Harp to Heart-learning something new and connecting to my roots

For a while now I've had the urge to learn a new instrument. Like any true artist can attest, I of course have no lack of existing projects to fulfill me. There are half-written songs, skills I could stand to hone on instruments already played, dozens of google docs with long stream-of-consciousness writings and ideas, essays to edit, not to mention the crafts... But the allure of starting something new is often too strong to ignore. Truly, I felt compelled to take up harp for a combination of reasons.

First of all, I like the idea of being a true multi-instrumentalist, especially when it comes to curating an engaging live show. Maybe not for the dive bar gigs, but for the fully actualized artistic headlining performances I imagine putting on one day. Dolly Parton for example will liven up her show by playing everything from the banjo to the dulcimer to the pan flute. Many artists do the quintessential piano portion of the evening, and the list goes on. While I do love my autoharps and bring them out on occasion, and play a bit of piano, as well as owning dulcimers and a banjo that don't get much attention, the idea of having the harp in my repertoire really clicked. I'd toyed with the idea for years, but one day I began dreaming of how I'd incorporate it into my work, the ideas striking like lightning in one of those frantic sort of moments when the muse decides to say hello.

mom and me

I speak often about the role my mom plays in my life in regards to music. She is a fabulous musician and songwriter, and I'm fortunate to have her as an integral part of my team. She's a phenomenal guitarist, and played harp professionally for a while when I was young. One of my earliest childhood memories is of waking up to the sounds of her practicing in the morning. I can vividly remember hearing the angelic music floating into the room, my eyes still closed, just the music entering my mind, and feeling so happy and so safe.

So obviously this instrument and its genesis in my life is deeply sentimental. I love the idea of continuing my mother's musical legacy, playing the songs I grew up hearing, and creating similar childhood memories for my kids. So we've set aside weekly time for harp lessons--which are also just a good excuse to visit. So far learning this instrument has been significantly challenging, and equally joyful. The folk historian storyteller part of me has also been giddy to look through the old notebooks, primary sources of my mother's life. I even found one entry of lesson notes dated the day before my birth. I could go on about the things we give and take by being born, but I'll save that for the book version of this story.

Mom's harp in its new digs, surrounded by the lovely rhodies.

The final piece of this calling is something I touched on earlier, and perhaps something that is more universal and that I may file under "advice." There is power in finding ways to get the muse to speak to you. To detach from the algorithm and extrinsic benchmarks you may be slogging through for your art. To recapture the joy and excitement you may have felt as a younger person learning music for the first time. I can remember the first times I played a song on the piano and the guitar, during my tween years. Learning to decipher the written music, learning where to place my fingers, and then making a noise that sounded like a song. It's an intoxicating, elating, and satisfying experience in a way which nothing else compares. In this day and age of AI art, follower counts, distraction and discouragement, it is perhaps more important than ever to find any way you can to keep creativity flowing, to keep the idea of art joyful, to find meaning and purpose in your gifts. I hope you are all doing well out there and finding gratitude and inspiration in this great wide world around you. Or simply, to take a page from the gospel of Creedence -- Keep on Chooglin'.

Author's note: I thought about editing this piece further, and adding many more stories about childhood memories and invisible strings woven into the fabric of my life, but will leave it here for now. I look forward to sharing more as I go along, and adding these tales into my updates and essays.

Topics: harp, inspiration, folk music, creativity