Live Harp Lesson 33: What can I learn to play on the harp in 3 months?

Would you like to learn the harp with me?

Add your name to the waiting list and get notified when a place becomes available.

About today’s lesson…

I am going to answer your questions about the Harp Course (it’s the last day of enrolment!). I will also show you some of the pieces that you will be able to play after 3 months of lessons (1 term) and a year of learning (3 terms of lessons).

Your questions

Q: Can I study with you if I live in ____________? (fill in the blank)

A: Yes, you can! The whole Harp Course can be taken in person or online. The only requirement is that you have a stable broadband connection. How to tell? Very simply – if you can watch my videos live, that means you’re all fine to have lessons online too!

Q: Is this a group course?

A: No. It is a course of 10 individual, one-to-one lessons. What is important in this course is that the lessons are taken weekly to ensure your best progress.

Q: I am going to be away for some time during the course dates. Can I have some of my lessons later?

A: This depends on how long will you be away. If your break from the course would be less than 2 weeks, we can plan the dates of lessons around your travel. Also at the end of the 10-week term there will be a Make Up Week, when you can catch up if you missed a lesson (up to 1 session per student).
However if you are going to be away for longer and would miss 2 lessons or more, then it may make more sense for you to book a series of Casual Lessons rather than a course. Casual Lessons will be available after the enrolment for the Harp Course has closed – however, students on the Course will have the priority when booking time slots for the lessons and will receive some bonuses that are not available outside the Course.

About the programme of the Harp Course

I will explain the content of the course, why these elements are important and what will your progress depend on.

Introduction: how to tune, how to set up the levers, how to replace the strings? You will find all that information in your Welcome Pack that you will receive as part of the Course.

Reading the music: how the notation works on the harp, rhythm, time values, notes in the bass clef, notes in the treble clef and what is the relation between the two clefs?

Playing with index (2nd) fingers: getting used to the hand position, and reading the music while playing.

Playing with 2nd finger and the thumb: introducing one of the most important technical aspects of playing, which makes harp different from other instruments. PLACING means preparing fingers in advance on the strings and deciding on how to connect them.

Playing with 3rd finger: this will be a big milestone in our learning, as we will learn about DIRECTIONAL PLACING. Understanding this will mean you are free to learn many more advanced pieces, and picking unhelpful habits at this stage can seriously inhibit your progress, so we will make sure you are happy with the directional placing before we move on futher to adding 4th finger.

About the music

Examples of the pieces that you will be able to play after 1 term of lessons (3 months), and after a year of learning (3 terms).

Skaters by Fiona Clifton-Welker (from 19’01”) available to buy here. I have also played this piece in Live Harp Lesson no 6 if you’d like to take a closer look at it.

Do You Remember? by Marie-Louise Napier (from 25’31”) available to buy here.

What will your progress depend on?

Your progress will depend on many factors, one of the most important ones being – how much time and commitment you have for your own practice which will need to happen between the lessons. Even if you can spend only a little bit of time with harp, if you do this every day – it will pay off sooner than you think!