“I had never played Blues or sung with the harp before, and this tune of DHC’s really resonated with me.” ~ Cherie

Cherie has always wanted to sing and play the harp, but felt she was unable to do it..until now. Then she found DHC’s “I Wanna Play the Blues,” which resonated with her and resulted in her achieving her goal of singing and playing the Blues with her harp.

Cherie is one of the daring harpists who are challenging themselves to develop new ways of self-expression in Hip Harp Academy by combining the skills and tools of improv with each person’s natural abilities and passions – creating new hybrids of expression that expand what it means to be a harp player.

CHERIE SAYS …

“I had never played Blues or sung with the harp before, and this tune really resonated with me.”

I had never played Blues or sung with the harp before, and this tune really resonated with me. Share on X

1. Describe your final project.

“I Wanna Play the Blues”.  From Blues by the Dozen.  This version is in Dorian blues as I found it easier for singing, and it’s simplified.

2. 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?

When I joined the academy a couple of years ago, I started with the Blues course.   Everything in this video is from this course that I’ve learnt.  I had never played Blues or sung with the harp before, and this tune really resonated with me.

I wanted to play the blues and I finally got the swing rhythm. Share on X

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

Well, I wanted to play the blues and I finally got the swing rhythm.  The “riffs bootcamp” was when I ” got it.”   In this tune I could sing and not play at the same time, so that was helpful.

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

I’ve always wanted to sing and play with the harp but just couldn’t do it.   This was an experiment using a mic which also helped me with singing as I’ve felt the harp was louder than my voice and it was a struggle, the mic makes it easier.

I'm gaining more confidence with my playing and achieving my goal of being able to sing & play. Share on X

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

I had the challenge of changing the key of the tune so I could sing.  The “cubes” we used in the jazz course have been great in helping me do this.  I also put in other variations in this tune using the pentatonic scale and walking bass.

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

I’m gaining more confidence with my playing and achieving my goal of being able to sing & play.

7. What were your personal “Ahas”?

I can do this!!  I love the blues and I never dreamed that I actually would be able to play it.
I was blown away when I first saw Deborah playing the blues and thought I’d love to be able to do that.

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

I recorded this in the evening after only obtaining the gear to do the electrics for the harp, and mic, so this is an experimental video.

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Hey, thanks for reading this example of what it’s like to go thru a course with me! Did you have Aha’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 Hip Harp Academy where daring harpists get their creative wings.