When learning a new harp piece, not all practice makes perfect. It’s easy to learn-in mistakes that we make early on, so in order to establish good habits, we need a thorough, mindful approach from start to finish.
Once you have chosen a new harp piece and are ready to start learning it, one or two read-throughs is a good idea, but take care to avoid repeated read-throughs or you risk ingraining all sorts of sloppiness. Rather, here are some tips and suggestions for how to break down the process of learning and refining a new piece of harp music to help you avoid typical pitfalls:
Start Away From Your Harp
Laying the groundwork starts with some research into the piece. If available, listen to recordings, or watch videos, make notes and if you’re learning from sheet music, explore the score away from the harp. By the time you start work at the harp, you will already have an idea of what you want to convey with your interpretation.
Analyse the music
Study the music to understand it better. Look at the patterns, chords, and so on before your fingers even touch the harp strings. Have a sense of the overall design of the piece means you can hit the ground running. If the fingering isn’t already given, decide it and WRITE IT IN now!
Repeat good habits
When practising a new piece, it’s important to remember that practise makes permanent! Any errors you repeat will quickly become ingrained, and much harder to fix later on. Try not to let any wrong notes or fingerings go unnoticed. Focus on fixing any errors as soon as they appear.
Invent exercises
Find new ways to practice the tune - play it in different rhythms, ‘chunk’ the fingering placement, try it at different dynamics, play block rather than open chords etc. There are many ways to practise a piece that will help it feel confident under the hand.
Listen critically
Listen critically to your results. Be your own teacher - what worked well, what didn’t work? Did you stay in time? How were your dynamics?
Reflect on your practice
After your practice session, reflect on your work. Highlight what you did well and write down what needs attention next time. A Musicians Practice Journal like this is really useful for keeping track of your progress and setting aims.
Practising a performance
Finally, practise playing the piece all the way through. Don’t allow yourself to stop to make corrections! Work with a metronome to check you are playing at the correct speed, and pay attention to phrasing and dynamics. Record yourself and listen back!
Conclusion
As you will see, learning a new piece is a process that takes time, effort, commitment and concentration. This logical, focused approach to practising will help you tackle any new harp material with confidence!
