Star Edwards teaches classes and private lessons at Swallow Hill Music School!

71 East Yale, Denver Colorado (303-777-1003)

Private lessons are geared to helping you to get the most out learning. The following is a process that I use in teaching harp.

If the student does not read music, I like to start with basic hand positions and patterns. We start out with 2, 3 and then 4 note patterns. Then a song is chosen that is known well. This is the first song you learn by ear and memorize, carefully watching the fingering patterns. New students generally need from 2 to 4 songs to learn get the muscle memory down. From there we start on tablature which is basically the notes of the songs written in letters, not music notation. This allows the body to get settled in, concentrating on one thing at a time .....!

Learning how to read music is a long process, and I do not like to have students discouraged by the arduous task of learning note reading right away. I have seen this approach squelch enthusiasm and create unnecessary frustration. Where's the fun in that? Remember we took up music for fun, as well as an intellectual pursuit and emotional expression? Music learning is a lot like sports. Its fun and yet takes a lot of discipline. The wonder of music should never just be about reading wiggly black notes on a paper from some other composers reflections. I believe learning to note read right away also puts on the back shelf any potential creativity a student may have. I find its better to allow the inquisitive nature of exploring sounds on the harp just as valuable as reading from a sheet of music.

Before starting into our note reading journey, we have musical conversations. Music is a language! So tell me how was your day in music, speak to me in musical patterns!

When music notation is ready to be learned, the computer is used to facilitate learning and to make it fun. However students are warned, that notes thrown on the screen, are notes they'll have to play.....! We learn bass clef and treble clef at the same time, with songs that have the melody split in both clefs. Again I don't believe in separating the note reading between hands, because this instrument requires equal attention to both hands/clefs. We sometimes are handicapped by strong dexterity in our melody hands (mostly right handed people...) And Mr. Lefty gets left out! So sometimes we end up with a weak bass hand, and reading bass clef is difficult. But it doesn't have to be!

Lessons are one hour long at reasonable rates and are given at my studio, near downtown Denver.

To inquire about private lessons
Please call 303-831-1744

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