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

I used the Baroque Flamenco melody as a grounding to develop a meditation and transposed it into the key of Eb.

I used the descending baseline as an intro while I spoke about the meditation and then played the melody, improved on the 2516 chord pattern for the dance, went back to the melody and then ended the meditation.

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?

Learning patterns was the most valuable part of the course for me as well as transcribing the melody into Eb. 

I also enjoyed the melody and was able to slow it down easily for meditation.

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

I wanted a framework for telling my personal story and sharing my lessons learned with others.
I kept the meditation short for the purposes of this project, but with all I learned, I could have played easily for an unlimited period of time. 

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

Keeping it simple is always a challenge. So, being able to produce an experience using simple chords and improvisation, I realized that “less is more.”

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

Transposing the melody into the Key of Eb was a challenge at first, but having done it successfully freed me to develop a meditation that I thought was effective and pleasing to the ear.

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

I feel more comfortable improvising for longer periods of time using the patterns i learned in this class. I have satisfaction in having told a personal story and sharing lessons learned with others.

What were your personal “Ahas”?

Again, Less is more! 

How important patterns are in improvising and the power they offer in being able to play for a long period of time without getting bored.

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

This is a version of Baroque Flamenco that I improvised on the double-strung harp.

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 took the framework and basic character of Baroque Flamenco as my starting point.  Although I have practiced the piece on a single-strung harp from the sheet music, this time around I worked on a double-strung without the paper.  Instead, I practiced improvising with snippets from the chat sessions (that DHC had chosen to give us essentials of the piece). 

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 let go of the strumming technique, which does not fit my double-strung harp very well, and instead find other ways to evoke the Spanish guitar.  I also wanted to find comfortable ways to preset my levers (giving both G natural and G sharp) so that I did not have to flip any during the piece.  I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I determined these things were possible in this piece.

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

I found that I particularly enjoyed mimicking a Spanish guitar in the cadenza section.  The dissonances and slightly free rhythm lead to delicious tension and release.  I could use a lot of stepwise motion and single notes, so I didn’t feel like I had to worry too much where my fingers went.  One of my toughest struggles was in figuring out how to end the piece because I felt I could keep going almost forever.

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

When I started recording video, I found that I wanted to see my body language reflect better the emotion that I felt in the music.  I was able to make improvements in subsequent takes, but it required a conscious effort, and I couldn’t be thinking too hard about other aspects of the music.

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

Every time I have a successful improv session, I feel that I am becoming a more competent harper and a more confident performer.  It’s a good feeling.

What were your personal “Ahas”?

First of all, that I can play a satisfying version of the piece on the double-strung.  Second, that when something is difficult for me, I might need prompting to think about ways to make it simpler (whether changing how I play or just changing how I think about a section). And third, that I need to consider consciously what I want to convey with body language in a piece.

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

This is the second time I’ve used Baroque Flamenco to create a project and I found it was definitely easier.  There were still challenges for me, but I felt more relaxed about tackling them.  Here’s to spiral learning!

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

This is a song I wrote (music and lyrics — lyrics with the help? of AI).  There is narrative, singing and harp accompaniment.

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 definitely relied on grounded expansion, in that I had a refrain that I kept going back to — more or less.  

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

Writing my own song was kind of scary.  DHC helped a lot — in steering me towards standard accompaniment patterns when I wasn’t sure what to do with the harp.  Having reliable harp patterns gave me freedom to express myself in other ways.

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

In playing this over and over again, spontaneity went out the window.  At this point, I am sick of my song and need to get away from it for awhile.  I won’t give up on it totally, just for a time.

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

see answer above

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

the process reminded me of the wisdom in Ecclesiastes:
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven….”

What were your personal “Ahas”?

Aha!  For better or worse, I actually wrote a song!

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

There are some real mistakes in this recording, emphasizing the BEGINNING, in Final Beginning Project.  I will put this project on the back burner for now, but I do intend to work on it in the future.

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

BF “outline” with just a few bars of each section played.  I followed DHC’s script, and added emphasis and a couple of bars of music to jog my memory where I tend to forget what to do next.  I’m working on flow and slowing the piece down to a tempo comfortable for my fingers .

Attach your homework in PDF or JPEG format here:

BF outline final project 7 2023.jpeg

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.

DHC’s BF script with my additions.

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?

Structure: use graphic to visualize and play
Character: use presence to represent the              different players in this drama
Practice: frequently, going through the whole structure, then expand is certain areas.

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

Logistically I have to tell my self to slow down, no one that I will play for cares how fast it goes.  Concentrate on placement and musicality.  Work on flow and ease of playing the piece through

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

I always want to play faster than my fingers will go and get frustrated.  I would like to improvise wildly and freely but find myself hunkering back to the suggestions “on the page’. I need to develop improv patterns that I love for each piece that I play and WRITE THEM DOWN.

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

Don’t improvise freely

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

I look forward to playing more, and practicing less, even if only playing for myself.  I played for one friend and kept stopping and pointing out my mistakes.  She thought everything was beautiful.  I have to play in front of friends more and play through mistakes

What were your personal “Ahas”?

I should write a “script” for each piece of music that I play and work through the flow of It as I learn individual sections.

​

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

Harp arrangement of a traditional Irish tune Eleanor Plunkett by O’Carolan

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 was grounded in the main tune of the song and always came back to it. It was my safety net.

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

I recorded the song many times and there were many mistakes in each and every one of the videos. It was challenging to embrace the errors.

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

It was reassuring to have a part of the composition/ improvisation to fall back on. I struggled with the desire for perfection, as always.

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

It was challenging to accept the fact I was not able to play the song once without mistakes, even though I recorded it at least a dozen times. It was much easier to express myself in the main, clearly defined tune.

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

I might be a small step closer to wider self-acceptance.

What were your personal “Ahas”?

Simplicity is often more pleasing than complex patterns and harmonies.

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?

Breaking down music, patterns.

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

Physically I haven’t been able to play recently better. Emotionally I had to get over the fee of being behind, but then I just went for connecting and feeling the music.

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

It’s okay to go off the page and feel free express my feelings.

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

Allowing myself to be free.

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

Letting go

What were your personal “Ahas”?

It’s okay to play what I feel and not follow what I think I should do. What I play is really music.

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

I used some fantasy pics of me used through Lensa AI

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

It’s a fairy tale story using the structure of Baroque Flamenco.

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 what was taught  in the chats and then made up a story to go with the music.  It can be thought of as a simple fairy tale or something with more meaning like how some people are lonely or forgotten about in the community.

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

In the class you broke down the patterns in Baroque Flamenco and that made it easier for me to play and tell a story at the same time.

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

Being able to play in a simpler way I think gave me the freedom to tell the story.   Also thinking about the deeper meaning of the story, loneliness, the sense of touch, and the joy of music.  

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

I told friends about the story and wrote it down which changed frequently.   I practiced playing and telling the story to see if it worked.

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

Seeing patterns in life and making life easier.

What were your personal “Ahas”?

That I could actually do this!  tell a story with music.

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

I originally wanted to tell the story in the woods, but it was too windy and couldn’t hear my voice.  I liked the setting so included a photo at the beginning of this video.

Description:

This is a music video I created for my cover of the song “All I Do is Dream of You.”

Share the principles or skills you used from the Academy to develop, perform, and record this project – and how did they play a part in your process?

As we learned about Grounded Expansion this term, I grounded in the idea of expanding upon my previously recorded song and bringing new life to it by producing a music video.

When creating, I like to keep in mind the ideas of the Strings of Passion:

Impulse:

My impulse and goal this year is to create music videos to accompany my recordings. 

Structure:

I’m grateful for the structure and support of the Hip Harp Academy which helps to keep me inspired and on-track.  Having deadlines to complete projects is also very helpful.

I had the structure of the piece already completed so my goal was to create a music video to bring new life to my recording.

Character – I wanted the character of the piece to feel gentle and sweet, like a lullaby.  For the video I chose feminine characters that appeared dreamy; perhaps signifying a love for life or another person. 

Roles (Leadership/Follow-ship; Bass, Melody, & Accompaniment; Archetypes):

Taking into consideration the roles and sounds of the lyrics and the instruments, I tried to match those elements with beautiful imagery. 

PracticING & PracticES

Creating videos is a new creative endeavour for me.  It has taken a lot of practice, trial and error.  I try to commit to a practice several days a week dedicating time to work on my videos.  

Deconstruction

There’s a lot of trial and error in video making. A lot of deconstruction and reconstruction until the pieces fit together just right.

Lift-Off

The feeling of lift off is a beautiful feeling, when the elements come together musically in the studio. It is also very rewarding when the visuals come together with the music.

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

Logistically, I recorded this in studio with harp, piano, vocals, and violin.  

I wanted the tune to sound sweet, soft, and gentle therefore I tapped in to those emotions and relayed those desires with my fellow musicians and the producer.

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

I constantly struggle with confidence in my singing ability.  I’m very shy when it comes to singing. 

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

Again, always struggling with the confidence to sing.  I used to struggle with completion, always thinking that I shouldn’t release something because it wasn’t good enough.  It’s true, things can always sound or look better but one must reach a point where you say “hey, it’s ok”, I’m going to release this to the world.  That’s a wonderful, freeing feeling.  

What were your personal “Ahas”?  When the music and video pieces finally came together, I definitely felt some “aha” moments. 

Is there anything else you’d like to tell people who are looking at your project?

If you enjoy the video and would like to see more, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel.  Your support would mean a lot!   https://www.youtube.com/@soulharp/videos

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

In this iMovie, I’m playing the Welsh tune “The Blackbird,” based on a lead sheet. There is an intro, melody, modulation into a new key (D to C), improv, melody, and an ending.

Attach your homework in PDF or JPEG format here:

898AC8F1-D76B-454F-87DB-27D2C7C2ECA6.jpeg

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.

Game Plan/Map

This is what I started with. It guided me through the process, and I ended up with this final project.

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?

What “grounded” me in this project was first developing a game plan/map. Once this was established, I had the freedom to expand and experiment with different ideas.

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

To complete this project, I needed to take the time to discover different alternatives until deciding what worked.

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

I was a bit self conscious taking my harp, tripod, and chair into the woods next to a public park. Once I was setup, I was fine.

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

I enjoyed the challenge of developing this project.

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

With the completion of each of these projects, I become more confident with my skills.

What were your personal “Ahas”?

I’m seeing a pattern in how I construct my tunes.

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

I appreciate the helpful ideas from DHC and from fellow classmates. 

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?

This quarter of grounded expansion I really wanted to focus on creating intro’s for tunes using speech, singing and playing

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

I wanted to record the video outside so I used my amplifier and microphone. I found it hard to get the balance right and will definitely get myself a headset

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

I don’t mind playing outside but I was very aware of myself singing and speaking (and being overheard by the neighbours). I really had to overcome my reservations 

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

My fear of being heard singing. Also I wanted to use my electric harp and its harness, which I’m not that comfortable playing yet.

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

I really love how you can endlessly expand an existing tune by adding an intro, cadenza and anything in between as long as you have a basic structure. This will surely enrich my way of performing.

What were your personal “Ahas”?

As long as you know your start and where you want to finish, you can put anything in between 

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

I was kicking myself because I did not have time to do a Final Beginning Project, so I decided to use something I had already created.  This is a short collaboration I did with harpist Emily Hopkins.  She released a track called a harp “stem” and asked her subscribers to add to it.  This resulted in 51 submissions.  Mine was voted number two out of the 51 by her viewers and participants.  What I submitted was a simple one-take flute improv with a harp gliss at the end.  I have now added video to the music to submit as my FBP.

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

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

I realized that I was on a deadline to create this track.  By the time I remembered that it was due, I had less than 30 minutes to record, mix and upload.

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

I just decided to go for it and let it go.  I listened to the harp stem track once and then just sat down to record the flute part.  Although it wasn’t as perfect as I normally would have liked, I decided to just let it go as is.  I added a simple harp gliss at the end to help it sound more complete.

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

I always have felt like I could do it one more time to make it better, but I knew that if I did that, it wouldn’t get done on time.  So it was let it go as is or don’t bother doing it at all.

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

As far as the class, I always feel like I learn new things, even though I have taken Baroque Flamenco three times now.  I also always enjoy any time we are given another snippet.  It is motivating to make something different out of a brief idea.

What were your personal “Ahas”?

It was interesting participating in this challenge with the harp stem.  So many people used the stem in vastly different ways.  I hope to do this again and be a bit more daring with my submission.

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

I used simple stock background image and animation that came with my computer.

Impromptu baroque flamenco for Bavarian cows which was posted today and has over 200 views so far.

I’m not sure what I want to know from others, and it was challenging to choose which one to send since I composed 3 new songs this week and this was just an experiment. 

I haven’t posted but one video in 3 years and I wanted to share and inspire.  The farm owners and their guests were thrilled, and this is only one of 5 videos.  

I’ve been posting reels on fb and video content on TikTok and I’m getting so much play they are offering to send me $$$ 

It was a mooooving experience and “under” chaos when all the cows came to listen.  They milked it for all it was worth because they knew I was eating a veggie burger and wasn’t “horsing” around.  Lol.  Friends have been giving me things to say about the videos.