Need technique checked by another harpist

[Victoria Johnson]

Hi Ami! Great job for 1 month of harping! I am also a harp learner and I only have your video as a reference point, so please take the feedback that resonated with you and leave whatever that didn’t work for you. Your right hand looks fairly parallel to the strings; I would think about pointing the palm down towards the soundboard more. You may find it easier to pluck the strings that way, and also potentially give you a better sound. This video of myself playing with my teacher shows a good view of the hands ( https://youtu.be/iz7gp45rYgc ) so you can see what I meant by pointing the palm down towards the soundboard. (Definitely should see what my teacher is doing instead of me lol!) Your left hand is more consistent with pointing the palm down, so just need to think about doing that with the right hand. Your pinky and ring finger are tucked into the palm quite often as well. While you are mostly using the other fingers, it is a good idea to think about relaxing the hand as one unit to release tension. I am still working on doing that more consistently, but you can see in the On Wings of Song video how my teacher’s left hand opens and closes as one unit even when he is only using finger 2 and 1 (or 3 and 1) only. Hope that helps, and good luck with your harp journey!

[Ami Ngo]

Thank you thank you so much, Victoria!!! I can see the problems now. I wonder if my right hand being parallel to the strings is because the harp was put too high. I will try sitting at a higher position and see if that will improve. You are right about my closed pinky and ring finger as well. It’s hard to relax when I’m too focused on where to land my fingers next 😅, but that means more practice!

[Victoria Johnson]

The right hand being parallel to the strings is not uncommon. I played piano many years ago and I had the same problem with my hands when I first started with the harp because the tendency is to take the hand position for piano and put it on another instrument. 😅 Making sure the harp is at the right height and position is going to be very helpful in getting a good posture as well. Josh Layne has a YouTube series called “Harp Tuesday” with a lot of useful tips. Here is his episode on staying relaxed while playing the harp: https://youtu.be/QPvxI-DN_YQ You may find it helpful. His “Your first harp lesson” videos cover some good basis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRfnL78TbSk&list=PLDC8162C1560C0A9D And yes it is hard to relax when you are so focused on where to land your fingers next. There are a lot going on when playing an instrument; break things down into smaller steps and practice them separately could be very helpful!