From Sight Reading to Memorization
If you think learning to sight read harp music means spending hours
laboriously repetitively playing a song measure by measure, think
again! With a few simple steps, you can learn to sight read
anything without anxiety, and will be able to memorize easier as
well! This thirteen page booklet will give you lots of music
theory tools as they apply to the harp, making music theory a hands-on
experience that will benefit you with every new song you choose to
learn. Working these steps takes you out of just sight reading
and into the deeper experience of truly knowing the piece, how it
works, where it is going, and what tools the composer used to create it.
Passionate Playing
This twelve page booklet defines and explains Passionate Playing on the harp, and offers specific techniques for playing passionately. It is in an outline form, with worksheets for you to complete on paper or on the harp. It is useful as a tool for self-teaching as well as for use with your harp teacher. This material was first presented at the ISFHC Conference in Burlington, Vermont, and was received extremely well!
Bass Pattern for Arranging and Composing
This thirteen page booklet offers 21 left-hand bass patterns to
integrate
into your
arranging repertoire. It offers improvising and arranging theories as
well as tangible
outlines for composing your own song or a known melody you would like
to put to the harp. Best of all, it synthesizes all of this
valuable knowledge into a "toolbox" of both bass pattern techniques and
melody ideas for you to have in front of you.
Celtic Music: Styles and Techniques
This twelve page booklet covers a brief history of Celtic music, the
differences between Irish, Scottish, and Welsh music. Also
detailed is the role of the Celtic harp in a "session," or Celtic music
gathering; playing by ear; having a "plan B" for when you can't keep
up; and ornamentation for Scottish and Irish harp music.
Selling Your Wares at Trade Shows
This fifteen page booklet gives you all the details you need to take
your recording or product sales on the road to trade shows (gift show,
arts and crafts shows, fine arts festivals, music festivals). You
need to be VERY well organized, and this booklet will do just
that! Topics include: why to consider doing trade shows; how to
choose the right show for you; how to get in to the show you want; what
do you want to sell; how do you design your booth; how do you sell your
wares; other business decisions to make; and what to take with you to
maximize your enjoyment of the experience. Checklists and other
forms are included in this extremely valuable book about the business
of selling your music.
The 6/6 Cross-Strung: Is it the
Harp for You?
This five page booklet explains what a cross-strung harp is and its
history. The "standard" historical cross-strung harp is different
from the "6/6," which I invented, and these differences are laid out in
detail. I examine the pro's and con's of the historical vs 6/6
design, and explain why I think the 6/6 design is better! $8.00
only!
Middle Eastern Music on the Celtic Harp
Middle Eastern music is passionate, powerful, and quite fun to play
on the
harp! Even without including the quarter tones often used in
Arabic music, we can play this genre of music very effectively.
In this 24-page book, a
brief explanation of the instruments commonly used in Arabic music is
given, with detailed technical explanations of how you can emulate
these different instruments. Techniques for both a traditional
and a modern treatment of a Middle Eastern melody are given, with many
musical
samples. These workbooks sold out at the Somerset West Folk Harp
Festival in 2006!
Each of the above booklets includes general practice techniques, is
spiral bound with a clear acetate cover for maximum durability and ease
during practice, and is $15.00 except where noted above.
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