Tag: <span>bard</span>

The Three Noble Strains
Published November 11, 2014 by

The Three Noble Strains

I’ve been practicing dagdasharp.my story for Tellebration 2014 and excited to present it.  I’ll be telling more about Dagda  and adding a nice bit of harping to the telling. Dagda is the god of the bards and his lineage connects him to the fairy realm of Ireland.  He’s a comical figure, visually, but still immensely powerful.  His primary tool for the magic he weaves is his harp.  Besides composing the sounds of nature, and keeping the seasons in order, he’s also credited with the establishment of the Three Noble Strains, lament, merriment, & lullabye.    I have lots of ‘merriment’ & ‘lullabye’ in my repetoire, however I did not have any ‘lament’s or sad songs.  I guess that means I don’t qualify as a bard……yet.  So, I’ve been searching for sad across the internet and settled in on T.  O’Carolan’s,  Clergy’s Lamentation.

It takes a lot to learn a new piece so I’ve been carrying this tune around in my head for days.  It is a sad tune…..  unless I play it fast, and then it’s positively danceable.  And so it goes.  I did some googling around though and found these 2 articles.  You might want to check them out.

http://boingboing.net/2014/11/06/we-listen-to-sad-music-to-feel.html

 

Oh! and, Venus moves into Sagittarius just as our show begins….isn’t that just perfect.

Om shanti, shanti, shantihi.

 

Ancient Wisdom Harp Music StoryTelling

bard dagda laments

Published April 6, 2008 by

Rule #1 for Performance………

1. Never try something you haven’t practiced when in front of an audience.

The Blind HarperWe had our harp gig last night. Six of us (4 harps, 2 flutes) in a beautiful church by the sea. One of the other harpists suggested we cover the carpet with a white sheet that she brought. It will help us see the strings better. (Seeing your strings when playing the harp can be challenging depending on the floor. Patterned rugs (think: oriental) are the worst.) I really didn’t think it would help, I was comfortable with the blue carpet. However, I went along with the group……something that is quite customary for me.

I couldn’t see my strings! It was sheer luck if I got the right note! Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. All that practice………………….oh woe.

Most harpers (harpists…I still don’t know the difference) position their hands so that their fingers find the strings by feel. I can do that too. But not for the tunes we were playing last night. I was carrying the bass lines of the music which required left-hand arpeggio’s and my eyes! Oh well.

They say we learn best by our mistakes.

Once again, I’ve learned to say, “No, thanks”…….no white sheet for me.

Harp journal entry Music

bard o'Carolan