Entertainment
30 August, 2024
Stop harping on and do it
EXPLORE the fascinating world of the harp, its sound and endless possibilities with a whole day of workshops by FNQ Harp Connection this Saturday.
Taught by two prolific FNQ harpists, Natalia Mann from Redlynch and Loni Fitzpatrick from Mossman, the ‘Creative Music Day’ at Cairns State High School’s Crosswell Hall will feature three workshops which will explore the harp, its endless creative possibilities and resonance from 9.30am to 3pm.
The workshops are open to everyone, including people with no musical training, starting at 9.30am with Ms Fitzpatrick’s ‘Crazy Harp Sounds’ for kids an introduction to extended techniques and a presentation of live looping on a harp, followed by Ms Mann’s ‘Resonance music’ at 11.30am an experimental workshop on discovering music by colour and feel and closing with another iteration of ‘Crazy Harp Sounds’ open for all ages.
“I’ve been playing the harp for more than 40 years and Loni for over 10 years,” Ms Mann said.
“We’re both contemporary harpists and we’re putting together a creative music day, which is a day where you think differently about music and it’s all about having fun and getting inspired.
“Loni is a master of the loop pedal on harp so she layers music and it sounds fantastic. Loop pedalling is a common skill nowadays, a lot of popular music is made with it, so Loni uses it to make beautiful, minimalist sound escapes.
“It’ll be fascinating to see how a piece can be broken down into these little parts. She’ll do a demonstration which will be fantastic to listen to.
“I’ll be doing a workshop on ‘resonance music’ which is the art of tuning into the frequencies of things and being able to play those frequencies as music, it’s based on the question – ‘If all the world is vibration, then all the world has a song’.”
Ms Mann said any age and any skill level would take away something from these workshops.
“These are introductory workshops, so it’ll be hands on for everyone and there’ll be some demonstrations, so even if someone isn’t a musician, they should still find them very interesting and learn something,” she said.
“The harp is a special instrument, very unique, it’s a fun instrument to learn and you can do so much with it.
“You’ll hear beautiful music and have your mind blown. I can assure that they’ll see something they haven’t seen before.”
Workshops cost $55 for one, $85 for two or $100 for all of them. To book, visit www.fnqharpconnection.org
