HarpMastery.com

HarpMastery.com HarpMastery: Mastering music and enriching lives with only 47 strings. Dedicated to concerns of every harpist who performs, teaches, studies or enjoys playing.

Join us in the Harp Happiness HQ Group for daily harp content: facebook.com/groups/HarpHappinessHQ Our goal is to offer insights you can use everyday to improve.

08/15/2026

What do you consider the #1 enemy of good practice?

Something beautiful begins when we stop playing alone.Most of us learned to practice in solitude by refining our tone in...
08/13/2026

Something beautiful begins when we stop playing alone.

Most of us learned to practice in solitude by refining our tone in our living rooms and polishing our phrasing in the privacy of practice studios. Somewhere along the way, the joy of making music with other people may have been set aside.

Chrysalis is a place to rediscover that joy and to discover what your music can become when it meets someone else’s.

For four days, harpists, flutists and composers will gather to coach, collaborate and create. You’ll workshop new pieces with the composers who wrote them, explore repertoire that stretches you and learn what it means to truly partner with another musician: from rehearsal habits and artistic conversations to the trust that makes collaboration possible.

Whether you’re stepping into chamber music for the first time or ready to raise the ceiling on what you already do, you’ll leave with renewed inspiration, stronger collaborative skills and a real plan for what comes next.

Learn more and register today to join us: https://www.chrysalismusicworkshop.com/

08/13/2026

Are you a crafter? We would love to see a photo of something you've made!

08/12/2026

Do you have a favorite etude in this collection so far?

Congratulations - you finished your piece! Well done! It’s time to take a breather and relax before you get onto the nex...
08/10/2026

Congratulations - you finished your piece! Well done! It’s time to take a breather and relax before you get onto the next piece. But that’s the problem. What piece is your next piece? How can you choose one that you like, that is a challenge but not too hard, and one that you can finish in a reasonable amount of time so that you still like it when it’s done?

If you’re currently working with a teacher or coach, you know you can rely on their expert advice as you choose your next piece. But if you’re trying to make this choice on your own, it can seem daunting. There are so many wonderful pieces, how could any harpist possibly choose?

Tune in to this week's podcast episode: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-274

08/08/2026

What was the last harp gathering/conference/workshop you attended?

08/06/2026

Do you have a favorite music quote? Leave it in the comments here..

I’ve been thinking lately about how much of our musical lives happens alone.We practice alone. We work through difficult...
08/06/2026

I’ve been thinking lately about how much of our musical lives happens alone.

We practice alone. We work through difficult passages alone. We make notes in our music, question our progress and sometimes even celebrate our breakthroughs without anyone else there to hear them.

But making music with another person asks something different of us. We have to listen in a new way, adjust, communicate and leave room for another musician’s ideas. It can feel vulnerable, especially if ensemble playing is new to us, but it can also bring us back to the reason we wanted to make music in the first place.

As we’ve been preparing for Chrysalis, our collaborative workshop for harpists, flutists and composers, I’ve been reminded that you don’t need to be the most advanced musician in the room to belong there. You simply need to be willing to listen, learn and make something together.

I’d love to hear from you: when was the last time you played music with someone else, and what did the experience teach you?

Learn more and register for our Chrysalis music workshop: chrysalismusicworkshop.com

08/05/2026

For an extra challenge, try having your right hand play the left hand line of your etude and your left hand play the right hand line. Not hands together of course! It will give each hand a chance to see "how the other half lives."

08/03/2026

Here are some numbers to give you a little perspective before I introduce my guest today. The average length of a marriage in the United States is 20 years. Business partnerships don’t do nearly so well, with nearly 70% failing within the first five years. We are not a society geared toward longevity.

But musical partnerships are different from business partnerships and certainly different from marriages, although they certainly have elements of both. My own musical collaborations tend to be quite longlasting, and the one I’m going to share today has not only survived, but grown and prospered and is now in its 40th year. That’s right - that partnership is celebrating its ruby anniversary this year. And I’m proud to say that this partnership has been one of the most meaningful in my life.

So it’s about time I introduced you to my musical partner of 40 years, my flutist friend Joan Marsh. Together Joan and I have performed and recorded together since 1986. Our partnership as the duo SPARX has been a constant through the births of our children and now our grandchildren. It’s been there through our own marriages, house movings, individual playing commitments, individual business ventures and countless hair styles.

Read more in our blog: https://www.chrysalismusicworkshop.com/blog/secrets-musical-partnership

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