Upcoming Harp Workshops at Common Ground on the Hill
The Harp program will hold an exciting range of classes during the 2021 Traditions Weeks run by Common Ground on the Hill. We will have three weeks of harp classes, along with many music, arts, spoken word, and other classes. You can take anywhere from one to five classes each of the three weeks.
For more information about Common Ground on the Hill and its programs, please
visit its website: https://www.commongroundonthehill.org/.
The new Common Ground on the Hill website is expected to be up at the beginning of April. At that time you will be able to see other non-harp classes available, and also register online. Until the new website goes live, I wanted to let people know ahead of time about all the harping opportunities at Common Ground on the Hill this Summer. All classes will be on Zoom this year.
Class times (all Eastern Daylight time):
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New structure for choosing classes!
With our all-virtual class schedule, you will be able to choose classes à la carte, from across the three Traditions Weeks! Tailor your schedule to meet your availability! New pricing structure: Individual classes will now be just $100 for a full week of classes, with a discount applied with every 5th class - no matter what week they are in! Enroll right from the class description, for ease of building your schedule. |
The harp classes by week are given below.
Week 1, June 28-July 2
Teachers are Nicolas Carter and Jo MorrisonClass descriptions:
- 2nd Period — Storytelling and Your Instrument — Nicolas Carter
Music is the magical instrument of the heart, that brings warmth to any intimate gathering... and a powerful tool to enhance the mood and ambience of live storytelling. Nicolas has worked as an educator and storyteller for years and is the perfect harpist to teach this unique class. His passion will bring a new dimension to your "harp life."Imagine using your instrument, telling stories to your children or grandchildren, making memories to warm their hearts through the joyful moments and challenges in their future lives. Or using the harp to make storytelling come alive at schools, in home gatherings, at bookstores, or simply as an introduction to a tune before you play anywhere.
With Nicolas's warm, affirming guidance, you will surprise yourself by improvising melodies and creating sounds with your instrument to accompany a story. This is a workshop to relax and simply enjoy what you can create. It's a workshop about connecting with others with a text, and opening up creativity with yourself. Bring your instrument and a brief story to share. Experienced Beginner to Advanced.
2nd Period - 3rd Period — Songs and Tunes for Summer for the Harp — Jo Morrison
Learn a variety of tunes or songs that are in some way related to the season of Summer. We'll learn the lyrics when there are lyrics, but focus on learning the melodies and finding beautiful ways to play each tune. A simple arrangement will be provided for each, as well as additional arrangement ideas. Tunes will be learned by ear (music provided.)
All instruments welcome.
3rd Period - 4th Period — A Latin American Approach to Harp Playing — Nicolas Carter
Immerse yourself in the mindset of a Latin American harpist. You will be exposed to different techniques, musical patterns, rhythms, melodies of the joyful repertoire of Latin American music, including the Paraguayan Polca, Colombian Cumbia, Mexican Bolero, Cuban Chacha, and many more.
4th Period - 5th Period — Search for Common Ground — Nicolas Carter
Nicolas will be the lecturer in Common Ground On The Hill's flagship class on Friday, July 2nd.
5th Period
Week 2, July 5-July 9
Teachers are Rachel Hair and Jo MorrisonClass descriptions:
- 1st period — 9am New Tradition — Rachel Hair
Traditional music is forever evolving and its repertoire forever expanding. In this course we'll learn some tunes which have been composed in recent years (by musicians who are still alive!) in a traditional style and have grown so popular that they're already being absorbed by the Tradition. - 3rd period — Celtic Connections — Rachel Hair
Come join Rachel for a musical journey to celebrate the fantastic vibrant music from the lesser known Celtic countries and discover new tunes from ones that you may not have known to have a Celtic Connection. From the Canadian provinces, the Nordic regions and closer to home with regions of Spain and the British Isles, this course will awaken your senses and help widen your Celtic music repertoire on the harp. - 4th period — Folk Hymns for the Harp — Jo Morrison
In this class we will explore tunes that originated as folk tunes and were later used with hymn lyrics. We'll talk a bit about this transformation and how common it was. A simple arrangement will be provided for each, as well as additional arrangement ideas. Tunes will be learned by ear (music provided.)
All instruments welcome.
Week 3, July 12-July 16
The teacher is Jo MorrisonClass descriptions:
- 2nd period — Country Dance Tunes for the Harp — Jo Morrison
Country dances originated in the British Isles and are social dances for groups of couples. Learn some beautiful tunes used for country or folk dances, including reels, jigs, and waltzes. These tunes may have originally been used for dancing, but are also great for listening to, when the only dancers are your fingers on the strings. We'll learn a tune each day and play around with accompaniment ideas, with a simple arrangement provided for each. Tunes will be learned by ear (music provided.)
All instruments welcome. - 4th period — You Really Can Improvise on the Harp — Jo Morrison
Are you afraid of improvising? I'll show you why the harp is the perfect instrument to learn how to improvise, and how to take advantage of it. We'll experiment with various chord progressions, rhythms, and with the online format, you'll have no one to hear what you do but yourself, unless you want to share. We'll spend most of our time with me providing rhythms/chord patterns and letting you try to improvise over it, or providing a melody and letting you improvise the accompaniment, all in the privacy of your own home. We'll have fun, and share what we've found as desired in order to have opportunities to get feedback.
Although the class is intended for harpers, all instruments are welcome to join in to try improvising.