Harp Lessons
coaching and instruction
I’m fascinated by how learning happens and I love helping to facilitate it. Over the past two decades I’ve worked with all ages and levels of harpists.
My goal is always to help you grow as a musician.
My Harp Tuesday video series grew out of a desire to share some of my thoughts about playing the harp. It should serve to give you a good idea of my teaching style!
I offer both regular, recurring lessons and on-demand coaching sessions.
Via Microsoft Teams I’m able to work with harpists all across the globe! Email me if you’re interested in working with me.
I’m based in Victoria, BC, Canada, but at the moment I am ONLY offering online lessons.
WORKSHOPS AND MASTERCLASSES
Interested in having me give a masterclass or workshop? Check out some of the topics I can offer here.
Current rates (2025):
Recurring lessons
$43 CAD for 30 minutes
$80 CAD for 60 minutes
Coaching session:
$85 CAD for 60 minutes
Payment via etransfer (within Canada) or Paypal/bank transfer (rest of the world).
Current availability
(Fall 2025)
Limited availability/wait list for regular lessons. Some availability for coaching. Email me with details of what it is you’re looking for to find out my current availability.
Harp Tuesday has plenty of material to help supplement lessons! Check out this episode on how best to make use of it:
Lessons
Regular lessons with a commitment of weekly or every-other-week. These are generally 30 or 60 minutes long.
Payment and Cancellation Policy:
Payment is via e-transfer for students in Canada and bank transfer or Paypal for the rest of the world. Payment for the upcoming month’s lesson is required, payable at the last lesson of each month.
Part of booking a lesson is reserving that time slot. Cancellations are disruptive and to be avoided if at all possible, but I know sometimes things come up. If you do need to cancel a lesson, please let me know as soon as possible! I charge full price for lessons cancelled with less than 24 hours notice (except in case of illness).
Payment for lessons cancelled with more than 24 hours notice will be rolled into next month (or refunded if you’re taking a break/stopping lessons).
Similarly, if I have to cancel a lesson for any reason, that payment will carry over into next month.
While 24 hours is the cutoff before I start charging for a cancelled lesson, I prefer as much lead time as possible:
3 or more weeks notice – perfect, I can’t ask for anything more!
1 week’s notice – i.e. letting me know at your lesson that you can’t make next week’s lesson – acceptable, though not ideal.
Less than a week’s notice – less than ideal and to be avoided if at all possible.
Less 24 hours notice (except in case of illness) – full charge for that lesson.
Coaching Sessions
Coaching is for people who aren’t looking for regular lessons but would like to pick my brains and get help and feedback on a specific subject. For example – you’re preparing a concert program and would like to get my thoughts and suggestions on the music.
Whether you already have a teacher or haven’t had one for a long time, getting a trusted second set of ears and eyes to give you feedback is always valuable. I’d love to help you tackle whatever it is you’re working on.
Payment and Cancellation Policy:
Paypal, bank transfer or e-transfer are accepted. Payment is due on booking confirmation.
36-hour cancellation notice required.
Due to the limited amount of coaching time I have available, I charge $85 for any cancellation made with less than 3 days (36 hours) notice.
Getting set up for online lessons:
I currently teach via Microsoft Teams (the replacement for Skype). It’s a free program/app available on all major platforms.
If you’re on a desktop you can join a meeting just through your browser, but I recommend you install the program/app itself. You’ll need to turn the noise suppression to low/off so that it doesn’t mute the sound of your harp.
What Device to Use?
A laptop tends to be ideal, as it is easy to position and adjust. A large tablet is excellent as well, as long as you have a way to keep it completely vertical (or even point down a bit). While it is possible to use a phone, the small screen size is not ideal.
If your computer does not have a webcam or even if it does, but it’s of poor quality, you may need to get an external webcam. (I use a Logitech C920).
Position your device on the left side of your harp, to the left of your music stand. The camera should be aimed at you and show a nice, almost side-on view, with both hands visible when playing, as well as your torso, shoulders, and head.
Consider using headphones/earbuds. This will help ensure you can hear me clearly, and it means there is no chance of me hearing my own voice or playing coming back through your microphone.
If possible, connect via an ethernet cable to your modem, rather than WiFi. If you have to use WiFi, try to be close to your router.
If this is your first online harp lesson, try to do a test run with a friend first to make sure your setup is working ok!
If you find yourself doing a lot of online lessons, consider using a USB mic (or USB audio interface + microphone) to increase the sound quality of your audio signal.
This Harp Tuesday episode below was geared more towards teaching online lessons, but might have some useful info on setup: