Celebrating of Summer - 20+ Pieces Just For Fun - PHH 216

This week I'm bringing you a specially curated list of music to inspire your summer mood. More than 20 pieces that are guaranteed to add a little sunshine or a cooling summer breeze to your harping. I put some of my summer favorites into themed lists that fit my summer mood. I hope they match yours too. So listen in and I'll share my list and I'll play a little for you too.

Welcome to the Practicing Harp Happiness Podcast. I'm Anne Sullivan, a harpist on a mission to empower every harpist to experience more harp happiness. Over my decades long harp journey, I've had lots of successes and more than a few failures. And I know firsthand what it's like to feel that playing the harp the way you want may not be possible for you. Now, I play and teach all over the world, and I know what most harpists are never taught the secrets to.

Gaining the skills and confidence you need.

To play the harp with beauty, freedom and joy. That's what the Practicing Harp Happiness Podcast is all about. Showing you simple steps to help you play the music you want the way you want. If you're an experienced harpist looking for that next level, or a harp newbie anxious to avoid the pitfalls, or a harpist who just wants more fulfillment and a little encouragement, you're in the right place, my friend. So let's get started.

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Welcome to the show. This week I started my yearly ritual of going through my drawers of music and pulling out new pieces to play. Actually, they aren't all new. Some are old friends that I haven't played in years. Others are pieces that have been sitting around waiting for me to get to them. Others are favorites that I seem to pull out every summer and play for a while. It is a summer thing for me now, perhaps because my playing schedule is a little lighter in the summer. I don't feel as pressured or as driven. Also, though, I just want to play music. You know, music that fits my vacation mindset. So this week as I was looking through the stacks, I thought maybe I could give you some ideas of pieces that might fit your summertime mood. Or if it's not summer weather for you right now, maybe these pieces will add some sunshine to your harp playing. Some of these are classics from the harp repertoire or classic transcriptions for harp. Others are newer compositions you may not know. I've also thrown in a couple of popular music selections just because and I've themed all of them in a very summer ish way. We have music about water, the sky, the garden, and daydreams. Yes, it's a little fanciful, but that's really the whole idea. And I'll place some bits and pieces of a couple of them for you too. And if you feel inspired to check out any of these pieces for yourself, I've put all the selections I'm mentioning today in a handy list for you, which you can download right in the Show Notes. You'll be able to find them at the usual harp music retailers like Harp Column, Music Atlanta, Harp Center, Vanderbilt Music Company, harp.com and more. And if you have trouble finding one of them, just post a message in the Heart Mastery Hub and we'll help you find it. As I mentioned a moment ago, if you'd like the PDF list of all the pieces I'm mentioning today, you can find a link to that in the Show Notes. This is not an opt in. I'm not asking for your email. It's just a download. Just meant to be helpful so that you can see everything I'm talking about and you don't have to keep pushing play and trying to rewind to the right spot today. So that's available for you in the Show Notes. And of course also in the Show Notes you'll find the link to the information about week two of our Christmas in July extravaganza. So I'M doing a live call Tomorrow, that's Tuesday, July 8th at noon Eastern. And you can find the link to join the call in our Heart Mastery Hub in our Facebook group on YouTube. YouTube. So you'll be able to find the link and join us there. I'm doing a mini workshop on one of the carols in my set of German Christmas carols. And it's a carol not a lot of people know. Susani Suzanne It's a beautiful carol and I just wanted to give everybody a little introduction to that. And of course, every week in our Christmas in July challenge, we have a special special for you and we're offering 25% off the this Week only on all of the sheet music in our store. So all of our sheet music is 25% off just this week. So that's part of our Christmas in July extravaganza for you. So don't miss that and don't miss the workshop. I'd love to see you on that. And of course, our super Summer challenge is continuing in the Hub and we've got a lot of people participating in that. So that's a lot of fun. And you'll find the link to join the challenge in the Hub and as well. So plenty of stuff going on to keep you busy and enjoying your harp this summer. So speaking of enjoying, I think it's time to get on with some of these fun summer pieces. Let's start with a classic. I really couldn't do a list of pieces about summer without starting with the all time piece for summer, and that is Summertime by George Gershwin. It is a classic, of course. Summertime was from Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess, and it's all about summertime and the living is easy. It's a beautiful song, it's languid and it's jazzy and all the good stuff. But it was not meant to be played on the harp. It's difficult no matter what arrangement you get. There are a couple of pedal harp versions that I mentioned, Louise Trotters and Paul Baker's, both great arrangements. Not simple, but there is a lever harp arrangement by Ailey Robertson, and you might want to check that out if you're a lover harpist and you're feeling brave. But maybe you'd like your summertime to be just a little bit more laid back. Take that living a little more easy. So let's start with my category, Music of Water. This is all music that's about water and you can think about that water however you like. I chose to Start with a beginner piece that not a lot of people know. But it's a really lovely one and it's great. If you really want something that's just a no brainer. If you're a more advanced harpist or if you're a beginning harpist, try this piece. It's called Ebbing Tide. Ebbing Tide. Not like Ebb Tide, but Ebbing Tide. And it's written by the harpist Lucien Thompson. Highly recommend. If you're a little bit. If you're at a little bit more intermediate level, you might want to try Nancy Gustafson's Pacific Sketches. It's a great collection of pieces totally suitable for lever or petal harp. There are four pieces in the collection. Path to the Sea, Rippling Water, Autumn Mood. Yeah, I know it's Thinking ahead a little bit and Frolic and it's a great set. You know, they're pieces that are written for harp, which is so important and a really nice collection at an intermediate level. If you're looking for something a little bit more challenging, the piece by Debussy called En Bateau in the Boat is a lovely piece and of course it's just water filled and it's Debussy and it's terrific. But most of the arrangements you'll find of that are very. Are pretty challenging and definitely petal harp arrangements. You'll find arrangements by Yolanda Conde Nazis, by Henriette Renier, by Carlos Salzaido, those kinds of arrangements. Moon river, another piece. Yeah. And you can find a lot of arrangements of Moon River. You can find them by Angie Bemis, by Michelle Stone, by Skyla Conga. So there are some terrific arrangements of Moon river and that might be just the kind of water piece you need. But I wanted to introduce you to another water piece today. This is a piece for lever or petal harp by the harpist Laura Zarr and it's called River. Right. Rumba. Now she calls it a rhythmic study and it is, but it's a really great piece. She says it was inspired by a kayaking trip she took in southern Oregon where all the best play spots, which you'll know, I guess, if you're a kayaker. Right. All the best play spots are on the right side of the river, hence the title River. Right. And then it's a rumba, it's a pattern that is a West African drumming pattern. She says. So it's the African rumba and it's a terrific piece. Let me just play a little excerpt for you.

Sam.

Sa.

That's river, right? Rumba by Laura Zarr. Now, there's a lot more to the piece than that, but that's just a little taste of it to hopefully whet your appetite. As I said, it's for solo, lever or pedal harp. There is a harp trio version. If you have a harp trio you feel like sharing that piece with, that would be fun, too. I've done it with my harp camp kids in that arrangement, so it's a lot of fun to do. So that's music for water. Now let's take a look at Music of the Sky. Now, again, because I didn't want to leave anybody out of this show, I wanted to start with some music for beginners. Although these are easy pieces, they're still fun to play. I still enjoy playing them, and they're great just to have, right? So you don't have to be a beginner to enjoy these pieces, but if you're a beginner, you certainly will enjoy them. And both of them are called Moonlight. There's a pretty popular piece called moonlight by Suzanne MacDonald and Linda Wood, and you'll find it in one of their graded harpsolo's collections, Moonlight. It's a great one. But there's another harp piece called moonlight by Betty Perrette. Sort of the same idea, a lot of arpeggios, but it's just kind of fun to think that you have some moonlight pieces to play. If you're looking for something a little bit more challenging, I always recommend a crowd favorite, which is above the Clouds by Frank Voltz. This is an intermediate level piece, but it's the kind of piece harpists love to play, and people who are listening to harpists love to listen. It's above the Clouds, obviously, so just a terrific one. You can never go wrong, of course, with Clair de Lune, which is moonlight by Debussy. There are a number of arrangements of that piece as well. Plenty to choose from. There are some, you know, very difficult and very true to the piano version. Kinds of pieces by, like, by Salzato or by Ella Schmidt. She has a version if you're looking for a Leverharp version, which is also very authentic. Barbara Brundage has a terrific lever harp version of Clair de Lune. And as I said, if you're a lever harpist, it's not easy, but it really sounds exactly like you want Clair de Lune to sound. Now, I also have a version of Clair de Lune that is extremely simplified. It comes in sort of a mini version and then a couple different, more intermediate versions, but they're still reduced versions and those are included in the My Heart Mastery membership. So if you are a My Heart Mastery member, be sure to look for Clair de Lune in the featured pieces section of our website. And you can get to those reduced versions there. We don't offer those for sale anyplace, but I wanted the My Heart Mastery members who are listening to be sure to know that they can find those there. But as I said, if you're looking for petal harp arrangements, they abound and they're not simple. If you're looking for a lever harp arrangement that's very complete and authentic, Barbara Brundage has a terrific one. If you're looking for something a little more on the popular vein, check out Here Comes the Sun. Something a little bit different, less moonlightish, but some sunshine for a change. And of course, Sylvia woods has a great arrangement of that and there are others as well. So check out Here Comes the Sun. But once again, I have a piece I want to introduce you to. Perhaps you already know it, perhaps you don't. This is a piece by the Austrian harpist Monika Staedtler, and it's a great piece. And this is called Prisell Skies. Monica Staedtler describes the piece as having been inspired by the natural beauty of the Preseli Hills in the Pembrokeshire national park in West Wales. Certainly this piece is lyrical, it's melodic, it has just a sort of mystical atmosphere that is something I always associate with Wales. So now I'll play just a little.

Bit of Presseli Skies for you.

Sam.

Once again, that was just a snippet of Priselli Skies by Monica Staedtler. This piece actually has a second harp part, so you can play this as a duo. And it comes in a set with another piece of hers which is very different from this one called African Reflections. So that might be a fun one for you to try as well. But once you've listened to those skies, you have to start daydreaming. Right? And that's our next category, Music for Daydreams. Now, the French word for daydream, Reverie, Right, Reverie. And so we have a number of pieces called Reverie. There are plenty in the harp literature. And if you're at a beginner level, or if you're just looking for an easier piece, that is really a lovely piece, you might check out the Reverie by Marcel Granjni from Trois Petite Piece, Three Little Pieces. There are a couple of versions of that set, so you can find Trois Petite Piece, Three Little Pieces or you can find Trois, petite piece, facile, three easy little pieces, or even Trois, petite piece, tres faciles, three very easy little pieces. They're the same three pieces, but they are just so slightly different. And they're suitable for lever harp or petal harp. But you'll want to look for the Reverie. If you want a daydream. There's a Nocturne and a Barcarolle also in that set. Alphonse Hasselman also has a Reverie in his set of three little pieces. I think it might even be Trois, petite piece, facile, three easy little pieces.

It's not so easy.

You can play this one on lever harp, but there are some really big chords. It's quite beautiful, but it's not as easy, so you don't have to. You shouldn't take that title so literally. And there's a lovely short reverie by Henriette Rainier in her six short pieces. Sis piece Breve, that's a lever heart, rather a petal harp piece and a little bit more complicated, but also quite beautiful. But something along the lines of A Daydream that is not a Reverie is a piece I wanted to include here. It's a fairly recent arrangement of mine. If you're a My Heart Mastery member, you'll find it in our membership. Just look in featured pieces. The piece is On Wings of Song. Now, I've also published this in the Harp Mastery shop, so you can find and purchase this piece. And if you purchase it this week, it's 25% off. So that's On Wings of Song by Mendelssohn. This was a piece that he wrote for voice and piano. And the words are to some to a beautiful poem that talks about song taking flight. So it's On Wings of Song and it's a lovely, lovely melody and a familiar one. I think you'll recognize it. Let me play it for you. So this is my transcription of On Wings of Song.

Sam sa.

Sa.

Sam.

That was a pedal harp version of On Wings of Song. But the set that I have published in our shop has three different versions. It's got a simplified lever version and then an intermediate version that can be played on either lever or pedal harp with very few changes of levers or petals. And then that version, which has a couple more pedal changes in it, but still a good intermediate version. Nothing too terribly difficult, but it's just such a beautiful flowing piece and I think it's perfect for summertime or any time of year. So that's On Wings of Song. And that concludes our daydream set. So let's just wander out to the garden for a moment and we'll consider some music about flowers. Now, if you're at that beginning level or you just want to explore some of those pieces, there are some terrific pieces, and they're in all kinds of collections. One of the very simplest, but one that I happen to love, is a Chinese folk song melody called Jasmine Flower. Now, the arrangement that I learned when I was just starting was the arrangement in Sam Milligan's book Fun from the first volume one. And it's very, very simple. Couldn't be easier, but it's still such a lovely melody. And the simple setting gives you something to play or something to work with and expand if that's what you feel like. One of my favorite piano pieces that has to do with flowers, a floral piece, I suppose, is To a Wild Rose. It's a piece written for piano by the pianist and composer Edward MacDowell. And there are a number of arrangements that are lovely. What I love about this piece is that it's just simple and clear. It's just a lovely tribute to a beautiful flower. And you'll find a petal harp arrangement by Betty Perrette in her second harp book. Looking for an arrangement that is suitable for either lever or petal harp, Cindy Blevins has one that you can check out. So that's To a Wild Rose. My friend Joy Slavens also has a wonderful piece for the garden. She calls it Garden Splendor. This is a more intermediate level piece. It's a few pages long, so you really have something you can, you know, sink your teeth into. But it's a beautiful piece and it can be played so that it's very lyrical and slow and relaxed and gentle. Or you can play it with a little bit of a quicker tempo and make it a little bit more lively. But that's a beautiful piece. And then there's an entire book devoted to music for flowers and gardens. It's called Monet's Garden. And it's a collection of music by William Mahan. So that's a wonderful thing. And of course, that's a lever harp collection. So, you know, Petal Harpus, you can dip your toes into that as well, of course, but it'll be foot free for you. No petals you have to worry about there. But it's a beautiful collection of pieces that are just inspired by Monet's Garden. And I'll play one more piece for you that is something that is again My own arrangement, we sell it in our shop, but it's included in the My Heart Mastery membership. So if you're a My Heart Mastery member, look for it in your library in the featured pieces. And this is the very famous Flower Duet from Leo de Lieb's opera Lakme. And this arrangement, it comes in three different versions suitable for lever or petal harp. And I'll just play the petal harp version for you.

That's my arrangement of the Flower Duet from Lakme. Now, as I said, if you're a member of My Heart Mastery, it's in the featured pieces section on our website. But if you are not, you can purchase this arrangement. It comes in a set of three with the simplified version, the lever version, and the petal version. And you can purchase that right in our Harp Mastery shop. And like everything else, it's 25% off. This week I've given you a long list of pieces to choose from. I'm sure you have pieces of your own that would fit into this summertime theme, but I thought it was just kind of fun to think about music in these themed categories like Water and Sky and Daydreams and Flowers. Just. Just a different sort of way than we usually think about music. Now, you could play a bunch of pieces from one category and that could make a really nice themed program if you like, or you can just enjoy playing them for yourself, however you choose to do it. There's a lot of music to choose from, and that's for sure. There is never enough time to play all the music in the world. So I've given you some more ideas, probably more than you need. But I hope you find something on that list that you enjoy and you try something this summer. Remember, if you want the PDF that has the entire list of all the pieces I talked about today, all you have to do is go to the link in the Show Notes. If you don't find the link in the Show Notes on your podcast app, then just follow the link to take you over to Harp Mastery and you can get there from the Harp Mastery Podcast page right on the Harp Mastery website. This is episode 216 and you can download the list from there. Remember, I've got my live workshop coming up tomorrow. If you're listening to this when the podcast goes live tomorrow, that will be July 8th at noon Eastern. I'll be doing a little live workshop and you can join me in the hub or in our private Facebook group or on YouTube and we'll be doing that tomorrow. And of course Our Summertime challenge is going on in the hub as well. Lots of fun ways to stay connected to your harp this summer. Next week on the podcast I'll be talking about cross training for your hands. You know how your right hand is good at some things and your left hand is good at some things, but they're not the same things. Well, we want to make sure that both of your hands can do not only their own jobs, but they can fill in for the other when they have to. There are lots of good reasons for wanting to do this, so we'll talk about why you want to cross train your hands and how to do it on the show next week. Now remember, every day is a day you can add more harp happiness to the universe, to your world, and to your spirit. And all you have to do is play. So I hope you do that this week. Share a little bit of harp love in your world, and thanks so much for listening and I'll see you next time.

Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the Practicing Harp Happiness Podcast.

I release a new episode every Monday.

Morning so you can hit your practice week running. Until then, remember to practice your harp happiness every day. See you next time.