Author Archives: rileylaurie

If you are a long-time musician, you surely have experienced the phenomenon of having one special instrument feel like a part of you, while others are just, well, instruments. And you have probably noticed that you play better on the one you love. Every experienced musician knows that individual instruments have personalities. You can setContinue reading “Is Your Instrument Your Best Friend?”

Thought you’d like to know about my newly reorganized website with a whole new look! Now you can easily find all kinds of interesting information about playing pain-free, about therapeutic music, about the double string harp, and see all my books as CDs. Enjoy it at: https://laurierileymusic.com

How we musicians perceive ideas of “difficult” or “easy” is a fascinating example of how different each human brain can be, and how there are no absolutes. Individuals attach a wide variety of meaning to these two simple words. Yet we tend to give ultimate credence to them and allow them to affect our music-playingContinue reading “What’s Difficult, What’s Easy?”

What happens when you pluck a taut string, exactly? The obvious answer is that it produces a note, but in fact the result of plucking a string is far more complex. What we think we hear as a note actually consists of many notes, most of which are significantly less audible than the fundamental one.Continue reading “Overtones, Sympathetic Vibration, and Resonant Frequencies”

What exactly does the word “dynamics” mean in terms of music performance?  Many people assume it means using lots of volume and gesturing, or excessive vocalizing (shouting, roaring, etc.). “He gave a very dynamic performance,” usually means it was excitingly over the top, like an Elton John concert. But that is not necessarily what theContinue reading “Using Dynamics for Expression”

It sounds like some kind of game, but “kinesthetic” refers to learned movement that becomes automatic. I’ve been writing about it for years. It’s the result of consistent and focused practice; the point at which a specific sequence of movements becomes a kinesthetic habit is the point at which you can feel the effort decrease,Continue reading “Can You Learn Kinesthetically?”

One of the most common questions music students ask is, “What’s the best way to learn a piece of music?” There are many ways! These are the ones I find most helpful: Sight reading from notation When you sight read, it means you can play the piece immediately and accurately the first time you readContinue reading “There’s More Than One Way to Learn a Piece of Music”

How lucky we are to live in a time when anyone can record! Years ago, the only way a musician could create an album for sale was to be “discovered” by a large record company, and if you signed their contract, they took charge of your life  –  even told you what music you couldContinue reading “Successful Recording”

Usually I just use this page for my blog, but I’m so excited that I had to let you all know about my new product – an innovative, unique, ergonomically designed, beautiful playing stand for small harps!  In the links at the top of this page, click on “Best Playing Stand for Small Harps”. I’veContinue reading “I’ve just introduced a new harp playing stand!”

Brilliant Accompaniment For those who play or want to play accompaniment to other instrumentalists or to singing, here are some concepts to consider. There are two types of accompaniment discussed in this article: 1. When you accompany another musician, and 2. When you play a full arrangement on one instrument. On a single-line instrument (suchContinue reading “Brilliant Accompaniment”