folk harp for beginner

[Martha S. Jones]

For Christmas my husband gave me a 26-string folk harp with several
sharpening levers. I am a great fan of Patrick Ball, William
Jackson, Allison Kinnaird, and other harpers in the Celtic heritage.
Unfortunately, I have little experience in actually *playing* music --
or rather, experience has shown that I do not play by ear or pick up
techniques easily. I do better with reading music, numbering of fingers,
and other such aids as exasperate the musically talented.

Please help save my marriage by pointing me to the best resources for the
musically impaired. To save bandwidth please reply to
mmsj...@juno.com

Diolch yn fawr and Happy New Year.

[Lawrence E Mallette]

Martha S. Jones (msj...@lonestar.jpl.utsa.edu) wrote:
: For Christmas my husband gave me a 26-string folk harp with several
: sharpening levers.

You have picked one of the most beautiful, and most difficult
instruments.

To learn to play well and not be held back from developing
your full potential, you will want to find a good teacher.
Technique is 'everything' for this instrument. There are
some 'teach yourself' books available, but they will not
be the best way to develop yourself.

I would suggest visiting Melody's Traditional Music and
Harp Shoppe in Houston, either in person or on the web.
The co-owner, Mary, is a brilliant Celtic harpist and
has a vested interest in helping new harpists get good
(so they will later become her customers or repeat
customers).... She may have the name of some teachers
in San Antonio.

[DC]

Oh, but harp isn't that difficult. I taught myself from the Sylvia Woods
book and video and 7 months later won adult beginner at a Celt festival.

Be careful when getting a teacher. Most teachers are pedal harp players
and have no idea of how to properly play Celtic music on harp. The
techniques of playing that they use are geared towards the high string
tension pedal harps and really aren't all that necessary for Celtic
harp. It is at least a good idea to get a grounding on how to move your
hands so as not to cause injury but then listen to a lot of recordings
and join the International Society of Folk Harp Craftsmen and players.
There's a great deal of music happening in Texas esp in the Houston
area. Mary at Melody's will be able to point you in the right direction.
She was the director of the international conference held in Houston
last summer.

Above all, have fun