Day 21

CONGRATULATIONS TO THIS WEEK’S PRIZEWINNERS! KATHLEEN DAVID-BAJAR—a one-year subscription to Harp Column Magazine URSULA OSSWALD—a one-year membership to Harp Column Academy MEIKE SCHIRLING—a $20 gift certificate to Harp Column Music Today’s tool Creating your...

Today’s tool Learning from every performance experience Assignment: Analyze yesterday’s performance run-through. What went well? What can be improved? Do a thorough analysis of yesterday’s run-though. First, list objective facts: What went exactly as planned? What...

Today’s tool The performance run-through Assignment: Do a complete dress rehearsal of your piece or program, including performance clothes, formal entrance, full piece, bow, and exit. Today is your full dress rehearsal—meaning EVERYTHING must be as close to the real...

Today’s tool Creating a pre-performance ritual Assignment: Design your perfect pre-performance routine and practice it today. Design your ideal performance day routine and practice it today as if you’re performing tonight. Decide: When will you warm up? What will you...

Live event today! • 12:00 p.m. ET Join us today at 12:00 p.m. ET to get practice tips and inspiration from the Harp Column team and special guests! Katherine Siochi JOIN ON ZOOM Today’s tool Sharing your music with confidence Assignment: Practice your complete...

Today’s tool Building survival skills Assignment: Survival as a musician comes down to being prepared and being flexible—be as prepared as possible, while knowing things likely won’t go entirely as planned. Practice is cumulative. Everything you do at the harp,...

Today’s tool Practicing for performance Assignment: Practice your piece in different clothes, in a different setting, or with someone listening. No matter whether you are playing for a concert hall full of strangers or a few family members in your home, performance...

CONGRATULATIONS TO THIS WEEK’S PRIZEWINNERS! PAIGE LYTHGOE—a one-year subscription to Harp Column Magazine SABRE THOMAS—a one-year membership to Harp Column Academy GIULIA TRABACCHI—a $20 gift certificate to Harp Column Music Today’s tool Performance visualization...

Today’s tool Memory channels Assignment: Memorize 8 bars using visual, auditory, physical, and analytical memory separately. Harpists often memorize using muscle memory alone, but memorizing this way can be unreliable. Today, try memorizing a short section of your...

Today’s tool Finding your musical voice Assignment: Record yourself playing the same passage three different ways, choose your favorite. Today, think about these questions: Which musicians inspire you most? What pieces make you feel most alive when playing? Now...

Today’s tool Understanding and honoring different musical styles Assignment: Research your piece’s historical context and adjust your interpretation accordingly. Every piece comes from a specific time, place, and tradition—and each has different performance...

Live event today! • 12:00 p.m. ET Join us today at 12:00 p.m. ET to get practice tips and inspiration from the Harp Column team and special guests! Elisabeth Plank Lishan Tan JOIN ON ZOOM Today’s tool Learning how to breathe Assignment: Experiment with tempo in your...

Today’s tool Exploring dynamics Assignment: Understand the dynamics for your piece, noting each marking in the music. Today, create a “dynamic map” of your piece and identify the loudest moment and the softest moment. Everything else is relative to these anchor...

Today’s tool Creating natural phrasing Assignment: Mark all phrase beginnings and ends in your music, and practice with exaggerated shaping. Think of musical phrases like spoken sentences—they need to breathe, build toward important words, and resolve at the end....

CONGRATULATIONS TO THIS WEEK’S PRIZEWINNERS! SHAWN E BRACEBRIDGE—a one-year subscription to Harp Column Magazine JOANNE MOO—a one-year membership to Harp Column Academy LEIGH STEVENS—a $20 gift certificate to Harp Column Music Today’s tool Bringing personality to your...

Today’s Tool:  Understanding your music beyond the notes Assignment: Create a “musical map” of your piece showing structure, dynamics, and character changes. Before practicing your piece today, analyze it on three levels:  Structure: Where are the sections?...

Today’s tool Learning from mistakes Assignment: Keep an “error log” today—note every mistake and categorize the cause. Today, keep an “error log” during practice. Every time you make a mistake, stop and categorize it. Was it technical (fingers in the wrong place),...

Today’s tool Beyond the basic metronome Assignment: Practice scales with the metronome on beats 2 and 4 only, maintain a steady tempo. Stop using your metronome as just a “beat keeper” and transform it into a sophisticated training tool. Try these advanced techniques:...

Live event today! • 12:00 p.m. ET Join us today at 12:00 p.m. ET to get practice tips and inspiration from the Harp Column team and special guests! Kirsten Agresta Copely Joel von Lerber JOIN ON ZOOM Today’s tool Video record yourself Assignment: Record five minutes...

Today’s tool Practicing away from the harp Assignment: Spend 10 minutes studying your music without playing, visualizing your hands playing the strings and flipping the levers, or your feet moving the pedals. Take a step away from your harp and “practice” without...

Today’s tool Repetition with a reason Assignment: Practice one technical passage using 5 slow perfect reps, 3 medium tempo, 1 fast. Instead of mindlessly repeating a passage 10 times, use the 5–3–1 method: Play your target passage five times SLOWLY with perfect...

CONGRATULATIONS TO THIS WEEK’S PRIZEWINNERS! LISA LIPANI—a one-year subscription to Harp Column Magazine  CHARLES BRUNGARDT—a one-year membership to Harp Column Academy BARBARA GREGORY—a $20 gift certificate to Harp Column Music Today’s tool Breaking down passages...

Today’s tool The slow practice method Assignment: Identify three challenging passages and practice them at half tempo with perfect execution. Slow practice isn’t about playing everything slowly—it’s about being strategic to slow things down for specific problems....

Today’s tool The weekly review Assignment: Complete your first weekly review: note your successes, challenges, and plan next week’s adjustments. Every week, spend 10 minutes reviewing your practice log and answering three questions: (1) What strategies worked well...

Today’s tool Building a practice habit Assignment: Identify your practice cues, establish your routine, and create meaningful rewards. Build a practice habit using three components: a consistent cue (same time each day, or always after your morning coffee), your...

Live event today! • 12:00 p.m. ET Join us today at 12:00 p.m. ET to get practice tips and inspiration from the Harp Column team and special guests! Elizabeth Steiner Kristan Toczko WATCH A REPLAY Today’s tool Using a practice journal Assignment: Start a practice...

Today’s tool The pre-practice routine Assignment: Create a pre-practice ritual including breathing, posture check, and intention setting. Create a 3–5 minute routine you perform before every practice session. This could include several deep breaths while sitting at...

Today’s tool Maximizing limited practice time Assignment: Structure today’s practice session into segments: 5-minute warmup, 10-minute focused work, 5-minute review Transform your 20-minute practice session into focused, productive work by following this formula: 5...

Today’s tool The musical goal pyramid Assignment: Create a musical goal pyramid. Write down one 30-day goal, four weekly mini-goals, and today’s specific practice target. Start with your 30-day challenge goal at the top of your pyramid (perhaps “perform a piece...

Live event today! • 2:00 p.m. ET Join us today at 2:00 p.m. ET for our New Year’s Day practice challenge kickoff party! Find out what we’ve got planned for this year’s challenge, and get tips for staying motivated and focused from the Harp Column team and special...