Below you’ll see 14 “Final-Beginning Projects” videos — a tradition in Hip Harp Academy where students take what they’ve just learned and use it as a launchpad – not a finish line.
Each video is radically different, though each player took the same class – Blues Harp-Style – and used the same twelve-bar blues structure. Yet what came out the other side isn’t just music, it’s an experience: a farm in Austria, an apology to a sister, a duet with a classical symphony friend, a daughter’s song about cleaning her room – sung to her mother, a fairy-tale reimagined, a sing-along about frustrating co-op customers, an invitation to the library. Some are duets, some are solos, with and without vocals.
Some of these players have been at the harp for decades. Some only a year or two. What they have in common isn’t that they’re playing “a piece they learned in a class” — it’s what they found permission to do: stop waiting to be ready, stop needing it to be perfect, and just play.
That’s the real discovery under all of these — the blues gives you a gateway. You get to decide where that gateway leads.
Ready to find out where yours leads?
>> Learn more & Register for Blues Harp-Style
What happens when an advanced Classical Player takes Blues Harp-Style?
Nicole Müller (Germany) combined a background in classical technique with an original take on the Blues called “Those Bluesy Days”
“The freedom was that I didn’t have to worry about “right or wrong”. That is really liberating for a classical harpist like me.” Nicole Mueller
What if you mix Blues with electronics and drum machines?
Valerie Huart (France) took what she learned in Blues Harp-Style and put it to a beat with a drum loop, as one of the first projects she ever did with looper and harp.
Can you apologize via Blues?
Harriet McKenna (USA) wrote an original Blues to apologize to her sister for missing a birthday party – now that’s a creative use of the Blues! Who wouldn’t accept that apology?
Can the Blues make Teenagers clean their rooms?
In this project, Annelies Kole (Holland) enlisted her daughter in an original Blues called “Clean Up That Room”
Kick back and play Blues with a friend!
Jade Barnaby (Australia) wanted to change the way people percieve the harp, and be able to improvise Blues with a friend.
It was much more fun to go through the process of creating something with another person than me on my own, tearing my hair out!
It confirmed that sometimes you should just act and do things before you feel ready… Jade Barnaby
Blues Duets with Classical friends?
Margi Miller (USA) started harp as an adult and plays both in therapeutic settings and just for fun with friends. She took what she learned in the class and shared it with a friend from her local symphony.
Do you want to play with freedom? Blues is the ultimate musical game that teaches you rhythm, harmony, basslines and how to improvise with others as well as solo. Blues Harp Style is self-paced to fit your schedule, wherever you are in the world.
Get the class with a single payment of $597 or start for as low as $209.
Can Blues grow from an unfinished idea?
Charlene Elderkin (USA) discovered that writing and performing her own humorous Blues wasn’t about having every lyric, rhythm, and bass line perfectly in place. As she simplified the arrangement and let herself begin before it felt finished, the song started revealing itself—and so did a new confidence in creating without perfection.
“I’ve gotten more relaxed about making these videos, less worried about perfection… Once I sat down with my partially completed lyrics and played, the rest started coming.” Charlene Elderkin
What happens when your cat becomes your Blues muse?
Margie Bekoff (USA) found her Blues inspiration in an unlikely place: her cat sitting on her lap. “Lap Cat Blues: Sharp Nails” gave her permission to bring her love of silliness into her music—and to let the project be imperfect, unfinished, and completely her own.
“The freedom is that I love to be silly, and I loved the opportunity to do so while making music!” Margie Bekoff
Can learning the Blues bring two people closer?
Fern Nelson had never played the Blues before, but she had a goal: play a Blues with her partner, Will. What began as a class project became something much bigger—a shared musical adventure. Now they plan to practice and play the Blues together every day, exploring where the harp and guitar can take them next.
“I told him the family that plays together stays together, and he agrees.” Fern Nelson
What happens when you start feeling the Blues?
Kathryn Dandurand (USA) wanted to create a collection of familiar Blues snippets to play for patients in her therapeutic music work. When she couldn’t get the music under her fingers in time, frustration gave way to improvisation: one day, while swimming after work, she began singing her own lyrics to the tune. What emerged became “A Bad Case of the Hospital Blues”—a reminder that you don’t have to play everything perfectly to create something that can connect with another person.
“Blues are all about feeling, feeling the groove. I played slowly and simply to allow the emotions to seep out.” Kathryn Dandurand
Can Blues give a classically trained harpist more freedom?
Frauke Haenel (Germany), a classically trained harpist, created “A Bluesy Song” and it gave her a clear structure to follow while still leaving room to improvise, experiment, and create her own melody. She discovered a new way of relating to her lever harp—and a new freedom in playing with others.
“Even with the freedom of improvising, it is possible to play with others, because you have the structure everyone is following.” Frauke Haenel
Can the Blues help you find your own voice?
Emily Greenberg (USA) had never envisioned herself as a solo performer—or even as a performer at all. Taking Blues Harp-Style meant pushing far beyond her comfort zone, making her first videos, learning to share imperfect work, and finding the courage not to quit. By the end, she was asking a much bigger question: “Maybe it’s time to express my own voice.”
“Maybe it’s time to express my own voice.” Emily Greenberg
What happens when you let a Blues song take on a life of its own?
Kathy King (USA) imagined a “reluctant” Fairy Tale Princess—and the story-song arrived almost fully formed. But as she developed it, the song began taking a direction of its own, resisting some of the Blues techniques she had planned to add. Instead of forcing it, Kathy learned to listen to the piece and let it become what it wanted to be.
“My biggest discovery was realizing that, rightly or wrongly, the song had taken on a life of its own.” Kathy King
What if becoming a beginner could put you back on the path?
After nearly 50 years of playing harp, Sally Walstrum (USA) had to give herself permission to become a beginner again. Her “Come to the Library Blues” challenged her to strip things down, stop overthinking, sing, stand at the harp, and let herself experiment. What she discovered went far beyond learning the Blues: she began reconnecting with a part of herself she had lost.
“I figured I should write what I know, which is the library. But I thought it was pretty lame … I needed to stop overthinking, let go of the inhibitions, and enjoy the process.” Sally Walstrum
Do Animals get the Blues?
Susanne lives on a farm in Austria, where her days may involve mucking out manure rather than lounging around in flowing gowns with a harp. So she brought the harp to the farm—and turned the animals, the work, and her everyday life into “Animal Harp Blues: A Mucking Out Song.” Along the way, she discovered that when she stopped trying to be perfect and started having fun, the creativity came more easily.
“Things go easier when having fun with it. Playing around leads to more creativity.” Susanne
Evocative & Personal
Jan Hirsch (USA) used the meditative Blues from this class to create a very personal, evocative Blues with saxophone.
I would never have thought to pair a saxophone with the harp, but I was amazed at the sound … This has opened up a whole new direction for me …I realized that I had to find my own expression because the Blues are so personal and come from so deep within. Jan Hirsch
Do you want to play with freedom? Blues is the ultimate musical game that teaches you rhythm, harmony, basslines and how to improvise with others as well as solo. Blues Harp Style is self-paced to fit your schedule, wherever you are in the world.
Get the class with a single payment of $597 or start for as low as $209.
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