Musical problems...

"There are no musical problems, only social ones."

This quote about the delights of working in a band came to me via Pete Oxley (jazzer and bow maker). Someone gave it to him... I've lost the name!

Play the music not the instrument...

Harps are such funny little instruments and often they live within a repertoire all of their own. This is kinda cool in a way and part of what "being a harpist" is all about - you're own private magic music, only to be made by other harpists. The problem is that it leaves you isolated and without links to other musicians (except other harpists). So you have to take the harp to other musics and in doing so you can take the harp into other scenes and settings.

The harp doesn't work like any other instruments and you and your fellow music makers have to be very careful to leave space for each other. There are somethings it naturally does brilliantly and some that it does very badly indeed! The challenge is to figure out what you can do with what you've got.

My favourite people who are the playing the music, not the harp, are...

Mary McMaster & Donald Hay with their recent cd
Uschi Laar - amazing jazz compositions
Michael Rooney - Irish traditional music excellence
CatrionaMcKay - in anyone of her ensembles but mostly Starfish

All tbese people transcend their harpiness and step into a bigger realm. Often the harps aren't so clear to hear because of the other instruments present and so harpists per se are not necessarily so enamoured. But all of these folk exist in a bigger setting beyond the harp world, get to share their music more, get to be beyond themselves just a little more. That sounds like an excellent place to be.

I want...

...amazingly healthy arm and hand muscles.

I want my muscles to...
relax easily
do sustained bouts of playing
repair itself easily
move fluidly
ideally not to hurt!

Things that can help with this:
good food
rest
good posture
exercise that counters the oddness of doing one thing so much
good exercise (fluid) *** think this is really important and needs to be explored more

There are more or more subtle / specific distinctions to be made here... this is to be added too.

Happy thumbs...

All the effort in a thumb goes into mantaining it's weird shape and that is what exerts pressure on the string. Thunbs have to be upright and I think easiest if kept slightly curved - think how bridges work and what an excellent weight bearing shape that is.

Thumbs nearly always have a drier sound as well. They are higher on the string, the digit pad is aimed at a different angle and the different positioning compared to the string all make a difference. You can put more thumb pad on to counteract this.

The most important bit about thumbs is keeping that useful little c shape between thumb and hand - gives your thumb space to move, stops it cramping, keeps it within normal joint range so it doesn't lock, prevents you from bringing it too far back (can do weird tension things in lower palm of hand).

Oh yeah - cut your nails...!

Proof

Sometimes you need to have that piece of paper - not to know how good you are, but to know what other people think is good enough.

...much flow and little stop...

I trust... through sleep and dreams that a new direction will show itself to me.

I have to but listen carefully and quietly - allow the shapes of the world to form around me so I can see the new steps forward...

... onwards to a place with much flow and little stop.

...much flow and little stop....
...much flow and little stop....
...much flow and little stop....
...much flow and little stop....