Hello – I'm learning the harp

[randal]

FWIW – I believe this aspect (whether study with an instructor is essential) is largely dependent upon what one aspires to in their playing. Viability is likely a mix of factors – particularly for an advanced musician on other various instruments.

[Beginner Sarah]

Thank you all for some really interesting ideas and opinions. These will all help inform the piece of academic work I am doing.

It seems to me that for those who wish to progress to a high standard of performance, face to face lessons are fairly essential BUT from what randal says, it would be possible for someone who wished to play for their own enjoyment to learn on their own.

I think that many of us music teachers/performers presume our own desire for as high a standard as possible is reflected in the ambitions of our students. After twenty years of teaching, I’ve finally realised (and made peace with the fact) this is not true. While I’ve been lucky enough to train several young musicians who gained entry to the best Conservatoire in Scotland, I’ve also taught many adults who simply want to play for their own enjoyment. I coach a wind quartet whose members all learned to play a wind instrument on their retiral. They get huge pleasure from playing together and are now good enough to play in the care homes in our area and perform well enough to give enjoyment to the residents. I consider their achievement to be on a par with those of my young students who went on to become professional musicians.

I would imagine that someone determined to learn to play the harp to the standard of the members of my retired group would be able to do so using OERs. In fact, I would expect someone with previous musical background might even go a little further.

Again, thank you so much for all your detailed replies – I’ll let you know how my project goes and also keep frequenting the various fora for information.

This website is an amazing resource!

Best Wishes,

Sarah

[Sonya Wiley]

Where do i find the first six weeks by Boscha? sounds interesting

[Biagio]

Sarah, I think that you have made a very important point. To whit: the value of playing/learning with a group. This of course was how people learned the harp for centuries (I am not writing now of the concert pedal harp; a newcomer in historical terms).

With some kinds of harps we’re only now discovering or rediscovering effective techniques, and transferring those to other kinds. As one who is fascinated by the old folk crafts, this is very exciting to me. I’ll even take this one step further: making your own harp, even if it is just a little one, opens up new doors.

Alas, in many parts of the world it is difficult to find a sufficient number of harpers to form a circle. But that’s getting easier all the time and some are able to play in session with other traditional musicians that go well with the harp – pipes, guitar, violin etc.

Also as you and Randal observe, a solid background in music certainly is a boost. Put those two together – even if the group has just one other harper – and I would agree that one can learn to play the instrument happily and quite well.

Further, once your hands know their way around the strings playing with eyes closed or in a darkened room can be both very pleasant and an excellent learning device. I think Randal has discussed this elsewhere(?).

Best wishes,
Biagio

[Biagio]

You can find “The First Six Weeks” in the original in a number of places including here:

http://www.free-scores.com/download-sheet-music.php?pdf=23209#

which includes his stretch tuning method that was discussed elsewhere on this forum.

His Universal Method for the Harp in the original can be found here:

https://archive.org/details/universalmethodf00boch

Have fun!
Biagio

[Janis Cortese]

I think to some extent it also depends on whether you have experience learning another instrument. I’m a self-starter on harp, but I’ve been a pianist for most of my life, with 8 years of classical-flavored lessons as a child. As a result, I don’t have to spend time learning theory or how to read music, and I’m familiar with the general approach of learning how to manipulate a musical device (go slowly, do mental practice, get as many perspectives as possible, make sure you are doing things in a healthy manner, do your exercises, etc.).

I can’t tell you how many things I gained from my piano background that were helpful for the harp, including keeping the long bones of the hand aligned with the long bones of the arm, going slowly and maintaining suppleness, being automatically aware of tension, understanding how tiny changes in posture affect ability and how to optimize for that …

As a result, I think that a person who already has some experience learning one instrument at a high level might be a better candidate as an autodidact with another. There’s learning an instrument, and learning how to learn an instrument; if you can generalize your knowledge from learning Instrument A to Instrument B, you can give yourself a substantial leg-up.

However, learning as a complete adult newcomer to the world of music would be a pretty big challenge. You don’t know the instrument, but neither do you know how one goes about learning an instrument.

[Biagio]

Agreed Janis, and as has already been said it also depends on how far one wishes to go. For someone who already is comfortable reading music, but with no harp training a perusal of Deborah Friou’s

Harp Exercises for Agility and Speed

may be revealing.

I would suggest that one can go fairly far in it on their own, but it may be evident that if the hands and arms are all over the place it would be impossible to play (for example) the final theme and variations etude with any dexterity.

Biagio

[Janis Cortese]

Yeah — and there are certainly some ergonomic issues that can punk you that even knowing another instrument won’t help with. I’m thinking of how knowing the piano did NOT help me with the physical fundamentals of the viola, granted that’s one of the most awkward instruments ever invented. On any instrument, there are ergonomic gotchas lurking that could interfere with progress or outright damage you if you don’t have someone there who can warn you around the potholes.

[randal]

After life of classical and flamenco guitar study – and all the while ‘conceiving’ of harp, aspiring to play – I was primed for harp. The highly technical idiomatic devices involved in flamenco are as rigorous an exercise as a hand will encounter among any/all the instruments. In this instance, playing (the guitar) facilitated an ability on the harp (there are even several shared aspects); of course, the left hand (my fingering hand on fingerboard strings) had to be brought along more, as it had to make more of a transition..

Other instruments also are highly nuanced in their technical requirements – orchestral strings, wind instruments, etc; naturally these have less overt ‘analogue’ in harping technique. But the classical/flamenco guitar, for me, carried over exceptionally well: when I was considering acquiring my first harp (as an older adult) I imagined it would be technically ‘easy’ to play – technical elements/mechanics in the right hand, given my previous experience – and when I first picked it up it was exactly as I’d imagined.

I play trad tunes (Irish/Scottish), O’Carolan, repertoire from the ap Huw manuscript; so, I’m practicing tunes and techniques relative to this idiom alone – rather than working on broader expansion of repertoire/technical advances – and actually am studying other instruments similarly – fiddle, free-reeds, flute – deploying much the same technical and stylistic ‘vernacular’ (in the ornamentation, phrasing, etc) on each.

[Tacye]

I think my top two tips to players teaching themselves are
1) Elbows – keep them free and out in ‘cutting a tough steak’ position.
2) Play loud (but try to avoid blisters). All sorts of things work when you are gently tickling the strings which don’t when you play harder, but toning volume down is generally straightforward and those Pilgrim Clarsachs can take fairly strong playing.

Have you thought about attending the Edinburgh Harp Festival next year? They are very varied and have something for everyone.

Also how long ago did you buy your Clarsach from Pilgrim? They sold one for me last year from I think 1985 so I am wondering if it might be the one.

[Biagio]

Randal, where can one find the ap Huw manuscript in modern notation?

Thanks,
Biagio

[randal]

Biagio – I’ve no idea. I learned my pieces from recordings (Paul Dooley; Bill Taylor)

[Biagio]

Ah, gotcha Randal! Thanks, that’s another set of recording to add to my Christmas list.

Here’s an idea for you in return (sorry to derail the thread folks). I recall that you have a couple of harps but not if one of them is a wire strung. Any interest in building a small 19 (G3-D6) a la the Ardival Kilcoy, but easier construction?

I’m doing a design for a friend just for fun and if you like will send you a copy when I’ve finished the details.

Thanks again,
Biagio

[randal]

Yes I have two (Triplett) wires. Thank you, but I’m entirely past doing any such work with my hands due to chronic pain issues – it’s why I gave up guitar: it’s a challenge doing even house chores, basic repairs ..

[patricia-jaeger]

Regarding coming to play the harp after learning guitar: Luigi Maurizio Tedeschi was first a virtuoso guitar player in Italy. He discovered there was a virtuoso harpist teaching at the Royal Music Conservatory in Milan, and went to learn harp from him. When that teacher retired, Tedeschi had become so proficient on harp that he earned the position to be the next Professor of Harp at that conservatory. He also composed many works for harp, and students came from distant places to study with him. So guitar seems to be a good stepping stone to learning the harp.

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