Harp Demo for Kids

[Sidney Dharmavaram]

I’m going to have the opportunity to demonstrate the harp to school kids in a couple weeks.

[Philippa mcauliffe]

I have done quite a bit of this at school but I am only an intermediate player. Whenever I took my harp into primary school for a concert I would get loads of people wanting to know about it afterwards. Parents and kids. I have drummed up new pupils for my teacher too but only a few.

Special effects go down well. Bit of sound board rhythmic stuff gets their attention. Boys like plenty of noise, girls like rippling things! They all want to do a gliss and the really keen ones I show closing and opening with one hand, get them to do it in the air then on a few strings to make a tune.

Pedal or lever? Bit of jazz pedal or lever slides or something lloyd webbery or pop goes down well. Make sure you know about cheap harps and rentals. That’s what they all ask about I am afraid for obvious reasons. If you have a small cheaper harp yourself or can borrow one take that with you to drum up business. I don’t think pedal is the best for that – too intimidating frankly although people do love to see and hear a pedal harp and see how they work.

Philly

[steven-todd-miller]

This is my day job! (I teach 2nd grade) I’ve done these types of demos for years. Here’s what I’ve found to be successful. Overall, keep your sentences very short- don’t go into a great deal of technical language. Begin with the science of the harp. Talk about how sound is produced through vibrations and illustrate it with the lowest and highest string. Have them count how long it takes the bass string to stop vibrating, then the highest one. This will lead you into discussion about wavelength producing low/high sounds. Give a micro-short history of the harp (cavemen -Egyptians – troubadours- Erard). Then go into the pedals and how they work. Play a segment of a piece, then tell them you’ll randomly move the pedals. Play the same piece you just did- they’ll be amazed. At this time explain why you play the harp and your harp training/background. (Keep it brief! You’ll lose them if you pontificate about yourself.) Finish up with a showy piece, and for bonus points play a children’s song they could sing along with you – the a-b-c song will be fine. As a rule, I don’t offer for the kids to play it; it inevitably turns into wild banging on the strings as each child progresses through. This format should work up to 5th grade. Good luck!

[Sidney Dharmavaram]

Those are some great ideas!

[sherry-lenox]

The band kids may enjoy learning that many large professional bands had harpists, and that the military bands today still do!

[Susan Abken]

What a wonderful thing to do! I have given numerous harp demonstrations in three states, for pay and as a volunteer, in various libraries, schools and churches. Years ago, our school year in Fairfax County, I was a CAPS artist.

Suggestions:

Make sure the harp(s) that you bring is/are insured if you move it/them outside of your home for this purpose. Contact The American String Teachers Association or the American Harp Society.

Smile in the front office and be prepared to wear a name tag or necklace to identify you as a volunteer on the campus. Be prepared to show identification. Leave yourself ample time to set up and tune.

Have each student wash and dry his/her hands before the demonstration with no application of hand lotion. Keep as many adults as possible in the room to keep order.

Once you have the routine established, practice it in front of a mirror or some guinea pig students so that the words flow smoothly and to time it. Use index cards for reminders of all of the points to cover. Smile with lots of eye contact.

If possible, find and bring a simple hunting bow. You do not need any arrows, and they would not be allowed on school property. The bow was the ancestor of all modern stringed instruments. Mention from our culture, King David, Biblical references to stringed instruments very briefly, OT and NT, harps in stained glass windows in houses of worship, the harp in use in Ireland in Christian worship since the six-hundreds, the destruction of harps and harpsichords in the French Revolution, President Adams’ wife as harpist, the uses of harps in Western culture today. Show pictures of simple harps that still resemble bows from other cultures, if you can obtain any. Mention why the third side of the triangle was eventually added. Tell the students of museums in their country with good musical instrument collections.

Bring as many harps as possible, if you own them in multiple sizes. Keep them covered and out of sight until you talk about each one, to pique the students’ interest.

Tell the kids who made your harp, its strings and of what materials, woodworking as a craft and art. Mention the need for woods to be aged, weathered, or properly kiln-dried to prevent cracking. Mention the qualities of wood and strings, expanding and contracting with changes in temperature and humidity levels. A bit of physics: sound waves, pitch and string length, intervals, scales. Demonstrate the pedals/levers. Consider a brief fun”quiz” on half and whole steps. No looking at your feet or the strings!

Talk about the production of the sound, how raising allows the sound waves to move through the air, not physically blocked by your hands and forearms. Placing before plucking, the fleshy part of the finger, how short your nails are, etc, why playing with pinky fingers does not work, how to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome, etc. Define: work ethic. Describe: practice.

By this point, you are an asset to the science department, the music program, the history teacher, the shop class, and the principal.

Perform a short recital. Explain how to know when a harpist is finished with a piece and demonstrate placing the harp in upright position so that the audience knows the work is over to cue the students to clap. Let everybody know that utter silence is expected during a recital, no coughing, etc. Include music from different historical periods and last on the program a piece the students will recognize. If you own a tambourine, bring it for the Renaissance dance. Select a student with a good sense of rhythm to accompany you on that one. Hand out the tambourine. Collect it back as soon as you complete that piece. Have everybody clap for the rhythm section, too. Give country of origin and full names of composers. Define what a composer and an arranger are. Define: transcription.

At the end, with their clean washed hands with no hand lotion or French fry grease, waiting in line, each student gets to play a glissando, which you will define, and mention how Italian is the language of music. Rattle off other Italian words.

Plan well and have fun! Make sure you really practice this number! Your handout at the end could contain a summary of all of the information you have presented, plus your name and how to contact you.

[Sidney Dharmavaram]

I gave the demo yesterday at the school.

[steven-todd-miller]

Congratulations! Sounds like you did an awesome job!

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