Harriet Adie is an experienced workshop leader having provided workshops for the Purcell School, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the National Youth Orchestra, schools, music societies and music festivals such as the Mid-Somerset and Two Moors Festivals.

Harriet can provide tailored workshops for all ages and ability levels. Please see below for some of the workshop themes that she offers:

EXPLORING SOUND

A workshop for harpists exploring the nature of sound, both on their instrument and also in the wider surroundings. Together we will discuss the variety of sound we can create on the harp, how we all experience sound and what influences it. Using a variety of artistic props, harpists will then enjoy creating their own prepared harp sounds that can be used to improvise on the harp.

Participants can be harpists of any age and ability level, with both lever and pedal harpists welcome.

COMPOSITION TECHNIQUES

A workshop focussing on secondary school students who would like an accessible toolbox for writing music. During the workshop participants will explore how to generate ideas for compositions and how to ‘begin’ a piece as well as techniques for extending and varying their music. Ideal for students studying GCSE music.

Participants aged between 11 and 16, with any instrumentation. An intermediate playing level or above is suggested to allow for knowledge of keys and notation.

IMPROVISATION

A workshop exploring how improvisation can be used to portray images, ideas, sounds and colours within music. Participants will first learn how to improvise around four notes, learning how to extend and vary their ideas. This will be followed by time spent working in groups using their instruments to represent a variety of different sounds and ideas.

Participants can be any age with any instrumentation. An intermediate playing level or above is suggested to allow for greater exploration when improvising.

GRAPHIC SCORES

In this workshop for harpists we will learn about the history of graphic scores and examine some of the more striking examples on the harp and in the wider musical world. We will play some simple ensemble pieces using graphic score notation and finish with students working together to notate their own improvised graphic score for ensemble.

Participants can be harpists of any age, with both lever and pedal harpists welcome. An advanced playing level is suggested to ensure students are fully comfortable with the ensemble playing.