Harp Teacher's Corner - Hand Position Part 2

In Hand Postion Part 1 I addressed the fact that there are a number of different harp techniques and hand positions used around the world.

To briefly recap - a harp with a very loose tension, such as a paraguayan harp, will use an entirely different hand position from a harp with tight tension, such as a concert pedal harp. If you are searching the internet for videos and other tutorial materials related to hand position be sure you know what kind of harp you plan to be playing and what type of tone you prefer. If the harp in the video is not the type you will be playing - or does not have the tone you are looking for - skip that video and find one that matches your ideals.

I teach both pedal and lever harp students, many of my lever harp students being adults. Many of these adults are hoping to play harp in a spiritual setting of some kind - either in church or in the sick room. The most important thing to keep in mind when you are pursuing this type of playing is that you want a smooth, non-jarring tone and technique. The experience you create for the listener should be as calm and healing as possible. This will not happen if your movements are jerky, your hands are tight or stiff, or your touch is too strident. It is also not possible to play with a healing energy if you are completely stressed out about your own ability on the instrument. For this reason you must find a competent teacher near you to help you tame your hands into a good position to enhance tone and facility. I have worked with many students who are impatient to begin playing "a lot of notes" with no regard to tone or technique. In my experience "short cuts make long delays". Ignoring your teacher's advice regarding hand position, refusing to stabilize your technique, will only frustrate you and delay your ability to play the harp with the tone you enjoy hearing from others.

My technical background is rooted in both the Salzedo and Grandjany techniques. I find the Salzedo technique most useful for flashy concert playing as well as orchestral playing that requires the harp to project through an entire orchestra. However, it is my Grandjany training upon which I call for any piece of music in which the desired goal is a beautiful tone and nuanced phrasing.

In my over 30 years of teaching I have found that the "squeezing" technique advocated by Marcel Grandjany and his students produces a tone suitable for both pedal and lever harp. (Although it is helpful not to squeeze too much when playing a lightly strung lever harp such as a Triplett or a Yoder).

The most important facets of this technique are:

1) An "oppositional" relationship between the index finger and the thumb.

By this I mean that the thumb and index finger must be pointing in opposite directions (thumb up, finger down) so that the hand can truly squeeze the strings. You should never think you are plucking or strumming the strings. Rather, you are "pushing" them. The thumb pushes the string toward the column and the finger pushes the string toward your sternum or other part of your core. This will allow both the thumb and the finger to push their way through the strings to their ultimate destination. The finger will close entirely into the palm and the thumb will close over the hand touching the index finger between its knuckle joint and the  joint immediately adjacent. This closing is imperative for a deep tone. Peeling your fingers backwards off of the strings in a plucking motion will create a superficial, and often tinny, sound. It will also guarantee that the listener will hear your fingernails unless you have trimmed them all the way down to the quick.

2) A loose, relaxed extension of the arm with an elbow neither too high or too low and a wrist that does not stick out but is, instead, tucked in.

If you imagine yourself sitting on a horse and holding the saddle pommel you will understand what your goals are for your arm, elbow and wrist position. On this horse, if you do not want to fall off, you cannot raise your elbows too high or stick your wrist out. Doing so will eliminate the use of all the muscles on the inside of your arms. You will be reduced to the strength of your outer arm muscles only and it will be a very unstable feeling. Likewise, if you clamp your elbows into your body and flex your wrists at an extreme angle, you will short circuit the signals to your outer arm muscles. Good harp position, as with good riding position, requires your arms to be balanced so that your movements are both strong and flexible - creating security and stability. Probably the most frequent problem I see in beginning students is a wrist that sticks out. This lowers the thumb and raises the index finger so that they are almost parallel, making the relationship I outlined in section 1 almost impossible.

3a) Fingers that open and close properly as a unit.

Harp often requires that you place several fingers on the string at once. Many passages are simply not playable when one attempts to "load" the fingers onto the instrument one at a time. To accomplish the act of placing more than one finger at a time your fingers must learn to function as a unit. Everyone opens, everyone closes. Beware of the "trigger finger" syndrome where the thumb and index finger are on the string but the other fingers are held back in the palm like a child shooting an imaginary gun. If the index finger is on the string, the other fingers should be open as well but just slightly. They should not be open past parallel with the index finger.

3b) Avoid "over opening".

This is when you open your hand to play the next sequence of notes -let's say it is a four fingered chord - and, instead of opening your hand to the precise amount needed to hit your target strings, you open to a random "wide open" shape. Imagine you wish to pick up a pencil from the table. You open your hand to the precise amount needed and grasp the pencil. You do not open your hand twice as wide as you need to and then shrink down to grip the pencil. It is just as unnecessary to make this extra motion when placing more than one finger on harp strings. Think of your strings as a target you are trying to hit and be as efficient about it as possible. Over opening also causes problems when playing a one handed descending scale. After the thumb crosses over (maintaining a high position above the index finger,) the rest of the fingers should only open enough to find their next target. If they open above the desired target and have to be adjusted downward, you lose speed and evenness.

4) Fluid and controlled hand wrist, arm and finger movements.

Sharp movements will produce a sharp or harsh sound. If your goal is a smooth, rich tone, you need smooth rich movements. Go to the ballet (or watch some online) and examine the way the dancers use their arms. Professional dancers will use their arms to fully telegraph the emotion of the dance in question. A ballerina performing in Swan Lake will have a very distinctive pace and grace of arm movement that will match the emotion and tempo of the music. A fine harpist will do this as well. It is astonishing the amount of effect follow through of the fingers, hand, wrist, and arms will have on the tone you produce on your harp.

Broken Leg

Some of you have noticed that it has been a while since I posted on the blog. That would be because, on the morning of March 7, I fell and broke my leg in two places. (You can read the blow by blow description of how that day turned out here.)

If you play harp, you know what a crisis this is. I often tell my students that, to play pedal harp, you can get an infected earlobe, break a rib, or have oral surgery. Every other part of your body, you need.

For those of you who don't play harp, an explanation: A pedal harp has 7 foot pedals - 3 on the left for D, C, and B, and 4 on the right for E, F, G, and A. This is how you make all your sharps and flats. Without them, you are left with nothing but what would be the white keys on the piano.

My first reaction after I fell was to mentally calculate all the playing engagements I had coming up:

"The Light in the Piazza" two weeks, every night - starting 3 days after the accident
Concerto in B flat for Harp by Handel - 1 remaining performance, 6 days after the accident (I was getting excused from the show for this).
Church service for a client's 95th birthday
Holocaust Memorial Service
Danses Sacre and Profane by Debussy 
Sheherezade with the Kenosha Symphony
Jazz set at Caroline's Jazz Cllub

These are just a few of the things I was committed to in the weeks following the accident. I knew the show "Piazza" would be flat out impossible, even if I had only sprained my ankle, so I contacted the director immediately so that she could get someone else.

And, when I say immediately, I mean immediately. I had not even gone to the ER yet.

The next day - a diagnosis of a fibula broken in two places in hand, I started divvying up the gigs into 3 categories: Full Pedals, Right Footed Pedals, and No Pedals

Full Pedal performances that would fall within 8 weeks of the accident were right out. Those folks would have to be called and arrangements made.

Right Footed Pedal and Non Pedal gigs I would be able to keep on my roster but I would need to be sure I had a harp moving crew and that the venue would be prepared for me and my crutches.

I have to say, the trickiest one was turning the Handel Concerto into a Right Footed Pedal piece. Fortunately, the two fast movements, 1 and 3 were not a problem - all the pedals are in the right foot anyway - but movement 2 would be trickier. I wound up able cross my right foot over to the left for all the pedals except one. That one I had to leave out, which meant changing the harmony of a trill slightly but in a way that still fell within the range of the music.

I am very lucky - though my leg is broken, it is a clean break and I don't need surgery. That would have put me out of action for at least 5 months.

The two best pieces of advice I can give to other harpists are to have an injury or accident clause in your contracts so that a substitute harpist is acceptable and  to have a good relationship with the other harpists in your area so that they will be able and willing to help you in the mad scramble to cover your bases if something debilitating happens to you.

My sincere and profound thanks to Janelle Jensen Lake who went above and beyond to help me find a replacement for "The Light In The Piazza". Thanks Janelle, I owe you more than I can repay!

A New Harp For Parkside!

I am thrilled to announce that The University of Wisconsin at Parkside has just purchased a brand new Grand Concert harp. The Ebony Venus Diplomat was delivered on Monday and she is a beauty! (Here she is with my blue Diplomat.)

For those of you looking at prospective Colleges, this means you can now consider UW Parkside for harp study without having to bring a harp to campus.

The acquisition of a harp is just one of the exciting things happening over at Parkside - I have a beautiful new spacious studio that is just a small part of a beautiful new Arts Center. (Read about the new Rita Tallent Picken Regional Center for Arts and Humanities here.)


To everyone who made the harp purchase possible  - THANK YOU!!!!

Teacher's Corner With Anne Morse Hambrock: How To Pick A College

Tis the season to apply to college!

About this time every year I get emails from students inquiring about studying harp with me at the college level - either at Carthage College or at the University of Wisconsin Parkside.

Here are some of the most common questions I receive:

1) Can I major in Harp Performance at your school?
2) Can I minor in Harp at your school?
3) Can I major in Music Education ?
4) Does your school offer a degree in Music Therapy?
5) Can I play on the school harp or do I have to bring my own?
6) Is there a harp ensemble?

These are all excellent questions but there are several more you should ask or at least be thinking about.

1) Are there other harp students at your school and how many?

Some colleges have very small harp programs - 1-3 students, some have a mid range of as many as 9 and some have a very large program of 20 or more. If you wish to have the opportunity to play in as many ensembles as possible and a high level of visibility, a small or mid sized program may be a good fit for you. A small program may also have more scholarship money to offer. If you wish to be part of a large community of harpists with the cache of a prominently named teacher, you may feel that a big program is your best fit. One caution about a large program - depending on your skill level and dedication, you may find yourself studying with a graduate assistant rather than the primary harp teacher.

2) What ensembles are available and what level of harp parts will I encounter?

Just because a college has a music program does not mean they have a full orchestra. Some colleges may only have a small chamber orchestra. Although, you should not rule out the possibility of playing with bands and wind orchestras and also accompanying choirs. If you wish to play in an orchestra after graduation, you should be trying to get as much ensemble experience as possible while you are in college.

3) If I bring my own harp to campus, where will it be kept?

This is a very important question. While not every college can promise you your own practice room in which to keep your harp, they should at least be able to guarantee the security of your instrument.

4) Will I play only classical music or do you teach jazz and other modern approaches?

One of the realities of today's world is that becoming a concert performer of classical music or playing in an orchestra are not the only ways to use your harp skills after graduation. Many harpists find a majority of their income is tied to weddings and parties. Knowing how to successfully market yourself in this field is important. It is also wise to understand how to quickly make your own arrangements of piano parts to music your clients may request on short notice. Many college teachers cover this area but some do not and assume you will find your own way when the time comes.

5) Do you teach harp pedagogy?

Another very important question. If you are planning to teach harp after graduation there is a lot to know! While most teachers will at least address the subject of harp pedagogy while you are studying with them, not all colleges offer a harp pedagogy class for credit. This often has nothing to do with the harp teacher and everything to do with college budgets and bureaucracy. If the college you are interested in does not offer a pedagogy class for credit but you are passionate about learning to teach, you may need to ask the college to let you do an independent study with an emphasis on pedagogy instead.

6) Are there opportunities to play freelance while I am studying at your college?

First of all, if you wish to freelance while you are in college you need to assume that you will have to have your own harp and transportation with you. Do not assume the college will let you take a school instrument off school property. Also, do not assume you will be able to have a car on campus your freshman year. Some colleges have strict rules about living in the dorms freshman year as well as rules about bringing cars to campus. Secondly, you need to respect the market around the college and not expect to take work from your teacher if there are not many harp jobs available in the area. Encroaching on your teacher's livelihood will put a strain on the student/teacher relationship and interfere with the mentoring process.

7) Do you teach a particular harp method?

The three most commonly taught harp techniques taught at the college level in the United States today are: Salzedo, Grandjany and Renie. All three of these techniques are associated with famous harpists - Carlos Salzedo,  Marcel Grandjany, and Henriette Renie. For the answer to this question to be useful to you, you must first know what technique you are already using. (Your current teacher will be able to answer this question for you.) While there is often a mention of "French Technique" that is a vague and slightly problematic term as all three of the aforementioned harpists were a product of the Paris Conservatory. This means that, technically, all three of these methods qualify as "French". Currently, however, the Grandjany and Renie techniques are more commonly associated with this term of "French Technique" and Salzedo has come to mean a technique specific to the students of Carlos Salzedo.

Each technique does have a hallmark hand position and tone quality. Also, the farther away from the original teacher one gets, the more the technique can also take on the tone of the other harpists in the chain. For example: my Salzedo teacher was Lilian Phillips who studied directly from Carlos Salzedo in the 1940's. This puts me one step away from Salzedo and my students two steps away. My Grandjany teacher was Dr. Ruth Inglefield who studied directly with Marcel Grandjany in New York as well as Pierre Jamet in Paris. I also studied briefly with Pierre Jamet. This puts me one step away from Grandjany, with my students two steps away and then I have a direct contact to Jamet which puts my students one step away from him. This sort of harp pedigree can be confusing but knowing a potential teacher's stylistic background can help you achieve a good match.

8) How do I audition for you?

There are two main types of auditions - scholarship and non scholarship. Generally, scholarship auditions will take place on dates fixed by the college and will be in front of an audition committee. You are typically auditioning, not against other harpists but against all other instruments. A non scholarship audition can be as simple as contacting a prospective teacher and asking if you can come and have a sample lesson from them. I strongly recommend this if you are planning to major in harp performance. It is less important if you will only be minoring. You should be prepared to pay for this lesson; be sure to find out the usual fee for each teacher in advance of the lesson. If a teacher is particularly interested in having you as a future student, he/she will often then advise you to also give a scholarship audition.

9) What kind of music should I play at the audition?

If it is a scholarship audition, you should present your very best playing. While concertos are impressive and I do recommend playing at least an excerpt of one at your audition if possible, a really top notch performance of a lesser work will do more for your chances than a poor performance of a piece that may be over your skill level. Poor preparation on a major work will significantly reduce your chances of a scholarship. There are no brownie points for the attempt. Also, be prepared to sight read.

As far as the repertoire at a sample lesson, you should have at least one piece which you consider "finished" that you are proud of, and another that is "in progress" so that you and the prospective teacher truly have the opportunity for a teaching moment. If your hands are cold, do not be afraid to take a minute to do some warm up exercises. Just keep your warm up time to under 3 minutes.

In closing, probably the most important questions are not for the harp teacher but for yourself.

"What do I want to do with harp? 
Do I want a full time career as a harpist? 
Do I want a career in something else with some harp on the side? 
If I want to play harp on the side, do I want to play strictly for my own enjoyment or do I want to pick up occasional freelance work? 
Do I want to teach harp?"

To properly choose a college at which to study harp, you must first know what you expect to gain from the experience and where you wish to go with the instrument. It may seem like an obvious point that does not bear mentioning but you would be surprised at the number harp playing high school seniors I have encountered who have never given these questions any thought at all!

ADDITIONAL NOTE: Be sure to follow up with a thank you note any time you receive answers from a prospective teacher or have a trial lesson with them!

Teacher's Corner With Anne Morse Hambrock: Hand Position; Why does it matter?

I would like to begin my Teacher's Corner segments with hand position because, of all the challenges involved in playing harp, it is the one most likely to make or break your playing experience. The appropriate hand position will not only lead you to greater success musically, it will minimize tension and promote a longer playing career. This segment will not focus on specific hand positions (that will be in segment two) but will focus on why hand position matters and what it contributes to your playing.

To properly address hand position we will need to break it into two parts:


A) Tone and B) Facility. Let's start with tone.

One of the nice things about the harp is that, once it is properly tuned, it naturally sounds good almost any way you play it. To clarify my meaning, it is not at all like the sound of a violin or clarinet in the hands of a beginner - no squeaking and squawking. That said, some sounds on the harp are more pleasing than others. The tone you get from the instrument relies on the displacement, or movement of the harp strings. How the harp string moves and vibrates to produce sound is controlled mainly by three things:


1) The type of harp 
2) The type of strings 
3) The hand position and touch of the fingers.

1) Harp Types:

Harps come in a variety of sizes and string tensions. How tightly a harp is strung and the construction of the sound chamber, along with your hand position, will seriously affect the tone produced when you play. The tighter the tension, the more energy it takes to displace the strings and create sound so the more important it is to choose a hand position that can really squeeze the strings rather than simply brushing them.

Pedal harps generally range from the smaller 40 string harp with a straight soundboard to the 47 string Concert Grand harp with an extended soundboard.  Add to that the fact that different harp companies are known to produce harps with different tones - some brighter, some deeper. Sting tension tends to be uniform within a harp company but can vary slightly from company to company. And, in general, a new pedal harp will be tighter in tension but will loosen up over time depending on the frequency and strength with which it is played. When you are in possession of a new pedal harp, a good hand position and a strong tone will help you 'break the instrument in' and contribute to the development of its sound.

Non-pedal harps* also come in a variety of sizes - from as few as 13 strings to as many as 42- and have a broad range of string tension. Some non-pedal harps will say in their advertisements "Pedal Harp Tension". These harps are primarily for those who switch back and forth from pedal to non-pedal harp and desire the same tension or those folks who are only playing a non-pedal harp until they can afford a pedal harp. If you plan to transition from a non-pedal harp to a pedal harp, the hand position you use should be one that produces the best results on pedal harp.

Non-pedal harps that do not use pedal harp tension have a tremendous range of string tension.
A string with less tension will require less energy to displace.  For this reason, hand positions that would be considered unorthodox for pedal harp can still be effective on a certain non-pedal harp when it comes to tone.

2) String Types:

There are 5 main types of strings for harps: gut, nylon, wrapped bass wire, wrapped nylon, and brass wire. Nylon, and wrapped nylon strings are generally more springy so they require less energy for displacement than gut and wrapped bass wire.

The type of harp will often determine the type of string. Brass wire strings are only used on a specific type of non pedal harp and require a unique playing style with fingernails. The hand position used on a brass wire strung harp is unique to that instrument and is not consistent with pedal harp hand position. I am not schooled in this method of playing so I cannot address proper technique on such an instrument. But, I mention it here to illustrate the point that there is more than one proper hand position for playing harp.


The three types of strings found on most pedal and many non pedal harps are: Wrapped wire starting at the bass G string (10 strings below middle C) and descending to the bottom of the harp, Gut or Nylon or a combination of the two. Nylon strings tend to be slightly stretchier with more give to the string. As a result, they are easier to "overplay" when used in the lower octaves. For this reason, most professional pedal harpists choose to limit the use of nylon strings to the upper registers of the instrument. Whether to use nylon or gut on your harp tends to be a personal choice based on the tone you desire and how much you can afford to spend on strings. It is not at all unusual to have all nylon strings on a non-pedal harp but it does produce a different tone than gut strings.

Again, the type of string you have on your harp, combined with the hand position you choose will have a direct effect on the tone you get out of the instrument. The more rich the tone you are seeking to produce, the more finicky you will need to be about the strings you use.

3) The hand position and touch of the fingers:

There are a variety of hand positions used around the world. The position you choose to embrace will depend largely on the type of tone you wish to produce. Some hand positions yield a bright, almost tinny sound. There are cultures that value this type of tone and so a hand position that produces it cannot be considered "wrong" if that brightness is the desired tone. Certain Irish, Chinese and Paraguayan music (among others) use a hand position that would be considered suitable for their genre but unsuitable for pedal harp performance. The success of such hand positions depends greatly on the tension of the instrument being fairly loose. Paraguayan harps are very, very loose so all sorts of hand techniques are used that would not translate well to a pedal harp. Again, I am not schooled in this particular technique - a good resource is Alfredo Ortiz.

If you play a harp with pedal harp tension and desire a deep, rich tone in your playing, you must pay particular attention to hand position because you must displace the strings deeply and carefully. A deep tone can only be produced with certain types of hand position. This means that you cannot be cavalier with your hand mechanics and so must focus intensely on hand position.

B) Facility and Speed.

The other main reason hand position matters has to do with facility  and speed. A hand position that allows you to "pick at " the strings one at a time can actually work if you don't mind a thinner sound and if you are playing a passage that goes slowly and rings for a long time. 


But, any passage that runs through several strings quickly, such as an arpeggio or a scale, must have two components. Firstly, to play a fast four fingered arpeggio, you must place all your fingers on the strings at once and then execute them one at a time. (I call this "plant and peel") A good hand position will make this easy, a bad hand position will lead to frustration - especially when it comes to landing on several strings at once. Secondly, to change direction, cross over, or cross under, requires a hand position that supports moving in more than one direction.

These are the main reasons hand position matters and why, although it may seem time consuming to take the time to use your hand a certain way, the work you put into a good hand position will yield a better overall result and improve your playing.

Note: - If you are cruising the internet for videos on proper hand position, re-read the above information and be sure to pay attention to the type of harp the instructor is playing. If it is not similar to the type of harp you will be playing, it may not be of great value to you and you should probably continue searching until you find a harp and tone similar to your goals.

Next installment: Hand Mechanics and how to use your fingers to produce a deep, rich tone and smooth, fluid phrasing.




*I have used the term "Non-pedal harp" because it encompasses all types of harps that do not have pedals - paraguayan harp, triple strung harp, cross strung harp, double strung harp, and lever harp. I realize that not everyone likes to refer to their non-pedal harp this way but I use the term in the interest of clarity.

NEW! Teachers Corner With Anne Morse Hambrock

I am starting a new feature on the news page related to teaching.

I have been teaching harp for over 30 years and, in that time, have encountered so many different student hands, personalities, and goals for harp playing that I feel I have learned as much from my students as they have learned from me. Over the course of the years I have also formed many opinions on the music available for harp study and the various approaches to harp technique which I plan to share in this segment.

With more and more people taking up the harp in the privacy of their own homes and using the internet or self teaching books rather than a private teacher, I hope to outline some information that will help such students as they wade through the teaching tools they encounter online. I also plan to address typical problems that arise through self study.

I hope this information will be useful to students and teachers alike.

Another Video - A Buddy Guy Inspired Original Harp Tune

Clean Up Time and A Video

I regret to say that I have neglected this site for over a year. Firstly, I had a very busy 12 months in the cartooning world (see my cartooning blogs here and here) and secondly, I forgot all my password and account info for this blog :-)

But it's time to get things back on track and, within the next month, you'll see a little more activity here. I have some performances I'm excited about this year and will post details later. In the meantime, here is my youtube video for "Bossa Nova Casanova" a tune I wrote years ago but never performed live until 2009 the the Jean's Jazz Concert series at the Racine Theater Guild. There is a full explanation of how the piece came to be at the beginning of the video. Enjoy!

A Little Celtic Tune on Youtube, My Latest Video

Here is my latest Youtube video.

"Oh My Katie Wee" was written when I was expecting my daughter and subsequently she has declared it belongs to her.

(True story, I played harp right up until my due date with all three children - they all moved around quite a bit when I played, but my daughter was the only one who apparently knew my entire repertoire and would kick me if I made a mistake.)

This particular recording was made at the Racine Theater Guild when I appeared as part of their Jean's Jazz concert series. Celtic was not on the menu, so this was an encore.

I hope you enjoy it!

New Blog

I've started a new blog: Overbooked and Underpaid: Notes from a yes-aholic

This blog was inspired by a couple of things. First, were some comments from the estimable Tom Racine during an interview for my husband's comic strip - I think it went something like "Good god, woman! How do you find time to do all this stuff?!" and last year I started writing a humor column for our local newspaper. I also got some prodding from some of the readers who already follow this blog and my Edison blog.

With all the different directions my husband and I find ourselves pulled in, we definitely feel overbooked and underpaid. I'm pretty sure an awful lot of folks out there feel the same way so, if you're looking for some entertaining reading about my daily inability to stick to my schedule - or if you want to share your own stories of being overbooked and underpaid - head on over and check it out.

Just don't expect any cookies.

I'm too busy.

CD's for sale

So I've officially put the whole CD up for sale now on the website. You can still download single tunes if you wish,  but for a standard rate of 99 cents per tune rather than the ambiguous system of payment I had before.

Thanks to all those of you who have already purchased my music - I hope you're enjoying it!

Jean's Jazz

I am happy to announce my upcoming appearance as part of the Jean's Jazz concert series at the Racine Theater Guild. The performance is Thursday, February 18th from 7-8 p.m. Information on the series as well as ticket prices and ordering information can be found here. 

Rather than appear as a solo act, this time I have elected to put together a trio which will feature Brian Ford on Drums and Jane Livingston on Synthesizer. The program will consist of a few favorites from my recording Round and Round and also a fair bit of new material I am very excited about.

 I will also be selling CD's, and the Guild has expressed an interest in showing some of my blown glass work in the lobby the night of the show.

See you there!

Performance Coaching

A number of people have approached me within the last year seeking overall "performance coaching".  Performers of all kinds struggle with nerves from the "jitters" to full blown, paralyzing stage fright. While most of my experience with conquering nerves has been applied to coaching harp students, I have also coached people for job interviews, public speaking, TV and radio interviews, etc. As a result, I am now offering my services to performers of all kinds. If you are interested please fill out the contact form here and I will get back to you. 

Note: the phone number field is optional, I am happy to contact you by email only if that is your preference.

Back to Glass

Ages ago I began my college career as a double major in both harp and art. After transferring my studies to harpist Dr. Ruth Inglefield, I entered the world of national and international harp competitions. This left very little time to carry a second major so art fell by the wayside. By my senior year I had pushed so hard and fast through the music curriculum that I found myself with a couple holes to fill in my schedule and, because I had fulfilled all my core art requirements, was able to sign up for a class in glassblowing. That was it. I was hooked. And thanks to the fact that I stayed at BGSU for my graduate work, I was able to spend almost 3 years in a really top notch glass studio. 

The instructor at that time was Robert "Bud" Hurlstone. The studio was well away from campus across the railroad tracks (where nothing important could get blown up if the gas fired furnace's systems failed) and shared a building with the ceramics department. It was a pretty small operation, one tank, one gloryhole, one annealer, one grinding wheel, but it was a fabulous program and many fine glassblowers honed their skills under Bud. Years later, as I returned to campus for a recording session, I found that the old studio had been deactivated and a wonderful new studio, very tricked out with all the latest and greatest in glass,  built in the heart of campus. BGSU is extremely blessed to have this fine facility and, while Bud passed away in 2005, I am sure great glass is still being made there.

Unfortunately, after I left Bowling Green, building my own studio was not a possibility and finding other studios in the Chicago area in which to blow was extremely difficult. I have managed to snag a little time here and there but it has been very sporadic. So it was with great joy that I discovered Hot Shop Glass in Racine WI. Because they rent studio space, I finally have somewhere to reconnect with my love of glass and this year I began blowing again in earnest. Here is some of my work. I hope you enjoy it.

Fall Reminders

Summer lessons will be ending the week of August 17th with final lessons on the 18th. Be sure to email me your fall schedule during the week of August 24th so that we can begin lessons again by September 5th. As always, lesson times are assigned first to students with seniority as long as they get me their schedule in a timely fashion. Lesson rates will remain at the 2008/2009 level at least until January. 

The next masterclass "So you want to play weddings" will be in September. I'll post details as soon as the date and time are firm. 

A heads up -  students should mark their calendars for the KSO  concert October 3rd. This concert will feature Respighi's  "Pines of Rome" which all students in grades 9 through college will be studying this fall.

Remember, the best email for scheduling is annesharp@tds.

Latest Oz Cabinet Pics

I actually got these done two weeks ago but have been behind on posting. Jack Pumpkinhead is one of the oldest Oz characters, first appearing in "The Land of Oz" which is the immediate sequel to "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". He also appears in many books in the series and has a title book later by Ruth Plumly Thompson.

The Patchwork Girl still needs work on the glasses and tray as well as a cloud of smoke and sparks from the Woozy. The Patchwork Girl, or Scraps as she is officially called, makes her first appearance in "The Patchwork Girl of Oz" as does the Woozy who can make real sparks flash from his eyes. After her introduction in this book, she appears frequently in other Oz books. 

So, tomorrow I finish Scraps and start Tik Tok the wind-up copper man from "Ozma of Oz".

First Summer Art Project

Summer is when I do a lot of painted furniture. I choose the summer because I like to paint outdoors in natural light and also because I have an easier schedule in which to take big chunks of time. When I'm painting illustrations like these I really need to do the pencil sketch all in one session and then the painting of that particular image all in one session as well. 

This particular project is a cabinet for my daughter that I started a few years ago. As an artist I tend to hop around a lot from project to project (focus issues, I suspect) so this cabinet has been going on for a while. As she is getting older - and soon will be too old to even enjoy this cabinet - I have decided to get my act together and finish the whole thing this summer :-)

As a child, I had the good fortune to read all of the original Oz books by L. Frank Baum. While the whole world is probably familiar with the movie "The Wizard of Oz", a lot of people don't realize that Baum wrote 14 books about Oz - 13 of which were illustrated by the fabulous John R. Neil. Only the first book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was illustrated by Denslow. These books were every bit as popular as the current Harry Potter series and children eagerly anticipated each new release. In fact, Baum became weary of writing about Oz. He had written many other non-Oz books and was frustrated that they did not have the popularity of Oz. He tried to discontinue the series at 6 books with the last entitled "The Emerald City of Oz", but there was such an outcry, he had to write 8 more. In fact, the franchise was so successful that, after Baum's death,  the publisher contracted Ruth Plumly Thompson to write several more Oz books, also illustrated by Neil. The illustrations I have chosen for the cabinet are all from the original 14 books - although in some cases I have rearranged characters or created backgrounds as my needs dictated.

One thing you will notice is that Dorothy is a blond. In the first book Denslow drew her as a brunette with braids and a prairie style dress. This is the look that was also chosen for the movie. Neil drew her as a blond with a bob and a bow and a drop waisted dress. I must confess that I prefer her as a blond - maybe it's reading those other 13 books so many times :-)

The Wizard and the Nome King (and the nine tiny piglets) 

Dorothy and Ozma

The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman

The Cowardly Lion

The Hungry Tiger

Pencil sketch for Jack Pumpkinhead

Pencil Sketch for Scraps and the Woozy

Pencil sketch for TikTok and Billina (The hen on top of his hat)

I do these drawings freehand and the paintings are done with acrylics. I hope to have these three done in the next week or two and then move on to other parts of the cabinet.  I still have to sketch out the Wogglebug and some general Neil floral patterns.

Master Classes and Parent Meeting

If you are attending the masterclass and/or have a parent attending the parent meeting next week (6/24 and 6/25), please email me to confirm.  annesharp@tds.net

Art Stuff

As well as teaching and performing as a harpist I am also an artist who works in several different media: glass blowing, photography, monoprinting, jewelry, pencil, and painting. I also make jigsaw puzzles on my Delta scroll saw. From time to time on this site I will be sharing some of my art. 

I am also the colorist and production assistant on the nationally syndicated comic strip "The Brilliant Mind of Edison Lee" created by my wonderful husband John Hambrock. You can see some of his work here and my other blog here.

This is a picture of my latest jigsaw puzzle - a New Yorker cartoon by my friend Rina Piccolo.

Welcome!

Welcome to my news page! This is where I will be posting about harp events I may be playing as well as my other activities in the arts. In addition to being a professional harpist, I am an artist who works in many media, photos and news of which I will be sharing here.