Ep. 287 – Ceremony of Carols – figuring out better options!

I revisit Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of Carols (my first ever Harp Tuesday episode) to share a few spots that I’ve updated over the years, finding better fingerings or other options.

As a bonus, I actually discover another change I want to make on camera – demonstrating the idea that it’s always worth looking for new solutions even in pieces you have played for decades!

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Support from my patrons helped make this video possible – if you would like to help support future videos you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/joshlayne

 

Ep. 281 – How to figure out pedal changes and fingerings featuring Schubert/Godefroid “Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt”

I’m excited about doing a Harp Tuesday episode on the first of Godefroid’s five fantasies on Schubert songs (I already did one on the Serenade (https://www.harptuesday.com/ep207/ )

In preparation I needed to write in pedal changes and some fingerings and I thought I’d bring you along! I hope this episode gives you a sense of how you can do quite a bit away from the harp – although there is no substitute for actually trying it out, I know for sure I will change some of the fingering – stay tuned for the Harp Tuesday episode featuring it 🙂

If you want to play the piece yourself it is public domain and can be found at the Harp Archives: https://archive.org/details/colemlodiquepour01gode/page/2/mode/2up

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Support from my patrons helped make this video possible – if you would like to help support future videos you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/joshlayne

Ep. 275 – How I prepare a concert program

I’m getting ready to tour Australia and New Zealand – here’s a look at how I practice and prepare my concert program!

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Support from my patrons helped make this video possible – if you would like to help support future videos you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/joshlayne

Ep. 266 – Practicing Chopin’s “Raindrop Prelude”

I’m working on Chopin’s Prelude No. 15 (Raindrop) and in this video I give a look at the process of refining how I play the first 4 bars. Recording oneself, listening back and making notes, recording again, listening again, recording again, listening again… is a very powerful technique to help polish a piece of music.

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Support from my patrons helped make this video possible – if you would like to help support future videos you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/joshlayne

Ep. 237 – How to prepare an orchestral harp part , featuring “Capriccio Espagnol”.

These days we’re so lucky to have easy access to recordings and the full score when it comes to preparing many orchestral parts. In this video I show how I use these tools to help get ready to perform the harp part to Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Capriccio Espagnol”.

While this video is about learning a harp part, I think it’s relevant for any instrument, particularly those that have many bars of rest between playing… 🙂

I make use of this video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY2Bt0TppKw which displays the score of “Capriccio Espagnol” as the music is playing – so handy! I also briefly play a small section of this recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rqwvMMxeA8

IMSLP.org is an amazing resource for public domain classical music, and you can find there both the harp part and the full orchestral score to “Capriccio Espagnol”, along with thousands of other pieces.

Support from my patrons helped make this video possible – if you would like to help support future videos you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/joshlayne

Get free sheet music and stay up-to-date on what I’m doing by signing up to my email newsletter at http://eepurl.com/nBSlz

Ep. 234 – 3 tips for memorizing music

In this episode I talk about three techniques you can use to help to memorize music and demonstrate them in action as I attempt to memorize a piece of music called Cherry Trees at Merchiston written by Isobel Mieras (http://www.isobelmieras.co.uk/) Written originally for the 2020 virtual edition of the Edinburgh Harp Festival, it is available as part of this collection: http://www.creightonscollection.co.uk/Pages/scores/SM/SM668.htm

Support from my patrons helped make this video possible – if you would like to help support future videos you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/joshlayne

Get free sheet music and stay up-to-date on what I’m doing by signing up to my email newsletter at http://eepurl.com/nBSlz

Ep. 233 – Being open-minded: finding better solutions when playing music (featuring Jardin MouillĂ©)

I believe it always pays to keep an open mind – even when playing a piece of music you know extremely well. There’s always a chance there might be an even better way of doing something!

This happened recently to me in a short section from a piece on which I’m working (Jaques de la Presle’s “Jardin MouillĂ©”). In this episode I demonstrate both my new and old approaches, as well as talking more generally about the benefits of keeping an open mind and cultivating an ability to change the way you play something!

Support from my patrons helped make this video possible – if you would like to help support future videos you can become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/joshlayne

Get free sheet music and stay up-to-date on what I’m doing by signing up to my email newsletter at http://eepurl.com/nBSlz

Ep. 229 – Refining and shaping a piece of music (featuring Le Jardin MouillĂ©)

Recording yourself and listening back is such a powerful way to help polish and refine a piece. In this episode I look at a small section from Presle’s “Jardin MouillĂ©” that I want to try and improve.

I’ve done two other episodes on the process of learning Jardin MouillĂ© – https://www.harptuesday.com/ep217/

Support from my patrons helped make this video possible: https://www.patreon.com/joshlayne

Get free sheet music and stay up-to-date on what I’m doing by signing up to my email newsletter at http://eepurl.com/nBSlz

Ep. 218 – An Arpeggio Drill

In this episode I demonstrate how to use a metronome that is gradually speeding up to practice arpeggios. Also check out this episode on arpeggios: https://www.harptuesday.com/ep-39-exercises-arpeggios-scales-and-more/

The metronome I’m using is “pro metronome”:
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eumlab.android.prometronome

Apple https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pro-metronome-tempo-beat-subdivision-polyrhythm/id477960671

I did a similar episode featuring rolled chords: https://www.harptuesday.com/ep-185-rolled-chord-drills/

Support from my patrons helped make this video possible: https://www.patreon.com/joshlayne

Ep. 217 – Deliberate practice! Featuring “Le Jardin MouillĂ©”.

The idea of “deliberate practice” can be a very useful concept and tool. In this episode I share a few thoughts about it and then try to demonstrate deliberate practice in action as I tackle two sections from Jacques de la Presle’s beautiful “Le Jardin MouillĂ©”.

I did an earlier episode about practicing Le Jardin Mouillé: https://youtu.be/aO3GxeA4Mek and sheet music can be found at https://archive.org/details/lejardinmouill00lapr/page/n3/mode/2up

Support from my patrons helped make this video possible: https://www.patreon.com/joshlayne

Ep. 212 – Into the Archives! A look at Godefroid’s“MystĂ©rieux Vallon”.

Another “into the archives” episode, where I take a look at a piece of music from the International Harp Archives. In this case it’s a lovely little piece by Felix Godefroid called the “Mysterious Valley“.

Requested by a viewer, I wasn’t familiar with this piece but I really enjoyed reading through it, and as well as introducing it to you I offer up some ideas on how to approach a piece when you’re first learning it.

You can find the sheet music for free at https://archive.org/details/pensesmusicale01gode/page/20/mode/2up

You can also download a copy with my pedal markings here. (And while you’re at it, perhaps sign up for my email newsletter!).

Support from my patrons helped make this video possible: https://www.patreon.com/joshlayne

Ep. 211 – Playing fast and practicing Bach’s Toccata

In this video I look at how to break down and practice a short section from Bach’s Toccata in D minor. This method of finding a small section or “chunk” that you can practice effectively is a very important and useful concept for practicing in general!

Sheet music for my transcription is available at https://www.joshlayne.com/store/

Make sure to check out my Harpist in the Wild episode about the Toccata!

Ep. 210 – Practicing “Le Jardin MouillĂ©”

A chance to watch how I go about practicing a section from Presle’s beautiful “Le Jardin MouillĂ©”. I always think we need more options to watch people practice, rather than just seeing the finished product. Hope you find this interesting!

Sheet music can be found for free at the harp archives at https://archive.org/details/lejardinmouill00lapr/page/n3/mode/2up

Ep. 185 – Rolled Chord Drills

Play along with me as I do some rolled (broken) chord practice on the harp!

I’m using a metronome app called Pro Metronome (thanks to viewer Keven for his suggestion!) and its “practice mode” to very gradually speed up the pace. Link below, though note that practice mode is a paid upgrade. Do you have a favorite app that does something similar? Let me know in the comments!

Android link
Apple link

Ep. 164 – How to play with two hands at the same time (featuring Skye Boat Song)

Is playing a separate pattern in each hand a challenge for you? In this episode of Harp Tuesday I offer some ideas of how to coordinate playing with both hands at the same time, using as an example a small section from my arrangement of The Skye Boat Song.

You might also find this episode useful: https://www.harptuesday.com/ep-110-coordinating-two-hands-contrary-motion-and-practicing/

My arrangement of The Skye Boat Song is available as a PDF at http://www.joshlayne.com/store/

Ep. 161 – Relax! Staying relaxed while playing the harp

Relaxation is so important when playing any instrument – both for speed and to remain injury and pain free. Making sure your fingers don’t stay clenched into the palm when they aren’t playing is one key to staying relaxed. In this episode I talk about how to achieve that (including using a rubber band as an aid!) and demonstrate how it looks.

Ep. 99, 101-105 A look at Fantasy on Greensleeves for lever harp Part 1

In this six part series I take a look at my Fantasy on Greensleeves, the lever harp version. Be sure to check out my Arranging Greensleeves project page for more info, or to buy the sheet music!

Intro and theme:

Practice tips/Variation 1

Variation 2

Lever changes, Rhythm, and more – variation 3

Bridge and Variation 4

Ending and tremolos