Here's the picture: it's the most unusual shipwreck in history. Somehow or other you have ended up alone on a desert island with just your harp. It's interesting to consider how this might have happened. Did you swim to shore after the shipwreck with your harp strapped to your back? Or maybe you used it like a raft and your harp is what saved you. But somehow, against all the odds and flying in the face of reality, you ended up on this island with your harp. Even more amazing is that your harp is in tune, no strings have broken, and the weather is exactly what your harp needs to stay happy.

But just wait - there's more.

As you explore the island, you discover a charming hut which will be a perfect shelter for you and your harp, and when you enter the hut, you discover a harp bench, a tuning key, and a music stand. As you move closer, you realize that there is some sheet music on the stand, three pieces of music in fact, and they just happen to be your three favorite pieces in the world. Wow. Unbelievable.

Alright, yes, this is unbelievable. This harp version of Gilligan's Island isn't going to happen. But thinking about your three "desert island" pieces is fun. Which pieces would you pick, if you could only choose three pieces to have with you? And what do those pieces say about your harp journey so far, and your harp dreams for your future?

Your desert island pieces can actually help you focus or refocus on what is important to you in your music. They can be a source of motivation or inspiration or growth or all of the above. They are both a reflection of what music means to you and where your harp happiness lies. Thinking about what your desert island pieces would be can tell you a lot about what you love, what you do well and what you should be doing next.

If you're like me, the choice isn't an easy one. I have closets and shelves and cabinets filled with music. Just picking three pieces feels impossible, but I have done it, and I will share my choices with you, as well as tell you why those choices are important to me, not only because they are pieces I love, but because they remind me of what I need to be doing right now in my playing.

It's a fun scenario to think about and I think you'll enjoy it and find a little enlightenment too.

Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:

• Email me your desert island pieces at podcast@harpmastery.com
• Music on Your Desert Island List blog post
• Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at podcast@harpmastery.com

Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts you will have access to their transcripts of each episode?

LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-260

Playing music is hard. Trying to evaluate how well you are playing it is even harder, much harder.

If this were a sport, a game like baseball, our efforts in relation to those of the opposing team would be reflected in the score. In an individual sport like golf, your score is a marker of your performance against the challenge of the course, the weather and any number of other factors. In an artistic endeavor, such as art or music or dance, there isn't an objective numerical scale to score the outcome. I think that's why I am always ambivalent about Olympic figure skating judging. I understand that they have tried hard to find objective measurements for all the aspects of a skating performance, but there is still room for debate. There isn't always a clear right or wrong.

When we practice, we aim for "right;" we want to get the notes right, our technique right, the fingering right, the pedals right, the dynamics right. And as my friend MJ says, we get all wrapped up in right. When we get wrapped up in right, we lose our perspective on the music. It's not seeing the forest for the trees. I'm sure you get that. Yet somehow we still focus on being correct. In fact, I believe we actually overvalue being correct.

That's why, on today's show, I'd like to explore the actual damage that overfocusing on right can do, how it can sabotage the music you're trying to create. Never fear - I promise I won't tell you to play wrong notes, and I won't leave you without some ideas for refocusing. We'll get you back on the right side of right.

Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:

• For another look at this topic, check out this article: Perfection or Performance? It's Your Choice
• Experience the freedom of faster learning, more expressive playing, and the confidence to play like the harpist you know you can be with a My Harp Mastery membership.
• Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at podcast@harpmastery.com

Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts you will have access to their transcripts of each episode?

LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-259

When was the last time you took a moment to just play some chords on your harp and let yourself simply enjoy them? When you hear that rich, resonant sound, you know that this was what your harp was meant to sound like. Perhaps hearing someone else play chords like that was why you decided to play the harp. It's goosebump territory, for sure. You can feel it in your bones, in your core.

I don't know that there is a more beautiful sonority than a big beautiful harp chord, perhaps lushly rolled. But, I also know that there isn't a day goes by that I don't have to stop in my practice to check my chord placing to make sure I can play those chords the way I want. Just because they're beautiful, doesn't mean they're easy, but you already know that.

One of the first things we harpists learn about chords is that the key to a well-played chord is in the placing. Getting the right fingers on the right strings at the right time is the biggest hurdle we face. I'm reminded of a famous quote of J. S. Bach: "There's nothing remarkable about it. All one has to do is hit the right keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself." This seems to me to reveal an over-developed sense of humility on Bach's part. Playing an instrument is definitely not that simple, but when it comes to playing - and placing - chords, getting our fingers on the right strings at the right time is certainly a good place to start.

Today's show is indeed about placing chords, but I want to offer you a different perspective, one that is less about the technique of placing chords and more about the musical situations that may call for strategic changes in the way we think about how and when to get our fingers on those right strings. In other words, I'm going to talk about when the usual "right time" isn't the right time, when you should consider breaking those rules I know you worked so hard to learn in order to make your chords sound the way you want. So get ready to break or at least bend some rules today.

Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:

• Podcast Episode #205: Placing Chords: How to Find the Right Strings the First Time
• For extra clarity on placing techniques: How to Play Four Note Chords Without Finger Fumbles blog post in the archives.
• Experience the freedom of faster learning, more expressive playing, and the confidence to play like the harpist you know you can be with a My Harp Mastery membership.
• Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at podcast@harpmastery.com

Looking for a transcript for this episode? Did you know that if you subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts you will have access to their transcripts of each episode?

LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-258