What my bad crocheting has reminded me about harp practice

This week, upon being gifted a big bag of wool, I decided with glee that I was going to finally learn how to crochet! I chose my yarn, picked a crochet hook and dove into the first ‘beginner crochet’ YouTube tutorial I could find! It started off well, so I decided, hey, why not jump right in and make a cardigan(!) Before long I had my first ‘chain’ but 45 minutes later I was in a total mess. I couldn’t remember my ‘single’ crochet from my ‘half double’, I kept dropping stitches somewhere, and my technique for feeding wool was definitely not correct. What I had ‘made’ was certainly wooly, but it was full of errors and uneven rows and frankly, it looked a mess.

I gave up for the evening, but the next day I decided to tackle it again, but this time I stopped and thought, ‘what advice would I give my students if this was the harp?’. And of course, the answer was, master one technique first before jumping on to another!

So I spent the next 25 minutes just ‘chaining’ until it felt natural and easy and all the stitches were the same size. Then I allowed myself to progress on to a ‘single crochet’ stitch, and again, several hours of only doing that one stitch passed, until I had a pretty respectable looking dishcloth! Today, I’m focussing on just the ‘double crochet’ and then maybe by the end of the week I might be able to alternate the two. Maybe by Christmas I’ll even have managed to crochet that beginner level cardigan!

So how is this related to the harp? Because it’s human nature to try and run before we can walk! I see this all the time, particularly with adult learners – they do something a few times, think it’s ‘done’ and then move on to the next thing, whilst never really taking the time to get any action truly comfortable and fluid. And this applies at all levels of player – bringing in the left hand too soon, assuming your scales are fine because you can play them at a moderate pace, doing a few technical exercises before flipping to the next page.

I always go on and on about muscle memory but it’s really the key thing here – we have to give our muscles the chance to get used to a motion over and over so they can really consolidate it.

So this week I’m going to suggest to you, that you pick one thing, and really stick with it, and work it over and over until it’s truly so comfortable you could play it with your eyes shut, in front of 100,000 people and feel 100% confident! Give your muscles a chance to build that memory that they need!

Do I have to practice scales on the harp?

“Music is technique. One can only be free if the essential technique of one’s art has been completely mastered”

(Nadia Boulanger)

Scales have a reputation for being among the least interesting activities we harpists face, but there is no reason scale practice should be dry and boring.

In reality, scales are quite literally the basis of all our harp learning. They develop your:

• Fingering and dexterity

• Natural sense of tempo

• Knowledge of keys and intervals

• Level of discipline when it comes to practising

As such, I feel they should be approached as an enjoyable part of the practice process.

Think of scales as vehicles for other things. For example, if you are struggling with a two against three polyrhythm in a piece, before you grapple with the passage itself, practise first a scale in this polyrhythm (one hand will play three octaves, the other hand two - see p.16 of Technical Exercise for Lever Harp). The point here is that you already know your scales, so you will not have to read any notes or think about fingering – just about the specific technique you’re focussing on.

We can also use scales to help our speed and dexterity. Work with the metronome to increase your speed gradually.

One of the main reasons that some harpists see scales as a chore is because there is no creativity involved in practising them. Our brains crave to create. But there is nothing stopping us adding some creativity into our practice if it helps us to develop quicker! 

Add some flair to your harp scales practice with these ideas

• Approach your scales as if they are the most beautiful thing you’ve ever played. Play them as if they were part of a concerto at the Royal Albert Hall

• Practise at different speeds and different dynamics – from super slow to fast as possible

• Play each hand with a different touch (e.g. play one hand forte, the other piano).

• Try emphasizing the different beats e.g. every 3rd or 5th note – make it harder by accenting e.g beat 3 in the RH and beat 4 in the LH

• Change the shape of your phrases

• Play them over 1,2,3, 4 octaves – with crescendo and diminuendo for each set

• Practise in contrary motion

• Practise accenting certain fingers

• Add interest to your practice session by having a go at other scales, not just standard major and natural minor. Blues scales, for example, are great fun to play once you know them well.

Also, remember to record yourself playing and listen back! See my previous blog about benefits of recording your harp practice

Do you have other suggestions? Add them in the comments below!

 *** If your scales need some TLC, check out the replays of my Tame Your Technique or Dance Tune Dexterity workshops! ***

https://www.ailierobertson.com/workshops