Category Archives: Uncategorized

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”

There is a special element of great duo or group musicianship that, to an outsider, can seem uncanny; something more than just two or more people who are able to play the same piece at the same time. When the music is flowing out of them expressively and with an almost electric energy, it’s asContinue reading “Intuitive Musical Communication  – Getting in the Zone With Your Musical Partners”

Those of you who are teachers have surely noticed that some students are creative learners, while others prefer to use a formulaic approach. Both ways of learning are, of course, valid, and both types present challenges and delights. Generally speaking, the formulaic learner is often someone whom we might refer to as left-brained  –  someoneContinue reading “How Do You Teach Creativity?”

Recently there was a discussion on one of the music list-serves regarding overtones. There seems to be some confusion about what they are. Many were confusing them with sympathetic vibration, when in fact they are not the same. Here’s what the difference is: sympathetic vibration is when a vibrating object causes other objects to vibrate,Continue reading “Overtones, Sympathetic Vibration, and Resonant Frequency”

Every musician can benefit from taking an occasional workshop or class related to their instrument, regardless of whether you take private lessons as well. Getting extra instruction and a fresh point of view is always a good idea. Classes and workshops are usually designated by category of instrument and/or style, and by skill level. MakingContinue reading “Getting the Most out of Workshops and Classes”

We tend to think when we are practicing that we are not being successful if we make mistakes. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Even if you know your pieces well, mistakes can and will happen, just as they can in performance. The fact that they do occur in performance is the key elementContinue reading “All About Practice”

No matter how much we learn about music, there is always something additional to learn. But also, whatever our skill level, there’s always something we should already know but we missed or skipped. Those missing pieces limit our skills and our enjoyment in playing. We may not even realize there is something missing that could solveContinue reading “Understanding the Building Blocks of Music”

NEWS FLASH! I will be on a concert and teaching tour in July – please go to https://laurierileymusic.com/lauries-concert-and-workshop-tour-schedule. See https://laurierileymusic.com/lauries-concert-and-workshop-tour-schedule NEWS FLASH! I am pleased and humbled to announce that I wil be receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Somerset Folk Harp Festival in July! This is an annual international gathering of harpers.  http://www.somersetharpfest.com/presenters4.html#riley NEWS FLASH! After AugustContinue reading “News from Laurie!”

My Life in Music By popular demand! Laurie’s autobiography! A must-read for all musicians! This life story expresses the challenges and joys of becoming a successful professional musician, from earliest childhood influences, through detours and uncertainties, and through the career that has been my lifelong passion. Formerly, I wrote about a portion of my touring life in my books “AllContinue reading “It’s finally here – my new book…”

April  2017           JULY 20-23 at the Sheraton Parsippany Harp pioneer Laurie Riley has been there, done that! When Laurie Riley took up lever harp in 1981 there were very few musicians playing the instrument and very few harpmakers making folk harps. Laurie Riley is this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, recognizedContinue reading “I am thankful for this honor!”