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Sylvia Woods is one of the leaders in the harp world. She has written over 20 books for the harp, and has made three recordings. She owns the Sylvia Woods Harp Center Store and Mail Order Catalog, selling harps, harp music books, harp recordings and accessories.
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5.0 out of 5 starsReally clear book for beginning the harp
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 March 2013
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I bought three beginner harp books. Harpsicle Harp Method (Darlene Walton) this one came with the Derwent harp which I bought to learn to play. Basic Harp for Beginners (Laurie Riley) and this one, Teach Yourself to Play the Folk Harp (Sylvia Woods).
This one is by far the best. Sylvia gets you playing tunes straight away (ok there are some exercises but you can see the point of them because what they show you is useful in the tunes). She has a nice conversational style and is reassuring and encouraging. She starts you off with the treble clef and one hand at a time. Then you do two hands but both with the treble clef and then later in the book you add in the bass clef. Genius.
The instructions are clear and the tunes are ones you probably know. Astonishingly the book has been around since 1978 but still seems fresh and very clear.
The book is spiral bound which means it lies flat.
The Harpsicle book (Darlene Walton) quickly becomes confusing, you start straight in with both treble and bass clef. At first fingering and note names are indicated and then bracketing but then these are phased out. It does come with a DVD which is quite useful and it is quite 'cheerful'.
The Basic Harp for Beginners (Laurie Riley) is awful. I wrote another review about it. Didn't suit me at all.
I would recommend Teach Yourself to Play the Folk Harp by Sylvia Woods very highly.
5.0 out of 5 starsAn old fashioned style book but everything you need to ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 March 2018
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An old fashioned style book but everything you need to get going on the harp. It would be advisable to get a one off lesson of a teacher however to check you are using the right technique or this will scupper you down the line and hamper your progress.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 December 2020
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Personally I dont understand the negative reviews, yes its in black and white and spiral bound and the pictures are old, but the content is as relevant today as it was then, ideal book for the complete beginner with simple exercises and tunes to learn, I highly recommend this for an absolute beginner
This book is perfect for helping me in learning to play the harp, and getting to grips with some music theory. My teacher has the book and recommended it.
I am really enjoying using Sylvia Woods's book. It is clearly written and easy to follow. It takes one through progressive stages in easy steps giving full instructions and a brief resume of the origins of each piece of music. There area few pure exercises but mainly one is playing well known tunes which makes practice more enjoyable.