Ars Musica: Resources for practicing harpists.

Harp Courses: Lessons and Exercises

Our courses consist of introductory lesson podcasts plus our exclusive "harp-on" exercises.

The lesson podcasts are free and provide basic instruction. The follow-up exercises are available for a small fee and provide three to four weeks of exercises and drills designed to reinforce the topics covered in the podcasts. Each course includes goals, practice tips, and bonus ways to use proven techniques in your everyday practice. It's an efficient and powerful way to learn!

 

Course 101:
Strengthening Your Sensory Triangle

PODCAST: Click here to listen to the lesson. Free!
NOTE: The lesson link above opens an MP3 file. If the lesson doesn't play or you get a security warning, the problem is with your browser or its music plugin. For example, if you have Windows Media Player as your default music player, you may get a security warning. If you set iTunes as your default player, the music should play without a warning.

See also the related article, "What is the Sensory Triangle?"

EXERCISES: Click the button below to purchase the exercises.
These offer a 3-4 week regimen with these goals:

  • To practice associating pitch, note name and string for faster reading and better hearing.
  • To hear differences between intervals.
  • To develop a strong sense of key and note relationships, and develop your sense of relative pitch.
  • PLUS - Bonus ideas to help you incorporate these techniques into your everyday work.
  • Price: $18.95

 

  

Course 102:
Learning Music from the Inside

PODCAST: Click here to listen to the lesson. Free!
NOTE: The lesson link above opens an MP3 file. If the lesson doesn't play or you get a security warning, the problem is with your browser or its music plugin. For example, if you have Windows Media Player as your default music player, you may get a security warning. If you set iTunes as your default player, the music should play without a warning.

EXERCISES: Click the button below to purchase the exercises.
These offer a 3-4 week regimen with these goals:

  • To improve fluency in note-reading.
  • To develop your "inner metronome".
  • To help you "hear" the music on the page before you play it, to help you sightread better.
  • PLUS - Bonus ideas to help you incorporate these techniques into your everyday work.
  • Price: $18.95

Course 203:
Become a Speedier Reader

In order to sightread well and learn music quickly, it is essential that you continually develop your skill in note reading. Just knowing the names of the lines and spaces of the clef is not enough. Just being able to play the notes is not enough.  When you can name each note (ideally, sing each note, although that will not be our focus for this lesson) as quickly as you can find the string on which to play it, you achieve a higher level of musical awareness that filters into everything you do musically. It will not only help your reading, but it will help your memorization, your musical understanding and your music theory studies as well.

Download the FREE lesson plan here! The free two-page Week-by-Week lesson plan tells you exactly what to do to speed up your reading.  The course follows the same lesson structure but also includes the exercises, drills and practice materials that I use with my students, as well as suggestions for further study on your own. Try it today!

 

EXERCISES: Click the button below to purchase the exercises.
These offer a 3-4 week regimen with these goals:

  • To improve accuracy and speed of note recognition.
  • To practice note reading as a preliminary to note playing.
  • To apply your note reading skills to two-hand practice.
  • PLUS - Bonus ideas to help you go even further!
  • Price: $18.95

Download the FREE lesson plan here!

 

  

Course 204:
Jump Start Note Reading Exercises

If it’s time for you to fix your note reading once and for all, then you’re in the right place. These drills are designed to iron out all the kinks in your reading and give you the skills to tackle any music you want to play.

NOTE: You may want to read the article "Note Reading, Take Two - the "Why" for some extra insight and motivation.

NOT JUST FOR HARPISTS!

EXERCISES: Click the button below to purchase the exercises.

The exercises include:

  • Exercises in treble and bass clefs.
  • Complete, step-by-step nstructions to get the most benefit from your work.
  • A Progress and Goal Tracker Chart to keep you on target.
  • PLUS - Tips for using your new skills in your everyday playing.
  • Price: $18.95

 

If you have ever thought you should read music faster or better than you do, you MUST try this course!

Course 103:
Learning the Waltz of the Flowers Cadenza

PODCAST: Click here to listen to the lesson. Free!
NOTE: The lesson link above opens an MP3 file. If the lesson doesn't play or you get a security warning, the problem is with your browser or its music plugin. For example, if you have Windows Media Player as your default music player, you may get a security warning. If you set iTunes as your default player, the music should play without a warning.

In this podcast, Anne Sullivan talks with Mindy Cutcher, harpist for the Pennsylvania Ballet in Philadelphia. Mindy discusses every aspect from the technique you need, to the musicality of the cadenza, to the different ways to play it in concert or for the ballet. Plus she has some funny stories about life in the ballet pit! And when you’re inspired by the conversation, you can begin working on the cadenza right away using this three-week practice plan to get the cadenza ready in time for Nutcracker season!

PRACTICE REGIMEN: Click the button below to purchase the exercises.

  • Week 1 - Understanding the Notes
  • Week 2 - Developing the Technique
  • Week 3 - Understanding the melody and Putting it All Together
  • PLUS - Anne Sullivan's personal edition of the cadenza
  • Price: $19.95

Course 202:
How to Get the Tone You Want

One of the harp’s magnetic qualities is its tone. The sound of the harp is magical. It can be rich and warm. It can be sparkling and brilliant, velvety and rippling.  So how we play is at least as important as what we play. A good tone expresses the music, makes practicing more enjoyable and is a pleasure to hear.

 A beautiful tone isn’t something only the best harpists have. It’s something we all can achieve. But how do you get that magical sound? What can you do on your own instrument have the best possible tone?

The practice regimen is divided into three lessons.

Lesson 1 is on Tone Production. You will work with each finger to focus on its sound and to ensure that all your fingers can play with an equal sound.  You will also work to keep that even tone between both hands, and practice playing without counter-productive tension.

Lesson 2 helps you use your sound across the dynamic spectrum.  You will practice crescendo and diminuendi, making them evenly paced and smooth.  Once again, you will focus on the balance between the fingers and hands.

Lesson 3 experiments with a tone “repertoire.”  It will help you develop a range of tone colors and articulations and show you how to use them to express the character of whatever piece you are playing.

So what are you waiting for? Your own beautiful tone is just a few lessons away…

 

EXERCISES: Click the button below to purchase the exercises.

  • Price: $18.95

 
   

Course 201:
Just Scales - and Arpeggios too!

Nothing says “dazzling technique” like a fast, fluid scale, and no single exercise does more than scales to improve every aspect of your playing. It’s unfortunate that we sometimes neglect this important fundamental, thinking we’re too busy, or that scales are too boring. We may start working on them for a while, but it’s easy to lose interest in an exercise that seems so repetitive. But really, all you need is a plan.

“Just Scales – and Arpeggios too” is a plan that will help you get the most from your scale practice, even if your time is limited. It will help you improve your scale technique, grow your knowledge and understanding of keys, and increase your agility, speed and evenness.  There are three levels of plan – beginner, intermediate and advanced – and each level is playable on lever or pedal harp. Each level has four sections: Technique practice, Key practice, Rhythm practice and an “Extravaganza ,” a short etude to help you put your new skills into practice.  Let this plan help you get your “dazzling technique!”

 

EXERCISES: The Levels are described briefly on the right.
Click the button below each level to purchase the exercises.

 

 

In the Beginning Level, you will work on:

  • Crossing under and over.
  • Seven different major keys.
  • Rhythmic patterns for independence of the fingers and hands
  • Price: $10.00

Beginner Level:

 

In the Intermediate Level, you will work on:

  • Two octave scales.
  • Major scales and relative minor scales in harmonic form
  • First inversion arpeggios.
  • Rhythmic patterns for clarity and accuracy.
  • Price: $10.00

Intermediate Level:

 

In the Advanced Level, you will work on:

  • Extended scales and arpeggios.
  • Major scales and parallel minor scales in harmonic and melodic forms.
  • First and second inversion arpeggios.
  • Rhythmic patterns for agility and flexibility.
  • Price: $10.00

Advanced Level:

 

 

 
   

 

 

 

 

Back to Top