Any Harp Singers out there?

[Alicia D. Strange]

Does anyone play Harp and sing at the same time?

[janet-king]

Dee Carstenson comes to mind as a singer-harper.

[SEAN DUCHINSKY]

alicia-though she is said to be retired, i have old tapes of the irish harpist mary o’hara.

[alexander-rider]

Joanna newsom…although her voice is really weird, she sings and plays harp in a very co-ordinated way. I try and sing and play at the same time, but find it a struggle too sometimes; it is much easier to sing with my Irish harp than my pedal harp. Alex p.s Deborah henson conant like to play standing so you could e-mail her to ask!

[unknown-user]

Emily Mitchell has performed as such, and so does Osian Ellis. I don’t know how, as it is indeed difficult to support and project your voice while sitting behind a harp. Why not collaborate with a singer instead?

[unknown-user]

HI!
I sing and play harp. It takes a while to get the hand of it…you really have to have the chords in your fingers and have the song in your “body” :). Sounds a little hoke-y, but works. I usually sing sitting down, but have done some gigs with a harpsicle standing up.
I am primarily a harpist, not a singer. I have studied North Indian classical singing instead of Western and they sing sitting down. Maybe that method would help?

all the best in noise,
mia
http://www.harpgrrl.com

[unknown-user]

I sing and play the harp at the same time. The key for me is having a harp part that does not have a lot to “think” about. Any “fancy” playing is reserved for interludes when I don’t sing. That way I can concentrate on singing, with the harp as an accompaniment. It is easier to sing with a lever harp, simply because it is not as heavy, but I mainly sing with my pedal harp.

I sing and play sitting down. I try not to think about my diaphragm–yes, that’s what voice teachers say to do, but if I think about it my throat tightens. Instead, I relax between my shoulder blades, feel as if a rubberband around my ribs was stretched to its tightest point, and think of breathing a column of air *up* my spine rather than *into* my lungs. (Yes, the diaphragm is involved, I just don’t focus on it. I focus on my spine and letting the notes “come out” from my forehead between my eyes.) I think of singing on that “column of air” without letting the air movement stop and try to keep my ribcage expanded at all times (which will feel weird until you get used to it–then it’s not a problem).

Not sure if that makes sense, but it’s what works for me. Hope something works for you, too!

[Elizabeth Volpé Bligh]

I always sing the melody to whatever orchestra part I’m practising (if I know the melody!).
Same for any chamber music. It is a great tool for becoming more tuned in to what’s going
on around you, and it really helps your phrasing.

[Evangeline Williams]

Breath control is a tricky thing.

[unknown-user]

At the International Folk Harp Society Harp Conference, I had the pleasure to hear Laurie Riley sing as well as Verleen shermer.

[Kara Dahl Russell]

I play and sing.

[Julietta Anne Rabens]

There are many excellent comments in this thread. Years ago I had vocal training and then harp training, but more recently I am putting these together with the plan to record a CD. I agree that breath support is the biggest issue when sitting and playing. What I have been doing is to complete a 30 minute stretching routine to open up all my breathing muscles and then do vocal warmups before working at the harp. These include a focus on breath support when away from the harp. When playing I

[Zoe Vandermeer]

Hi Alicia, I accompany my singing on both celtic harp and baroque triple harp.

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