[ Top Ten Tips To Remember About Playing In Public - A Poem ]

1. It's a harp. They're gonna love it.

2. They don't know if you make a mistake unless you telegraph it. Go on playing and smile.

3. Even if you do make a mistake and do telegraph it, they won't care. It's a harp. They're gonna love it.

4. It's just you and the music. The audience is a bonus, but it really is always just about you and the music.

5. Pieces you know that are not familiar are better choices than ones everyone knows every note of.

6. Noodling in the middle is perfectly acceptable until you can find your way back to the tune. It's called improvising. They'll think you did it on purpose, and since it's a harp, they're gonna love it.

7. Three tunes you could play in your sleep, played as a set, are the best friend you will ever have up there.

8. People aren't as tired of the old standards as you are. Go on, play "Greensleeves". On a harp, they'll love it.

9. The audience is on your side. They are not the enemy. They will always be far less critical of you than you are.

10. You are sharing yourself in a way few people do, and you have a right to be proud of that. And since you are doing it with a HARP....yes, you remember. They're gonna love it.

Poem by Aisling the Bard
Maureen Duffy-Boose
www.technoharp.com