Community college enrichment course

[Angela Biggs]

The class will take place Tuesday, February 26, 5:30pm, at the Claremont, NH campus of River Valley Community College. I’m just about done with my “further resources” handout; this week I’m going through my lesson outline and searching for good YouTube videos to plug in where appropriate. When I’m done with that, I’ll print out the whole thing so that I can analyze the plan on paper — I tend to process information better that way.

I’m also looking for a used Harpsicle or two. I just missed out on a $200 one in Maine; I have a lead on a Flatsicle in TX, but the seller is marketing the case separately, which with shipping will most likely put it out of my price range. Plus, I don’t need the levers for this purpose, and would rather not pay for them — my equipment expenses are strictly out-of-pocket. If you hear of a *very* inexpensive, used harp of 26 strings or more, please let me know! If it’s inexpensive enough, it doesn’t have to be in great condition. Just no Pakistanis, please. I know of one I think I can borrow, but I’m not willing to pay for one.

If I don’t find any very cheap harps by the middle of February, I might order a Fireside cardboard harp kit. It depends on how many students are in the class (I want to limit it to 3 students per instrument, and I don’t want to put anyone on my performance harp!). So far I have my repaired pink Harpsicle and the 22-string Pakistani I’m hoping to borrow.

When I have a confident draft of my lesson plan, I’ll try to figure out how to post it.

[Angela Biggs]

Well, I wasn’t able to figure out a way to post my lesson plan, but the class went off without a hitch last night. I ended up with three students for my three harps (I found another used Harpsicle), so that worked out perfectly! Two of the students were elementary school music teachers, and one had no musical experience, so it was certainly a challenge to balance the level of information I presented. Fortunately, the non-musical woman was a good sport about it, and I was able to present a little more for the benefit of the teachers without a problem.

Musical anagrams was a big hit! I expanded on it a bit by chording under the words. One student came up with “edge.” First she played it through (E-D-G-E), then we all played it through a few times, then the students played it while I played “CM, GM, GM, CM” underneath to flesh it out. It also gave me a chance to demonstrate the rich, rolling tone of the lower notes of a harp.

The two things I really need to tweak are the tuning portion of the class — which really didn’t go well. At all. — and the support mechanisms for the harps. The Harpsicle floor stand worked very well, as did the stool I used for the Pakistani, but the lap stick for the second Harpsicle was not a good choice. Every student had trouble balancing that harp, which was really a shame since we had such limited time available.

But overall, all three seemed enthusiastic when they left, which of course was my point in teaching the class. 🙂

On the down side. . . there was not a single person from my hometown present, which was a little discouraging. The longest commute to class was about 50 minutes, and it’s good to have that kind of reach — but what I’m trying to do is build a harp community *in* my community! I have another more community-centered venue available, so my next project is going to be adapting this 3-hour college course for a 60-90 minute community class, and then figuring out how to advertise it. I think I’m going to go door-to-door with my pink Harpsicle.

If you’d like a copy of my lesson plan, feel free to be in touch. You’ll find my website in my Profile; my email address is at the bottom of the site. My class notes are in Powerpoint, so I can send them to you that way, or as a PDF (I think). Just let me know which you need.

Many thanks to all of you who offered me your help and advice! I appreciate it so very much!

[Angela Biggs]

Edit: We have private messaging now! If you’d like a copy of my lesson (lecture notes in PowerPoint, presentation slides/links in LibreOffice Impress, and an “Anatomy of the Harp” diagram in Word), you can just message me with your email address.

[Author]

Posts