Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Harp Therapy Journal article on using therapeutic harp principles to accompany hatha yoga
I'm delighted to share my cover story in the Spring 2016 (and 20th anniversary!) edition of The Harp Therapy Journal, "Therapeutic harp as an accompaniment to hatha yoga: Two paths to the heart."
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Blog for Room 217: "The goodness of harp therapy"
I'd like to share a blog post that I wrote about harp therapy for the Room 217 Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation and registered Canadian charity dedicated to caring for the whole person with music.
Room 217’s vision is to see music become an integral part of person-centered care, providing wellness, therapeutic benefit, improved quality of life, and meaning through all of life’s passages.
In the blog post, I explain what harp therapy is and how it is different from music therapy and music thanatology. Click this link to read the post:
The Goodness of Harp Therapy
Room 217’s vision is to see music become an integral part of person-centered care, providing wellness, therapeutic benefit, improved quality of life, and meaning through all of life’s passages.
In the blog post, I explain what harp therapy is and how it is different from music therapy and music thanatology. Click this link to read the post:
The Goodness of Harp Therapy
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Modal counterpoint
Harp therapy is largely based on modal music. Therapeutic harp practitioners are taught to compose and improvise music for individuals. One (admittedly rather cerebral) way to approach this is through the Renaissance art of modal counterpoint.
Modal, or species counterpoint is not taught in therapeutic harp programs because of its complexity, but for people who have been working at theory for a while, it can be a wonderful refinement to a basic background and understanding of the modes.
If you'd like to learn about some of the playing rules of the game of modal counterpoint (try thinking of it as a game!), check out this excellent tutorial:
http://legacy.earlham.edu/~tobeyfo/musictheory/Book1/FFH1_CH2/2G_ModalCounterpoint.html
If you'd like to learn more about modes and how to improvise and play by ear on the harp. I highly recommend Christina Tourin's "Creative Harping" series. Each video only costs about as much as a private harp lesson and what you'll learn will be worth so much more!
Modal, or species counterpoint is not taught in therapeutic harp programs because of its complexity, but for people who have been working at theory for a while, it can be a wonderful refinement to a basic background and understanding of the modes.
If you'd like to learn about some of the playing rules of the game of modal counterpoint (try thinking of it as a game!), check out this excellent tutorial:
http://legacy.earlham.edu/~tobeyfo/musictheory/Book1/FFH1_CH2/2G_ModalCounterpoint.html
If you'd like to learn more about modes and how to improvise and play by ear on the harp. I highly recommend Christina Tourin's "Creative Harping" series. Each video only costs about as much as a private harp lesson and what you'll learn will be worth so much more!
2016: New horizons
I made a little promise to myself to blog more frequently this year. There's been quite a lot going on the past few years as I completed the Harp for Healing program and began the International Harp Therapy Program. I also completed my 200-hour yoga teacher training with Hart Lazer.
All this wonderful education has given me more thoughts to share than ever before, and I've written a couple of articles for the Room 217 Foundation and the Harp Therapy Journal that I'll be posting here as soon as they are published.
I have continued to teach workshops around Montreal on sacred sound, healing music, chant, yoga, massage, relaxation and crystal therapy, both solo and with extraordinary collaborators. I've been using Facebook/e-mail to share these events rather than posting them to the blog because I found this to be more expeditious in terms of reaching people. Please get in touch if you'd like to be on the invite list.
Finally, I have been doing bedside work in palliative care for nearly a year now, at Le Phare Enfants et Familles, an extraordinary children's palliative care centre in Montréal's Angus Shops neighbourhood, and at CHUM Hôtel-Dieu, a historic Catholic hospital between the Plateau and downtown. Each institution and its wonderful staff and patients deserves a blog post of its own, and I'm starting off this new year feeling very blessed to be fulfilling my longtime dream of using music to soothe anxiety and relieve suffering.
All this wonderful education has given me more thoughts to share than ever before, and I've written a couple of articles for the Room 217 Foundation and the Harp Therapy Journal that I'll be posting here as soon as they are published.
I have continued to teach workshops around Montreal on sacred sound, healing music, chant, yoga, massage, relaxation and crystal therapy, both solo and with extraordinary collaborators. I've been using Facebook/e-mail to share these events rather than posting them to the blog because I found this to be more expeditious in terms of reaching people. Please get in touch if you'd like to be on the invite list.
Finally, I have been doing bedside work in palliative care for nearly a year now, at Le Phare Enfants et Familles, an extraordinary children's palliative care centre in Montréal's Angus Shops neighbourhood, and at CHUM Hôtel-Dieu, a historic Catholic hospital between the Plateau and downtown. Each institution and its wonderful staff and patients deserves a blog post of its own, and I'm starting off this new year feeling very blessed to be fulfilling my longtime dream of using music to soothe anxiety and relieve suffering.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
2012 - Upcoming Events
Many events are coming up over the next few months, including two free concerts!
-I started a series at Ange Neige (251 Rachel East)in November called "Singing with the Angels." I am pleased to announce this series will continue throughout 2012 every month except June, July and August!
We begin with a sequence of toning and Sanskrit seed mantras to open our hearts and voices, and we explore sacred chants in Latin, Sanskrit, Hebrew and other "languages of light" around themes such as light, peace, transformation, healing, divine power and compassion. While I accompany the group on harp, each member accompanies our chants with bells, chimes, fairy balls and singing bowls. The experience of creating these celestial sounds amid hundreds of angels in this lovely angel boutique is simply transcendental. Participants tell me the good feeling from the workshop last for days afterwards!
The workshops are $20 per person and take place on Saturday mornings from 9 to 11 a.m. The next dates are: Jan. 21, Feb 25, March 31, April 28 and May 26. Reserve for a workshop by calling Isabelle or Franceen at Ange Neige at 514-845-2643.
-Two free concerts of early music with my friend Laura Osterlund (recorder and vielle) are coming up this winter. The first one is part of the Dominicales series at St-Jean-Baptiste in the Chapelle St-Louis (4230 Drolet). Our concert is on Sunday, February 5 from 4 to 4:45 p.m., and we'll also play during mass afterwards. Admission is free; your free-will donations will be gratefully accepted.
-The second free concert is also with Laura on Sunday, March 25 at 1:30 p.m. at the Villa Medica Rehabilitation Hospital (225 Sherbrooke East). The concert is for the patients and is open to the public. The concert takes place on the first floor; just head left once you go through the front doors.
-In early March, I'll be playing for mass at St. John the Evangelist (137 President Kennedy) beginning at 10:15 a.m. I'll post a date soon.
-My winter schedule at Studio Bliss (3841 St. Laurent) is Mondays at 8:15 p.m. in hatha flow with Frances, a beautiful teacher who is trained in Jivamukti yoga. Come and join us for blissful chanting and yoga at 8:15 p.m. this Monday!
-I started a series at Ange Neige (251 Rachel East)in November called "Singing with the Angels." I am pleased to announce this series will continue throughout 2012 every month except June, July and August!
We begin with a sequence of toning and Sanskrit seed mantras to open our hearts and voices, and we explore sacred chants in Latin, Sanskrit, Hebrew and other "languages of light" around themes such as light, peace, transformation, healing, divine power and compassion. While I accompany the group on harp, each member accompanies our chants with bells, chimes, fairy balls and singing bowls. The experience of creating these celestial sounds amid hundreds of angels in this lovely angel boutique is simply transcendental. Participants tell me the good feeling from the workshop last for days afterwards!
The workshops are $20 per person and take place on Saturday mornings from 9 to 11 a.m. The next dates are: Jan. 21, Feb 25, March 31, April 28 and May 26. Reserve for a workshop by calling Isabelle or Franceen at Ange Neige at 514-845-2643.
-Two free concerts of early music with my friend Laura Osterlund (recorder and vielle) are coming up this winter. The first one is part of the Dominicales series at St-Jean-Baptiste in the Chapelle St-Louis (4230 Drolet). Our concert is on Sunday, February 5 from 4 to 4:45 p.m., and we'll also play during mass afterwards. Admission is free; your free-will donations will be gratefully accepted.
-The second free concert is also with Laura on Sunday, March 25 at 1:30 p.m. at the Villa Medica Rehabilitation Hospital (225 Sherbrooke East). The concert is for the patients and is open to the public. The concert takes place on the first floor; just head left once you go through the front doors.
-In early March, I'll be playing for mass at St. John the Evangelist (137 President Kennedy) beginning at 10:15 a.m. I'll post a date soon.
-My winter schedule at Studio Bliss (3841 St. Laurent) is Mondays at 8:15 p.m. in hatha flow with Frances, a beautiful teacher who is trained in Jivamukti yoga. Come and join us for blissful chanting and yoga at 8:15 p.m. this Monday!
Thursday, May 12, 2011
This spring
The times are the same, but the style of classes I'm playing in at Studio Bliss has changed. Monday at 8:15 p.m. and Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. are both hatha flow classes now, which is a great way to get some movement in your day and relax at the same time! I promise, between the energetic yoga and the harp music, you'll float back home afterwards!
Also, I'll be playing for a workshop led by Lisa Lewak-Brun at Ange Neige, "Connecting with Your Angels," on Wednesday, June 15 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., with my friend Geneviève Adams and her gorgeous crystal singing bowls. Contact Franceen at Ange Neige to register.
Also, I'll be playing for a workshop led by Lisa Lewak-Brun at Ange Neige, "Connecting with Your Angels," on Wednesday, June 15 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., with my friend Geneviève Adams and her gorgeous crystal singing bowls. Contact Franceen at Ange Neige to register.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
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