Enjoy the experience of playing a musical instrument and learn the basics of playing by ear and reading music.

Lessons are based in Oratia, West Auckland, and times can be arranged to suit. Half hour lessons either weekly or fortnightly work for most people but some come on an occasional basis and others choose the option of the teach yourself book when they hire a harp and learn at home.

If you sing already you will find the harp to be a beautiful accompaniment to your voice. There is a lot of music available for harp and most songs can be adapted for this instrument. Celtic music is especially popular for singing and playing.

It is easy to get a lovely sound out of the harp even while you are first learning and it won’t take you very long at all before you are playing beautiful sounding music at home. It is a wonderfully relaxing instrument to play and will give you, and those around you, lots of enjoyment.

No prior musical knowledge is necessary for learning the harp, if you have never played any musical instrument in your life this is a great one to start on.

If you are bringing your child for a lesson you are welcome to sit in the studio with us or you may prefer to bring a book and sit on one of the lovely outdoor veranda's or just wander around the mature trees in the gardens and relax.

email or phone and book your first lesson!

Harps are now available for hire and we can work out a lesson time to suit.
Currently available to teach on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday during the day and some evenings as required.

Beginner guitar and bass guitar lessons also available.

My introduction to music

When I was a young girl my father would play the piano and encouraged my 2 sisters and I to sing. He was a fantastic musician who could read a little bit of music but who could also play well by ear. When he went away with the troops in World War 2 he took his piano accordian and would play for their entertainment. He taught me about melody, harmony and rhythm and I also learnt how to give an amateur performance to my Aunts and Uncles when they came to visit!
They were great times and these memories sit among the fondest of my childhood.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a musician in the family and some people live in a home with no music played at all.

I enjoy sharing my love of music and ability to play and sing with others, just as my father enjoyed sharing his love of music with his friends and his family.

5 tips for your first musical performance

After you have had some lessons you might like to organise a performance Here are some things you might want to think about if you are considering performing for the first time.

1. Get a performance repertoire together
2. Deciding on a place to play
3. Letting people know you are playing
4. Working out your setlist
5. Things to remember on the day

1. Getting a performance repertoire together

To know how many pieces of music you will need you need to have a timeframe for your performance in mind. Would you like to play 1 or 2 pieces of music or would you like to play somewhere for 1/2 an hour or an hour? You could also approach this the other way...If you can only play a few pieces then your performance will be 10 minutes long! If you are in this situation you might like to think about finding a couple of friends who are in a similar situation and you could all play a few pieces each at the same performance. This will help to stretch out the time of the performance and it is also fun including other musicians.
Once you have decided how long you will feel comfortable playing for all you need to do is find a place to play!

2. Deciding on a place to play

Live music is a real treat for people - when we are out and about, esp shopping at a mall etc we often hear music played through in-house sound systems but what a delight it is when we see people playing live music! People will often stop to listen and look - it is because they love it. Remember that not everyone plays a musical instrument, sometime players can take their music for granted - we can listen to music whenever we want to pick up an instrument and play. This is not the case for a non musician. The only time they can enjoy live music is when someone else plays for them.
Don't wait for an opportunity to come up - make a concious decision that you are going to play and make it happen! This might mean an email or a phone call to a local business or library. Public performance in a local park is also an option. Another idea is to give a house concert for family and friends.

3. Letting people know you are playing

Once you hve a performance arranged you need to let people know about it so they can come along. There are all kinds of ways to get information out to people these days. Emailing people on your contacts list - facebook, bebo, myspace and other social networking sites are another. Txting people in your cell phone contacts list an there are many sites on the net where you can list a performance, google a local gig guide and see! Then there are brochures and posters which you may even be able to make at home at very little cost.

4. Working out your setlist

A setlist is very important and will help your performance to run smoothly. It is no good to sit at the harp with 20 pieces of music in your book in front of you and to be flicking through thinking ...hmm... which one should I play now... You need a list of the pieces you will play in the correct order and with any notes that you require for that piece that aren't written on your music. It is handy to write the keys beside your titles if you need to change your levers between songs or retune.

The first and the last pieces of music that you play in any set of pieces are the ones most likely to stick in the minds of your audience. Begin and end with pieces you are the most comfortable playing and that you play well. Always have at least one piece of music up your sleeve for an encore.
When you have selected which pieces to play write them up in a list and add any notes that you may need beside them.
When you have written up your setlist run the whole set from start to finish practising your lever changes or retuning and thinking about introductions for pieces if you will be speaking about them. Know the title and the composer and if you are aware of what the piece was written about let people know. If you are playing a piece or singing a song that you have written yourself talk about what inspired you to write it.

5. Things to remember on the day

Things to take include:
- Your harp - no really! - Don't forget it!
- Harp tuning wrench and electronic tuner if you use one
- Chair and cushion - legs or stool for the harp if required
- Music stand and music - light for music stand if required
- Bottle of water

Confidence is very important. Smile and appear confident, even if you are not - the audience won't know the difference.

Nerves can make you tend to play faster so you may want to pause before you start playing each piece and think about playing slowly and in a relaxed fashion.

Mistakes are over as soon as you make them - forget them as quickly as you can and keep playing. Don't look aghast or you'll only make your mistake more noticeable. Keep your composure and continue on, it only lasts for a couple of seconds and is no big deal.

If you make a mistake, don't stop playing, just carry on and try to keep the flow of the music going.

Below is a reference from the parents of two of my students

Robyn Sutherland has been teaching music to our two children for the last three years. Our daughter has learnt to play the harp beautifully. Robyn has managed to feed her natural enthusiasm and confidence to a stage where she genuinely enjoys performing for a public audience. She is now using the skills Robyn has taught her to teach herself how to play the piano and the Irish Penny flute. She is also learning to play the violin. All that Robyn has taught her is making the violin an easy instrument to learn.

Robyn has taught our son to play the acoustic guitar. He has now moved on to the electric guitar. His new teacher is extremely impressed with our sons musical knowledge and his playing ability considering the short period of time he has been having lessons. One of the best things about her teaching is that Robyn has not locked him into one style, therefore he is very receptive to new ideas and can adapt his playing accordingly. Our son is a shy child and Robyn has built his confidence up to a stage where he willingly enjoys performing in public, something we thought we would never see.

Robyn has taught them how to arrange their music so that they can play together. They now give "mini concerts" to elderly people. They have also played at The Corban's Estate Arts Festival.

At 13 yrs of age our daughter wrote a musical stage show for the Scouts Jubilee. Robyn helped her arrange and record the backing music onto CD and also supported her with advice on how to direct the show.For the same Jubilee Robyn took nine of the instrument playing scouts, ranging from 7 - 13 yrs of age (seven of whom she had never met before) and turned them into a mini orchestra. She did this in a little less than three months, one lesson per week. There were two violins, a harp, a guitar, a saxophone, two pianos and two recorders. They all achieved their music badges and had a great time doing it. The whole show was a great success and a good part of the credit goes to Robyn.

We are both very grateful to Robyn, always wish her well and highly recommend her to any parent as a music teacher.

Robyn is calm, patient, reliable, honest and multitalented, she has a lovely sense of humour and a natural rapport with children."

Linda and Alex

Are you or your children interested in learning the harp but have no instrument to play?

Hire a harp!