>>Harp Teacher Directory - From Sea to Sea to Sea

• HarpTeacher Navigation

• Canada Harps On - Removing the isolation
• Harp Teachers - What to expect
• Harp Lessons - What to expect
• Harp Rentals - What to expect
• Teaching Resources - Only in Canada eh!
• Building Community Through Mentoring - Having fun!
• Travel to Teachers :: Traveling Teachers - Look farther away
• Skype Teachers - If you cannot find a local teacher
• Submitting to Directory - Simple to do
• Disclaimer - This is a free service
• Harp Teacher Directory - Choose your province

Canada Harps On - Removing the Isolation
This is a Canadian Harp Teacher Directory for the our harping community. Harpistry, teaching, lessons, mentoring and musical companionship may be for:

• Celtic Harp
• Folk Harp
• Lever Harp
• Irish Harp
• Pedal Harp
• Orchestral Harp
• Concert Harp
• Classical Harp
• Paraguayan Harp
• Lap Harp
• Wire Harp

This website's premise is simple. If you want to find a teacher/mentor/musical companion or wish to be found by other aspiring harpists, use this Directory. The Harp Teacher Directory is open to submission from any harp teacher, harpist or harp owner resident in Canada.

This site is sponsored by West Coast Harps and your submission is free. Stephen Vardy will usually only contact you once annually to ensure accurate contact info.

Harp Teachers - What to expect
No single teacher can meet all your learning needs on the harp. Be prepared to glean instruction from several harp teachers as you gain ability and confidence as a harpist. As well as individual lessons, it is good to participate in workshops and seminars, plus other music training (eg. theory classes, choirs etc.) Teaching and learning styles vary and a supportive, enjoyable instructor/student relationship is vital for motivation and achieving your best.

Harp Lessons - What to expect
The style of lesson will vary from teacher to teacher - some lessons are defined by a conservatory syllabus, some by a harp instructor's plan and others are more informal with instruction on your current abilities and barriers. As always you receive good value only if you practise - a half hour a day is not unreasonable.

Lessons may be sheduled weekly, bi-weekly or monthly depending on your teacher. Most teachers ask for a minimum 24 hours notice of a cancellation. Be sure to understand your teacher's policies in this regard from the outset.

Lesson fees will vary but rates in the CAD$40 to $60 range are not unreasonable for a 50 minute lesson.

Harp Rentals - What to expect
Some teachers have harp rentals available but rental harps are usually rare and difficult to find. Sources for harps in Canada include:

• West Coast Harps - New & used harps shipped across Canada
• Used Harp Mart.ca - Private Canadian used harp advertisements

Canadian Teaching Resources
You may find other Canadian harp teaching resources here:

• Sheet Music Exercises - Download exercises for 1 or 2 hands
• Canada West Harplist (The Westlist) - Western Canadian email list
• Ontario Harplist - Eastern Canadian email list
• Harp Notes - Alison Vardy's quarterly newsletter

Building Community Through Mentoring
The harpists listed in the Directory are self-nominated. It is a Godsend for any remotely situated beginning harpist to know ANYBODY who is willing to share and mentor harping skills within a possible travel distance. So for all harpists who are willing to share, please nominate yourselves to this Directory as your hard-won skills may be highly valued by someone. So, if you read between the lines, this Directory can be used as a harping community builder including harp circles. Have fun!

Travel to Teachers :: Traveling Teachers
You may wish to organise your life around traveling some distance for a few lessons when you first get a harp. Six-eight lessons over 3-4 months will give a great head start. It is really important to get a correct hand position early on in your harping career or you will need to both "unlearn" and relearn better technique after more limiting habits have become ingrained.

Some teachers may travel closer to you as well. Many teachers are affiliated with music schools in outlying communities. It pays to contact several more distant harp teachers in your region to see if they travel closer to you.

Skype Teachers
If you cannot find a teacher in the directory within driving distance you may wish to use a teacher over the Internet with Skype. This lesson format requires a better quality computer camera, a reasonably modern computer and a bit of patience setting up a Skype account. Skype-to-Skype video calls are free so you will only be on the hook for your teacher's fee with each lesson.

A few thoughts:

• Search Google for "Skype Harp Lessons" (omit the " ")
• Are the teachers web literate with professional presentation online?
• Email/Skype several possible teachers
• Payment Methods - Paypal? Cheque?
• Lessons may be 30-40 minutes live plus additional teacher email time etc.
• Have a phone conversation with your choice before commiting to a lesson

Alarm Bells: If you find yourself commiting money to a Skype teacher without having a first lesson you may very well be the victim of a scammer. That is why we recommend establishing a landline phone relationship with your teacher first so that you have a measure of confidence that your teacher is both bonafide and compatible.

Keep tabs on HarpTeacher.ca as more teachers are signing up all the time.

Submitting to the Harp Teacher Directory
Please use this Submission Form only. Any harp teachers, harpists willing to mentor or harpists willing to be a musical companion may submit. All submissions are moderated and edited by Alison and Stephen Vardy who manually update the directory frequently. This Directory is sponsored by West Coast Harps for Canadian harpists.

Disclaimer
This Directory is posted for informational purposes only. HarpTeacher.ca is provided as a free service with reasonable care. Neither Alison Vardy nor Stephen Vardy nor West Coast Harps are responsible for the veracity of any harpist contact information, qualification or ability claimed in this directory. Caveat utilitor – let the user beware.

Harp Teacher Directory
Look for a harp teacher, fellow harpist, mentor or musical companion in your Canadian Province or Territory: