By Anne Sullivan 

It was a beautiful spring evening and I was seated at my harp on the lawn at a lovely and very large home. The party was in honor of some visiting Japanese businessmen and I was to ...

By Anne Sullivan 

Just because you can play the harp doesn’t mean you know how to play gigs.

What is a gig? It’s musician slang for playing for pay. It’s what professional musicians do. It could be ...

Developing your “concert face” is an important part of learning to perform. But what is an appropriate expression for when you’re playing? Do you smile or frown? Ignore the audience or acknowledge the...

The name Alphonse Hasselmans is one we harpists know as a composer of harp music and a master harpist and teacher. We may think of him as legendary, but his legacy and his connection to us harpists to...

What does it mean to have strong fingers? It means that a harpist’s fingers play using the most efficient position and action and do it consistently. This produces a rich tone, even articulation and a...

By Anne Sullivan 

I can't wait for summer. 

It’s still rainy and chilly here, but summer isn’t that far away and my summer harp plans are already in place. Are yours?

WHAT? You don’t have summer ha...

By Anne Sullivan 

What makes a musician a professional?

The usual definition of a professional musician is a person who gets paid for playing music. Simple, and true enough, as far as it goes. But m...

By Anne Sullivan

Maybe this hasn’t happened to you yet, but someday it probably will. Your teacher will assign you a piece of music that you really don’t like, one that you can’t stand playing, let a...

By Anne Sullivan 

We all have times when we don’t want to practice. We are tired, we had a long day at school, we have too much homework. But the practice must be done.

Although I look forward to my...

Every harpist should have music they can play when someone asks. That’s essentially what a repertoire is: music you know and can play, and ideally, music you like too.

Playing for people is part of w...

By Anne Sullivan  

We musicians spend so much time doing. Our harp lives revolve around practice, lessons, rehearsals and concerts. We do a lot. Sometimes, though, we forget one of the most important...

By Anne Sullivan 

Before you can do strategic practice, you need to answer this question: Why exactly are you practicing?

Because you have to, of course. Duh.

Yes, but the question is still, “Why?”...