A big THANK YOU to all the
2004 Conference
Teachers, Performers, and Organizers
March 2004
Bambi Fischer
Newsletter Editor
fischarper@yahoo.co
A big THANK YOU to all the
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Jodi, Melody, and Friends
I can't tell begin to tell you how inspiring and informative the 2004 Harp Conference
was and how thankful Faye and
I are for all the information and positive energy that was radiated in St. Petersburg
this past weekend.
Being a professional musician all my life (vocals, guitar, bamboo flutes,
assorted drums) but new to the harp world,
I found ever workshop to be helpful in taking me to the next level with my Celtic
harp.
Kelly taught me many things about accompanying myself on vocals and patterns
to use with the jigs and reels that I
play on my flutes as well as correcting my self taught hand and finger positions.
Ray's workshops were quite thorough and comprehensive. They swept from the
simplest concepts of the treble harp to the
very useful and more complex method of playing fake book tunes by using chord
inversions. His homework in developing
the A,B,C,D,E categories in Hymns and Harmony are going to pay off for me in
a big way… Being quite familiar with
chord inversions and extended chords (7ths, 9ths, etc.) I can't wait to get
started on his book Clever Levers.
Linda taught so many things that filled the voids in my "electronic"
world. I have a small recording studio at home
and her workshop on software, hardware, CD making, etc. was right on the money
for me as was her helpful business tips
on the "practical side of doing a gig:" contracts, table tents, gig
sheets, etc.
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And this material was supplemented with Melody's thorough workshop on micing
a harp and patching all the little black
boxes together and turning those endless number of buttons. Unfortunately, musicians
sometimes (much too often) have to
be sound engineers too.
I also got a lot out of Melody's singing session and the workshop on modal
harmonies. I have always been a big fan of modal music,
Gregorian chants, and earlier plainsong. These modalities are so refreshing
to the Ionian overload we get with the I, IV, V tunes on
today's radio.
My thanks to you two ladies also for the Thrifty Fifty tips. I didn't even
know what that workshop was. Now I can
"tie off" my strings, blow out the holes, and keep my harp clean.
I was especially fond of Marg's workshops. I heard Marg and other harpists
play at the Florida Folk Festival a couple
of years ago, and that experience convinced me to join the harp world and purchase
a small John Chamber's harp from
John who was a vendor there. In St. Pete this week Marg taught us how to simplify
a song to its bare essentials
when playing with other musicians, how to "sit in" in a jam session.
Her information was more "session" and folk harp
oriented. I found this information very helpful.
So, please accept this as a big THANK YOU to all the workshop teachers, performers,
Virginia Harp Center,
vendors, and coordinators like you two who worked so hard to make this a successful
and inspiring weekend. We look
forward to seeing you next year.
Mac and Faye Perry
Due to limited space, this letter was edited by the newsletter editor.
FHF OfficersPresident |
Support PositionsHistorian |
Area Coordinators Panhandle: |
There are openings for Area Coordinators, please contact Bambi Fischer if you are interested!
Congratulations to Bambi Fischer on teh relase of her new harp book for children.
Please go to The
Harp Center and join in celebrating the
beginning of the sale of a book Bambi has authored!
FHF now has a scholarship program in place. This special account will
help harper/ists of all ages and stages of
learning attend our workshops.
Scholarship money began with Mr. John Mansur’s generous donation
for a harp ornament
auctioned off at our most recent event. (Thank you John!)
If you would like to make a donation to our scholarship fund:
Mail to:
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