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I am 16 and have been playing the harp for 11 years. Right now, my goals are 1) preparing for college auditions, 2) playing excellently for my youth orchestra/chamber music groups, and 3) improving my sight-reading. I love the harp dearly, and while I’ve played other instruments, I feel that the harp is my “voice” and I hope to continue my playing at an excellent college/university. One of my life-time goals for harp playing will be expression- learning to delight and challenge audiences with sensitively rendered music.
I definitely feel that my teachers are helping me achieve these goals, and I am truly blessed to have such wonderful and talented instructors.Yoga is amazing as it both strengthens and stretches. It’s especially important for us pedal harpists who balance 70-80lbs. on one shoulder for hours on end! A teacher once recommended to me to stretch about 20 mins for every 1 hour of practice to prevent soreness and tightness- a habit that really works.
One of my favorites for relieving shoulder/ upper back tension is to stand in a doorway, arms out to the sides and hands holding on to the door frame, and then leaning forward until you feel the stretch in your chest and the relaxing in your shoulders.
I also heartily agree with the above comment on swimming!
Best wishes for happy harping!There is also an entire book of piano transcriptions of Jane Austen soundtracks- you’d have to order it from the UK- but the pieces are excellent and very manageable on the harp.
