I've figured out that first I have to learn the melody line *really* well.
If my fingers don't know where to go on their own and I try to add the
base, the whole thing falls apart. I need to know the melody well enough
to look away from the strings while I play. Then, I learn the base part by
humming the melody and plucking the base chords. This is usually the
quicker part, because once I get the feel for what chords go where, I want
to jump in and play both hands. When I start putting the two parts
together, I have to play *much* slower, and in the beginning I do feel
pretty uncoordinated. But, I take it slow and keep at it, and eventually
it smooths out and speeds back up to the right tempo. And, wow, it feels
really cool when I can play both hands and it actually sounds decent!
Keep plugging away!
-Amy
(whose been working so hard on trying to get Sheebeg Sheemore "smooth" that
she now has forgotten almost all the other songs she knows! Eeeek!)
----- Previous Message ----------------------------------------------------
To: harp @ MIT.EDU
cc:
From: ArdenMare @ aol.com @ UGATE
Date: Wednesday January 22, 1997 10:13 AM
Subject: SPAZZED Out!
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I'm a beginning Celtic harperist (and former lousy pianist and lurker).
HELP! I started lessons in September, and my teacher tells me I'm making
great progress, but I feel like a complete SPAZ most of the time! For
example: I can learn either hand of most of my lesson pieces rather
quickly, but when it comes time to put them together, I feel like I'm
playing it all for the first time and the whole thing falls apart. How do
you get past something like that? I always hear people talk about playing
from the heart--something I've only been able to manage for a second or two
before my lack of coordination and intimidation of getting all those little
black notes correct blows the feeling right out of the water. Is this
something that just goes away with zillions of practice hours, is it just
me?
Feeling totally SPAZZED out
Debbi L.