One thing I love about teaching at Hip Harp Academy is getting to see the “Final Beginning Projects” that each student does. This is a culmination of Margi Miller’s experience in the Blues Harp-Style class – and this is just the beginning!

This post is from a series that shares the Final-Begining Projects from one of my first Blues Harpstyle online courses. Students created short videos based on what they learned in the course, and answered 5 questions about what they got from the challenge of this project.

MARGI SAYS …

My clarinetist and I did not have time to get back together, so this is my half-baked – but I liked it well enough to post it here.  This has been an amazing experience for me and I LOVE watching everyone’s submissions.

This has been an amazing experience for me and I LOVE watching everyone's submissions. Share on X

The 5 Questions

1. Give a short description of what it took for you to get to the place of being able to play what you did – both logistically and emotionally

The hardest part for me was to get right and left hands working together.  I could get the blues rhythm going with my left hand, but it took literally WEEKS of daily struggle to be able to put a right hand melody on top and keep the left hand going!

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

I came to a place where I just wanted it to be OVER, so I could post and “get on” with playing the blues without the pressure of doing a video.  This is definitely a block for me which I find every time I perform.  I just want it to be over…. And how can I share any depth of expression with that thought it my mind?

3. What challenges did you meet to connect with your own freedom of expression in this project?

I wanted to play with a clarinetist friend (who was in the midst of her concert series), so I just set a one hour date for us to get together and record. It helped me a lot to “practice in a frenzy” up to that hour and then I felt like she carried me through. –

4. What were your personal “Ahas”?

That I don’t need to read and memorize music to play the blues.  How freeing is that?

I don’t need to read and memorize music to play the blues. How freeing is that? Share on X

5. Is there anything else you´d like to tell people who are watching your video?

Take this course for the adventure of a lifetime!

A NOTE TO THE READER FROM DHC

Hey, thanks for reading this example of what it’s like to go thru a course with me! Did you have A-ha’s or revelations watching the video & reading the answers she wrote? Add your comments below. Please – no critiques – just share what you learned from someone courageously sharing a project that’s the BEGINNING of a lifelong learning journey.

Check out the beginning of a lifelong #harp learning journey Share on X

Want to do some courageous learning yourself? Click here to check out my next online course especially for harp players.