instance, perhaps this is the year that you have ben asked to play Britten's Ceremony of Carols for the first time. The difficulty and scope of this piece will require a more focused approach than standard church or party holiday music. 
While I used to be fairly undisciplined in my approach to my own holiday repertoire preparation - and believe me, I paid the price for it more than once - I am unwilling to let my students suffer the same way. So I have a few "always" ground rules and a couple of "never" caveats that I try to share with them. These have their roots in my own learning the hard way. 
However, I also have a system that seems to work pretty well for most of my students. The odd thing is that I haven't really told any of them about it. We've used the system but I've never given it a name before. So here it is, making its official debut: my 5-4-4-3 plan for holiday music preparation. My students will recognize it, or at least most of it, and I hope this will organize more clearly what we have talked about already. If you haven't studied with me, I'm happy to share this with you for the first time ever.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: 
Join Compose for Christmas and get the best holiday headstart ever!

Register for the Chrysalis Music Workshop 

Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at podcast@harpmastery.com
Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts you will have access to their transcripts of each episode?
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-270

This past weekend was a big one for us in the United States. Not only were we celebrating our July 4th Independence Day as we do every year, but it was an anniversary year for us, our 250th. The parties were more festive, the fireworks more explosive, and all of the celebrations focused on freedom and independence.
I talk often about independence, but naturally I'm usually talking about Independence of our fingers or hands in our harp playing. A key focus of every harpist's technical practice is developing more independent motion of the fingers and more independent playing of the hands. We want our fingers to be able to be equally strong, capable, flexible and expressive. We want our hands to be able to work together to create the music.
But today, I'm going a slightly different direction. I want to talk not about the independence of our hands, but about the interdependence of our hands. It's not a battle where each of our hands is fighting for independence from the other, even if it feels like that physically at times. 
I think it's more to the point to consider the way our hands make music together. This goes beyond trying to figure out how one hand will do one kind of fingering while the other hand does something entirely different. This is about the role that each hand plays at any given moment in a piece of music, how each hand fits into the overall musical picture. 
So what I'd like to explore with you today is a more musical approach to our two-hand coordination, one that goes beyond the usual "hands separately, hands together" practice plan. I'd like to show you three distinct ways our right and left hands work together in a piece of music. You'll see how this could completely change the way you practice, with the result that you'll get to the expressive quality of the music more quickly and, I believe, with much less struggle. 
There is a lot of practical information that we'll cover, but remember this is really just about putting the music first, about seeing a little - just a little - beyond the notes to the bigger musical concepts. Don't think this doesn't apply to you because you're just a beginner or you only play a specific kind of music. Wherever you are in your harp journey, if you haven't learned this way of looking at music before - and I'm betting you haven't - you're going to be so glad you listened to this episode today.
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: 
Join Compose for Christmas and get the best holiday head start ever!
Register for the Chrysalis Music Workshop 
Harpmastery.com
Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at podcast@harpmastery.com
Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts you will have access to their transcripts of each episode?
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-269

In 1782, Mozart was corresponding with a fellow composer about the art of composition. Mozart made the point that the true essence of music lies not only in the notes themselves but also in the spaces between them. That thought was echoed a century later by Claude Debussy who said, "Music is the silence between the notes." 
Silence is powerful. One part of the power of silence is its ability to define the notes around it. The spaces between the notes create rhythm. Lengthening spaces create a ritardando. Shortening spaces create an accelerando. Actual silence, created by a rest in the music, causes tension that is only relieved, or possibly heightened, by the next note.
For us harpists, creating silence as we play is challenging. Our music naturally rings and resonates as each string is played. In those moments when we need to stop the sound, it becomes a physical and intentional act. We create silence on purpose. 
But what of those moments between the notes, when we want a note to sustain and to hold the tension into the next one? Do those moments need special attention? I believe they do. 
So today, I'd like to explore the two different kinds of silence we harpists have to consider: what each means and what we need to do to observe those silences with artistry and musicianship. And as we get started, here is another quote to let roll around in your mind. It's from Kate Kennedy's book, Cello: A Journey Through Silence to Sound. She writes this: "Silence is the opposite of music, but it is also its lifeblood — the breaths between the phrases, the drama, the anticipation, and the quality of the breathless hush between final note and applause."  
Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode: 
Join the Compose for Christmas Challenge

Register for the Chrysalis Music Workshop 

Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at podcast@harpmastery.com
Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts you will have access to their transcripts of each episode?
LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-268