Extreme Newbie

[Judiann]

Hi, Adriana. Mahogany Moon is lovely, isn’t it? However, Christy-Lyn’s After the Rain is easier because it only uses 2 fingers on each hand. Another easy piece is Sailing on a Lake, which is free, https://youtu.be/oxqvULg5TyU

If you are looking for a good method book for a complete beginner, Christy-Lyn has recommenced Play the Harp Beautifully, Level 1, by Pamela Bruner. It starts with the basics, and it shows how to read sheet music as you go along.

For learning the note names, you can check out this thread: https://www.learningtheharp.com/forums/discussion/free-tools-to-learn-to-read-sheet-music/

Let us know if you have any other questions, and someone will probably be able to answer them.

[Victoria Johnson]

Hi Adriana! One of the ways to get started is beginning music book for children, such as the “Step by Step: A Harp Primer” book by Suzanne Balderston ( https://www.harp.com/product/step-step-harp-primer-book-1/). This particular book has some elementary music theory content such as note recognition and time signature. The tunes are very simple and are designed to build fundamental skills, which will be very helpful in the long run in my opinion. 🙂

[Annais Ryder]

In addition to writing the note names on the sheet, it is helpful to watch Christy Lyn’s Harp video’s on youtube 1-14

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDZySzpYw0g

Also I bought an app called Play score 2. It allows one to photograph the sheet and it scans it and can play it back to you. There is an option to slow it down. So I play along with it very slowly and can hear when I hit the wrong note.

Also I find playing simple excercices helpful, as they start on very easy level, and are repetitive so easier to reed the music. I use mostly Deborah Friou and Maria grossi books.

The app called Flash Note Derby is also fun for learning the notes!

Best of luck! Mahogany moon in on my list!! 🙂