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 Moira Paga’s experience in the Blues Harp-Style class – and this is just the beginning!

MOIRA SAYS …

This is my Final ‘Beginning’ imperfect performance of the ‘Train of Life Blues’ and my first ever go at singing/playing harp/my own (almost) composition….

Thanks to Deborah whose suggestions I have (imperfectly) followed….

The second chorus starts with ‘ It don’t matter what state you’re in’ ….which is a reminder to myself to do my best to play and enjoy the harp…no matter what ‘state’ the performance is in!!

enjoy the harp...no matter what 'state' the performance is in! Share on X

The other meaning is a bit more profound and in fact I don’t know where such words came from but in the light of lots of discussion around the Australians imprisoned and facing the death sentence in Bali for drug dealing and the repercussions around lives they have affected, It has given me food for thought. I just should have explained some of the lyrics that may cause some  concern..the words “It don’t matter if you are full of sin” doesn’t mean to condone harmful acts in any way – every harmful act will have painful consequences as we all know for ourselves…but rather to say that this particular Train accepts every single being in whatever condition they find themselves without judgment – whether they get there sooner or much later – they will arrive at the same place eventually and that place I’ve called ‘The Light’ – open to interpretation of course….

Hope that helps understand why I used those words and of course I don’t imagine everyone will agree with this. This in itself is a learning for me — to think very carefully of words used in a public forum – especially challenging ones!

Moira’s Answers to my Five 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

Some of the comments above cover the context of the song which seemed to appear out of nowhere.

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

During the course I found it quite hard to battle the fact that I had little time to practice as much as I would have liked and each time I steeled myself to put something up on video.

I tried not to cringe at my inexpert performances and the ultimate challenge of singing was (almost) one ask too much but I was compelled to do it so something other than fear or pride took over – much to do with how Deborah impresses the imperfect perfection and I kind of believe it is possible.

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

I think this covers the freedoms and blocks thing too – I was surprised how I did what I did despite the above.

4. What were your personal “Ahas”?

Feeling part of a supportive forum of others who understand what you are going through was also helpful and experiencing the group therapy aspects from afar a bit of an aha moment.

Being part of a supportive forum of others who understand what you're going through was helpful Share on X

Learning to stay put around the Blues in D and not worry about all the other stuff at my level helped once I finally came to that conclusion.

Finding I could compose something out of a patchwork of learning bits and pieces was also a discovery.

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

Thanks again DHC so much. It was challenging but FUN.

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 register for my next Free Online Training and check out my next online course especially for harp players.