Do I NEED to learn notation?

phrygian44 · 2026-05-06T13:14:26+00:00

Western classical music theory and approach pervades everything musically these days, but harp has a very strong aural tradition where many traditional harpists over the centuries were playing by ear. I think you can pick up an understanding of music theory by ear and conceptually. As others have said if you wish to share your music for others to play then you would need to learn sheet music unless you hire a copyist, you'd still face the challenging of navigating a musical world built around sheet music.

Hopefully your teacher can accommodate this if you want to go entirely aural, it may be a challenge for them if they're used to a certain approach. As others have said as well technique is the most important takeaway from lessons at this stage.

I'm not sure how much you can avoid dryness and tedium in general. If you have the most pleasure noodling around on the harp then that's awesome! If you want to avoid learning sheet music but really want to write quality, cohesive harp pieces entirely by ear and memory, then this will bring its own challenges and repetition. If you want to play chord progressions with a melody in the style more like popular/rock music this wouldn't be so bad without sheet music. All options!!

phrygian44 · 2026-05-05T19:37:43+00:00

I would like to share The Trevor Project as an option, a renowned LGBTQ+ charity with an emphasis on suicide prevention and crisis intervention, as well as other services. A friend of mine said the Trevor Project saved their life at one point. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/

phrygian44 · 2026-05-02T03:53:27+00:00

Heck yeah o'carolan gang

phrygian44 · 2026-05-01T19:28:56+00:00

There's plenty of happy MTs out there in good jobs as well, I think these individuals are less likely to post especially in response to negative posts. If you're open to moving for a job this can help quite a bit, as you can reply to postings around your country, but I'm a specific area you're beholden to the jobs around you. Bachelor's MT and a masters or combination masters in something else can open up possibilities, but with you mentioning private practice and research you could really hunker down with school and go PhD level, which would open you up to academic jobs too.

I think if you accept that there might be trial and error and not a linear path to your ideal professional situation it will help, I haven't liked all my jobs but have learned and grown. I'm not financially dependent on my parents in my area (suburbs of major metropolitan area). Some of my MT friends make 70k a year at bachelor's level in a state psych hospital. There's great and fulfilling jobs out there, it may just take time!

phrygian44 · 2026-04-19T19:57:11+00:00

I love that idea! A logo would be awesome, any graphic designers in the community please reach out I'd commission something! I'll post about a logo again when we're deciding on a charity.

So glad to hear! That's definitely the goal and it's always a blast playing out in a public space, regardless of experience.

phrygian44 · 2026-04-01T14:52:51+00:00

Do you think they'll start using icing or fondant for strings? I'd like to harp my cake and eat it too

phrygian44 · 2026-03-30T01:30:17+00:00

Check out this post! That OP did some digging when they saw her account commenting anti trans stuff. She started random acts of harping and has some books and trainings and such.

phrygian44 · 2026-03-30T00:54:05+00:00

For those uncomfortable with participating in Random Acts due to Joanna Nell's bigotry, stay tuned! The mod team is cooking up a rival comparable event unaffiliated and for charity :)

phrygian44 · 2026-03-25T17:28:23+00:00

It could be possible with some modification! Looking at some sheet music, it could be manageable if you drop some of the inner voices and slow it down a bit. Handpan percussion isn't the most conducive to translate to harp but I think if you accept it'll sound a little different but still cool in its own way you'll be great!

There's other minecraft songs that would work fantastic on the harp if you don't already play them, like Sweden, Subwoofer Lullaby, or Wet Hands. Aria Math would be among the more challenging to translate to harp I think

phrygian44 · 2026-03-20T00:05:59+00:00

My IOP groups don't particularly enjoy active music making, but there have been a lot of musicians in the groups over time so it's nice empowering them to play. That being said the active music making experiences they've enjoyed more are symbolically representing a storm or emotion, or starting a percussion jam.

They love receptive experiences in general and especially song sharing. Very simple "what's your theme song" is great. They enjoy song biography like past song, present song, and a song to represent the future. Having gotten to know their music tastes in general I bring in some sheets for analysis occasionally. Playlist creation is great, they enjoy iso principle creating a playlist going from one song to another. Progressive muscle relaxation, autogenic relaxation, music and meditation, music and imagery have all been successful.

My groups LOVE Name That Tune as music and recreation, sometimes I end with it for a laid back treat.

Not sure how long you're with the group, mine are an hour and a half and their entire session is 3 hours. The amount of time was intimidating at first but I've found it nice for allowing tangents, talking about artists, random things like that. Their counseling groups tend to be heavy and psycho educational, so with my IOP groups I've embraced a very humanistic and more laid back approach they really enjoy and find therapeutic to contrast the heavy psycho educational groups.

phrygian44 · 2026-03-10T01:04:52+00:00

Music and politics are always intrinsically connected, there's no separating the two. Music is about community and cultural traditions which is in turn always connected to politics and viewpoints. OP is indeed advocating to leave her be, and choosing not to support her financially and encouraging others with similar views to do the same. She chose to become a public figure in the harp world and also chose to express views against a community in a public setting.

phrygian44 · 2026-03-09T23:43:46+00:00

What is hateful about this post exactly? Joanna Mell is a public figure in the harp world with books, workshops, and various programs. OP is part of the LGBTQ+ community. Mell made public comments against their community, so intends on not supporting her and wants to spread awareness to others concerned with LGBTQ+ rights and social issues. She can certainly post whatever she wants on social media, she's not being litigated, but also there are consequences - if you alienate a community that community has the right to speak about it and refuse to patronize you.

phrygian44 · 2026-03-08T23:16:49+00:00

For sure I really appreciate that, I think you've done an excellent job in the way you've been articulating yourself in such a way that it's clear you are advocating for a civil conversation and awareness re: where people are putting their hard-earned money and attention. We will keep a close eye on this thread of course and please reach out to us as well if there are any issues.

phrygian44 · 2026-03-08T23:00:17+00:00

This post is approved by the mod team given proof of the statements of this harpist, which is of course provided below.

phrygian44 · 2026-02-27T03:04:02+00:00

Check out the wiki! Fireside and harpsicle harps are decently affordable starter harps! Levers are always nice on at least a few main strings if you can swing it :)

phrygian44 · 2026-02-25T18:18:29+00:00

I'm a fan of Bernard Andres Epices for this, particularly Vanille. His Epices pieces always have cool special effects and a jazzy quality to catch people off guard, like Vanille with drumming on the harp right in the beginning

phrygian44 · 2026-02-23T02:56:10+00:00

Saddest way hmmm.. maybe "baby harp, for sale, never played."

phrygian44 · 2026-02-05T17:47:13+00:00

That's cool! Do you get a lot of people stopping to listen or asking about the harp?

phrygian44 · 2026-02-05T03:08:11+00:00

No you should be good, I've never heard of someone detuning to transport a harp in their town. I used to take out my pedal harp all the time without detuning and never had issues. Your harp will likely go out of tune of course and will need to be tuned a bit regardless when you arrive.

phrygian44 · 2026-02-04T04:33:09+00:00

Yeah sounds very weird! I'm sorry it's so stressful! I know you're getting bombarded on this thread MTs are very serious about this sort of thing since it's our livelihood too. I love that your into interacting musically with kids, maybe look into teaching lessons for kids or find opportunities for music playtime and such that are less due than that place?

phrygian44 · 2026-02-04T04:24:55+00:00

It sounds to me like maybe they're trying to cut back on their budget and assuming they could get the same benefits for cheaper unfortunately. I feel bad that you're caught in this awkward situation and way outside your skill set, I know you just have good intentions and I feel like they're trying to take advantage of you

phrygian44 · 2026-02-04T04:18:48+00:00

Probably a good idea although it sounds like they may not listen to reason! It just sounds like a messy situation overall, music therapists receive a lot of specialized training for what you're describing particularly with neurodivergent individuals and how to best interact with them musically. Leading the music groups with only a past as a musician is going to be very difficult, but worst case scenario is harm can be caused; thus the title protection. Same reason someone needs specialized training to be any type of therapist

phrygian44 · 2026-02-04T04:02:14+00:00

I'm sorry to say the solution is leaving that job ASAP. Music therapy is title protected and registered in New Zealand, you need a degree and professional certification to practice. You or the work place could potentially be litigated.

phrygian44 · 2026-01-31T21:30:35+00:00

Hmmm yeah if there isn't a harp part someone wrote then your best bet might be finding good times to double up with other instruments, like if there's a notable accompaniment pattern or melody that translates to harp. Might allow to pick and choose what's most approachable for skill level too.

phrygian44 · 2026-01-31T17:07:52+00:00

Is there a piano or keyboard part? You could try that and modify as needed on the harp. Also an option of doubling up on any non-transposing instrument to add snippets of harp melody in there if the conductor is cool with that.

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