Hip Harp Academy Member Spotlight: Power of Pattern 2024 | Part 2

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

Final Beginning project “Psalm 18”.  An attempt to put some SHJ into an old favorite song.  Worked in some arpeggios, a couple scales, an ascending baseline or two, some sixths and grace notes.

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?

Summer Harp Jam, Noodle Toolkit, and Snippets, plus DHC & SFP ‘s combined Master Chat (opening arpeggios).  

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

Adding noodling and grace notes and rhythmic triads to an old favorite song.  It took several takes, and it was hard to decide which take was “better”

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

My LH is pretty automatic on 1-5-8.  On earlier takes I varied my LH more and my RH less.  This one had a basic LH (and stuck with it) but varied the RH more.  Hard to choose which one to submit.

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

I needed more time on the strings to really relax.

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

I can’t think of a good answer to this right now

What were your personal “Ahas”?

I should share the drills I was using earlier this week to loosen up my noodling a bit

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

An old favorite song can take on a life all its own when you’re ready to try it

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

I tried to incorporate elements from slap bass and the 9ths into the intro and close of a simple folk song. The 9ths sounded wrong without dropping down a note or two afterwards, so I added that element. I aimed for experimentation rather than smoothness in this recording.  Suggestions on incorporating the jazz elements appropriately into traditional folk would be appreciated.

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 elements from slap bass, 9ths and just improvising on the order.

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

This is my first attempt at editing iPad video or uploading to Youtube. It scared me and my mistakes embarrassed me but it seemed better for this project to do it on the fly than to work for perfection.

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

I have trouble letting people see my mistakes.

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

It was hard to decide which traditional folk song to use, but I thought simplicity was best with everything new I was trying to do.

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

The class both helps and hurts actual performance because I am learning what from the jazz style can be used with folk and still sounds traditional

What were your personal “Ahas”?

The drop down after the 9th

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

Sudden Waves – song written by the late Les Barker (I’ve had his permission to perform/record this song) 
Used to sing in G, reworked here in F

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’ve missed a lot this quarter, and frankly, I can feel it. This project has been tricky. Patterns, simplifying (supposedly!), shifting an arrangement to suit my voice (even though I’ve changed my mind about it!) . 

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

I’ve struggled.
I was clear this was what I wanted to work on but I’ve concluded that moving it to F was a mistake. I’ve had little time and this is rushed now, but it is what it is, and I’ve learned what works, and what doesn’t by comparing this with an earlier recording in G.

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

That old “you can’t do this” or “you can do better” has been a constant. I felt a bit defeated, but determined I’d send in something at least.

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

My own expectations of how this ‘should’ be

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

Finding time and space is hard and I need to work on the project alone and undisturbed. 

What were your personal “Ahas”?

That it’s good to try to make the harp ‘fit’ my voice rather than sing to fit the harp. But also, switching key was a mistake!

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

There’s another recording, in the original key that is my preferred version…but this class made me experiment with keys, so I’ve gone with submitting this imperfect piece! 

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

This is my Q3 Final-Beginning Project. Original composition called “Taking Out the Garbage Blues”.

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 incorporated the following into this piece after the helpful half-bake feedback:  added finger snapping, dissonant chords, an interlude with speaking, and a few lyric changes.

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

The usual: enough repetition to clarify what I wanted to play, get it under the fingers, and smooth it out. Emotionally: letting go of the need to be perfect.

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

Freedom to let my right hand improvise in spots without much thought. Freedom to express emotion (which is typically trained out of classical musicians).

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

Getting my fingers to do what I wanted them to do and remembering note ideas without writing them down.

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

By not spending more hours trying to be perfect, I was able to spend time on other important projects in my life; things that are more important than being perfect. Also not feeling like all my other projects need to be perfect to be complete.

What were your personal “Ahas”?

It’s okay to share what doesn’t feel “perfect.”

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

I’ll be out of town most of Monday the 16th, so may miss class that day.

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

This is an original song I wrote back in 2011 but I never learned to play the boogie woogie baseline until this quarter. I also added an instrumental chorus.

Attach your homework in PDF or JPEG format here:

Fool to Let You Go.pdf

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.

This is a PDF of the words & chords for anyone interested in learning the song.

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 learned the boogie woogie baseline, turnaround & licks from the blues modules. I also played to camera more than I would’ve before joining the academy.

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 practice the harp part quite a bit to get the boogie woogie bass & the transitions between the sections.

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

I feel pretty comfortable with the boogie woogie bass now! I had to learn how to practice all over again to master this. I had to overcome the inner demons that thought I should already be able to do this so that I could actually learn it.

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

I struggled the most with the right hand in the improv chorus. I wanted to be more creative with it, but this is what I can do comfortably today…

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

My approach to playing and listening to music has changed on many levels. I’m more forgiving about wrong notes and focus more on connecting with the piece and being expressive vs being perfect, and I’m more relaxed about imperfections in other areas of my life. 

What were your personal “Ahas”?

Practice really makes a difference! It’s been a really long time since I’ve really practiced a piece to learn it. I like to play, but practice, not so much. I feel like I developed a new relationship to practice this quarter and have set some goals around repertoire building and maintenance.

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

This is an original song that I wrote in honor of my parents’ 65th wedding anniversary.  It’s called, “One Lasting Love.”  It’s 5 and a half minutes long, structured essentially as 3 choruses with a bridge before the final chorus.  (Sorry, this has absolutely nothing to do with my half-baked project, even though that will also be worth revisiting and extending.)

Attach your homework in PDF or JPEG format here:

One Lasting Love lead sheet.pdf

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.

This is a lead sheet for the song.  The rendition in the video is not an exact match to what’s notated, but it’s close.

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?

My first spark of an idea was to send a video greeting (since a snail mail card would not have arrived by the anniversary), but then some song lyrics popped into my head and it seemed like I could flesh out the idea fairly quickly.  I used the idea of a repeated pattern with slight alterations to create 3 stanzas and then added a bridge to create a more extensive metaphorical journey.  Even though I wrote it with my parents in mind, I tried to say things that were broadly applicable to any long-term loving relationship, emphasizing the deep emotional value.

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

I had a short deadline, so I wrote the lyrics and got some melodic ideas in one day; then the next day I tried to firm up the melody and harmony and teach myself to play it.  I found I needed to write out a lead sheet because it was too much for me to keep everything in my head.  More than once I despaired that I had bitten off more than I could chew in the time available, but I kept telling myself that there had to be a way I could do this.

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

I tried over and over to simplify my harp accompaniment, but I “knew” how it should go and I had a very hard time giving any of it up.  As a practice aid, I was able to simplify in a few different ways (blocked chords only, or la-la-la instead of lyrics), and those did help me learn the piece.  The final rendition, though, was not much simpler than the original idea.

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

As often happens when I write a piece of music, I spent some time wondering whether I was actually creating it or merely remembering dimly a song I had heard before.  I understand how some composers can feel they are just a conduit for music that exists ethereally.  To my knowledge, I’ve never cribbed someone else’s piece, but I do worry about it.

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

I sent my parents this video (only a few hours later than I was aiming for), knowing that it wasn’t quite as polished as I wanted, but hoping to make a meaningful connection anyway.  They seemed deeply touched.  I felt like I gave them a valuable reflection of their relationship, and I’m learning that that is a very worthwhile thing to do.

What were your personal “Ahas”?

A creative impulse can definitely cause a struggle with the need to simplify.  I still tend to be my own harshest critic.  

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

For those who notice a lot of lever flips, it’s only one lever, it just gets shifted several times.  The consistent location on the harp makes the shifting easier than it looks.  (The change turns a major chord into a minor chord.)