Plucky Day

Today I got to explore a childhood dream.

When I was 3, I told my parents that I wanted a harp for Christmas. They bought me a lap harp.

It's not the same thing.

For the past year, I've been wondering about taking harp lessons here. When else would I have an easier chance, I reasoned. Plus, I could help some poor harp student earn a little extra on the side. The trouble would be finding a harp student to teach me...

I was pondering this question Monday evening in the practice rooms. As I walked out towards the stairwell, a poster caught my eye.

A poster with a giant sketch of a harp.

It was an advertisement for an Introduction to Harp class. 1 credit (translation: minimal money) in exchange for lessons on basic technique with a splash of harp history and more.

Our first class was today. I played a full-sized harp for the first time in my life today. It was incredibly fun. We learned that the red strings on the harp are Cs, while the black ones are Fs. The foot pedals raise or lower the strings -- these are your accidentals. There is one foot pedal for each "pitch class" (all the Cs or all the Ds, etc.) The natural (uppermost) state of the pedals is flat for every note. The middle spot (halfway depressed) is naturals, and the bottom-most state is sharps. Why? Because each depression of the pedal tightens the strings, thereby making them higher.

Fun, no?

We also learned the proper way to pluck along with the little aphorism to help us remember: "If your thumbs are up, your fingers won't let you down." My other favorite phrase from the class: "One of the secrets of harp is that it never sounds bad, no matter what you play. It's just a beautiful instrument."

At the very end of the class, the instructor showed us how to make the "heavenly glisses" -- that sound you hear in all the cartoons whenever they depict the characters as angels. Absolutely beautiful and surprisingly easy -- it's all in the position you put the pedals in. Just run your thumb away from you along the strings or your forefinger towards you, and the instrument does the rest.

The basics of the instrument are surprisingly straightforward. Of course, playing more than one note at a time with one finger (or a gliss) takes a little more expertise. But I'm just so happy that I finally get to try out this gorgeous fantasy instrument!

~Hope