Repetoire for Beginners

[jean-mac]

I have read many postings about music for the beginner, but still questioning how one knows you have a good teacher.

[Chris Asmann]

Hi Jean.

In your situation I would find a few recordings or sheet music that interest me and bring them to a lesson. If you’re not working on music you enjoy, you won’t be as motivated to practice, and more practice = more progress. I don’t think following a set method is really advantageous for an adult beginner, though I’m not a teacher.

My teacher has altered music to make it more or less advanced to better suit my ability or to round out a beginner piece with nice rolled chords. I’m sure your teacher could do that too, if you choose something that’s just a little too advanced (as opposed to something a lot too advanced). After the first few weeks we’ve gone from a beginner book to short complete pieces of music, just one or two pages that average 30-40 measures. Each one has

[dawn-penland]

I played a little when I was 13 and took it up again at 52.

[jean-mac]

The album that was mentioned–is it original works or adaptations?

[barbara-brundage]

Those are far from beginner pieces, Jean. If you are still on Fun from the First, you would be hugely frustrated. Have you discussed this with your teacher? Do you trust your teacher’s judgment? Can you discuss things with your teacher?

[barbara-brundage]

>Those are far from beginner pieces, Jean

I meant the Annie Louise David books, just to clarify.

[barbara-brundage]

>had to back off from those financially, plus my practicing

If you want to progress, you *have* to practice. Sorry, but that’s just the way it is. And if you’re at Fun from the First level, you DO need a good teacher if you want to develop classical technique. I realize it’s very hard, and I have a lot of adult students whose lives get in the way of the things they like doing, such as playing the harp, but in those situations you just have to cut yourself some slack and accept that it’s going to take longer, a lot longer, than if you could practice regularly every day and had someone to help you along when you start new music.

[barbara-brundage]

At your level, I would suggest the Betty Paret pieces “Moonlight”, “I Hear a Harp” and “Berceuse de Noel” but you should have a lesson when you start any of them to be sure you understand how the fingering should be and what some of the symbols mean.

[dawn-penland]

The album I mentioned is difficult but I didn’t feel Music Box was hard.

[barbara-brundage]

>with some introduction to harp earlier in life

That’s the difference, Dawn. And you’re a professional musician on other instruments, too, so you don’t have the note reading challenge to conquer. Most real beginners with no music background would swoon with dismay at all the notes in the Poenitz, you know. 🙂

[Anonymous]

My adult students like “First-Grade Pieces for the Harp” by Grandjany/Weidensaul, which starts off very easy but has some nice, original, classical music (and a neat spanish piece at the very end of the book); they also like “Progressive Solos for the Harp” by Jeannie Chenette which has original music focusing on various techniques and fingerings. Both of these require you to be tuned with flats, but you are rewarded at the end of Chenette’s book with a fun piece using the pentatonic scale.

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