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How to Play the Harp
Have you ever wondered exactly how to play the harp? Many people think it is very difficult, but it’s really quite easy to learn the harp if you’re willing to put in the time and effort.
Learning to play the harp doesn’t have to take years to learn. It is really a matter of how much time you put into learning it.
If you spend 30 minutes a day practicing, for 5 days a week, then you should be able to play a simple song on the harp within a month.
Consistency is more important than anything. It is better to practice a little every day than one day a week for hours.
4 steps to Learning how to Play the Harp…
1) Find a harp to Practice on
In order to learn how to play harp quickly, you must have a harp that you can practice on regularly. If you don’t practice regularly, it will take much longer to learn the harp
There are essentially two different types of harps. One type of harp, called a lever harp which uses levers to raise the notes on each strings by a half step.
The other type of harp is called a pedal harp, uses pedals to raise the notes on the harp a half step and to lower them a half step.
There are advantages and disadvantages to each one, and it is important to know them in order to determine which harp is the best one to start with.
Pedal Harp vs. Lever Harp
The Pedal Harp:
Advantages:
Pedal harps always have a large range. You can play literally anything with a pedal harp. You can play in as many keys as you want, and you can play very complex classical pieces with a lot of accidentals (sharp and flats) throughout the piece.
If you want to play complex classical pieces you need to have a pedal harp. The reason you can play music with a lot of accidentals with a pedal harp is because you do not need to lift your fingers off the strings to change a note to sharp or flat.
Also each pedal controls every note on the harp with that value. For instance if you raise the b pedal it will raise every b note on the harp…..
Disadvantages:
1) Due to the complexity of the instrument, pedal harps are heavy and not easy to move around.
2) Pedal harps are very expensive. A low priced pedal harp costs around 12,000 and they only go up from there. For many pedal harps are out of the budget.
If you really want to play complex classical music with a lot of accidentals and cannot afford a pedal harp right away, I recommend starting with a lever harp to learn the basics, and then save money so you can eventually purchase a pedal harp.
Lever harps:
Advantages:
Lever harps are much more portable than pedal harps. They are also much more affordable.
Disadvantages:
You can only play in certain keys on lever harp. With a full lever harp, you can play in keys with up to three flats and keys with up to three sharps.
Also, with a lever harp you cannot play music with a lot of accidentals throughout the pieces (sharps and flats)
Often classical music is very complex so you are limited to what you can play. However, you can play simpler classical music such as Pachelbel Canon and classical pieces without a lot of accidentals.
Cheaper lever harps have a very small range so you cannot play certain pieces. If you get a lever harp, I suggest getting one with at least 33-36 strings.
If these are too expensive, however, you can start with a lever harp with a smaller range until you can save up enough money get a lever harp with a larger range.
2) Proper Position
Make sure that when you first start out you are practicing the basics correctly. The most important thing to learn is proper position.
- The wrists should be flat when playing. Make sure your fingers are pressing into your palms when you pluck each string.
- Sit up straight and make sure the harp is balanced so that there is very little weight on the shoulders. Make sure you’re thumb is up and your fingers are down when playing. The left elbow should be up.
- It is important to have short nails so they will get in the way when playing.
3) Practice Scales
In order to learn the harp as quickly as possible you must train your fingers to move correctly. It is very important to practice scales. This will help you learn any song down the road.
This book by Sylvia Plath is great when you first start out practicing scales.
How to Practice Scales…
First practice the scale with your right hand, then the left hand. Next, play them slowly at the same time, gradually speeding up as you become more comfortable.
I recommened practicing scales at least 5-10 minutes a days to learn to play the harp as quickly as possible.
If you are interested in playing sheet music with the harp it is important to learn how to read music. A lot of people are intimidated by this and it prevents them from learning an instrument. The truth is, it is not that hard.
4) Set a Realistic Practice Schedule…
It is important to set a realistic practice schedule that you can stick to. Practicing harp at the same time of day will make it easier to stick with.
I recommend the following practicing schedule for students just starting out…
1) Practice a scale on the right hand for 5 minutes. Start slow and make sure that the tempo is even before going faster.
I recommend using a metronome to keep time.
2) Practice a scale on the left hand. As with the right hand, start slow and make sure the tempo is even before speeding up.
3) Practice both the left and right hand simultaneously.
4) If you cannot read music yet, start with middle c, and memorize the position of as many notes as you can, until you are able to locate all the notes on the harp.
5) When you have learned all the notes, it is time to start learning time signature. Again, do not try to learn everything at once.
Start with the basics, i.e., a quarter note, and then gradually learn the other symbols.
6) When you have memorized all the notes, get a simple piece of music. Practice the right hand alone (the treble clef) and then the left hand alone (bass clef).
When you have perfected both the left and the right hand, you can start to put them together really slowly.
7) It is best to spend a lot of time on just one measure, before moving on to the next measure. You will learn much quicker by spending more time perfecting a couple notes, than trying to learn the whole song at once.
This will also make the process much less overwhelming.
With consistent practice and proper technique you will be suprised how quickly you can learn the harp!
Need a Deeper Dive into Learning how to play the Harp…
Check out my Complete Harp Course for Beginners where I take you step by step through the process of learning the harp. It covers everything from the very basics to learning your first song.
After that, you’ll learn a simple method to start creating your own music right away. I’m confident you will be well on your journey by taking this course, so if you are not completely satisfied I offer full refunds within 30 days!
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If you have any questions about learning how to play the harp contact me at aglassofcheri@gmail.com. Good luck on your journey!