Tabithatheibpk is practicing the harp
Untitled
5 months ago
I just got a harp a couple of weeks ago. I don’t have a teacher yet, but I have book and dvd to work with. I hope to find a teacher in the fall.
How to play the harp
It made me 
"Playing the harp was an experience I'd encourage everyone to try at least once."
How I did it: My parents asked me when I was 15 what I would like to learn if I didn't enjoy the piano that much and I asked to learn the harp. I'd seen NeNe Thomas's sister Annabelle playing at Scarborough Faire in Texas, and I'd wanted to learn since. (I must say, I regret not choosing a more portable instrument!) We found a local teacher and I learned the Grandjany method for 3 years. The experience was so fun, that my younger brother and sister, my mother AND my father all took lessons for periods of time. We amassed 3 harps in 3 years, two lever harps and a concert harp.
Lessons & tips: You need a vehicle that can move these beasts. Seriously. And this will be your newest car, in terms of pricing. My favorite harp was a Dusty Strings Bubinga Wood 36 string lever harp. It made the most beautiful tones. Do NOT buy cheap harps, whatever you do. Harps should cost somewhere between 2 and 3 thousand for a lever, and 15-20 thousand for a pedal harp and the reason they're so expensive is because it takes quality craftmanship to make a harp that doesn't go out of tune every day, and make a big lovely sound.
Also, don't expect to ever have fingernails again. Unless you like spending a fortune on strings.
Resources:
The American Harp Society is the best group to join to find teachers, people wanting to start ensembles or to just talk with other harp enthusiasts. You won't find near the amount of information on the internet about the local community as you will at one meeting at the AHS.
Digital tuners are a must to owning a harp( they go out of tune if you breathe on them, I swear!) and aren't too expensive.
People doing this are also doing these things:
Entries
Untitled
18 months ago
I learned to play when I was about ten.
havent really played it in a while, but its just like a piano standing up.
No sweat.
Sounds pretty no matter what your level of experience, too.
I was getting paid a couple hundred bucks a gig just to play some glisses and a few simple songs.
Actually
2 years ago
this should be “Touch a harp” (not in the case.. i’ve done that.)... because the goal is not to learn to play the harp (though if it threw itself at me… haha.. sure!) but i definately want to sit down with a harp and spend some quiet time with it, feeling the notes it makes. just sort of experimenting—like you would an acoustic guitar that was laying around.
nero
2 years ago
i’ll feel weird checking this one off. i got a harp two days ago, and play it plenty and all that, and even over the course of 48 hours i can tell that i’ve gone from that what-the-crap-do-i-do stage to something a little more substantial. maybe i’ll check off this goal once i can play a two-handed song off a music sheet well, something i’m having trouble getting around to.
so far, my advice is that a book on proper technique seems to be a must. there are so many ways to play it wrong that will give you werid buzzing noises, that will hurt your back, hurt your arms and wrists. actually, i’m pretty sure lessons are a must, but i don’t have the time or the money until the summertime, so i will survive without them. looking up ‘harpist’ on youtube also helps confirm that certain wrist motions or techniques are okay, so that bad habits don’t form.
it’s also neat how many contemporary techniques there are: making the harp sound like a xylophone, a guitar, a gong, other things too. i got a pretty bottom-of-the-line harp, light-weight, no stand, no pedals. i’m sure that soon i’ll regret the no-pedals thing, but at least it makes the harp portable (which is good because i’m moving out of my apartment in four months, then moving again four months after that). tuning it every time before i play isn’t a big deal, and it kind of insures that since i went to that trouble to play the harp now, i won’t stop in four minutes and go play nintendo wii. tuning it helps to take the harp seriously.
i got an instument so that i could get into songwriting, but i don’t want to rush it. i’ve composed a few tiny things but nothing i couldn’t have done on a piano. harp makes everything sound better though; the piano here at my parent’s house is pretty ditzy and untuned, so that helps too. as a result, any tiny composition i make up sounds pretty, but i think i have to convince myself to get way better at the technique before i get ahead of myself. there are strength, raising, posture, precision exercises that i need to get down pat; i should probably block of a part of each day for it. i’m usually most efficient at night, but i have roommates who go to bed early so i can’t make my practice time during the night. maybeee this instument will kinda reconfigure my daily routine, something i’d welcome.
Beginnig Harp Player
2 years ago
I have recently begun taking Harp Lessons. I am interested in hearing about the experiences of other adult beginners and any practice methods that have been helpful. I will be happy to share my experiences as I develop new skills.
Harps are so beautiful
3 years ago
I have a thing for strings….
Can’t wait till I get my hands on a harp
Wonder when I will finally get to learn it??
I'm proud that this is moving along!
3 years ago
A couple months ago, I drove to Denver and looked at a roomful of harps at Kolacny Music Store. I ended up buying a Dusty Strings Ravenna 26-string harp. I have loved it! Learning the hand positioning and patterns hasn’t been as difficult as I expected, and right now I can play a few songs fairly well from memory, the melody only and nothing fancy with my left hand.
“Over the Rainbow” was the first song I learned.
I have taken three lessons with a teacher in Denver, and one lesson with another teacher in Fort Collins. Now I’m in the predicament of deciding which I want to stick with, since I’m driving a fair distance from Western Nebraska, twice a month, for these lessons. I need to decide in the next day or two, as this coming Thursday is my next scheduled day. Tough decision.
Untitled
4 years ago
Harp was my first instrument, I started studying it when I was 7. I played classical harp for four years, and then picked it up again in college, mostly early music and folk music. It’s a fun instrument, but be prepared to fix a lot of broken strings and tune a lot. If you want to play complicated music, you’ll need a classical pedal harp, and they cost and weigh a great deal. It’s an investment.
