[Harp-L] Newbie Help

[Doug Schroer]

IMHO

Since you are playing diatonic and have been working on scales and chords,
and you say that you don't know what to do next, I am going to assume that
you are not planning on just reading music note for note from sheet music.
If you plan on reading, just keep doing it.

If you plan to improvise while playing with others then you have another
set of skills to build. You have done some book work and abstract theory
work as well as building skills in bending for notes and in chords.
Anyway, after the theory and bending skill building it is time to make
music.  (Question: I, III, IV scales? Not I, IV, V scales? What genre of
music are you planning on playing?)

I expect that you have played some melodies without accompaniment, now you
need to work on playing over chord changes played by others.  You need to
choose the correct diatonic for playing in the key of the song. I like
Winslow Yerxa's Dummies books for beginners.  He offers information for
beginners and for more advanced players, too.

Before jamming with others, practice playing with recordings to develop
your ear and practice your skills. Some people use backing tracks for
practice in the earlier stages of learning.  Eventually you will need to
play with other musicians and leave the tracks behind.

Listen to some music you like and would enjoy playing. Pick something that
is fairly simple, perhaps with just 3 or 4 chords.  Imagine the notes you
would want to hear coming from your harp.  Then try to play along,
repeating this several times.  Hear what works and what doesn't, maybe even
record and listen afterward.

The harp you choose for the key of the song will affect the ease of playing
in that key.  This relates to the "position" you are playing in for that
song.  If you don't understand positions, see Winslow's books.

Then listen again to the music, imagining the notes you would play.  Play
over the changes again, etc.  You are training your ear and your muscle
memory.  When you have done some of this successfully, then you can try to
play with others.  You need to be able to hear the changes and be able to
play over them before playing with others.

Play your harp and make music, don't just focus on theory and practicing
technical skills. Theory is very useful and without practicing skills you
can't make music, but remember:

It is about making music.  .

Doug S.