How To Harp Podcast

Welcome to the How To Harp podcast, the show that celebrates your harp journey. Join harpist, tutor and founder of How To Harp Heather Downie for weekly episodes full of expert tips, inspiring interviews, real harpist stories, and relaxed chats with How To Harp co-tutor Angela. Whether you’re just starting out or growing your skills, this is your space to learn, laugh, and love your harp even more.

How To Harp Podcast is a music podcast hosted by How To Harp, with 56 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

How To Harp hosts How To Harp Podcast, a music show with 56 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #54

  Ep 54: Walk Your Own Path with Niccie Hughes | How To Harp Podcast

  Aug 18, 202633 min

  Niccie heard a harp at the ballet when she was little, then waited more than four decades before she started playing one. Heather sits down with her to find out how she finally got going, and why doing it her way has mattered so much. She's nearly three years in now, and she knows exactly how she learns, what she wants from an instrument, and what she'd rather take her time over. Heather gets into both harps, the teaching that suits her, and the mindset that holds it all together. In this episode: - Why weekly lessons weren't right for her, and how monthly ones with Angela work instead - Choosing a Pilgrim Clarsach, and the harp she never expected to fall for - Building and painting a Harp-E from a bare kit, levers and all - Being on the autistic spectrum, and how the harp settles a busy brain - Picking music that's far too hard on purpose, and preferring exercises to pieces - Harmonics on the lower metal strings, and getting two hands to agree with each other - Practice Togethers, the technique bank, and a community where nobody feels behind Host: Heather Downie - Harpist, Principal Lever Harp Tutor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Founder of How To Harp Guest: Niccie Hughes - Learner Harpist and How To Harp Member Learn with us: https://www.HowToHarp.com (membership, courses, retreats) If you enjoyed this episode, please like, comment, subscribe, and share it with a harp friend. It really helps the podcast grow and helps us connect with more harpists around the world! #HowToHarpPodcast #HowToHarp #HeatherDownieHarpist #LearnerHarpist #HarpJourney

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  Episode #53

  Ep 53: What Adult Harp Learners Get Wrong

  Aug 11, 202639 min

  Plenty of people come to the harp later in life already sure they've missed their chance. The Heather and Angela episodes are usually a Harpy Tutor Chat, but in this one Heather is asking Angela a set of questions she hadn't seen beforehand. It's part celebration of Angela's two years with How To Harp, and part honest conversation about what teaching adults asks of you. In this episode: - Angela's first ever one-to-one lesson with us, and the 10pm high that kept her awake - Why adult learners compare themselves to a fantasy self, and stop seeing their own progress - The maple tree from our goal-setting session, and the member who planted one at home - Knowing how hard to push someone, and why she calls it a tightrope - The piece a learner falls in love with that's well beyond them, and why there's no easy answer - The one gift she'd give every adult beginner - How her confidence changed once she was actually doing the job - Heather on what it's like having another harpist on the team Host: Heather Downie - Harpist, Principal Lever Harp Tutor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Founder of How To Harp Guest: Angela Boraston - Harpist, Harp Tutor at How To Harp Learn with us: https://www.HowToHarp.com (membership, courses, retreats) If you enjoyed this episode, please like, comment, subscribe, and share it with a harp friend. It really helps the podcast grow and helps us connect with more harpists around the world! #HowToHarpPodcast #HowToHarp #HeatherDownieHarpist #AdultHarpLearners #HarpTeaching

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  Episode #52

  Ep 52: Where the Music Comes From with Nadia Birkenstock

  Aug 4, 202643 min

  Nadia's best-known tune sat in a drawer for eleven months before she published it, because she wasn't sure it was good enough. It's since been heard well over a million times, and the German harpist and singer joins Heather to talk about how she works, and what she listens for. Much of it goes back to her training in Lieder, where the piano part is written to illustrate the words. She's spent a career carrying that idea across to the harp, treating it as a duo partner with a voice of its own rather than a set of arpeggios underneath the melody. In this episode: - Falling for the Celtic harp at sixteen, after hearing the duo Sìleas live - Why she went back and took classical lessons after teaching herself - Starting every song arrangement from scratch, hunting for patterns she hasn't used before - Building "Sagittaire" around a short film, and writing music to picture - Collecting light, wind and acoustic spaces as raw material - Putting her first video online when most computers couldn't play it, and the invitation that arrived two years later - Whether the tradition can be stretched too far, and why she doesn't think there's a line - Her concert and harp and voice workshop inside the membership - One piece of advice for adult learners, and how to know a teacher is right for you Host: Heather Downie - Harpist, Principal Lever Harp Tutor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Founder of How To Harp Guest: Nadia Birkenstock - Harpist, Singer, Composer, and How To Harp Guest Tutor Learn with us: https://www.HowToHarp.com (membership, courses, retreats) If you enjoyed this episode, please like, comment, subscribe, and share it with a harp friend. It really helps the podcast grow and helps us connect with more harpists around the world! #HowToHarpPodcast #HowToHarp #HeatherDownieHarpist #NadiaBirkenstock #HarpAndVoice

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  Episode #51

  Ep 51: I Spent a Year Dreading Something for No Good Reason

  Jul 28, 202616 min

  Heather turned 40 last weekend, and this week she's flying solo with something a bit more personal than usual. It's an honest look at how she handled the run up to a birthday she really didn't want, and what she'd do very differently next time. It's not really a birthday episode though. If you've ever put something off because you were dreading it, you'll recognise a lot of this. That same pattern turns up all over harp playing, and Heather talks through how to face it, why changing your mindset is much easier said than done, and why she's heading into this next year with a lot less dread. In this episode: - A whole year spent worrying, and the moment Heather realised nothing had actually changed - How a poor attitude sucks the fun out of something before it even happens - Why a bit of a wallow is fine, but a year-long one isn't - The stressful lesson, the exam, or the technique problem you're quietly avoiding - The three choices you've got when a concert's coming and you're dreading it - Reframing the work you've put in, the people listening, and the sound of the harp - Why sharing it with someone is the most useful thing you can do first This is a vulnerable and funny one, and really it's about how much time and enjoyment we can lose to something we can't change, and how quickly that turns round once we choose to look at it differently. Host: Heather Downie - Harpist, Principal Lever Harp Tutor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Founder of How To Harp Learn with us: https://www.HowToHarp.com (membership, courses, retreats) If you enjoyed this episode, please like, comment, subscribe, and share it with a harp friend. It really helps the podcast grow and helps us connect with more harpists around the world! #HowToHarpPodcast #HowToHarp #HeatherDownieHarpist #MusicianMindset #PerformanceAnxiety

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  Episode #50

  Ep 50: Finding Strength & Joy in Harping with Karen Marks

  Jul 21, 202639 min

  Heather sits down with Karen, a much-loved part of the How To Harp membership, to hear how she found the harp and what it has come to mean to her. Please listen with care, as Karen speaks openly about living with serious illness, including cancer. What follows is warm, funny and full of heart, a reminder of how much music can carry us through, even in the hardest of times. In this episode: - How a flute and harp concert first sparked Karen's love of the instrument - The surprise harp lesson that started it all - The harp she named Joy, and the story behind it - Choosing the Skye Boat Song, and why a reflective piece felt right - How playing supports her through treatment, physically and mentally - Finding humour and positivity in the hardest moments - The practice trackers Karen created for fellow members - Her advice on making practice a treat you reach for first Host: Heather Downie - Harpist, Principal Lever Harp Tutor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Founder of How To Harp Guest: Karen Marks - Learner Harpist and How To Harp Member Learn with us: https://www.howtoharp.com (membership, courses, retreats) If you enjoyed this episode, please like, comment, subscribe, and share it with a harp friend. It really helps the podcast grow and helps us connect with more harpists around the world! #HowToHarpPodcast #HowToHarp #HeatherDownieHarpist #HarpJourney #LearnerHarpist

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