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