Harp Learning Methods
The best way to learn the Harp
The ‘Beginner’s Guide To Learning The Harp’ range was created to supply you with the finest possible start with your new musical instrument. This article helps you figure out the best learning methods for you and your harp.
Primary options for Harp Learning Methods
Humans learn differently. Some have photographic memories; some can speed read, while others can’t read in any way. We are all unique, and for this reason, there isn’t one ‘correct’ way of learning a musical instrument.
There are actually four principal choices open to you, each one with their strengths and weaknesses:
- Traditional, face-to-face, one-to-one learning
- Traditional, face-to-face, group lessons
- Video Tutorials
- Apps
Whatever your individual circumstance, one of these four choices will probably be suitable for you. We should just discover which one…
Traditional, face-to-face, one-to-one lessons
If you think of harp lessons, your first image is probably something like this…
Having private, one-to-one lessons can be an incredible experience if you find the right teacher. There really is no substitution for absorbing all the knowledge of your teacher.
However, there is a problem:
Not every teacher has the experience a student may require or desire.
In fact, the scary thing is that to become a music teacher, you don’t need any qualifications at all. Nothing. Zip. As a complete novice, you could be taking money from people and pass yourself off as an expert. And this, dear reader, is the biggest downside to a traditional teacher:
Quality control.
You need to find a really experienced teacher who you connect with. Who understands you and your needs. Who makes you laugh. Who you look forward to going to see every week. If you can find this person, you have then achieved something most people fail at. Being inspired by your teacher is the magic dust that will keep you learning for years to come.
Out of all the options on this page, this is the most expensive. But as usual with things in life, you tend to get what you pay for…
Take a peek at Discover The Harp 1:1 lessons
The cost of a term for harp tuition is £395. This includes:
- 10 weekly harp lessons 60 minutes each
- A welcome pack including Zuzanna’s Ebook for beginners
- Information on tuning and taking care of your harp
- Individually designed training plan
- Notes from every lesson sent to you via email
- Access to all PDFs and videos published on Zuzanna’s website
- Special price for additional lessons (£39 per lesson)
Having received excellent training over the years, Zuzanna is a highly skilled teacher with an invaluable amount of experience.
PROS
- Personalised feedback
- Lessons Adapted To Your Style Of Learning
- The Most Efficient Way Of Learning
- Can Be The Most Inspiring Option
CONS
- Expensive
- Difficult Scheduling
- Finding Right Teacher Is Difficult
- Requires You To Travel
Traditional, face-to-face, Group lessons
Depending on where you live, you may be able to find group lessons. The ethos is similar to one-to-one sessions, but the cost is much lower as the teacher has to divide their time between all the pupils.
For orchestral instruments, such as violins, group lessons are quite a good idea to start with. The majority of professional violinists, after all, end up as one of many violins in an orchestra. Harp is slightly different though. It is very much a solo instrument.
Online group lessons are an excellent option for mature beginners. These sessions are proven to be very sociable and it doesn’t matter where in the country you live, you can attend an online session from the comfort of your own home.
We have 2 suggestions for high-quality online group sessions.
The first being Virtual Harp Social.
Run by a highly enthusiastic and active performer and teacher, these classes are tailored for adult beginners.
The level 1 course cost is £400 and includes a 20 string lap harp, for the student to keep, as well as 12 online classes, coursebook, backing tracks and instructional videos.
If you already own a harp, you can take the course for a reduced fee of £200.
The second being Start Harp
Another 3 levelled group training programme running over a total of 12 weeks. Shelley is an active performer and has an abundance of content online!
PROS
- Personalised feedback
- Can Be Fun Learning In A Group
- Cheaper Than One-2-One Lessons
CONS
- Difficult Scheduling
- Limited Choice Of Teacher
- You'll Learn At The Speed Of The Group
- Sharing The Teacher With Others
- Requires You To Travel
Video Tutorials
Free Courses
YouTube is naturally the global superpower in terms of video content. There is a large amount on this platform for Harp Lessons and it’s impossible to review them all.
Like many things in daily life, 95% of the content you’ll stumble upon is fairly terrible, with the other 5% being absolutely incredible. The secret to success is to locate 5%, and that may be easier said than done.
For high-quality online tutorials, visit Coffee Break Harp on YouTube for all the latest tips and tricks of becoming a competent harpist.
One word of warning: if you want to develop a strong technique from the beginning of your harp journey, we would seriously recommend having real-life human teaching you, ideally in the same room, but certainly someone who can see your hands and adjust any technical issues.
In case you would prefer to not shell out your money and to take advantage of the free content on YouTube, you’ll have to commit a decent amount of your time finding a well-respected teacher that you like.
Paid Courses
With countless paid training courses over the internet, it’s totally out of the question to evaluate each of them. So we thought we would simply supply you with the most widely used choice:
Udemy is popular the world over for online learning in thousands of different disciplines. It can provide beginner, intermediate and advanced bassoon tuition, with an average cost of approximately £49.99 for a course of lessons.
PROS
- Low Cost or Free
- Huge Amount of Content
- Learn Whenever You Want
- No Travelling To Lessons
- Great For Popular Material
CONS
- So Much Choice It's Difficult To Find Great Content
- Quality of Content Is Questionable
- Not Great For Classical Playing
About the Author
Zoom Lessons
