It started out on accident. My friend somewhat invited herself to come along with me to the harp practice rooms in the HFAC, which is an art building on the BYU campus. We were lucky to find the big practice room, which always has two harps in it, open. So as I practiced, she sat and did homework, but soon enough, we got around to goofing off and she wanted to play. So I thought I’d teach her the easiest thing I knew; Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She plucked one finger and hand at a time, a little like the video below.
Since it’s not a complicated or complex song it didn’t take her very long to get the rhythm, but I taught her the basics. I explained technique too. I reminded her to keep her elbows up, wrists in, fingers curved, thumb up, have both feet on the ground, hold the harp with her knees, and to sit up straight.
Someone who really loves the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star may aspire to a performance like the one below, but for now, I taught her the version in the video above.
The earliest knowledge of the harp is dated around 15,000 BC in France, and is amoung the oldest known instruments. The term "harpa" or "harp" comes from Anglo-Saxon and Old German root word meaning "to pluck". Many people believe that the earliest harps originated from the sound of a hunter's bow. Some of the earliest works of art that testifies of the age of the instrument can be viewed here and here.
Since the harp is such an old instrument, the concept that everything I know today has been passed down from someone who may have live in 15,000 BC is astounding. Read more about pedagogical genealogy here.
I'm glad that you had a good experience teaching a little harp playing to a fellow student. I liked how you inserted both an elementary and more advanced video of the same song, as this suggested a progression that is possible and interesting for players. That was good to link to another student's blog post relevant to yours (though you should have named Holland).
ReplyDeleteThanks! I had a fun time teaching it. I really think that once you teach something to someone else, it helps you understand what you're teaching even more.
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