While I was searching for extra classes (just in case) for next semester, I saw the university had private harp lessons. The idea of harp lessons struck me as fun, so I looked up the teacher and when I couldn't find her listed as faculty, I e-mailed Kim, the main music secretary. While I waited, I played around on my 22-string at home and worked on Gamelan music and other timing related stuff until she e-mailed me back this morning.
Since there were no harp students this semester, the teacher is taking at least a year off. I was a bit disappointed at the news, so I walked past the practice room with the Orchestral Harp and gazed in longingly at it. 47 strings, 4 feet, 7 double pedals and overall simply gorgeous. After staring, I e-mailed Kim back and asked her if I could at least practice on that harp if it was school property and she knows how gentle I am when it comes to my instruments. She said that would be just fine and let me in to practice room X.
Okay...so, I didn't have the time to play like this. I knew there was a myriad of other things I could be doing, but once inside the room, I fell in love again and I was lost. It's hard to describe the wonder and childlike fascination when a musician is presented an instrument like that to play. Like a baby grand after an upright or an amp when you've been playing electric unplugged. I squeezed in around the harpsichord and situated myself in the proper harp technique, pressing the pedals with my feet while gazing up at all of the synchronized gears turning, listening to the overtones inadvertantly plucked as I did so. I got in proper hand positions, closed my eyes and played "Musette's Waltz" by Puccini. Oh, how wonderful it felt! Since, like the double bass, you lean against the harp I could feel it through my whole body, different tones resonating with different bones and filling me up to my ears. I rolled chords and played with dynamics, using far more octaves than the original arrangement I had memorized called for. And when I was done with that, I settled into a ballad emoting through the strings what I don't have words for yet.
I fell in love with music in a way I haven't done in a while. Sure, music always gets me quite a bit and I like practicing and performing, but this... It was transporting me to another dimension of interaction. I enjoyed every minute, dusting the harp off, tuning every one of the 47 keys, just everything. It was terribly difficult to part, but I had to go to class. I plucked one last bass note and put on the cover. But somehow, it renewed me to music in a way I've forgotten for a while. My flute playing had heart and my composing had emotion again. I guess that's what love does. I forget every time.
