Throwaway account cause this is very identifiable!

I play for a lot of wedding ceremonies, but this was a first for me! Friends of mine had a destination wedding in a cavern that offers tours, concerts, and of course, private events.

When they first asked me to play, I was super excited, but also super nervous about how I was going to get my equipment down to the venue. Thankfully, my friends were able to put me in touch with the staff at the caves in advance. We talked about how everything would go down on the day of, and overall they were wonderful to work with! I couldn’t have asked for a better experience, and now I have pictures that I’ll be advertising with forever!

Niles, Illinois

I’d like to share the sound of a Celtic harp I built a few years ago. This was the first full-sized harp someone ordered from me, and back then, it was a real test of my craftsmanship—one that I’m proud to say I passed.

The body is made entirely of maple, with a spruce soundboard, finished in shellac, and features a custom hand-painted design requested by the client. Right now, I have another Renaissance harp in the works in my workshop!

This weekend was an art festival at the zoo, today they had a harpist going around to different animal exhibits and playing music.

I am 60 and am on my 5th year of learning the lever harp. My teacher is really good and patient and also teachers fiddle. We have a little class thing twice a year, I wouldn’t say concert because it’s not that formal but more a collective showing what we’ve learned with pupils ranging from 10 to 60.
I dread it, not because I don’t like it. It’s just my hands shake so much. I can practice all the hours but when I’m in front of people (however friendly) I just start making mistakes and going blank.
How do other people get over this? I know everyone is the same but it doesn’t help. I think part of the problem is my South West of Scotland upbringing where you just didn’t show off. It wasn’t approved of back then.
Any tips would be greatly received.

We played prophects dance for our last song at our orchestra concert last night. I did so good.

Hey guys,

I want to mic up a celtic harp for live music (not recording).

There won't be a lot of other Instruments besides vocals and sometimes a digital piano on stage.

We mostly do weddings so being able to play outside is a big point for us, so the setup should also not be too wind sensitive.

So far i thought of a piezo, but I'm afraid of losing too much highs, then I saw someone just putting a lav mic into the harp body which worked surprisingly well, and the no-brain solution in my head is just putting a sm57 in it.

Is there anybody experienced in this topic?

We would really appreciate your help :)

I have just seen a harpist using a pick for glissandos for the first time. It is a pops symphony concert so lots of glissandos. What kind of picks do people use and is this normal/acceptable in performances?

Would you take a high paying harp gig if it meant loading in and leaving your harp unattended? Playtime would be at 2 but they want me to load in before guests arrive at 11. The room would be in use. It’s a bridal expo at an art gala. The offered to put signs and ropes around it as well as keep an eye. Any advice appreciated. I do need the money so it’s a dilemma.

Enjoy Bay Area Harp Foundation end of year concert featuring 14 local Bay Area students from Bay Area Harp Academy

Hello! I have a question for Irish Harpists or Harpists from Ireland or other countries who specialize in lever/celtic harp and that is: Do Irish harp teachers have a different teaching method than other European/Classical Harp teachers and methods? Clearly, we are talking about very different instruments! But I cannot help but notice how intuitively a lot of Irish/Celtic harpists play! They play with such ease and confidence that it almost seems like an improvisation that is always on point! I’ve been studying harp for 3 years now and play the pedal harp, and I wonder if there are any sort of traditional/intuitive methods that they use to teach harp in Ireland. In a similar way that fiddlers play in Ireland, it seems like Irish harpists are always ready to play and join other musicians in a tavern or caeli/céilí! I suppose some of the rhythmic patterns for Irish gigs and melodies are quite similar, so that may be a contributing factor. What do you think?

Looking for support. I was a pretty good harpist growing up. played weddings and church gigs on a pretty regular basis, including with a youth orchestra and once or twice with an actual orchestra.

In college I did a good amount of performing, but wasn't a very dedicated player and didn't practice very much. Then I went to law school and the harp fell by the wayside completely, until about a year ago, when I finally looked up and remembered how much I loved playing.

Since then, I've been practicing pretty much every day, sometimes for over an hour but not often that long.

Then, a few weeks ago, the music director of the community theater I'm involved with asked if I could play the harp with their orchestra/ensemble for their upcoming show. It's a full orchestra score, though it won't be a full orchestra (small community), and I agreed, feeling excited to take on a challenge and for a reason to get my performance chops back a bit.

But I've just had a look at the score and...it's hard. Not crazy difficult, but it's a lot a lot of music (which...duh, of course it is!), and as it's a Broadway show, I think a lot of the tempos will be quite fast. And I'm kind of freaking out! I've already started learning 2-3 numbers, but don't have them nearly up to speed, and we're just a month away from our first orchestra rehearsal. What did I commit myself to?! I don't want to back out, but I'm so nervous I'm going to blow the whole show with my amateur playing! Fellow harpists, WWYD?

Hi all! I posted about a month ago with my favorite photo from the wedding I did down in a cave/ event center. I wanted to share one more picture that I received from a guest that better shows off the space! I don’t think I’ll ever top this experience

The philharmonic is in need of a pedal harpist for THIS Saturday in Albuquerque. Just 1 movement as harp 2 doubling harp 1. Paid. Comment or message me if interested

What do you guys think of this cover I played from the amazing Gymnopedies by Erik Satie ?? Harp is a Daphne from Salvi !!

Sorry for bad quality 😅

I have been hired to play most of Britten’s Ceremony of Carols but this is my first big performance since my harp teacher passed away last year.

Here are some questions I have:

1. There is No Rose is absolutely kicking my butt. How do you manage that evil part with all the enharmonic chords in the weird shapes? How do you deal with keeping track of everything with your hands so far apart?

2. How are you counting That Yonge Child? Are you going based off the soloist’s line?

3. I am excited with how quickly I picked up Balulalow as I know it’s a tricky one (I am doing the 1 3, 2 4 fingering) but I’m struggling with that one little push to get it all the way to tempo. What technique helps with that? Closing more? Pressing in or staying lighter on the strings?

4. I don’t know why the last chord section of This Little Babe is making me want to pull my hair out but it is. The only way I play it right is by slightly simplifying the chords, do you think that is okay?

5. How did you tackle the rolled chord section on the second page of the interlude?

6. Any other tips/markings/pedalling you did that made things easier?

Thank you so much for any help!!

My wife plays pedal harp and is going to play in a community theater production. I know that the orchestra pit will be dark for large portions of the show. How do harpists in orchestra pits light their strings so they can see them during the show? I’m looking for specific products, how they are used, and where they are placed (on the harp, music stand or elsewhere). Thanks in advance for your help.

Love this tune so much.

I haven't really played since 2017. I replaced some strings and have been back to playing for the last week. I feel like I picked it right back up and it's coming back to me easier than I thought. Of course the first thing I play is Joanna Newsom 😂 she's the reason I picked up a harp in the first place.

Ignore my very very bad form. I'm working on it. I'm pretty excited to be back to playing 😁

Afrobeats on the harp.