[sari-bari]

Well, the doctor said I’ll need to see a neurologist to determine if there’s nerve damage, in which case I’ll have to have surgery for grafting nerves, which could leave me with permanent impaired function. He also said it could likely just be nerve compression by the swelling, so I’m hopeful. I’m seeing a neurologist next week (that’s when the earliest appointment is available). In the meanwhile, I’m trying not to worry too much and focus on the positive. An accident like that really makes you realize how easily and unexpectedly life can change. It could have been so much worse – like if a shard had hit me in the eye or the neck, or if it had cut an artery. It also fills me with awe at what amazing things hands are, and how many daily things we take for granted that are impossible to do with one hand.

Musicians – appreciate your hands! (And be careful…)

[sari-bari]

Ikes! I’l definitely see a doctor today.

[sari-bari]

Thanks for the answer!

Do you know any teachers who teach celtic technique who do skype lessons?

[sari-bari]

Thanks! I’ll try that. It could be the height – until now I’ve just been kneeling on the floor. I’ll try practicing with a stool from now on.
Unfortunately, I live too far away from any harp teachers.

[sari-bari]

I’m also 24, still a student and have two cute girls. I started playing a 26 string harp this year. I know the fundamentals of reading music, but I find it much more intuitive to pick the melody out by ear and just memorize it, and then throw in the chords with the left hand. If you play mainly by ear, you can play an endless variety of tunes on a harp without levers, which would be more budget-friendly. However, you won’t be able to play a lot of eastern or klezmer sounding tunes, you won’t be able to modulate (switch scales in your music) or play with someone whose instrument is tuned in any key other than A minor or C major (unless you retune all the strings on your harp to that key).

I live in Israel, so I bought a harp from the only luthier who lives here since shipping would have been to expensive, but I checked out a lot of American harp makers with harps in my budget range. The harps I checked were Caswell’s Sweetharp (though I’ve heard his customer service is not very good), Harps of Praise (they build harps based on Musicmakers designs), Dusty Strings, Harpsicle and Blevin’s harps.

I did read about music theory before playing, and I would really recommend that. It helps so much to understanding how music works AND improves your ear. I think the harp is an especially good instrument for applying music theory to since it is a diatonic instrument. I also fiddled around with the keyboard while waiting to buy a harp. I think that could help test whether you really love music.
I agree with one of the other posters, the problem is finding time to practice. however, the harp is such a beautiful intrument that even if you intend to sit down only for 20 minutes to practice, you could easily get carried away and find that an hour has gone by without you noticing.

I have not had time or money to take lessons with a teacher. I mainly watch A LOT of videos on youtube, and look really closely at the shapes of the hands, how often they use certain fingers, etc. I also bought Cindy Blevins “Harp in Hand” book to learn the basic fingerings. I don’t remember who the harpist is, but there is also a very good series of harp lessons on youtube called “Harp Tuesday”.

I have also found that just sitting in your spare time and trying to analyze the rhythm of certain songs you know well is very helpful (for example, tapping out the basic rhythm with your left hand and the melody with your right hand on your knees, before even trying to play the parts on the instrument). That’s something you can do almost anywhere, and it helps build up coordination between hands. I do it while taking my girls to the playground, but you can also do it while commuting, walking, doing dishes. I started doing it with the “Game of Thrones” theme (it has a very distinct rhythm in the left hand : 1-and 2 3, 1-and 2 3…) and “Brian Boru’s March” (the basic rhythm is 1-2-3, 1-2-3).

Also, if you want celtic sounding tunes, you can just start playing around on the C major scale or the A minor scale (you don’t need levers for this) and leave out the F notes.

If you love music, try finding as many ways as you can to bring it into your life. Sing whenever you can, listen to lots of music, hum and make up tunes as you go about your daily life, drum out rhythms on whatever comes to hand, look for repetetive things in daily activities (a dripping faucet? chopping vegetables? walking?) and see if you can

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