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“The privilege of practicing”, I love that. What a great reminder that any point in the learning process, should be respected! I just moved on to a new song this week, and I am feeling MUCH better. I think I was getting frustrated because I was stuck on the last song for like a month, and getting really discouraged. I am also drilling myself on music notes and was even able to sight read a few measures on my new song!
Thanks for your input, Phillipa. My teacher has some non-Suzuki teaching books she has showed me (one song of which we have learned) that we will learn more from, but right now she does want to focus mainly on Suzuki. I didn’t self-teach before I started lessons, so I don’t have any habits to un-learn, however it’s still really challenging to learn good technique and it will probably be a lifetime process of that! But hopefully, it will become more muscle memory and I won’t have to try so hard. I do have a little bit of “hook finger” and tense hands we are correcting, so I have to be very intentional about that! Funny you say how rare it was that you finished the Suzuki series, because in only one year of lessons, I have seen at least 2-3 new harp students come and go already! It’s crazy. I think so many of us just get into this thinking “the harp is so pretty I want to play that!” and then you realize it is SERIOUS business, LOL! My teacher tells me that I am her fastest learning student, so because I’m moving through songs rather quickly, it’s maybe not as frustrating as it would be for someone else. But really though, I do have some songs that have taken me a month to learn (ahem… my last song) so the frustration is REAL no matter your level. I’m just happy I get to move on to a new song, finally!
Thanks Balfour! That is very helpful. I really hope it will start becoming easier soon- I know reading music is a huge part of the learning process and it will really help me play what I want to play. For now, I just need to give my poor brain a chance to catch up. And trust that this book series I’m doing is a “learning” book and not the end-all-be-all of what I can do.
I played clarinet in school and used to read music, but that was a long time ago and it was only in the treble clef. I don’t have zero experience with music, but I have a LONG way to go! My teacher gave me a theory workbook and I do those lessons each week outside of class. But perhaps taking another course would be helpful as well, I will look into that!
And yes she knows I have an affinity for Celtic music, she and I worked on a Celtic song together that we’re actually going to perform together next week for a recital! So yeah she’s been great about that 🙂 I am just really eager to get to the point where I can learn more of it!
Hello Wil! I think you’re reading a bit too much in- I am definitely excited to go to my lessons and really enjoy learning! It’s one of the best parts of my week. It just gets frustrating when something is coming a bit slower, and I have to spend more time on music I am not super passionate about. I get really excited about the prospect of moving on to more interesting music, so it motivates me to learn faster. I view it as more of a stepping stone. Believe me, if I wasn’t enthusiastic I definitely would not have stuck with it this long! I’d just like to learn on songs that I enjoy more.
And thank you for your advice- I will definitely stop writing notes in and focus on music theory with my teacher to help me with sight reading. She’s told me that she wants to start me on that really soon. Also, to answer your question I’ve been taking lessons for 1 year with my teacher. Do you think that’s too short a time to be learning these things?
I think most people finance them! They cost as much as a car. I find it hard to believe that the majority of harpists out there have $10-20,000 sitting around to spend on a harp. Some might, but certainly not your average person. Otherwise nobody would have one! I think most major harp manufacturers (L&H, Salvi etc) offer in-house financing options so you’ll probably have to call and ask them.
Thanks for the suggestions!! I will have to pick those up. I do get nervous about deviating from Suzuki because I don’t want to de-rail any of my progress, but it would be nice to add more repertoire as I’m learning. I also have been doing a lot of quizzes for sight reading which I hope will allow me to begin playing more music on my own. Right now, I have to really think about it and write in the notes on my music. It is time consuming but I have been able to get through some songs in my book that way. Hopefully it will become more muscle memory, with time.
Yes it is one of the less common methods but when I started I didn’t know from Adam, I just knew I wanted to learn. You are correct about learning by ear, that’s a big part of it. But it also teaches that talent is not inherent but is a skill that can be learned. I believe it started with violin, and now the method is used for various instruments, but not specific to harp. My teacher has studied other methods too and is very accomplished musician, but she says she keeps coming back to suzuki because it works. And it definitely has worked for me so far. The later books are more interesting music, but the first half of book 1 is very tedious!
Not at all- I am learning the Suzuki Book 1, I am a little over halfway through it right now. My teacher has been great about explaining the “why” to me. Most of her students are kiddos, so she loves talking to someone that has a better attention span, LOL! It does help me a lot so I don’t feel like what I’m doing is for no reason. I’ve learned one song outside the book with her, that I love which has been really great. But I guess I’m just craving more!!
Thanks for the replies! I just didn’t want it to come off like I’m “too good” for the music she is teaching me. Because I’ve come SO far and it is clearly helping me to learn. The good thing is, I’m pretty much done with the nursery type songs and the rest of the book is a bit more “musical”, haha! But I did speak with my teacher and expressed my concerns about the material not being very stimulating for me. While she does want to stick mainly to the book, she has agreed to teach me other songs throughout the process that I enjoy. I am not proficient with sight reading yet, so that is handicapping me a lot so I am very much dependent on my teacher right now. I do have a song that I think is within my grasp, so I’ll definitely send that to my teacher and see if we can learn it soon. But I just get so frustrated not being able to be a “free thinker” yet with regards to what I choose to play. Just the beginner blues, I guess!! LOL.
Thanks Balfour!
Wow, haha, I guess it’s all about perspective. I listen to videos of myself from before I started lessons and I think “whoa, I’ve come so far!” But when I listen to my teacher or to videos of other harpists I love, I see that I haven’t even scratched the surface. A little intimidating at times, but also exciting to know there is so much to learn! 🙂
Thanks for your reply!! Can you explain a little more about this method and how your first year(s) went?
Seriously! Having a little bit of film acting experience, maybe actual harp playing would have been too distracting since it was meant to be background? Who knows. I could definitely tell that the actor had no experience though 🙁 Such a bummer to not see it at least pretending to be playing correctly, LOL.
I never saw Big Bang but now I will have to check it out!
Thanks!! I might start recording them for sure. I agree there is only so far one can go with once a week lessons, but I am trying to make the most of it until an extra time slot opens up and I can go to 45min lessons. I have also been increasing practice for 15-20 minutes at a time, then coming back again, so my total time is now around 45 minutes a day. I am currently working on 2-3 pieces at the same time (within my level of course) and my teacher says that I am progressing really fast. I think I have enough to chew on for the time being! I wish I could take daily lessons.. if only there were enough hours in the day!! I work 2 jobs so that would be a bit too much!
I recently saw a harp in one of the earlier episodes of “The Nanny”! I was disappointed to see that the actor wasn’t actually playing it, bummer!! But it was still cool to see one 🙂
