The harp has long been the most elegant and beloved musical instrument. Playing the harp meant being a member of a select group of people who knew how to reach the hearts of others with this instrument and their music.
There are very few people to whom the sounds of the harp do not seem relaxing.
In addition, there are not many musicians who know how to produce this magic. If you are one of those special people who want to master the skill of playing the harp, this text is written just for you.
Individual harp lessons Belgrade
Harp lessons are designed as a kind of dialogue between teachers and students.
Harp teaching is adjusted in relation to age, personality type, previous experience, as well as the rhythm of work at home.
The repertoire we are working on is based on art music and ABRSM, the largest system for learning classical music in the world. In addition, it is possible to step into other genres according to the wishes of the students.
Thanks to the production of the harp in Serbia and the company Harpomania , it is easy to get more favorable instruments that correspond to the initial level of learning. In that way, the student gets the opportunity to work at home, which greatly affects its progress.
Harp lesson structure
In individual lessons of the harp, elements of solfeggio, music theory and aesthetics are also done through work on compositions.
In case you decide to prepare for the ABRSM harp exam, our teachers are here to support you along the way.
This includes working on all parts of the exam: on scales, compositions, sight reading and aural test. In addition, you can work with the harp teacher on the preparation of exams in music theory, too.
We always leave a part of the lesson for questions and interests, as well as for work on the correct direction of each student. In that process, each student has the support of the entire teaching team of the International Music School “Eva Music”.
Who are the lessons for?
Individual harp classes are intended for everyone over the age of 7 – whether adults or children. Previous experience is not required, and those who have some prior knowledge are also welcome.
Public performances and online lessons
Performances are the central part of the school year of our music school.
We organize four of them and they are an opportunity to get to know each other better, follow each other’s progress and share energy with the audience.
Public appearances have numerous benefits for children’s development. That is why all our students, even those who attend classes online , have the opportunity to perform at one of our four online concerts that we also organize for our students.
Our online teaching came to life during the pandemic, but today it has become an integral part of our school , without which it would be difficult to imagine our work.
Everyone who owns the instrument can become our students no matter where they are. After two full years of intensive practice, our teachers have developed techniques for working online. Thanks to that, they are able to transfer online knowledge in the best possible way.
How to apply?
For harp lessons you can apply to our email address info@evamusic.rs , as well as to the phone numbers +38163558517 or +381654499727.
For those who want to know more
For all those who are enchanted by the harp, in the next part I can read various interesting facts and facts about the harp. What is its sound, appearance, history and development.
The sound of the harp
The sound of the harp is rich and noble, but of little strength and penetration, so that it is expressed best in the solo performing or solo episodes in an orchestra . Only the glissando , which is possible by quickly pulling over a large number of strings, often with both hands, can break through the thicker sound of the orchestra .
Thanks to the rather long sound of the strings (mostly longer), the harp is extremely suitable as a chord instrument, especially for the performance of arpeggios , which were named after this instrument. It can often be found as an accompaniment to a melodic instrument or voice.
Today’s look of the harp
A pillar on the base , through which the levers that connect the pedals to the upper part of the stamping mechanism pass. On the opposite side of the column is the sloping arm of the frame called the resonator . The wires are placed longitudinally, and their upper end is tied to metal pins , screwed into a wooden neck , which forms the upper, curved side of the frame.
Unlike the piano, the harp is tuned by the conductor himself before playing, with a special key on the pins. Wires are usually made of hoses, or more recently of nylon. In the bridge , which connects the resonator and the column, there are movable pulleys with two small wedges: each wire passes between the wedges of two pulleys and when, pressing the pedal, the pulley rotates, its wedges press the wire, shorten its sound length and raise its tone . Arrangement of pedals in the harp stand. Celtic harps have pedals instead of pedals, which have the same function as pedals.
The harp has 46-48 strings, and in order for the performer to find his way among these numerous strings, all C-strings are colored red and all F-strings blue.
The harp has 46-48 strings. All C wires are colored red and all F wires are blue
History of performance
When the young Austrian Archduchess Marie Antoinette came to the French court in 1770, she brought with her the harp – an instrument that had long been considered amateur and tied exclusively to the salons of well-educated aristocrats. Thanks to the future queen, who practiced playing the harp every day, this instrument experienced a renaissance and unprecedented popularity, which led to the emergence of an extensive repertoire after 1760.
King David was an inspiration to many artists of the Middle Ages, as well as humanism and the Renaissance . He was very often depicted in paintings and sculptures as he played, with different looks of the instrument. Somewhere the instrument would look like a lyre, somewhere on a zither, and somewhere on today’s harp.
History of the harp
Throughout its millennial history, the harp has been synonymous with the deep, mystical, contact of man with the light of the divine world. Among the Sumerians, the harp was “used during the utterance of the prophecies of the high priest.” We find similar use among the ancient Jews. In the history of music, the story of David playing the harp (lyre) to quell Saul’s madness is considered one of the most famous examples of musical exorcism.
In ancient Greece, the harp, or lyre, was associated with the cult of Apollo , the god of prophecy, healing, music, archery and the sun.
Harp as an Apollonian ideal
Numerous examples speak of harp music used to realize Apollonian ideals. Depending on the era, its application has varied. In the period between the first centuries of the new era and until the first years of the Enlightenment, the harp did not notice significant improvement in Europe, due to the ascetic spirit of Christianity.
At first glance, it seems paradoxical: angels are depicted playing the harp, and only a few harps from medieval Western Europe have survived.
Ireland, a country that did not suffer such a strong influence from the Inquisition, cherished the harp as its national instrument because that instrument is an integral part of Celtic culture.
The road to the modern harp
The Renaissance opened man’s horizons for a new spirituality. The first operas that speak of the unhappy love of Orpheus and Eurydice contributed to the fact that after several centuries, attention was drawn to the harp (lyre).
Favorable conditions for development were created, so that at the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century we came across harps with a triple string of strings, and almost a century later a diatonic harp was built, the basis of the modern harp.