Hello – I'm learning the harp

[duckspeaks]

Another ex classical guitar player, also self taught. Having very small hands has always hampered me but the harp is more lenient to that. Right hand felt strange because ring finger plays higher notes than thumb. Hardest part is cutting of nails which are so useful in daily life!

Knowing harmony and simple arrangement helps!

If one aim at self arranging movie Music, ballads, simplified classical tunes and arias, it is still doable self taught.

I regret that the most lesson dollars I had was on voice and not at all transferrable. Wind instrument background does not help in a big way, like voice u don’t directly deal with harmony and like voice much more portion of lesson dollars are on the production of the basic tone. The direct interaction of the string in guitar playing was immensely helpful.

[Biagio]

Yes I would think that classical guitar would be excellent, perhaps even more than piano. That goes double for wire strung harps where the attack is closer to flamenco than to a gut harp. We usually are told to pluck the string toward the body, but that is not how it is done with wire and nails. The pull is more oblique, and sometimes done with the front of the nail striking forward.

I’m sure that sounds weird to gut/nylon players, but it’s true.

Biagio

[Blindharper]

As an autoharp player I can understand your point. I have to disagree though about voice not transferable. You’re right the most majority isn’t but there are certain concepts that are such as rhythm and generalized pattern related things. Then, I guess my background is slightly more eclectic than some. I had my ear training on fiddle then took up autoharp, did piano for a year, and have now moved to heart full time. Never had much use for piano technique. I’ve sung all my life and spent almost 8 years in a traveling classical choir. It’s true enough though that vocal technique helps you not at all when it comes to playing the harp. The rhythm training is another story.

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