It is nearly the end of February. The weather has continued to be totally bizarre. I am raising the biggest fattest crop of Squirrels in my front yard that I have ever seen, and the birds are glad I have added some squirrel distractions so that the birds get SOME chance at the bird food! Time is still flying by. And I keep checking to see if there are any comments or new posts on this blog! Where is everybody??
Andee, I am really missing your updates from Ireland. Pamela, would love to see your therapy experiences described here. Lucy, when are we going to make a plan to meet? And how is the writing going?
My two harp students are challenging me mightily. Both are experienced organ/piano professionals. Their musicality and depth of understanding theory, and sightreading ability, seems to be getting in the way of learning the basics of place ahead, place in groups, close completely, thumbs high, etc. Take that simple looking melody SLOWLY until you are consistently fingering and placing. They want to get right to the finished product, and actually THINK they are placing ahead when they are actually playing the strings as if they were on the keyboard. Very interesting to observe. Now I understand my own early struggles better. You have to UNLEARN the piano technique, to LEARN the harp. Anywho, I continue to rein them in, focus on the baby stuff....not as much fun as leaping ahead to a fast jig or reel! At least they get it, intellectually. I remember a great quote I heard years ago- "To know, and not to do, is not to know!" And another one recently, when I watched a video on a guy who learned how to ride a "backwards bike"....when you turned the handlebars to the right, the wheel went left, and vice versa. He decided, "Knowing does not equal Understanding", and realized that first he had to unlearn the traditional bike skills in order to learn the new technique. Then, after 3 or 6 months, he was able to ride that backwards bike beautifully. THEN he tried to ride a regular bike, and couldn't!! It took him only 20 minutes of work to relearn the old way, though, so obviously our brains can learn and adapt and relearn more quickly. That's why going back to an old piece of music I used to know by heart, takes so much less time to brush up on. Which is a relief!
Well, not much else new harping wise here. We are busily planning our unbelievable trip to the UK this May. Too much to do beforehand, and time is like a runaway train....
Hoping all is well with you folks! Sending hugs and love- Sharon
I am only just catching up, in March!, here. It has been an odd winter, hasn't it?
ReplyDeleteI'm now in Florida where it isn't winter at all, but more about that on my March entry which I hope to get to today! Loved reading about your efforts with your students. Seems as if some of the challenges are the same with students who know too much as with students who don't know anything!