Harp Lessons in Portland. Amazing Teachers.

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. ...

Teaching all levels, from beginning through advanced. I recommend adults to take one-hour lessons every other week. Children do better with half hour lessons every week. Ask about renting a harp!

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.

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.

She wanted to share her gift of music with others and started teaching harp lessons when she was 17. Lydia was hired on as a teacher with a local professional music company and worked there for 4 years. During that time she continued her education and received the necessary training on how to effectively teach students of any age.

For beginners, I offer Suzuki method lessons, or a combination of the Suzuki method and other beginning songs/books depending on interest.
For intermediate lessons, I can continue Suzuki lessons, or teach other classical, jazz, popular, etc. music, as well as learning to sing while playing the harp, worship team, bands, and electric harp techniques.