COROMIND ISSUE 18 JUN24 ONLINEVERSION - Flipbook - Page 29
beautiful sound they can make on a harp despite not having
any prior experience. When I take it into primary schools, it is
often the most exuberant or challenging child in the class who
is bewitched by the instrument and fascinated by the sounds
they can create on the harp. You might think that having seven
small harps in a Year 1 classroom would create a terrible noise,
but it’s a gentle murmur of strings rather than a cacophony of
sound.
People are often surprised by the range of sounds, the type of
music and the musical e昀昀ects we can get from the harp. It’s not
an instrument which you can easily teach yourself. A teacher
can spot a self-taught player by their hand position, and the
lack of dexterity which is needed to play fast music, but it is an
instrument which you can sound really great on pretty quickly.
For parents who want their child to learn an instrument
which always, always sounds beautiful, this is guaranteed,
even with beginners on the harp. They learn to play and read
music in both treble and bass clefs, with both hands. It’s easy
to sing with the harp, and even though it’s primarily a solo
instrument, it sounds great in ensembles and accompanying
other instruments.
It’s not just an instrument for young learners either. Thames
has a monthly adult harp circle called the Tumbleweed
Harpers. Harpers travel from Te Aroha and Waihi to join
Thames harpers and to learn new tunes, play old tunes to each
other and share co昀昀ee and cake. The local harpers who have
recently started harp lessons will soon be invited to join my
mixed ability harp ensemble The Forest of Harps which is a
regular online harp ensemble gathering attended by harpists
all around NZ. We perform annual concerts in Auckland, and
last year we included two Thames concerts in our schedule.
For the advanced harpist, there is the opportunity to join the
advanced harp ensemble, Gliss, who recently performed a
concert for the Thames Music Group.
If anyone is interested in 昀椀nding out more about learning to
play the harp, I’m teaching from my home in Thames. I can
show you a few di昀昀erent harps which you can try out before
deciding if this is a musical path you wish to follow.
www.annadunwoodie.co.nz
www.harpsaotearoafoundation.com
Words by
Anna Dunwoodie
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