Harp Lessons in Lamar. Amazing Teachers.

Hello! I started my harp teaching life as a research doctor and therapist, using harp vibrations with patients for 9 years in Mayo Clinic hospitals. After recording Harp Of Hope as a harp therapy treatment for helping with anxiety and other symptoms, I began to meet many people who wanted to learn harp for healing their own symptoms. So I began to teach harp, specializing in adult beginners.

I am a Conservatory-trained harpist and pianist, so I emphasize good technique, but I want my students to enjoy life. So I try to fill lesson times with peace, laughter, and joy in the music. That's what it's all about! I live on a beautiful lake in Northern Kentucky, and I lead harp retreats there. I also rent harps to students. Most of my students are adults who have always wanted to play the harp... so, if that's you, too, I look forward to meeting you!

I'm a professional harpist who graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in Music with extensive teaching experience in the United States and Belgium. I am offering harp lessons to students of all backgrounds, levels, and ages.

I am currently in the process of completing my Doctor of Musical Arts at the CUNY Graduate Center. I hope to transfer the skills and knowledge I have obtained from working with some of the most renowned harpists to my own students.

Teaching is a passion for me. Whether you are just taking lessons for fun, or whether you are serious about creating a future professional career, I will be equally attentive to your needs. I like to ensure that my students progress during the lesson, but not at the expense of having fun! I believe that a relaxed atmosphere is essential to the learning experience.

**NB: Due to COVID restrictions, I will most likely be teaching virtually until summer or fall 2021, at which point I hope to resume in-person lessons in NYC. ...

Harp:
A stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps have been known since antiquity in Asia, Africa and Europe, dating back at least as early as 3500 BC. The instrument had great popularity in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, where it evolved into a wide range of variants with new technologies, and was disseminated to Europe's colonies, finding particular popularity in Latin America. We will start by learning how to tune, seating and hand/plucking placement. I have an easy to follow technique where you will learn the strings, notes, how to read music, rhythms, plucking techniques, and songs. As the student advances theory and soloing will be incorporated.

Is it hard to learn a musical instrument? That’s usually the first question
people ask. My answer? Not at all! I teach music based on the Irish/Celtic tradition. First, you'll learn to play by ear, and then when you're comfortable with where everything is on the harp, we'll move on to reading notes. Playing in the Celtic tradition is heavily based on improvisation, and learning the freedom of what it means for the music to come from within you. Learning the harp is all about welcoming music into your life, and making it a part of you.

Music has the power to transport us to another time and place. Ever since a young age, Ashlyn Riley has found great joy and satisfaction in making music and sharing it with people. Ashlyn Riley is an accomplished harpist who has performed solo and with various orchestras and ensembles in North Alabama since 2007. She was the principal harpist for the Shoals Symphony Orchestra at UNA for four years and graduated in 2016 with a Bachelor's Degree in Music. Ashlyn continues to perform with her 1900s Wurlitzer harp for various events while she is pursuing a certification in Music Therapy at UA.
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Ashlyn is also a accomplished pianist who as played over 19 years and performed in various recitals and concerts.

A graduate from Rice University's Shepherd School of Music, Cindy is a passionate harp teacher and performer who loves to interact with students. She has taught students in all levels in both English and Mandarin Chinese. Cindy first started harp with her grandmother, a well-known harpist in China, at their home in Beijing. Since she was young, she was greatly influenced by watching her grandmother teach at home. Cindy believes in giving young harpists a well-rounded music education, and she focuses on technique and musicality through her teaching.