Taking the covers off- starting back after a break

Well, it's been a two week break from the harp, which a large part of me was tempted to stretch out even further. But the Tests have finished (cricket, dear people- very important) so without the excuse to lie around all day watching the Australians trounce Sri Lanka (nothing personal) and with gigs looming, it was indeed time to start back.

My general rule of thumb, and fingers, is that whatever time off I have, it will take half that time to get back to where I was before the break. I don't know if this is a hard and fast rule that applies to everyone- let me know how you fare.

So by that reckoning I needed a week to spruce up my muscles and toughen up the callouses.

Here's what I've been doing:

Day 1- A really good tune. The weather here has been shifting wildly from 40 degrees C to 15 degrees C so the harps are obviously feeling it. The cooling has been on. The heating has been on. Welcome to Melbourne. Despite this there have been surprisingly few string breakages. Either way, daily tune ups are required just to remind them what they should be doing.

I then played a light 15 minute session of technical work drawn from Yolanda Kondonassis's Warm Ups found at the back of her book 'On playing the harp'.With some Lariviere thrown in for good measure. At this stage just the scale exercises Nos 5-18

Day 2- After tuning I did one fifteen minute session, the same as yesterday. Later in the day I came back and did a 10 minute session based on the Lariviere arpeggio section Nos 19-35 as well as the arpeggio exercises from Salzedo's 'Conditioning Exercises'.

Day 3- And, boy, does it feel BAD. Definitely the hump day. My hands are just NOT working. So two fifteen minute sessions, still upping the challenge level only VERY slowly. Played through the Theme and some of the Variations from Lariviere No.2 in the first session, and then a very slow bash through Bach-Grandjany No.2, Lariviere No 36 and the Prelude from Bach's BWV 1006a.

It was interesting playing that last one slowly- I heard all these phrasing subtleties that it's really easy to brush over when going like the clappers. Does this mean that sometimes it's good to play badly? Mmm...

Day 4- Over the hump. Fingers moving much better, though I started back on trills today. Trills which could safely be used in a court of law as an unchallenged definition of the term 'lumpy'.

Day 5- And we're back in business- one hour straight of warm ups, technical work and repertoire.

Day 6- Increasing endurance and extending practice time, and it all feels good!



So what do you do to get back into playing?

Sheet music- The Waters of Babylon

Greetings all! Hope you're doing well.

We're getting into winter here so it is cold and miserable. Melbourne does grey in winter like no other city I know, which is funny given everyone here wears black. And for those of you from out of town I'm not making that up. Everyone does really wear black. I frequently play at functions where you would assume the invitation listed a dress code of all black whereas in fact it's just a room full of Melbournians.

That really is an aside. The purpose of today's post is the arrangement of 'Waters of Babylon' promised a month or so back. You can read about my reasons for this arrangement here.

Hope you like it- feedback is always welcome!




The Waters of Babylon

A time to tidy

Hard at work again trying to keep my music under control. I often say that I buy music the way some women buy shoes, and certainly never tire of a new purchase. It’s all there- the thrill of the hunt, the excitement of the purchase, and of course the joy of discovering what this new music is all about. Ah, the possibilities!

I do love ordering music from overseas as well, when anticipation is heightened by the wait for the postal system to do its thing. Then, almost unexpectedly, it arrives one day in the letter box.

And oh, the fun of opening the parcel and the savouring of the look and feel of the score. It’s just like Christmas. Or maybe I need to get out more…

I have to say though that I do love the convenience of online downloads, especially when it comes to wedding requests. Very, very easy. Very, very convenient. But then there is that whole issue of instant gratification. It just doesn’t feel as exciting as waiting for an order to come.

Now I really must explain to readers in faraway climes that the harp world is Melbourne is small. Really small. So the option of popping down the street to the local neighbourhood music store and picking up a copy of the Britten Suite for Harp just doesn’t happen. Which is very annoying. And not just because we always have to wait for our music- as I said above that can be the fun part. But we here in Melbourne miss out on the chance to browse. To potter. To flick through and get a feel for a piece.

Nope- it’s pot luck everytime.

Once the music actually arrives there is of course a strong feeling of trepidation. What is this thing like? So it’s off to the harp for a bit of a play through, a chance to feel under the fingers what the music is all about. Will it suit the purpose for which it was bought? Or will it sit on the shelf a while waiting for the perfect performance opportunity?

But sitting on the shelf can actually be a bit of a problem. I am inclined to get a bit carried away when putting a programme together or when referring to different music while teaching, and it all gets pulled off the shelf. Putting it back on the shelf always seems so much harder and nowhere near as much fun!

And so my beloved piles of music develop, and try as I might they just keep growing. But like a man in his shed, I do know where everything is. Really…