Outline of Courses Taught:

Are you a musician or a technician?  Come on, admit it!  If you would like to learn to transcend the everyday world of harp playing, and play passionately from the unified field of all the laws of nature, the “force” perhaps,  then come on!  This workshop will be most beneficial if the attendees bring their harps and have memorized at least one selection, which they would feel comfortable playing in front of others if called upon to do so.  The master class feel of this workshop requires active participation from most of the class.
 

1. Definition of Passion; how passion affects our performance on the harp

2. Guidelines for passionate playing

3. Techniques for passionate playing: dynamic range, pulling techniques, imagery, "tricks"

4. How to prepare yourself to play passionately

5. Priorities in your performance

6. General practice techniques

Bass Pattern Techniques, Arranging and Composing:

Would you like to be able to “do your own thing” to pieces that you like to play?  This workshop works well for the beginning to intermediate player, for those wanting to develop an arsenal of bass patterns to arm themselves with when attacking a new piece, either their own creation or a known song they would like to arrange.    The beauty of these bass patterns are evident when creating melodies for the sick or intern, so the healing aspect of the harp will also be addressed.
 

1. Bass Patterns: How do you use them, what effect do you want to create, using them for improvising and arranging

2. Arranging your own song: choosing your song, making your introduction, adding the patterns, building, developing, ending, telling your story

3. Improvising with the harp: setting your goals, building levels of complexity, developing the song, using your toolbox

4. General practice techniques
 

Working at Trade Shows: How to Successfully Pedal Your Wares:

Have a product and don’t know what to do with it?  Thinking about recording but don’t know much about what do next?  This workshop will most benefit harpers and harpists who have a product to sell other than their services: tapes, cd, cd gift packs, t-shirts, mugs, etc.  Anyone considering recording or selling harp-related products would also benefit.  Harps are not used in this workshop.
 

1.  Why to consider doing trade shows:

2.  How to choose the right show for you:

3. How to get in to the show you want

4. What do you want to sell?

5. How do you design your booth?

6. How do you sell your wares?

7. Other business decisions to make:

8. What to take with you to maximize your enjoyment of the experience:
 

The 6/6 Cross-Strung: Is It for You?

This workshop is for all cross-strung players and cross-strung wanna-be’s!  Anyone who is curious about this topic but not lusting after a cross-strung harp will probably be confused and overwhelmed and might want to take a less 3-dimensional course.  If you have a cross-strung harp, bring it!
 

1. Why do we have cross-strung harps in the first place?

     A.  History
     B. Application
     C. Current day needs for the harp

2. Where did the pedal harp fit into the picture?

     A. History
     B. Practical advantages and disadvantages

3. How does the cross-strung work?

4. What is a 5/7 cross-strung versus the 6/6?

5. What can the 6/6 do that the 5/7 cannot do?

6. What can the 6/6 do better than the 5/7?

7. What can the 6/6 NOT do?

8. Where can you find one of these beasts?
 

Learning a Celtic Tune in a Session

How do you learn a Celtic tune in a session?  This workshop is NOT for the faint-hearted music reader!  There will be no music stands allowed, and those will several years experience would benefit the most from this workshop.  A complete Celtic tune (several will be suggested and the attendees will get to vote on the final one) will be learned during the course of this workshop, so a fast pace will require beginners to listen and perhaps not participate completely in learning the selection.  The mechanics of learning Celtic tunes in sessions, however, will benefit harpers and harpists of all levels.
 
 

1. What is the role of the harp in a Celtic session?

2. Playing by ear: the theory and the application

     A. Picking up the melody
     B. The importance of repetition!
     C. Finding the chords
     D. Creating a bass line

3. What do you do when you can’t keep up?

4. Let’s learn a tune together!

Middle East Music on the Harp

Middle Eastern music is very passionate and haunting, perfect for playing on the harp.  While some traditional Middle Eastern music requires quarter tone intervals, much of it does not, making the transition from the 'oud or violin to the harp relatively easy.  Learn this beautiful style of music to better appreciate the art and culture of the Middle East.  I love to combine this style of music with belly dancing.  The sensuality of this music and of the harp make it a perfect combination!  Arabic music is passionate, powerful, and quite fun to play on the harp!  A brief explanation of the instruments commonly used in Middle Eastern 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 an Arabic melody are given, with many musical samples. 

1. Fundamentals of Arabic Music

2. Tools for "Arabizing" your music

    A.   Doubling
    B.   Establishing the maqam through intro's
    C.   Ornamentation and embellishments
    D.   Chords
    E.   Echoing
    F.   Playing the tabla/tar/riq

3. Modern variations

    A.   Bass patterns
    B.   Syncopation
    C.   Shifting into traditional style and back
    D.   Chordal harmonies

Music Reading Made Easy

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 course 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.

Music Reading Made Easy will teach you to:

1.    Analyze a song’s structure
2.    Look for patterns in the phrases
3.    Find sections and piece them together
4.    Analyze chord structure and progressions
5.    Quickly identify chord inversions
6.    Identify bass patterns
7.    Read by section, not by song
8.    Understand and appreciate the beautiful logic of the song
9.    Easily move straight into memorizing the piece as you learn it

We will work through a few examples with each item, and then apply this technique to songs brought by the participants (one song per student, please).

Workbooks for the above courses are available for $15.00 per book (except the 6/6 Cross Strung book, which is $8.00), and can be ordered with the enclosed order form, or call toll free, (888) 299-HARP, or (888) 299-4277. Mastercard, Visa and Discover are acceptable, checks okay.

Here are some general playing technique tips that you might find useful for your daily practice:

2. Begin your practice of songs with something simple. Let the hands continue to warm up by playing slowly at first, and faster as your hands allow. A more complex can be used here, but take it very slow at first, and then gradually bring it up to speed with a metronome.

3. Isolate difficult passages, working on them measure by measure, one hand and then both hands together. As the passage is learned, integrate it back into the piece by adding one measure before the passage, then two, then more. This way you get used to playing the passage in context.

4. Playing slowly and accurately is harder than playing fast. Always practice your song slower than written, to iron out all the kinks, then gradually bring it up to speed, increasing your metronome speed when you are able to master the faster speed without mistakes.

5. Notice the use of the word "metronome" in the above tips? Definitely buy one if you don't already have one! You don't need anything fancy. I use a Tick Tock wind up metronome; no bells and whistles, which costs around $40.00 at your local music store.

6. How to overcome stage fright is well covered by Sue Richards in her various courses and publications.

7. Be aware of your body position while playing the harp.  If possible, sit in front of a mirror to check yourself, making sure you are not leaning over or bending your neck.  Sit up straight, keep your neck straight, then bring the harp onto your shoulder, adjusting the harp to you, rather than adjusting your body to the harp.  Stretch your body every once in a while by rolling your shoulders, moving your neck, rolling your spine, and breathing deeply.

More playing technique tips will be added each month; come back and visit!