Waiting....

I don’t know about you, but waiting is not my strong point. Yet, waiting can teach us tolerance, to be mindful, and the joy of anticipation.

When I am working on a new piece of music, or creating my own, I want it right now - meaning I want it right or correct and I want it immediately. I have learned, although admittedly not always practiced, that tolerating where I am right now is an opportunity to get better. Sometimes I go back to the basics. Sunita encouraged us, in our 2023 JPG Harp Confab, to spend a week or two on each chord to learn it like the back of our hands. So, I have been tolerating sitting down multiple times a day doing just that and it has opened up new doors of knowledge for me. I am beginning to see the inverted chords in music so that I see them as a block instead of individual notes.

Deborah Henson Conant encouraged me, in our Hip Harp lessons, to effortlessly go from one key to another which is really cool when composing my own pieces. It makes me mindful of how graceful we can be in changing levers and adding emotion to the music. I guess you could say my mind is becoming full of these new techniques which encourages me to continue until I am able to correctly and beautifully play.

There is definitely joy in playing the harp and making beautiful tonality instead of just plucking the correct strings. Once I am comfortable with it, I continue to review really focusing on the beauty, not the notes. While my parrot can get the rhythm and notes faster than me, (I tell her, “I can sing it! Try playing it with your claws!”) only I can bring the true joy and beauty to the anticipating ear.

So, waiting is hard. Do I wish I could sit down and read any piece of music? Of course! Yet the journey of tolerance, mindfulness, and anticipation of joy is worth the wait. And speaking of waiting, I can’t wait to open up the 2024 registration for JPG Harp Confab later this Fall. Please practice tolerance, know that I am mindful of the need, and I promise you the anticipation of joy. JPG Harp Confab ‘24 will be magical!