I like learning new songs. Many brides request special songs for their ceremony and I’m always happy to accommodate.
That said, I have a pretty large repertoire already, with songs that are tested and true. You can read my most popularly played wedding songs here: Music Songlist. Its a good place to start from if you’re not sure what kind of music you’d like to have at your wedding.
In general, I would say that a wedding ceremony has three main songs, in addition to prelude and postlude music. There are some variations:
…and for the very simple event:
#3
– Processional
– Recessional
If a couple has special requests, I do my best to make that happen. Here’s an example of some songs I’ve learned particular situations, like themed weddings and holiday parties:
A Thousand Years – Christina Perri
Falling Slowly – from the movie, Once (Glen Hansard)
Flower Duet – Leo Delibes
Hotel California – The Eagles
In My Life – The Beatles
Lovesong – The Cure
No Surprises – Radiohead
Skinny Love – Bon Iver
Sweet Child O’Mine – Guns N’Roses
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) – Annie Lennox
Take On Me – Aha
Witchy Woman – The Eagles
When You Wish Upon A Star – Disney
Nocturne #17, the poem that appeared in the Spring/Summer 2008 issue of Crab Creek Review, is part of a series called Black Eden: Nocturnes. All of the pieces are in prose, and were composed during evening hours, either just before sleep or after waking. They are heavily influenced by the surrealness of dreams, subterranean urban scenes and music. Writing Black Eden was a bit like working in a subconscious mine where I went down and chipped away every night.
Something new happened at the time I was writing this: I didn’t edit. It was as if no filter was the filter, so I there was no judgement on myself. Because of that, the train was able to keep moving. Though I didn’t know what I was doing while I was doing it, the writing felt honest, so I just kept it up with encouragement from a close poet friend. Very importantly, I trusted that there were no accidents in this process, expecting nothing and improvising all along. Stephen Nakmonovich has a great book about these ideas called Free Play: Improvising in Life & Art. After a year had past and I had 70 pieces. Then, I started to edit.
The music part of these poems (nocturne means melancholic evening piece for piano) encouraged me to play while simultaneously reading. Though a musician for most of my life, I’m a shy songwriter, but I used some of the poetry as a springboard for lyrics, which worked better than attempts in the past. Eventually, I called upon a dancer friend and other musicians to turn the piece into a performance.
Black Eden 1
As a shared performance, the poems were given aural space just as much as written space, which is something I feel pretty strongly about. I don’t think every poem has to become a performance piece, but I do believe a good poem has to both sound pleasing and look pleasing. This is not to say good poems are spoken versus written or vice versa – I don’t live in a black and white world. There just needs to be a balance of both expressions, and a writer should be conscious of this in order for the poem to live after she isn’t there to present it.
Donald Hall wrote that “poetry out loud is never quite so beautiful as poetry read in silence”. I don’t agree with this much, but I do think that for a poem to last longer than the poet, it must be read privately. However, I do take his notions to into great consideration (even though in this specific case – because the nocturnes are prose – it was stylistically easier for me to do then say, write a sestina, or even free verse). Hall also wrote that “Keats exists without being spoken. Performance poetry flames out like a match.” Personally, I prefer to have my poetry live somewhere between those two places.
Two Worlds
The narrativity that came out of these Nocturnes are loose and surreal, stemming from a first person perspective in a psychological underworld. In Nocturne #17, the use of woman’s make-up is a way to disguise the real from the unreal. Waking and dreaming are blurred concepts. In truth, the entirety of Black Eden is an exploration of those deep subconscious things we all know but don’t want to, or dismiss in passing moments. It is only when those thoughts ride up to our ears and whisper a little random joke that we might see a connection to something else more conscious and wonder – what!? Where did that come from? I didn’t want to forget all of the randomness in life, because for the most part, I don’t believe its all that random.
Black Eden 2
One last thing that inspired these poems for me was Seattle. I love the city in which I live, even in its worst. And for all of our urban banalities, inconveniences, and stereotypes, I wanted to capture that too. I think that’s something that all artists have the opportunity to do, which is perhaps the greatest challenge: to make sense of the garbage and take beauty from the wreckage – create a new message with your own voice.
That’s how you make diamonds.
Reference:
Hall, Donald. Knock Knock II. American Poetry Review March/April 2005.
On St. Patrick’s Day this year, I played a harp and violin duo gig for an Irish-themed party. My client hosted his 10th annual potato party and hired us to play for a couple hours. As a thank you, I wanted to write him a planxty, an ode in his name, since he was my patron.
In the 18th Century of Ireland, Turlough O’Carolan was one of the most sought after harpists. He was blind and much of the music we have of his today was recorded through the oral tradition. O’Carolan spent most of his career traveling, or wandering, around Ireland staying for a few days at the houses of the well-to-do and playing music. At the time, harps were as popular in a household as guitars, pianos and keyboards are today. So, it was also with these concerts that a touring harper would also stay to instruct members of the family on how to play. At the end of the visit, O’Carolan would sometimes present the head of the household or a family member, with a musical gift (or tribute). This piece of music for the patron composed specially for the occasion was called a “planxty”.
The word planxty means “harp tune of a sportive and animated character” according to the OED. However, the word itself does not sound very Celtic or Gaelic in origin to me, which is why it first caught my ear. There is speculation that it may have Greek origins, and it also has connotations to be specifically for the harp.
Merriam Webster says, its an Irish melody for the harp written in triplets and slower than the jig. There is also inquisition into if planxties are of a particular style. Most of the O’Carolan planxties are in 6-8 time, but there are many in 2-4, 4-4 and 3-4, so it’s not necessarily a specific dance form or meter. No matter its definition, I find it to be an intriguingly antiquated word.
In essence, a planxty is a praise tune for a particular person. It is a tribute to one who is a sponsor, a patron, an inspiration, or in the day of the life of a modern American harpist – a man in Renton, WA of Irish descent who likes to party on St. Patrick’s Day and hire live traditional music. I have finished writing the song and will share it here in a future post.
photo: Malcolm Smith
Footnotes:
Some favorite O’Carolan planxties: Planxty Lord George Brabazon; Planxty Irwin aka Colonel John Irwin; Fanny Power; Bridget Cruise
Quietly working behind the scenes again, I have been spending time with my new baby boy, Dorian Max, who was born on October 29th. He has been a joy, but naturally, being with a newborn leaves mama utterly sleep deprived. My sleep is the wonkiest it has ever been, usually not getting in more winks than 3 hours at a time. Boo Hoo! Oh poor, poor Monica.
I am pleased to say that after a few months on maternity leave, I am returning to the world of teaching harp lessons, performing and harp therapy gigs at a part-time basis. I’m also booking weddings for 2018. If you get in touch with me, please know: Baby guy is my boss for the time being. I WILL get back to you, but it just may not be right away.
Back in December, at a mere 5 weeks old, he did let me have a show with The Daphnes at Dusty Strings Annual Open House. It was a real treat.
No matter what my aspirations are, my blog continually only gets monthly posting. So, what have I been doing this past May? A month in the life of a mama musician looks something like this:
Friday – Played for hospice clients in North Seattle. Came home for lunch, did reports and corresponding before getting daughter from school. A lovely day, we took our time walking back home.
Thursday – Kind of a mix-up with childcare, but otherwise a very good day.
Wednesday – Great gig with my band, The Daphnes, at Stone Way Cafe. You can catch us there again on Fri. June 23 at 7pm.
The Daphnes
Tuesday – My motivated high school student came at 8am for her lesson so she can get orchestra credit! Home cleaning and organizing, then teaching more students in the afternoon.
Monday – Memorial Day! Enjoyed a hot holiday off with my family at Folklife Festival and got to hear a few friends playing music.
Sunday – Not one, but TWO last minute gigs! I had gotten a call on Friday to play a wedding that another musician cancelled on. Then, at 7:30 am I got a call from a church choral leader in Ballard to sub on keyboard. I ended up doing both performances and had a fabulous, positively fun day. Also last minute: neighbor friends came over for dessert in the backyard.
Saturday – Very hot day. My kiddo was moving quite slowly and no one wanted to go to Folklife Festival that day with me, so we took a walk to Open Books on 45th where I got to nerd out about poetry with staff. Ice cream! Then, Jeppa, Eli and Lutra came over for a backyard picnic dinner.
Friday – Evening recording session for my album with awesome accordionist, Scott Adams!
Scott Adams (accordion) in the studio
Thursday – I have no idea what I did this day.
Wednesday – Wed. Sing! Nate Omdal and I play two sets of bass/harp duets for a cocktail party/art opening in Issaquah.
Tuesday – Played harp for hospice clients and taught students at home studio.
Monday – Went to Bellevue to play two client patient visits as therapeutic musician (one for Providence Hospice, another for Family Best Care)
Sunday – Flew a butterfly-shaped kite with the family at Gasworks Park. A solo eagle soared with it! Mostly a day off, then recorded violin tracks with Julie in the evening.
Saturday – Violin/Harp duets with Janet for a wedding on the MV Skansonia Ferry after going to the 125th Anniversary Carnival for BF Day Elementary School (Seattle’s oldest school) and teaching a morning lesson at Dusty Strings.
on the Skansonia w/Janet
Friday – Content writing and editing for the new Musicians’ Union website.
Thursday – Played a terrific concert at The Neptune Theater with Evan Flory-Barnes’ large ensemble. I love his projects.
Neptune soundcheck
Wednesday – I slept so poorly the night before and had insomnia. I felt like a zombie most of the day, but did some parent volunteering at my daughter’s school anyway, met with her teacher and did some teaching of my own at home studio.
Tuesday – Teaching. Parenting. Rehearsing at Cornish for the Thursday concert.
Monday – Writers In The Schools (WITS) is a wonderful program through Seattle Public Schools. My daughter has learned how to read and write poetry from talented professionals and tonight was the end of year K-3 poetry reading, which couldn’t have been more adorably heartwarming.
Sunday – Mother’s Day. I got some new stylin’ sunglasses because a particular young person always breaks mine.
Saturday – Gamelan Pacific Concert at The Chapel. A positively uplifting event, listening to Indonesian music and featuring a tribute to composer Lou Harrison.
Friday – I had a funeral to play for one of my past hospice clients, at a Catholic ceremony in Bellevue.
Thursday – Chaperoned for my kindergartener’s field trip to Seward Park. It started raining when we got there and never stopped.
Wednesday – Morning hospice clients and afternoon harp students.
Tuesday – Rehearsal with Janet on violin for wedding in a week, picked up my kiddo from school and came straight home to teach students.
Monday – Office day. I usually start off the week with a chunk of time corresponding from the home office, scheduling, and decompressing from weekend gigs.
Sunday – Harp Recital Day! Hosted my first ever harp recital for students with great success.
Harp Recital (2017)
Saturday – A nice hot spring day. Took daughter to a birthday party. I tried to practice but felt so distracted. A semi-productive day.
Friday – After working on various projects from home, went with the family to a friend’s art opening in Columbia City and I also picked up some money from my last gig at Columbia City Theater.
Thursday – Doctor’s appointment in the morning, and in between parent pick up at school, I taught five students at Dusty Strings.
Every Wednesday Dusty Strings Music Store hosts a singing session. Starting next month, I’ll be taking over leading the session! This is a casual group of all ages, mostly people on their lunch breaks and we sing songs from the Great American Songbook, folk traditions, popular favorites from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s and the occasional show tune.
Wednesday Sing is from 12:00-1pm every week. I’ll be leading on harp. $5 donation. See you there!
This new year has made a lot of noise so far, off to a gallop and a cock-a-doodle-doo, both globally and personally. My most recent news: I am teaching at Dusty Strings Music Store!
Two years ago, I set off to adopt a five-fold business plan that addressed these areas of work: performing; recording; weddings & private events; teaching; and healing. All five areas of my business plan are in full swing.
Performing – This winter I am performing these concerts in Seattle:
Recording- Working on mixing the last tracks of my upcoming album, Braids of Kabuya, and ideas like this keep coming:
Teaching- I am SUPER pleased to announce that I am now teaching private harp lessons at Dusty Strings Music Store in Seattle (Fremont). Not only does Dusty Strings make the finest lever harps in North America, but they have a newly renovated music school. Its pretty awesome and inspiring. People who work there are nice. Please check it out! I teach on Thursdays.
Healing- This month, I celebrated my 1st year anniversary playing therapeutic harp music for Providence Hospice patients. It is a gift to play music for people who are so appreciative.
This post was originally published at Pyragraph and is reposted here with kind permission.
Half of success is attitude, right? You’ve got your skills honed, now how about addressing that glass-is-half-empty perspective? You know it’s not going to get you anywhere. This here is your five-step pep talk to get the jobs done—and get more jobs too.
1. Have self-confidence and follow through.
If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will either. Do your work with conviction and authenticity, and what is more, be true to your word. You don’t have to be a perfectionist, you just have to do what you say you are going to do. As Thom Yorke sings, “You can try the best you can. The best you can is good enough.”
2. Flexibility.
Stretch your skill set out. Don’t be afraid to try something new. If someone asks you to do work at a thing you’re not really proficient at, just let them know that this is new, but you are willing to try. If it’s paid work, let your client know, and perhaps offer them a discount. It generally makes people happy to know they are saving money. You may find yourself using this new skill again.
3. Diversity.
Break through old patterns. Get a piece of paper and two different colored pens. Write down a list of all of the types of venues you are playing at (or jobs you have, or galleries you’re showing at, or what have you). Then, with another color pen, write down the “dream” gigs you want. Research whom to contact at those “dream” places and do that outreach. Introduce and market yourself, even if it seems like a total stretch. You wrote it down on your list, didn’t you? If you’re not prepared for this step, do what it takes to get ready first, and then make contact. Use your skill from #1 and just do it.
4. Keep it fresh.
Don’t get stuck doing the same old tricks. Learn new tunes; write new pieces; make new products that veer away from your familiar styles. Try this: Think ahead for a target season or theme and create new work with a subject in mind. Give yourself an assignment, like: I must write a waltz.
5. Have patience and diligence.
Take time to put your name/product/work out there. Persevere. Just one or two times may not get the attention of the person you are trying to reach. Follow up (and perhaps find another name at the same venue). Be patient with the outcome, but also persistent, and don’t worry about if you fail or not.
“I think you have to try and fail, because failure gets you closer to what you’re good at.” —Louis C.K.
‘Tis the Season! I have Christmas harp music for sale, my CD Harp Carols.
Album Cover design by Luara Moore
“Harp Carols” is a collection of ancient noels on solo harp and features clarinetist Rosalyn DeRoos on the last song. Except for two pieces, all songs are traditional Christmas carols. “Harp Carols” celebrates Europe’s music of 15th Century – 19th Century holiday season and will transport you to a place of Old World calm during this winter’s busiest month. Also included are an improvisation on Gabriel Faure’s “Pavane,” and “Journey to the Magi,” an original tune a la Alice Coltrane with influence by the T.S. Eliot poem.
I will be playing a seasonal concert in Seattle area this year! The concert will be one of healing and meditation featuring harp solos and duets, honoring the quietude of the winter solstice and the light within each one of us during this dark season.
I’ll be performing live December 23rd, 2016 at: Healing Harp Tones, a harp concert in duet with Monica Schley & Motter Snell. Interfaith Community Sanctuary 1763 NW 62nd St Seattle, WA 98107 7pm
Autumn means organization, or at least to some people it does! My harp students know that when they come over to my studio, they will invariably see piles of yellow legal pads, music books, sheets of poems, pencils, postcards, to-do lists, headphones, and manila legal files stuffed with more of the same on and surrounding my desk. New studies show, though, that might not be such a bad thing for a creative type like me.
Virtually, things are much cleaner for me. I’ve just compiled a concise bibliography of selected publications and posted them to my website (Recordings & Writing). Its an organized list of selected poems and essays I’ve written, available in one easy to find place – imagine that!
