I have been a freelance harpist since the age of 12, when I was paid $35 to play for a wedding. The cost-conscious couple hired my friend (also 12, and also paid $35), to play the flute. Somewhere there is cassette tape evidence of our performance. It includes a long moment of loud paper-rattling as I tried to open three pages of taped-together music. Through trial and error, I learned to avoid mistakes like forgetting to unfold the music or leaving my tuning key at home (a pair of pliers is a very poor substitute—don’t ask me how I know). That’s the thing about freelancing—every gig is different, and it’s that variety of experiences that is the quickest teacher of lessons everyone must learn. Here are five lessons I’ve learned in my freelance career:

As I was playing the song ‘Just the Way You Are,’ someone came into the room and started singing with me, and instantly the whole room went quiet

Always have a plan B

I learned this lesson at a wedding where, after a long prelude where I played through all of my music multiple times because the ceremony started so late, the wedding officiant announced that there would be, “An invocation by the mother of the groom followed by a solo from our harpist.” Surprise! I hastily flipped the pages in my music binder to find something that would sound nice (never mind that the guests had heard all my songs three times already). After that I never left home without backup music options.

Never be surprised by surprises at a gig

It’s more difficult to prepare for some unknowns, like the time I was asked to play for a wedding and they chose the song “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” for the bride’s processional. I started to play the introduction, and out of nowhere I heard a voice singing the song with me. No one had told me there was going to be a singer. I tried to look around while I was playing but the singer was behind a large flower arrangement, and I was unable to see them at all. Our music didn’t line up, and I had to jump around to match what the singer was doing. Thankfully we made it to the end and the beautiful bride had no idea that her harpist almost had a heart attack!

Set your boundaries and stick to them

Early on in my career, being young and overly accommodating, I agreed to almost anything I was asked to do. One time I showed up to play for a reception prior to a fancy ball, and when I arrived the host directed me to the spot where I was to play: atop a round table already set with hundreds of tented place cards in concentric circles around an empty space in the middle—my spot! I allowed the catering staff to lift my harp over the cards and onto the table (and then help me to hop up), and played for the hour while guests were arriving. The most amusing part was when the guests, with heads down, were looking for their names on the table and then would glance up and be startled to see a live person playing the harp inches away from them! Another time I arrived to play for a dinner on a private yacht on the river and discovered that the only way onto the boat was a narrow gangplank. I had to watch my poor naked harp (uncovered because it was easier to get a grip on it) be carried across a skinny walkway over the water by two men—a harrowing experience I never plan to repeat!

Be flexible

Some of the most stressful situations, however, have helped me develop flexibility and creativity and have shown me that I can do more than I thought. When I first moved to Nashville I was asked to play at a large church, and was warned that the music director was “a little kooky.” The first service I played for had no rehearsal, and the music was only chord charts, which I hadn’t used much in my classical training. I was doing my best to keep up when the music director leaned over in the middle of the service and said in a stage whisper, “Play something watery-sounding.” Huh? Would that be raindrops, or waterfalls, or rivers, or…? I have no idea what I played, but she continued to hire me so it must have been okay! As a result I practiced creating in the moment and got better at improvising on demand. New skill learned—check!

You never know who is listening … or singing along

One of my most unforgettable performances happened in Washington, D.C., when I was playing for afternoon tea at the Ritz-Carlton hotel. Two women and a little boy were having tea at the table next to me. I briefly chatted with them, and said that the little boy might be a musician when he grew up because he seemed to really like the music. I heard the boy asking for “Daddy,” and his mother said, “Daddy’s coming.” As I was playing the song “Just the Way You Are,” someone came into the room and started singing along with me, and instantly the whole room went quiet. The boy’s daddy was Stevie Wonder, and I had just played a duet with him. That’s me, staying cool and harping on. •