This year certainly has had many challenges for those of us in the arts, hasn’t it?

In these uncertain times, it’s time to get creative! People are still planning events, only on a smaller scale.  Contact your clients, event planners, and function facilities about micro-events. The harp is perfect for these small, intimate gatherings. Sometimes you can even perform virtually!

Get on a roster for online performances, perhaps through your school or as an alumnus. If you play at a library or other venue which has a concert schedule, propose playing online for them. 

Teach! Let your local music store or harp store know you’re accepting new students. You can even advertise online. Online teaching is great fun, and you don’t have to travel to teach in cities and countries all over the world.

Do podcasts or Instagram demonstrations online. You can cultivate a following and have people subscribe to your shows.

Work on your arrangements or try writing some original pieces. Then you can offer them as digital downloads on websites like Harp Column Music.

—Felice Pomeranz is professor of harp at Berklee College and Boston Conservatory at Berklee, director of The Gilded Harps, and American Harp Society Northeast Regional Director. 

During these unprecedented times, it has been exciting to watch musicians find creative ways to connect with their audiences. Maybe you finally wrote down some arrangements and published them, but those projects may take some time to pay off financially. One simple way that I have generated more income was to apply to become a substitute teacher. While going into a classroom may not be appealing to many people right now, I chose to do this knowing that there would be a need in my community, and I am much less vulnerable than many substitutes who are retired teachers. Music teachers have an especially hard time finding qualified substitutes, and I have been able to specialize in that area. I have subbed for orchestra at multiple schools and have brought my harp into the classroom, performing for students remotely and in person. They were delighted and had lots of questions as well as ideas for new pieces I should learn! Maybe this will generate some new students down the line, but even if it doesn’t, I am happy to share my love of harp with a new audience.

Looking for other ways to share music and serve the community, I contacted some music directors at churches I had played for in the past. I offered to record some music for them for free as a gift for their services. Although this was meant to be a service project, many churches still insisted on paying me. I believe as you try to pay it forward opportunities will continue to arrive.

—Erin Wood received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Indiana University, and teaches privately and at University of Kansas.

I am very grateful for the new students that have come my way during the pandemic, whom I teach virtually through Zoom or Facetime. Students have found me through a variety of sources including word of mouth, recommendations from fellow teachers whose studios are full, direct requests through my website, Instagram, and virtual events. Many students who found me through Instagram mentioned they searched the hashtags #harp and #harpteacher and came across me that way. I made sure to put a link to the teaching section of my website directly in my Instagram bio so it is easy to contact me. In addition, offering group harp classes can be a big boost to income. I find that many adults are wanting to take up the harp during this time,, and group offerings can be a great way to provide extra instruction for them and extra income as a teacher. 

Equipping my home studio for recording has also proven to be useful; that way I can accept opportunities to record for a variety of different sessions or to play live for virtual events. This can easily be done through a simple mic setup, simple backdrop, and a ring light. I use a blank white wall, a $20 ring light I found on Amazon, and the Shure MV 88 mic which plugs right into my phone. •

—Elizabeth Steiner enjoys an active career as a freelancer in the Philadelphia area and serves as a teaching artist for the Lyra Society.