My online Blues course for harp players starts today … and I first learned to play the ‘Swingin’ Shepherd Blues’ on the harp 30 years ago, I thought it was the coolest thing I’d ever played on the concert harp.

25 years later, Blues has become a huge part of my repertoire.  But when most people hear “Blues Harp” they think I mean “harmonica.”

Au contraire, my dear – I mean a harp with 32 electrified strings.

So what is Blues Harp-Style?

Well … it’s Blues … on a harp.  I play a lot of 12-bar blues, I bend strings, I play bass-lines, I comp, I sing.  It’s BLUES.

And I teach a 6-week online course for harp players called Blues HarpStyle – which starts TODAY – and teaches other harp players – of all levels – to play the Blues, too.

>>If you play harp, register now: BluesHarpStyle.com<<

Since most people have never heard Blues on a harp, my excellent assistant Beatriz put together a bunch of different Blues-Oriented videos and a downloadable MP3 so you can get an idea of what Blues is like on a harp.  You can see them all below on this page including:

• A behind-the-scenes recording session
• An upbeat “New Blues”  Chamber Ensemble
• A completely improvised Blues lesson
• A free Jumpstart Blues training webinar
• A rehearsal in Germany of “Hallelujia Blues”
• A free Blues MP3 of my “Way You Are Blues”
• Student Blues projects
• And even a Blues for 250 Harps

It’s all embeded below. If you still have questions about what “Blues HarpStyle” is, add them in the comments – and if you play the harp – the kind with strings – register for Blues HarpStyle today and  start playing the BLUES!

Behind-the-Scenes in the Recording Studio

On Jan. 7, 2016 I did a take of “I’ll Be Your Sous Chef” an original Blues for Foodies – here’s what it looks and sounds like behind-the-scenes in the recording studio:

“New Blues” – with 2 Harps & Chamber Ensemble 

In 2014 I performed this “Dueling Harps” version of my upbeat bebop Blues “New Blues” with harpist Eleanor Turner and a chamber ensemble in Sydney Australia at the World Harp Congress.

 An Improvised Blues lesson

I’d just discovered four absolutely beautiful Blues chords I knew my students would fall in love with. They’d been asking for a kind of contemplative Blues they could use in therapy settings as well as for self-expression and I sat down and improvised this lesson to show them how to use the chords to really slow down and connect with themselves emotionally.

A Free 1-Hour Blues Training for Harpists (or people who like to crash harp events)

This FREE Blues training for harpists called “Jumpstart Blues”  streamed LIVE from my studio on Jan. 10th as a warm-up for the 6-week online course “Blues HarpStyle.” Even non-harpists have said they really enjoyed this.   Click HERE or on the image to watch!

Early Music Blues – Riffing on Handel

A few years ago I got to collaborate in Germany with the stellar Early Music ensemble L’Arpeggiata.  This is a rehearsal of my “Hallelujia Blues” with two of the world’s greatest Early Music singers.  One of the greatest things about the Blues is that it’s such a wonderful collaborative form and let’s you do so much … including riff on Handel’s “Halleluliah” chorus

 A Blues Download to listen to on your MP3 Player

 This is my 2005 recording of “Way You Are Blues” from “Altered Ego” (check out the horn section!)

DOWNLOAD the FREE MP3

Blues Harp-Style  Student Projects

Watch Blues Videos my Students Made!

Every year in “Blues HarpStyle” my students create their own 3-minute Blues projects – and in 2015 they were incredibly fun. Click HERE to see them. I call these Final BEGINNING Projects because the students focus on imperfect completion as a way to end one phase of learning and begin the next, rather than sliding into an endless pattern of trying to attempt perfection. You can also see the 2014 projects HERE and 2013 projects HERE.

Guiness Book … of Blues for 500 Hands

In July 2008, 500 hands (on 250 harpists) played in Amsterdam’s Ferry terminal in a successful attempt to make the Guinness Book of World Records for largest Harp ensemble. I wrote “The Guinness 500 Blues” especially for that performance. Here is the video:

 Additional reading …

Here are some other Blogs I’ve written about the Blues.
Speak the Blues… On Harp:  https://hipharp.com/blog/12231
Blues – You Gotta Live it… but first:  https://hipharp.com/blog/9707
Blues as Creative Structure:  https://hipharp.com/blog/7300

Now it’s YOUR Turn to Play the Blues!

Are you a harpist and wish YOU could play the blues?  Well, YOU CAN!

Click HERE to find out about and register for my course “Blues HarpStyle!”, my 6-Week online course that’s especially for harp players and teaches you, the passionate musician, to play the 12-Bar Blues – no matter what your skill level is!

>> REGISTER FOR BLUES HARP-STYLE NOW <<