Very Windy and Very Magical

I almost didn't go out tonight. Stormy weather was predicted for tonight and tomorrow and I was all set to stay in But I did go out armed with my hot water bottle and I'm glad I did. You see, it's nights like these that the wind plays my harp. There are times that it plays a little, but tonight it was very strong and much more than usual.


still working on article

A good time in spite of the cold

Last night two young guys came along with guitar and violin and payed along with me. They were both yeshiva students. The guitar was from England and the violin from Canada. He started Suzuki method on violin at age 3 so we played a few of the early repertoire. (I teach the method.) I always love meeting people who grew up in the method. We played a bit and then a friend of theirs came along with a drum. That was a nice addition. Drums can be nice and add a lot if played well and not too too loud.
Well, then we had another addition. A young lady playing with fire. She had two ropes that she lit the ends of and swung them around. She was from Latvia and had just come to Jerusalem. It was a very nice evening and it made the cold a bit more bearable. It WAS cold. We had a nice little crowd enjoying the show.

A group from China

A Chinese group of four people were out the other night. I can often tell if a person is a musician I was sure one of the ladies was a musician and when I asked she confirmed that she was. I asked her what instrument she played and she said pipa, the same instrument that Daiguo played. I then asked her if she would like to play my harp, which she accepted She sat down to play and seemed to thoroughly enjoy herself.

OOOPS

I just realized I have been spelling Li Daiguo'a name wrong on the disc. I had put the a and i in the wrong order. Sorry Daiguo.

Olah from Switzerlaand

It was very cold last night. My fingers were like ice and I didn;t want to play, so I asked this nie young lady if she would like to play. She was hesitant, but she sat down. She said she had played piano for 10 years.

Her name is Edelia and she is a new immigrant from Switzerland. After she had sat down and was trying to play she told me it had always been her dream to play the harp.She was very glad to have had the opportunity to play and she did very nicely for the first time. She worked out the melody for Hatikva and a few other Jewish melodies.

Herut played a song last night

I wrote about Herut on September 5th. She was out tonight and is now living in Jerusalem. I let her play my harp and was happily surprised at how well she did. I believe she hadn't had any musical training. She played a few songs and is coming along nicely. On Sept. 5 she had not actually gotten her harp yet so she is a very new harpist. I look forward to seeing her progress. I have invited her to come play once in a while. I hope sometime she will bring her harp, then we can play together with two harps.

Harp And Pipa - details of the album

These are the details so far. My original tracks and Diaguo's compositions do not have names yet. They will be added later.

1) Diaguo on Chinese wind instrument and Pipa

2) Harp - original composition

3) Harp and Pipa with drum

4) Harp and Pipa with bass guitar

5) Harp original composition

6) Harp Shee Big Shee Mor

7) Harp Greensleeves

8) Harp Scarborough Fair

9) second take of tract 2


Now I will talk in more depth about each tract.

1)

Harp And Pipa - more about the recording

very soon I will write more details about harp and pipa and it's recording, Please check back.

Diana from Texas - Never give up

Diana's words,

"I was so touched to hear the beautiful and soothing music that Muriel was playing on her harp. I asked her how I could compensate for a missing finger and she encouraged me to persevere to learn, which I am going to do."

Diana was tying to learn guitar and was discouraged because of a missing finger on her left hand. That is the hand that normally does the fingering. I told her about the boy at my collage who played trumpet and bass guitar. I do not remember hes name. I did not really know him. But I saw him play his bass guitar one time in a recital. Total amazement. On his left hand he had a thumb and an index finger. I think it may have been a birth defect but I'm not sure. Well, he did more with those two fingers than most people do with a full hand.

Then I told her about two videos on you tube that I ran across. One is a woman in China. It showed her planting rice in the rice paddy, washing herself and dressing, cooking a meal and eating. The thing is, she had no arms. She did everything with her feet.

The second video was of a young man in Wales, busking (playing on the street) playing guitar and singing. He had to sit because, you see, he too had no arms. He was doing it all with his feet. I had to see a few videos before I could believe he was actually playing, but he was. See it for your self. Here's the link.


Sorry the link didn't work. Till I find out why, you can go to my youtube channel. It is on my group, Buskers from around the world. There is a link on this blog and then click on groups, and then the buskers group.

Guest Harpist from California

Two nights ago I had the pleasure of a guest harpist from California. Steven builds his own harps, with kits from Musicmakers. I have a link to their sight. My big harp is also one of their kits, the Regency. He plays on the Voyager model. He played some very beautiful music on my harp. He said it was from the Psalms.

Korean violinist

A few nights ago I had the pleasure of a young Korean violinist play with me. He was with a group, from the states actually, and had a violin so I asked him if he would play something with me. We started with Pachebelle. He played beautifully and when I asked him he said he had never played it in that key before. But you would not have known by listening. Every time we stopped they begged for one more. We played several others including Heart and Soul, Brian Boru (Irish), and ending, of course, with Yerushalaim Shel Zahav. It made it a lovely evening.

Excuse Me for being rude

Every night dozens of people ask if they can play my harp. Mostly they are teenagers but not always. Actually, they don't always ask, or they don't wait for an answer, and when the answer is no, they just can't believe it, and demand to have an explanation. Sometimes they give me a very hard time of it, and many of them come back weekly and sometimes bring friends to help them give me a hard time. They sometimes [lay the game of 'see who can touch the harp.' There are nights it is so bad, I find myself jumping at nice kids coming to give me money. There are loads of nice kids out there.

Well, a while ago, this young man, he looked to be about 20, wanted to play the harp. Like many others, he wouldn't stop asking. I am working on how to handle these kids properly. Sometimes I do a good job and sometimes I don't. He accused me of being rude. He said someone who plays an instrument like that shouldn't be rude.

So I apologize for my rudeness that night and any other time I might have been rude. And I continue to try to find better ways of handling these kids, and sometimes adults. But I am not an angel , I only play the harp.

Carlebach last night

It was a great night last night. This couple was standing listening to me playing and then we spoke and I fomnd out he played the violin. He used to play with Carlebach. So I went and got my violin for him to play and we started playing some Carlebach. He was teaching me . I've been wanting to play more of his music so this as very good. So we're playing for a while and it was good, and then this other guy walks up with a guitar. It is Eitan, whom I met in the shuk on Friday. He was playing on Agripas Street and playing Carlebach. We started talking and I told him about my playing and invited him to stop by sometime and play Carlebach with me. So the three of us were playing and it was really good. After we played a while I learned a little of Baruch's story. He had played violin with Carlebach in NY but after Carlebach died he couldn't play violin any more. He could play other instruments, but violin was too painful. He said he recieved a healing from the harp and now he is able to play the violin again. I feel so touched that I was able to play a part in this. He promised to write something about it and send it to me. When he does I will post it here.

The letter of Touch

Here is the letter from Netanel I wrote about a few weeks ago. First is the original letter in Hebrew, and then a translation by my friend Chanan. Thank you Chanan for the translation, and thank you Netaniel for these beautiful words.

מכתב הנגיעה

עוד לפני המון זמן, עוד בהיותי ילד, לפני כמה שנים הגעתי לירושלים והזדמן לי לשמוע את הצלילים הנפלאים. לאט לאט אחרי שעקבתי אחרי המילים שמעבירים הצלילים, פגשתי את האדם הנפלא שחלק בלתי נפרד מליבו הוא הנגיעות שנשמתו מעניקה לצלילים. צליליו מעניקים שלווה ויותר מהכל מספרים סיפור, את הסיפור שלי וגם שלה.

נתנאל

The letter of Touch

Along time ago, when I was a child, I arrived to Jerusalem and arrive by chance to hear your wonderful sounds. slowly, after I've followed the words that the sounds convey,
I meet the great person that the touch that his soul give to the sounds is an unseparable part of his heart. its sounds give peace and tell a story. my story, and hers too.

Nethaniel

A Delightful Thought From The Galilee Soldier

Last night The Galilee Soldier said " The harp connects you to your inner child and brings soothing notes that are fairytale like to the bottom of your soul."

A Nice Word From New Jersey

Seymour Berkowitz from New Jersey gave me a nice comment on my playing last night. He said "I've never seen so much culture on Ben Yehuda St. in all of my 12 visits to Israel"

Chogui and a visit from Equador

Last night I met a young couple from Equador. I played Elcondor Pasa not remembering it was from Equador but knowing it was from S. America. They loved it and then another young lady came along who also was from Equador. She came up when she heard the song. I try to collect songs from different countries so when I meet people from those coutries I play their song and they really like it. We got to speaking about the Paraguean harp and they gave me two songs from Parague. They are Chogui and Carpuela. Both songs are named for birds. I searched on Youtube and found lots of stuff but I wasn't able to make them link. If you will just search the name you will get loads of good music . I will work on my computor skills.


Chogui
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwZ4o2BryHA


Carpuela
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGOpay6ZiKY

A Thought to Think About

"Loving people live in a loving world. Hostile people live in a hostile world. Same world. How come?"

Dr. Wayne Dyer

A Word on the new CD

I have not started selling the CD yet because I want to add 1 or 2 more tracts.I decided it was not quite complete. I hope to have it ready very soon. I will keep you posted.

Video

Another nice thing that happened last night is I mannaged to video Diaguo playing the pepa and a Chinese wind inst.View Blog

Letter From Anna

This is from a letter I just received from Anna

Hi Muriel,

It was so nice to listen to you play and then so nice that you sat me down and taught me a little bit what to do and let me play. I was quite taken aback from it all; it’s been my dream and I’ve never expected I’ll touch a harp in my life yet!!

It was easier than I expected and felt totally and perfectly natural, like my fingers were made to play this exact instrument. I decided to forgo all of the sights and sounds and bustle of the midrachov and just float up to where your music was coming from and take a rest there. I was sitting behind you, waiting for my friend to come so we could go to a comedy place.

I wanted him to see me sitting there in a dreamy state, but when I saw how cold it was getting, my idea to offer you a hot drink overtook my need to be ‘seen’ by him, my desire to sit and listen to the music and my worries about him not finding me. when you suggested I sit down, I was ‘floored’!! (well, ‘seated’, perhaps!!)

Thank you for trusting me. And for sharing your gifts with me.

A few thousand is what someone would spend on a television set. I will not so such a thing with my money when I start earning (after my grad school is over)…I will buy a harp. A good one; a big one and a beautiful one!

Anna

Another New Harpist ?

It was very cold last night and I really wanted to go get more clothes and my hot water bottle. A young lady came up. She had been sitting and listening for a while. she said I looked cold and would I like coffee or tea. I thanked her and said what I would like to do. I invited her to play my harp while I was gone. When I came back, she said she had always dreamed of playing the harp and while she was sitting listening to me earlier, she made a decision that she would get a harp and learn to play.

Flowers for My Harp

I like to have flowers on the top of my harp. Sometimes people give me some and then I put them up. I really needed some new ones because the rose that was there had broken off. The roses dry especially nice and look good when they are dry.

I had really wanted to get more flowers for that night because I was planning to video.
Last night some soldiers, both girls and boys, were giving out flowers. They said it was flower day.
So I got flowers for my harp.

Stories from the Street - Music for a broken heart

A few months ago N from Haifa sat and listened to my music for quite some time. He had told me he was sad because his girlfriend had just broken up with him. Last night he was there again. He told me he had really felt like the end of the world, but my music spoke to him and told him it wasn't. It was a big world and there were plenty of other girls out there. I asked him if he would like to write it down for me to put on my blog, and he did, but it is in Hebrew. He translated it for me and it was beautiful, but I will need help getting it on the blog.

Sanity

A man came up last night and said that my music was the only thing keeping him sane. When I asked him to write down what he said, this is what he wrote.

"What a pleasant sound nightly amidst the sounds of kids yelping and screaming. I rented an apartment for 1 week = only 1/2 block from your nightly music = what a geat way to fall asleep nightly. Rather than being insane, we are sane.

Louie H. & James C.
Palm Springs, Ca.

Thank you Louie for your nice comment.

HARP AND PIPA - First CD recorded

Last Saturday night I recorded my first CD. Diaguo was the sound man. It was a home recording but they had a very good machine and the sound quality is fantastic. I will write in more detail about the recordings, but for today I will just give an outline.

I recorded 5 songs solo harp. Three are Irish, and two are originals. Diaguo and I did two tracts together. One with added bass, and one withe added drum, both played by his friend ..
I would like to add one or two more solo tracts if I can,

New Harp

Well, not so new. It's 15 years old. But its new to me. It is a 22 string Harrari wire strung harp.

Last week I got a new student. She told me she had a Harrari harp but when she came I was surprised to see a wire strung harp. Most people have wire. In fact, the Harraris don't even build the wire harps anymore. Wire harps have a very different sound and are very different to play on. The sound rings a LOT more and it is very different to play on. The sound is also very beautiful.

Well, after I tuned it up, I played it a little. Just a lovely sound. I remember thinking, I think I even said something, that I would love to have a wire harp. Well, a few days later O redeivet this phone call with a Harrari harp for sale. She wanted to know if I could help her sell it. Of course I agreed, many peoplehave asked me about used harps. Well, I got to thinking about it, and decided if I bought it, I could rent it to a new student. My first harp is a Harrari. I was thinking to make it a package deal, including lessons.

So I got to her place to find out that is is a wire harp. I got the harp tuned up. I was worried it wouldn't hold its pitch, there are some that don't. But it seems to be doing fine. Even on the way home I started thinking about how I could use it and not rent it out. I might do that with my first harp, harp, but it is difficult to let it go. It it very special to me.

What I plan to do, I must earn back the mony I spent on it, well there are a few good reasons for me having a wire harp. First, for me to teach the new student properly, i really need to play on a wire harp. It is so different, it will take a lot of playing. Second, I wil have it on the street occasionally so there will be two harps. I have been thinking about that with my bylon little harp, but it needs some new strings and I haven't gotten around to changing them. When I do, and I will try to get to it soon, there cand be three harps. I believe I hve people now who can play them.

The third reaon, It is so schlepable, I can take it to other places and play. I want to try Emek Refraim and the Old City in the daytime. My big harp is so difficult to transport, especially since I don't have wheels. Taxis want a fortune. Back to the harp,

One more reason, the small harp is easier on my hands, so when I hae times i can't play somuch because of pain in my hands, I can probably plsy the wire harp. The sound is also very big.

Things People Say

So many times people say such lovely things to me about my music. I want to share some of them.

The other night a nice young man told me "It's not the the notes, it's not the composition, it's the energy."
Iv'e had many people tell me that I bring life to the street.

Rap and Harp ?

Last week some young kid came up and asked if I did rap. Of course I said no. Well. tonight, Daiguo was playing my harp while I was packing up, and this black brother came up and started rapping to Diaguo's playing. I tell you it was pretty cool. Had a little crowd and they liked it to.

Great Quotes on Music

I just rot an email and these really great quotes were on it.

"One of the perks of being an unemployed musician is that you get to play much less bad music."
Jack Daney
The whole problem can be stated quite simply by asking, "Is there a meaning to music?" My answer would be, "Yes." And "Can you state in so many words what the meaning is?" My answer to that would be, "No."
- Aaron Copland
"To be a musician is a curse. To NOT be one is even worse.
--Jack Daney
When words leave off, music begins.
--Heinrich Heine

Letters to England

Last night a nice man brought his wife out to hear me. They are English, but he has been working in Israel. He said he was writing letters to her while listening to me play and he told her about the lovely music he was listening to. Now that she is visiting he wanted to bring her to hear me.

Daiguo

My new Chinese friend's name is Daiguo. His English name is Douglas Lee He went to Tel Aviv for a few days, but he will be back and we will play more together. Here's where you can find him on the web. You can hear some of his music. He also has discs for sale.

http://love.betternonsequitur.com

www.myspace.com/specialaffection

And Another Harpist

A young man came up to me last night. He said he had herd me a few years ago and was inspired to get a harp after hearing me play. He had dreamed of playing a harp before, but thought it was only a dream and could not really happen. But then he heard me play and then he inquired of a piano teacher and found a harp. A lot of people , when they think of the harp. vision the big orchestral harp. The concert harp is really NOT practical for most people. A cheap one starts at over 10 thousand dollars. But the best harp money can buy maybe around 50 thousand. Have you heard what the top violins go for ? I recently heard of one Stradivari that as bought for 4 MILLION dollars. And that is only if you can find one for sale. So a folk harp, while not cheap, is affordable to anyone who really wants one.

Anyone For Chinese?

Last night D( I must get his name right) was on Ben Yehuda. I met him on Friday in the shuk. He was playing on a Chinese Instrument together with the man who plays every week on a Middle-eastern instrument. I have spoken with him before but I forget his name or the name of his instrument. I think I will try to get that and write about him here.

Anyway, back to my new friend. I wil call him D for now until I get his name right. I met him last Friday in the shuk. They had just finished playing, and I heard the last minute of it. Well, when I saw the Instrument D was playing, I had to find out about it. It was a stringed instrument like the guitar, but pear shaped and very exotic looking. The name of it, I found out, is pipa. I told him about my playing on Ben Yehuda and invited him to come. He was there last night when I went out. He didn't have the pipa with him but had a bowed instrument and a reed instrument like the oboe, but very different. I will write about these later.

We played together and it was awesome. He played sometimes on one instrument and sometimes on the other. He also sang and had a very deep voice. He could sound like a digerydoo. I also let him play my harp. Within minutes he was producing very beautiful music.

D actually grew up in America, but lives in China now. He has studied the violin. I think it was his first instrument. He will be here for 6 weeks and will be playing with me more. We agreed to do a disc together before he leaves. He also has a double disc of his own.

Sunita in concert -- Harp and Fiddle

TZALOOL in concert, Sunita Staneslow, Celitc harp, Gal Shahar, fiddle

Irish music with a splash of Jewish

Thursday, 18th September, Jerusalem, Mercaz HaTarbuot, 27 Hillel St.
8pm, tickets 02-621-1777

Friday, 19th September, Kibbutz Harduf, Beit Miryam 8:30pm, tickets at the door

Saturday, 20th September, Tel Aviv, Felicia Blumenthal, 26 Bialik, 8:30, tickets 03-620-1185 or info@fbmc.co.il

www.fiddleandharp.com


Preview them on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bje6xNhJILo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7QB3GyNKCQ

טל.

Mike was in from Tel Aviv tonight.

A New Harpist is Born

Last night a very exciting thing happened. A young lady, her name is Herut, came up and said she was getting a harp. I had let her play my harp a few months ago and she caught the fever. She was very excited and said she had ordered a harp and would be getting it in a few weeks. She said it was just because she had played my harp that she was buying a harp. I feel very happy and honored that I was the cause of someone falling in love with the harp, enough so that they actually buy one.

Thank you John

I want to thank you John for all the nice pictures you have taken of me in my spot on the street.
John is an Oleh from America He wears shots most of the year and he always has a camera in his hand. Over the last few years he has taken many pictures of me in my spot on Ben Yehuda and now I have a nice pictoral record of it. All three harps I have played and winter and summer scenes, No snow.

Surrounded By Children

Last night a young man reminded me of a few nights ago. He said it was a very touching sight. There were about a dozen or more children sitting around watching and listening to me. I remember at the time wishing someone would take a picture (where were you John). I often have a few children standing an listening, but never a group like this. I love playing for the children.

Guest Harpist Betty Klein

I was delighted to have betty Klein come by last night and honor my harp with her playing. She is a well known folk musician in Israel with a beautiful voice. A specialty of hers is ladino and you can hear a sample in the following links on youtube.

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKmRihIrwgQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRVjMK4YGZ4

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjqRs9LNgOQ

Sandy Cash

A few weeks ago I had the most pleasant surprise. Sandy Cash came strolling down Ben Yehuda while I was playing. For those who may not know, Sandy is a folk singer, One of the top in Israel. She has studied acting and makes use of that when she sings. If you haven't heard Sandy perform, do yourself a favor and get to one of her concerts. You are in for a treat. She sings a lot of Dar Williamsand story telling songs and in the last years she has become quite a song writer herself. She has several CDs including one of childrens' songs, She is on the web at www.sandycash.com.

Of all the folk singers in Israel, If I had to pick one, I would pick Sandy. That is why I was so thrilled to see her that night. I have seen her perform so many times and finally she got to see me where I perform almost daily.

Irish night with a touch of Austraiia

Last night was Irish night. I was playing Fields Of Athenry, good Irish song that I haven't played for a while, and a man came up singing it with a big smile on his face. He was with a group of people from Ireland and and others joined in singing. Then I played some more from my Irish repertoire, mostly O'Carolan. They were from the center of Ireland. I didn't catch the name, but they said it was the area that O'Carolan was from.

Well, not long after they left, I was playing Waltzing Mmatilda when two young girls came up singing with big smiles. Of course they were from Austrailia. They said they are here for a year and they promised they would come back and bring all their Aussie buddies to sing so we can record it for YouTube.

All the way to France

Often when I am playing on the street, people will hold their cell phones up to my harp to let the person on the other end hear my music. I often wonder where they are, in Israel, or other parts of the world. Last night a nice young gentleman was doing that, and then he mentioned that he was talking to his mother, in France. When he said she was in bed and just going to sleep, well, I just had to play Brahms' Lullaby. He really liked that.

That is not the first time I have been heard in France. A number of years ago when I still had my first harp, a young lady approached me. She had studied pedal harp. She was from France. She called her fiance in France and she played on my harp for him. There have been a number of harpists from France.

Thank you Moish

Thank you for your comment Moish. Your daughter is one reason I am so dedicated to being on Ben Yehuda every night. Many people don't understand. They think that playing on the street is just a stepping stone to something better. And for many musicians it is.

Moish told me that they made a special trip out to Ben Yehuda because their daughter wanted to hear the nevel (harp). He was so nice to write it in a comment. (see the post titled Yoni) It helps me to hear things like that for the times that is't not going so well, and also helps me to explain to why I am there.

One last song from Nomi

I was premature in saying goodbye to Nomi. I didn't think she would be out Sunday night because he was leaving on Monday, but she surprised me. Yoni was there too so I got my recorder out and we had a trio. We did mostly Yerushalaim Shel Zahav and Paccabelle. It was really nice and such fun. Oh yes, and we did Heart and Soul also. Nomi, when are you coming back?

Hurry Back Nomi

Nomi will be leaving on Monday to go back to the states. She has to finish up her degree and then she is going to get her Masters, and then she said she wants to make Aliah. She will try to come back to visit in the mean time as often as she can. I hope when she does I will be able to have 2 harps out there at least some of the time. But at least we can have 2 violins and a harp. It will be fun. So please hurry back Nomi !!!

Yoni

Yoni has played 4 nights this week with me on Ben Yehuda. He is Israeli born from the TA area but lives in Jerusalem now. I have invited him to be a regular with me and he has accepted. We kinda toned down the playing because of Tisha B'Av, but Sunday night we really get to work. I believe it will be real good.

Harplady's Friends

i created it first I created a group last week called Harplady's Friends. I created it first on Yahoo Groups because I am more familiar with it. Then a friend asked why Yahoo and why not Facebook, so I went and created it on Facebook too. Exactly what I will do with it is not clear, but it is a way for people I meet on the street to contact me and respond to this blog If they want. I belong to a nice group that is very chatty so if we get chatty that will be OK. I will anounce things like concerts and CD releases. When I play out on the street sometimes people meet. I like to think of myself as bringing people together, and if this group helps that I am happy. How active the group will be I don't know. I hope to put pictures up and videos. I will announce when I have something new on YouTube. Anyone please feel free to join on either Yahoo or Facebook or both. Right now all members have to be approved by me. That is only so I don't get bad stuff added. I have seen some groups that iooked like they were ruined by trashy stuff. I will think about this and consult with people and may change that to make it easier to join. Any suggestions are welcome. Be patient with me as I have a lot to learn about this.

A New Duo is Born

Two nights ago a young violinist was playing on Ben Yehuda and later he came over and played a while with me. His name is Yoni and he is studying music at a school in the area. I forget the name but will find out. He came back last night and we were playing for a while and I believe it is the start of something great. He does improvization real well. Then Nomi cme along and he played along with her while I went and got my violin. Then we had two violins and a harp. We did mostly Pachebelle and Yerushalaim Shel Zahav and some improv. Sadly Nomi is leaving to go back to the states. But Yoni is here and is going to work with me and we will see what we come up with. I think it will be very good.

Wedding at Ticho House and Two Harps on the street

It was a busy week on the street before my computer decided to take a vacation from me.

I played for a wedding at Tcho House and while I was there Nomi played my 29 string harp on Ben Yehuda ( it is currently being rented by a student so I do not have access to it all the time). The wedding was lovely and Ticho House is a wonderful place to have small wedding.It was outside in the garden. I was supposed to play for an hour while they were eating. There was a Russian duo playing klezmer and wedding dance music ( They were great.)

The next night I still had the other harp so I took 2 harps out to Ben Yehuda. It is not so clear in my mind now because it was a number of weeks ago. I couldn't write because of computer problems. A number of people played, Mostly Nomi was there and we had a lot of fun playing. I hope in the future to have two harps out more often.

Rosa

One of the sweetest things to have happened on the street is I met Rosa. I think Rosa is about 6 years old. She was here with her father from England and at such a young age, she is very much a lady. She has started studying piano and as I do with many I showed her how the strings of the harp relate to the piano and where C (do) is.She visited me a number of times out there, and then last week she informed me she was a descendant of King David. Some people have been skeptical when I told them that but her father assured me that there are records and it can be proven. Well, how can I not let a descendant of David HaMelach play on my harp. So Rosa did and had her first harp lesson, and now she is totally smitten with harp. It really does not take much to become addicted. They promised to stay in contact with me and I look forward to seeing how she progresses with the harp. I'm sure she will be a very good harpist.

Computer is back on line

I had an involuntary break from my computer (almost 2 weeks) but Beau the PC Doctor fixed me up fine. I had to have a new hard disk put in but the good news is that it is bigger and now I have lots of room to do the things I need, like the videos for YOUTUBE. I'm also going to try recording for a disk. Eventually I will do something in a real studio, but that takes a lot of money and also the problem of getting the harp to the studio. Lots more money if you have to use a taxi. So for now I'm going to see what I can do on the computer.

A New Harpist Is Born

I had my violin out last night and I played it along with Nomi. I can do a lot more with the violin than the recorder (halilite for the Israelis), as far as back up and harmonizing
and jst every thing. Then after Nomi left, Yonathan Came along. When i found out he played
violin I let him take my violin and we played Pachebelle. He was playing more by ear and he was quite good.He teaches Jewish studies in England and he also sings. I let hem play my harp and he was amazed at how easy it was to do something on it. He was just in another world. Afterwards he said he had been thinking about the harp because it seemed to go with Israel and Jewish studies. He also writes poetry and recited one of his poems. It was quite good I think. Well he definitely has the bug and will be dreaming about harps.

Ein Gedi

Wed. I was in Ein Gedi at the spa. I soaked and swam in the pool and got covered in mud. Everyone should get there at least once. It's good for what ails you. I'm going to go at least once a week for a while and see if I can get rid of these pains in my arm. It's better already after one time except I'm a bit sore from swimming, you know, muscles that have not been used much for a while.

The Phenomonon of Waltzing Matilda

Do you know the song Waltzing Matilda? Do you know it comes from Australia? Do you know what most Aussies do when they hear that song? They stop to listen for one. Many times they will join in singing, and they almost always give me money. I play it first because I love the song. I remember singing it in fifth grade. I liked the song then, I always liked singing. But it seems to have grown on me, and it always helps when I get good response to a song.

Last October I was playing this song, and a group of young guys came up and started singing. I mean they were just belting it out. It was so good. They promised they would come back before they left Israel in November so I could video it and put it on YouTube but they didn't. There have been several other groups that have done the same thing, but I think the first one was the best. Soon I am going to start taking my video camera out more so when this happens I can get it down.

Now, my question is, what songs from other countries can effect their people like Waltzing Matilda effects Australians ? I do not mean patriotic songs. Waltzing Matilda is not a patriotic song. I am searching for these songs for two reasons. First, they are probably very good songs, and second, they will make me more money, which is not a bad thing. Can anyone help?

I think the closest one here in Israel ( not Hatikva or Yerushalaim Shel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold -those are patriotic)) would be Yonatan ha Katan(Lightly Row).

Wolfman Was Here

Last night Wolfman was there and it was the first time I ever really heard him play much, and he really is as good, if not better than everyone says he is.



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Nomi and a Grandma With a red hat

Nomi came out last night and played for quite some time. First she played alone and then I played along with her on recorder. She really makes my harp sound nice. Just arpeggios on harp are the most beautiful thing. She will be here for 6 weeks (she is doing an internship for school) and she promised to come by a lot so we will work some good things up to put on YouTube before she goes home. Also I hope to have two harps out there a few times. Will let you know on that.

They call her Omali ( I hope that's right). She was wearing a red hat and a lovely smile. Then I played Jonatan Hakatan ( Lightly Row in English) and there was such joy in that smile. She was singing and actually started dancing a little.When they left, Omali gave me the nicest blessing. Several in fact. It was a pure joy to play for them.

The down side of the evening was the drums. Now, I like some percussion, and it is very nie to play to a beat. But there were so many of them, and they were so loud, it gave me a headache. There was no way I could play the harp with all that noise. I'm very glad they don't do it all the time. It was a group from a school and I guess they were celebrating the end of school.

Nomi is coming back

I received an email yesterday from Nomi and she is coming this and will be here for the summer.I think I wrote about her but I will recap. She studied here for a year a few years ago. She studied on a big pedal harp for I think 7 years. Towards the end of her stay she found me and played on my harp Big pedal harps are not so easily transported so she had been harpless for almost a year. Although she had studied for years, and had beautiful technique, she had never played by ear or really done any improvisation. I showed her some things in that area and then she got a folk harp to have a more portable one. The last night before she left to go back she brought her harp out and we had two harps playing on Ben Yehuda. It was really wonderful. I hope she will be bringing her folk harp. Either way She will be playing on Ben Yehuda some. either her harp or mine. I am anxious to see what she has done with the improvisation.

Cloud Nine

Last night was so good I am still on cloud nine. I wish I was better with words so I could convey better what happens sometimes on the street when I have my harp there. Also that I can remember things better. Last night was so full I'm not sure I can remember everyone that played my harp. If ever you are one of the ones I let play and I don;t mention it or don't convey it will please don't think badly of me. I try and I do the best I can.

Last night was purely magical.I know I can't remember every one that played, but K was there and because I didn't have my violin I played along with her on my recorder. I've never really done backup with recorder that I can remember so it was a new experience. I don't have the confidence on recorder that I do on violin. Well, she was playing Pachebelle chords and I started playing and I was amazed at how easy it was. It was fun too. I'm really going to try to do that much more. Also, of the three instruments, the recorder is the easiest on my arms. But I can still overdo it on recorder so I still must be careful.

Well, along came these 3, two guys and a girl, Atam , Hagai, and Hila. Atam had a guitar and said he played Flamencco guitar, and they all studied at Musrarach (I must check on the name, that's not exactly right, but it id the Arabic music school nearby-over the years I have had many young people tell me they were studying there.) Atam (I will call him that until he comes back and I get his name straight- it was a new name for me and I don't remember it.) Well, Atam sat down and started playing on my harp and it wasn't long before this most beautiful sound was coming out. Now, the harp is always magical, but Atam's fingers just added to that magic. After a while I started playing my recorder with him and that was really fun. and people were enjoying it. Then he stopped a minute and attention was brought to Hila's violin, which I hadn't noticed before. She was a bit shy, but we convinced her to play a bit, and she played very well. The violin was tuned in Arabic tuning GDgd, and when after a few minutes Hila didn't want to play anymore, she let me try. I had never played a violin in Arabic tuning before so it was very interesting. The lower two strings are the same, the higher two are tuned down one whole step. It actually was very easy to play. I just did some improvisation and I think it sounded a bit Arabic. It was sooo much fun. After a while Atam joined in and we played together for quite some time, just jamming, then Hagai joined in on harp and it was just beautiful. Just a blanket of beautiful music. Well, good things usually end sometime and it came time we had to stop, but I would have loved to have gone on all night. They promised they would come back, and when they do I will get my violin if I don't have it and then there will be two violins. I will, of course, tune it to Arabic tuning. That will be such fun. We talked about videoing something for you tube so you will be able to see it. Something to look forward to I hope.

First Lesson

A number of people played last night. One of them was a young girl who comes every so often to listen to me. She said she had no musical training so last night she had her very first lesson. I think she may be hooked.

Who do I let play on my harp? Not just everyone. Anyone who comes up and asks to play gets an immediate answer of NO. I more quickly let a musician play, but that is not guaranteed. I must first talk to them and get a feel of them. I do not let rude or pushy people play,

Harp is OK

Liza has finished my harp. It was more complicated than she thought because there was glue in the rivet that was causing the problem. She had to actually take the harp apart a little to fix it
But she didn't get to me till 11 PM on Sunday and Monday morning is my earliest morning so I have been tired all week
The good thing besides the harp being fixed is Liza went over with me some things about adjusting the harp myself and now I feel more confident about it.And the harp will sound better on the street.

Why are other people playing my harp so much now?

couple with guitar
young man from Golan

I'm trying tp let other people play my harp more because of pain in my arm from playing too much.I have fibromyalgia, so if you see other people playing a lot you know why.
There was an Israeli couple with a guitar, they both played guitar and so I let both of them play on my harp. It was nice what they did. I believe they now have harp fever, something people get when they play on a harp, and then they start dreaming about harps
A nice young man from the Golan also played. He did not have so much musical training. It seemed to have touched him very much to play on the harp.

Texas Harpist

Last night I really didn't feel so much like going out to play but I did anyway. I'm still very tired fromthevisit of the harp doctor, combined with the problem I'm currently having with my arm. But I'mvery glad I went because Diane from Texas is here. She's going back Friday so If I wasn't out last night I would have missed her. Diane is a harpist and I met her on her last trip to Israel 2 years ago.

The Harp Doctor is Here

Liza is back in the country for a week only. She is the harp technician from NY that the harp circle helped to bring here last year in January. She came for one week and there was so much work she ended up staying 3 and regulated all the harps in Israel that needed it.

She made a house call Thursday morning to help fix a problem with a rivet and then, instead of just regulating my harp, she is teaching me some things so I can adjust it myself. With all the moving, taking it out to Ben Yehuda almost every night, it gets unadjusted quite easily, between that and the weather, there is always something that doesn't sound right.

Harp, Violin and Recorder

Thursday night a young lady was there and said she played the violin so I let her play mine and she played quite lovely. Then we were going t try to do something together and there was this young man who said he played recorder, so I gave him mine and he played very well, so the three of us played Yerushalayim Shel Zahav(Jerusalem of Gold) together and it was fun and beautiful.
Also K. was by and we played together, me on violin and her on my harp. Too bad she is going back to the states in July.

K

K stopped by tonight and played. Which was good because my arms were hurting. She has been here for a number of months and has a harp back in the states. I let her play my harp and she plays it very nicely. It is very obvious from watching her she has studied Her hand position look good .

Jewish Harp Music From Israel

I had an inquiry about where was the best place in Israel to get Jewish music arranged for harp. I was very happy to tell him about Sunita. For those of you who are interested, Sunita lives in Israel now (originally from the states), and she has arranged lots of Jewish music for harp. She is a very accomplished harpist, both lever and pedal harps. She does tours in the states as well as other parts of the world, doing both concerts and workshops. She was the harpist for the Jerusalem Symphony one year.

There is a link from this site to Sunita's web site. Just scroll down to recommended links.

Two Guest Harpists Tonight

I had two guest harpists tonight, both from California. The first
is here with Birthright and has studied pedal harp for 8 years. As with most harpists who are used to playing on a pedal harp, she was not sure she could play anything without pedals I told her to play arpeggios, which she did beautifully. Then I showed her some chord progressions that she could improvise to and she did quite well for someone not used to improvising.
Ari was the second one. He was on a class trip. Ari plays cello and is planning on studying to be a conductor. He had never played a harp before so I sort of gave him a brief beginning lesson. He really seemed to enjoy it.

A Visit From Eilat

While I was playing a group of young people stopped to listen. From the second group, I learned they were from Eilat. Three groups altogether. I played songs they knew and told them a bit about the harp. The seemed to really like it.

Playing for Momi

I am not so good at writing but I will try yo get better, and who knows, with practice......

Anyway, so many times I really want to write something and it's hard to get to it. But tonight was really good and I must get it written. A certain lady comes by and sits and listens and sometimes she has her cat with her. Very sweet, white, named Momi I found out tonight. Momi is 18 years old and is carried on a cloth cat basket of sorts. Well, tonight i got the lady to put the basket on my carpet while I played. Momi likes music. Well, after a it she turned and was facing me, or my harp, and it really looked like she was listening to me. Her ears were pointed forward and she was really paying attention. It as so neat. I hope she does it more and I hope to video it.

January, February 2008

If you have looked for me on Ben Yehuda this year and wondered where I am, I have been fighting bronchitis. In Jan. and up to this week, I did my usual day teaching, and stayed home at night, except for two nights a few weeks ago. The weather also played a large factor. I was much better, but this week had a relapse with a high fever. I finally did what I should have done in Jan. and called Shoshanna Harrari, and with her help I am on the road to recovery. And with G-d's help I will be back out playing soon. Usually I have some very good nights in January.

Suzuki Chat

I found this great group called Suzuki Chat. It's on
Yahoo Groups. If I can figure out how to get a link to it I will.

Both Suzuki parents and Suzuki teachers write in questions, problems, helpful hints. etc. If someone has a problem , say with practice, they write about it and then many others will write in suggestions. Some very good ideas. There are also the archives which contain a wealth of information. I highly recommend that every Suzuki parent and teacher take a look at this wonderful resource. Just take a look.

I found myself on German Wikipedia

Thanks to a nice German girl, I was ble to find myself on the German version of Wikipedia. Just click on the link and it will take you straight to the page. It is listed as being Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem.I am playing my second harpand it looks like I am dressed for summer so it is either one and a half or two and a half years ago.