Harp Articles write an article

Over this summer, Angelic Harp Studio hosted a Harp Workshop.
 
Why Harp Workshop?  As harpists we tend to have isolated musical experiences and rarely have opportunities to study alongside of...

How to Take Harp Lessons Witnout Leaving Home
 
I have harp students in Hawaii, Nova Scotia and New Hampshire! I live in California, but thanks to online harp lessons, and the marvelous, free technology provided by Skype, these and other students like them now have a teacher. I'm often contacted by people without access to a harp teacher in their area, looking for another way. The great news is, I've found it. Now anyone anywhere can receive the same instruction and benefits of those who come in person to my studio.
 
What Do You Need to Begin?
~ A harp~ The...

Hey, parents and teachers...this part's for YOU !  PLEASE  READ !It's wonderful that you've decided to help your child get started with the autoharp.  My goals in teaching autoharp to children are (1) to introduce your child to the fun of accompanying her singing with the autoharp and (2)   to impart an intuitive sense of song and chord structure and allow him to begin to see common ways songs are put together.   The parents' jobs:1.  Tune the autoharp and check the tuning every time your child plays.  This is very important.  If your child is going to learn a sense of pitch  and be able to hear and enjoy the chords, she must hear notes in tune.  Playing an out-of-tune instrument is confusing to children, and will hinder their learning significantly.  2.  Help your child get set up comfortably to play.Most children cannot hold the 'harp upright and pick it.  Therefore, they will need to sit at a table/chair of the proper height with the book propped up on its edges using the non-skid material included.  They will also need a pick.  Often you can find extra-large picks in the music store.  Felt picks also work nicely.  Or you can cut a good-sized smooth triangle from an old laundry soap bottle.  The autoharp should be set on the table with the LONG BASS STRINGS side AWAY from the child.  This will allow her to strum the instrument like a dulcimer, with the right hand, while chording with the left hand, thus avoiding crossing hands.  3.  Assist your child in finding a good singing key for each song.Children's singing voices are lower than one expects, and it taking some care to find a comfortable singing key will make your child much more willing to sing.  4.  Help with the lesson "homework"   5.  Sing along, have fun, be positive and encouraging, but DON'T PUSH, CAJOLE,          THREATEN, OR COMPETE WITH YOUR CHILD!     This is so important.  Remember, this is PLAY.  Don't call it "practice" or "work" or try to achieve specific learning goals with your child.  The learning comes from having fun, making pleasing music, and getting lots of praise and encouragement.  Don't push your child to "perform".  S(he) will quickly learn, if given some opportunities without pressure, that performing is great fun.  Also, if you are learning autoharp at the same time as your child, learn a completely different set of songs and tunes and use an adult method, (such as my book, "It's an Autoharp: a very first beginner's guide to autoharp playing") And if your child decides she wants to play something different from what are assigned in the lessons, S(HE) HAS ACHIEVED THE MOST IMPORTANT LEARNING GOAL!  Encourage exploration!  Now here are some helpful hints to get you going:
WHAT KIND OF AUTOHARP SHOULD YOU GET FOR A CHILD?  Generally, I recommend getting children full-sized instruments and playing them on a table until the child is big enough to pick them up.    There are some small instruments available; but of those the ones that are affordable are often very limited and don't sound very good.  There is one small instrument of excellent quality (the Sparrowharp designed by Evo Bluestein and built and sold by Pete Daigle at www.daigleharp.com); however the cost of this is often more than a parent can afford. 
TUNINGYou should ALWAYS keep the 'harp in tune.  Children learn to hear musical intervals by playing and hearing instruments.  Often children can learn to tune the instrument by around ate 8 - 10 years, but will need LOTS of help at first.  If the 'harp is out of tune, this will hamper the child's learning.  In order to tune the 'harp, you'll need a tuning wrench.  I find a "T" shaped wrench or a long-handled wrench used for hammered dulcimers easiest to use.  It is possible to tune your instrument by ear with a pitch pipe or keyboard, if you have a lot time and work hard at it.  However, an electronic tuner (available for about $30-$60) will make tuning a snap and if you play (and therefore tune) often, you'll find it a very good investment.  Another handy tool is a tuning clip.  This attaches to a tuning pin, and plugs into the tuner.  It helps  the tuner to "hear" the instrument...

First of all, some definitions.  Generally the designations of "beginner", "intermediate" or "advanced" players are just to let people know at about what level a class/workshop will be offered.  They aren't meant to exclude anyone...many accomplished players like to take beginner workshops occasionally to brush up on basic techniques or see how other teachers teach, and many beginners like to go to advanced workshops in order to know where to "set their sights" as they go along.  The reason for even putting these designations on workshops is to give people an idea what to expect, so that the advanced player won't be bored by a beginning workshop, or the beginning player won't be flummoxed by an advanced workshop and/or ask perfectly reasonable yet basic questions that can frustrate and slow down the rest of the participants. Because I teach a lot of classes  in Seattle and at festivals elsewhere, and also with my associates  organize the Seattle Autoharp Week, I've thought a lot about how to organize learners into compatible groups. It's not as easy as it might seem. That said, I most often consider...

What you believe about yourself - and about your own musical abilities - has a direct relationship to how well you progress learning to play the harp. As with any other area of your life, what you believe creates the only limits to what you can achieve.
Believing that you “aren’t musical” or talented enough to play the harp (or any other instrument) well is like living in a locked room with an open door. If you simply operate from the belief that you live in a locked room, you will never notice the door swinging open right behind you. What would happen if you learned to believe in your unlimited power to learn?
First things first: what would those beliefs look like? Here are three essential and powerful beliefs to cultivate about playing the harp.
1. I deserve to spend time exploring my musical passion.
Frequently, most of us complain that we just don’t have time to practice, or to practice those things that are new and challenging, and so we stay in our musical rutts. The truth is, we all have the same amount of time, and we get to what we most want to do by setting priorities. But setting a priority on a personal goal like musical...

It's incredibly easy to accompany your singing with an autoharp.  With a little more work, you can learn to play melodies, and jam with other musicians.  And with a lot of practice, you can become an autoharp virtuso.   It's good to remember that the autoharp is a folk instrument--one that is meant to be played in an individual and original style.  Others can help you get started and teach you new techniques, but you will actually learn to play the instrument by playing it.  Give yourself the gift of some time each day to sit down, relax, put your 'harp to your ear, and let it sing to you. Please read over these general hints as you get started.  They will help you learn faster and have more fun.  TUNINGThis is the first rule of autoharp playing: KEEP YOUR INSTRUMENT IN TUNE! You must keep your autoharp in tune if you're going to enjoy it and  if you're going to play with or for anyone else. Probably the most inconsiderate thing you can do is to play for someone or come to an instrumental jam with your 'harp out of tune. This will perpetuate a common misunderstanding about autoharps, and will make you an unwelcome guest at any musical gathering.  In order to tune the 'harp, you'll need a tuning wrench.  I find a "T" shaped wrench or a long-handled wrench (the kind often used to tune a hammered dulcimer) easiest to use.  It is possible to tune your instrument by ear with a pitch pipe or keyboard, if you have a lot time and work hard at it.  However, an electronic tuner (available for about $30-$60) will make tuning a snap and if you play (and therefore tune) often, you'll find it a very good investment.  Another handy tool is a tuning clip.  This attaches to a tuning pin, and plugs into the tuner.  It helps  the tuner to "hear" the instrument better and will allow you to tune in noisy places.  These can be purchased in any music store.How often should you tune? Whenever you need to. If the temperature and humidity are stable and you are not playing very hard, and your 'harp tends to stay in tune fairly well, you may only need to tune it every 1-2 weeks. On the other hand, if you're playing long and hard and taking your instrument into different physical conditions, you may have to re-tune it 2-3 times per day. Always check your tuning before playing with or for others. Here's how you do it. Start with your highest note (usually C) and tune each C on the autoharp. Then do each F,  each G, each D .  Then you can tune all the notes in between in any order. If you do it this way, rather than just chromatically going up or down the 'harp, you will  apply stress more evenly across your 'harp, and will end up with the 'harp more evenly and easily in tune and help it stay in tune better.  You may find that your tuner doesn't register too well on the lower notes, and so you'll need to tune those by ear.  Once you have tuned all the individual strings on the 'harp, slowly play all the chords you have, and make certain they are tuned to your ear. This will allow you to make fine adjustments and also to catch any mistakes you may have made by tuning a string to the wrong note (a frequent occurrence).  Remember to always use your ear as the final measure of whether the chords that the 'harp produces are in tune. HOLDING AND POSITIONING THE AUTOHARPThe 'harp can be played either on your lap or holding it up to your body. The older "A" model harps were made to be played on the lap or on a table and strummed below the chord bars. The newer 'harps are designed to be held upright against your body (which produces a much better sound on virtually all 'harps), and so are awkward when played on the lap because of the necessity of crossing your hands. If you hold the 'harp upright, you will need to support it in some way. Most people like a leather or nylon webbing strap to support the 'harp in such a way that the hands and arms need only be occupied by playing. Your 'harp will need to have strap buttons on either side.  The strap then hooks to the buttons and goes under the right arm across the back and over the left shoulder. Having to hold your harp in your arms and play at the same time can occasionally lead to shoulder, arm and hand discomfort.  You need to position your 'harp so that your right arm strums through all the strings from the lowest to the highest naturally with a simple rotary motion of your elbow. Your hand should be in a loosely flexed position...like you're holding a big orange, and wrists should be neutral or only slightly flexed. It's a good idea to look in the mirror occasionally while playing to check that your body is straight, your head is balanced and not slouched forward, and that neither shoulder is hunching up as you play. PICKSIn most cases, the autoharp cannot be played satisfactorily or comfortably with bare fingers. Most people use a pick on their thumb and index and middle fingers of the right hand. Some also put picks on the ring and little fingers. The kind of picks you use are a matter of preference. I like to use a plastic thumb pick that is quite wide over the thumb and has a moderate amount of "give" to it. Metal thumb picks, in my experience, are too stiff and cause too harsh a sound as well as discomfort and fatigue in the thumb. The thumb pick must be tight so it stays in place and doesn't rotate around the thumb while playing. You need to try out a number of different thumb picks and decide which one works best for you. Finger picks can be made from metal or various plastic or nylon materials. Many people prefer the metal picks of a heavy gauge.   These seem to keep their shape and stay on the best, and can be bent to really fit the fingers.   I also like either the clear resin  or heat-molding nylon finger picks. It's a good idea to try out both and decide which you like best.SIMPLE REPAIR AND MAINTENANCEYour autoharp requires very little care. There are two things it doesn't like. Those are...