How to enjoy these wonderful video shares:

Enjoy the creativity and the willingness to share. Think about the fact that each of these videos is a unique creation – none of these musicians are playing written sheet music – they’ve created these arrangements by learning the fundamentals of arrangement and improvisation and putting them into play – literally – in their own creations. And notice how different each video and each project is from the others … and yet they were all taking the exact same class.

This is the power of learning the tools of self-expression and creativity. 

“Final-Beginning” is a term we use remind ourselves that these are not meant to be “Final” projects. If we worry about making them ‘FINAL’, we’d never share!  Instead, we learn to embody a moment of completion as a new beginning: to acknowledge an accomplishment as something that opens up a new door, a new place to stand in, a new level of confidence – not the FINAL – it’s not the END … but the new BEGINNING.

So think about that as you watch them and read their own account of their personal creative journey in creating each video by clicking the toggle beneath each video – and I encourage you to do that if you really want to be inspired.

Some of the players have played for years, and even decades – some have come to the harp as adults – some even as a retirement gift for themselves.   We’re a community connected by a commitment to creative expression. Every week we meet for masterclasses and training, and during the week we practice the new ideas and the willingness to be vulnerable, authentic and self-expressed with our instruments, our voices and ourSELVES.

So be inspired by that commitment, let it infuse your own life – and if you play the harp, come join us at Hip Harp Academy.

Describe your final project so I know exactly what you’re sending me.

My project is a song played on the DHC 32 for the first time. The song, Sedona Sunrise, was written for me by my harp teacher, Carol Kappus, because the sunrise brings the hope of a new day and she wanted to cheer me up due to a cancer Dx in 2019. Also, the song was written for the DHC harp because of its power and for which Carol and I are both fans.

What principles from this course or from chats did you use to develop, perform, and record this project – and how did they play a part in your process?

The principles were from the Strings of Passion. The inspiration came very late in the class when I was reviewing previous songs. I found Carol’s old note from 2019 and her message of hope and that was it. After a long dry spell, I had my inspiration. I HAD to play it. Even though there wasn’t enough time to polish it, I chopped it to bits with a basic structure: beginning, middle and end to represent a sunrise.

Give a short description of what it took for you to be able to play what you did – both logistically and emotionally.

Logistically, it was tough. Somehow, the cord from my amplifier went missing. My husband found it. Can’t play an electric harp without power. It had been missing for a long time and the harp has been silent. It was a challenge to play because of the damping which takes practice. 

Emotionally, I had to assure myself that although I was at the beginning of this piece, that I could produce something which is a whole lot better than nothing. If I could survive cancer, I could survive criticism and keep playing until the song eventually became mine.

What freedoms and blocks within yourself did you connect with (or struggle with) in the process?

Freedom came from DHC’ voice reminding me that this was a beginning as well as a final. To keep breathing through the tension of failure. Slow hand placement. Trusting that it would have beautiful notes. Some at least. 

What challenges did you meet while connecting with your own freedom of expression in this project?

The challenge was accepting that this would be the first time that the DHC harp would be played in a very long time and that I would be physically awkward. Would I be able to convey the power of the sun with so few pieces?

What other parts of your life were impacted by what you learned in this class, and how?

When I hit a wall and there is a choice between presenting something pre baked, not even half-baked, be kind to myself, get out of the way and see what happens. Take a chance and persist.

What were your personal “Ahas”?

I am willing to experience power. 
How much I missed playing my DHC harp and will play more.
How much my teacher has cared about me, that she wrote this song for me and a song for my wedding. It moves me to tears.
When I feel like I CANNOT, what can I do?

Is there anything else you want people to know when they watch your video?

I am grateful for your support. Thank you!

Describe your final project so I know exactly what you’re sending me.

I’m playing “The Road to Lisdoonvarna” (a traditional Irish tune) with the aid of a looper.  I enter a rhythm and chordal accompaniment as two separate tracks, one for each section of the song, and then play the melody (octave doubling the two hands) live over the top.  The video clip starts with one of the tracks already entered, which you can hear at the outset.

What principles from this course or from chats did you use to develop, perform, and record this project – and how did they play a part in your process?

I didn’t have much time to work on this, so I had to lean on using whatever skills I have right now.  The tune is one that I am playing for a St. Patrick’s Day gig, but for the gig I rely on others to play the chords and just play the melody myself (octave doubled).  It seemed like a convenient excuse for me to play with my new looper and be able to add accompaniment.

Give a short description of what it took for you to be able to play what you did – both logistically and emotionally.

It took some determination to embark on the project because it’s been a crazy week end (nothing too horrible, but lots of high-impact surprises on top of a busy schedule).  I’m still learning how to use the looper and it’s a bit of a production to get out the amp and all the wiring.  I knew I would have to settle for far less than perfection.  (But I was still hoping for perfection because why not?)

What freedoms and blocks within yourself did you connect with (or struggle with) in the process?

There’s nothing like hearing your mistakes played back on endless loop to keep yourself humble.

What challenges did you meet while connecting with your own freedom of expression in this project?

I wanted to add even more layers to my accompaniment (an earlier version did so, but I didn’t catch that on video), but in the end I stuck with a minimum: percussion to keep myself mostly in time, and straightforward chords.  I tried it without the percussion, but it was required for me to judge the tempo with subsequent layers.

What other parts of your life were impacted by what you learned in this class, and how?

I continually try to cultivate the mindset that my current skills are enough to create something meaningful.  It’s a very beneficial approach, for example, when playing a St. Patrick’s Day gig!

What were your personal “Ahas”?

My fingers might have trouble finding their place when I am also trying to press buttons with my foot.  Even the simplest actions require practice.

Is there anything else you want people to know when they watch your video?

The video ends a bit abruptly (sorry) because I was struggling with the tech.  But it sounds almost like I meant it, so it will have to do.

Describe your final project so I know exactly what you’re sending me.

You will be seeing me flying on a broom. I used a clip made of me at Warner Bros studio, cut away the original music and improvised 2 times along the clip to give it my own music and feel.

What principles from this course or from chats did you use to develop, perform, and record this project – and how did they play a part in your process?

The music is fully improvised and having to follow the movement on the clip, made that I had no time to think or to control anything. That was an enriching experience. Having to pay attention on something else made me more fluid.

Give a short description of what it took for you to be able to play what you did – both logistically and emotionally.

Had a lot of other things going on; It took me a long time to have time and get myself to do it, but once I sat down it was all done in some minutes.

What freedoms and blocks within yourself did you connect with (or struggle with) in the process?

Thinking that I had to play in the style of the original music and at the original speed. When I let that go, it suddenly became doable.

What challenges did you meet while connecting with your own freedom of expression in this project?

None, I just had to put everything beside me and concentrate on the task at hand.

What other parts of your life were impacted by what you learned in this class, and how?

No matter if you can follow things right, just do something that you want and don’t try to work up to the expectations of others.

What were your personal “Ahas”?

Astonishing how fluid and quick I can play if I have no time to think about what I do.

Is there anything else you want people to know when they watch your video?

Don’t bother about legal rights, just enjoy if you can. I’m curious which of the 2 parts you like best.

Describe your final project so I know exactly what you’re sending me.

My intention was to create a video of my first try at ‘Carol Creates Campfire’.  This is not a video. It is a photo.  It is one frame of the video which I made.

It had become obvious that I wasn’t going to be able to organise to do this with friends, so I decided to sing with Theodora (my travel bear, she’s sitting at bottom right of the photo).

The Video was truly so cringe-worthy that I could not bring myself to share it.

This photo shows that I made an attempt.

Apart from life getting in the way, it’s been raining, so not conducive to campfires.

On the Sunday, a week after final project deadline, in a gap in the rain, I rushed out, lit a fire, and sang with Theodora.

Despite knowing ‘attend to the optics’, it just wasn’t possible.  If I was going to get this done in the gap between rain showers, there was no time to get changed, no time to fiddle around with camera angles or an amplifier.

What principles from this course or from chats did you use to develop, perform, and record this project – and how did they play a part in your process?

• Connection not perfection!

  And my quote cards.  The cards I write of the wise words that women have said in class:

  • ‘Master the art of loving what you can do’
  • ‘What’s in the way IS the way’
  • Compare and DARE! (not compare and despair) (Mary M)
  • Hum! Tone! Sing!  ANYTHING!
  • ‘Don’t do more, hide less’ (DHC)
  • ‘If I try to get it perfect, the song will never get sung!’ (Teresa B)

Give a short description of what it took for you to be able to play what you did – both logistically and emotionally.

I had to have a bloody-minded determination to just push on.  I’d made a goal to get the final project in this quarter, and by hook or by crook, I was going to submit something.

I hold the belief that this is a journey.  It is valuable to me and to others and DHC’s words:  Something is impossible until it is inevitable!

What freedoms and blocks within yourself did you connect with (or struggle with) in the process?

Inadequacy, and dare I say it, self-loathing.  Self-loathing is something that doesn’t often arise for me, but when I saw this video, it raised its ugly monster head.

What challenges did you meet while connecting with your own freedom of expression in this project?

Oh dear, on this occasion, time.  I tell myself that I have exactly the same amount of hours in a day as every other human, but this quarter. I’ve really struggled to play harp as much as I want to and to do the other harp related things.

What other parts of your life were impacted by what you learned in this class, and how?

The words ‘Connection not perfection’ have influenced every part of my life.

What were your personal “Ahas”?

You know what, after sitting here and writing this, it feels good to have done it.  Even to have done just this much!

This quarter I have been working towards make singing at a campfire a reality.  I’ve created a songbook of simple songs and developed repertoire of singable music.  I am moving towards this goal.

While I found the video too cringe-worthy to share,  I can live with the photo.

I do have the feeling that making the effort, making the video, and sharing the still from the video are worthwhile steps in this journey.

Is there anything else you want people to know when they watch your video?

The fire is in a yard about 20 metres from our front door.  So, if you are interested, gives an idea of the country where I live.

Describe your final project so I know exactly what you’re sending me.

An attempt at singing facing the camera

What principles from this course or from chats did you use to develop, perform, and record this project – and how did they play a part in your process?

I used the chats about overcoming imposter syndrome and the ‘connection not perfection

Give a short description of what it took for you to be able to play what you did – both logistically and emotionally.

Emotionally I had to convince myself to a least attempt to submit something. I’m having a hard time dealing with physical effects of the past year. I had to retrain my fingers to sync with my brain. My voice is shallow because I can’t get a lot of breath anymore. Logistically trying to set up for recording

What freedoms and blocks within yourself did you connect with (or struggle with) in the process?

I struggled with myself and my self esteem. I gained a little bit of freedom by convincing myself to go for it – to face the camera and my fears and finding out it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be be – free to let go.

What challenges did you meet while connecting with your own freedom of expression in this project?

I have a fear of hearing myself and stage fright. I don’t like how I sound. It’s funny because lately I’ve been singing and humming around the house, yet to show myself to others is difficult, but I found it’s not impossible . And I’ll try to not cringe when my video is played.

What other parts of your life were impacted by what you learned in this class, and how?

Being brave enough to face situations that I might be uncomfortable with and realizing that I can overcome (somewhat) my fears. I’ve been doing more lately. The feeling of happiness and serenity I get when playing the harp has led to becoming happier overall.

What were your personal “Ahas”?

I didn’t die. It’s ok to do what I can while striving to learn more. The harp makes my soul happy.

Is there anything else you want people to know when they watch your video?

I had a hard time situating the camera so I could show my face and my fingers. I noticed when I uploaded my project that near the end of the song I for whatever reason substituted rose’ for grove. I decided not to do everything over and again – I wouldn’t be able to do that if was sharing with others. So I let it be. I’m not happy with the way it uploaded to YouTube- I don’t like the distraction of the added stuff it added to stretch it to fit the frame. I think that’s something new.

Describe your final project so I know exactly what you’re sending me.

A mashup of taking 2 different musical forms into Eb scale.

What principles from this course or from chats did you use to develop, perform, and record this project – and how did they play a part in your process?

Impulse to take a form try variations and a mashup;exploring the structures and roles by improving them; deconstucting their melodic structures into soemthing different; no liftoff- its an exploration – not performance, and a Practice!

Give a short description of what it took for you to be able to play what you did – both logistically and emotionally.

Ive been playing Irish music all month – I wanted to take a departure from the performance aspect and fool around with A jig structure and a jazzy structure just to get into a different mindset.

What freedoms and blocks within yourself did you connect with (or struggle with) in the process?

Always a struggle not to overthink something as freeform as I was experimenting with; not to think it had to have any merit whatsoever except what my brain and fingers pickup in osmosis as useful.

What challenges did you meet while connecting with your own freedom of expression in this project?

Recording anything spontaneous when you are spontaneous is a challenge

What other parts of your life were impacted by what you learned in this class, and how?

I like the way this class has evolved its time. I wished I could have participated more fully.

What were your personal “Ahas”?

That I like to play with composition, discover new strategies and rhythmic ideas

Is there anything else you want people to know when they watch your video?

Hope you are not bored – its basically a “practice”

Describe your final project so I know exactly what you’re sending me.

An original song by Midyne Spear & Steve Meckfessel

Attach your homework in PDF or JPEG format here:

Break Me Real Bad – Chart.pdf

Describe your written materials – if there’s anything in particular you want to say about it to help people know what they’re looking at, add that here.

The lyrics & chords to the song

What principles from this course or from chats did you use to develop, perform, and record this project – and how did they play a part in your process?

I’ve been working on incorporating stride into my arrangements.

Give a short description of what it took for you to be able to play what you did – both logistically and emotionally.

I had to do a lot of practicing playing without singing before I could add the singing back into playing even with only a little bit of stride

What freedoms and blocks within yourself did you connect with (or struggle with) in the process?

I’ve been struggling with whether to submit this video because I don’t feel like I accomplished what i set out to do with this song and the instrumental break is very rough.

What challenges did you meet while connecting with your own freedom of expression in this project?

I recorded this very late at night and had to move some furniture around to get the intimate delivery I wanted in the video.

What other parts of your life were impacted by what you learned in this class, and how?

Learning to be more forgiving with myself about sharing things that are not perfect.

What were your personal “Ahas”?

Stride and singing at the same time is hard and the noodling in the RH can compete with the melody.

Is there anything else you want people to know when they watch your video?

We wrote this song on guitar and I’ve been working on playing it on the harp over the past few months. I also uploaded a PDF of the lyrics & chords for anyone interested in seeing them.