Description

Pedal Harp Orientation: A Beginner’s Expedition 

Sunday 7th September 2025 – 3:00–5:00pm (GMT+1)
Online Short Course – Attend Live or Watch the Replay Anytime

Are you new to pedal harp or looking to build confidence in using your pedals more smoothly and musically?

In this supportive, beginner-friendly IMMERSION, we’ll embark on a hands-on journey to help you feel comfortable, fluent, and joyful at the pedal harp. Whether you’ve been learning lever harp and have just acquired a pedal harp, are learning pedal harp from the start, are returning after a break, or are simply curious about taking the leap, this session is designed to give you the essential tools for a confident and comfortable start.

The sessions content will look at posture and positioning to pedal movement mechanics, notation, and even a little musical magic with glissandos and expressive playing. You’ll leave with practical exercises, mindset encouragement, and strategies to help pedals become second nature.

This is not a test — it’s an expedition! Expect gentle challenges, friendly guidance, and the joy of harp curiosity as we learn together.

🎯 What will we cover?

Welcome + Overview
Welcome, overview and a discussion of the most common beginner questions. You’ll be reassured that you are not alone, and we’ll set intentions for a confident, curiosity-filled expedition into pedal playing.

1. Posture & Tone: Finding Flow at the Pedal Harp
Start with a gentle physical warm-up using extended scales and arpeggios. We’ll explore posture, tone production, and relaxed hand–body connection to prepare for fluid pedal use.

2. Pedal Basics: Setup, Footwear & Sitting Position
Look at where the pedals are, what they do, and how to physically approach them. Learn what footwear considerations you might like to make and how to set yourself up for balanced, efficient pedal playing.

3. Pedal Movement in Practice
We’ll break down smooth pedal changes — thinking carefully about how to move them without disrupting your playing. Learn about the concept of “notching,” why angles matter, and how to practise for fluidity and ease.

4. Circle of Fifths as a Pedal Practice Tool
In this section we use the wonderful Circle of Fifths to think about pedal patterns and develop fluency moving between keys. 

5. Writing & Reading Pedal Charts
Not sure where to put pedal markings or how to read them? We’ll look at examples and help you decide how best to make your own pedal charts with confidence — including making good choices to move pedals at moments that avoid unwanted buzzes etc.

6. Confidence-Building Exercises
In this section, we’ll look at practical exercises to coordinate your hands and feet. These quick drills will become your go-to tools for building pedal confidence without needing long practice sessions.

Includes:

 – Air harp pedal changes
– Making a chord major to minor and back again
– Playing a dominant 7th and adding a flat 5
– Chromatic scales (up through sharps, down through flats)
– Playing tunes around the Circle of Fifths (changing one pedal per tune)
– Taking a tune up in whole steps (two pedal changes per step)
– Pedal slides on single notes and chords

7. Enharmonic Equivalents: What, Why & When?!
Look at what enharmonic are and how they help harpists unlock musical possibilities. You’ll understand why we sometimes choose D♭ instead of C♯ — and how it affects real-world playing, glisses, and pedal mapping.

8. Pedal Highlights! Let’s Have Some Fun
Enjoy exploring the special effects of the pedal harp — with a fun trick you can use with the Skye Boat Song.

Wrap-Up & Q&A  – A chance to reflect, ask questions, share insights and book recommendations to help you dive deeper when you are ready to keep developing your pedal confidence:

Let’s make your first (or next) steps on the pedal harp feel empowering, musical, and even a little magical.

📌 Attend live or catch the full replay — with 12 months’ access included.
🎟️ Course price: £35

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What past IMMERSION students say…

🎶 “Insider info… don’t miss it! Be prepared to be bombarded with knowledge in the nicest possible way!”

🎶 “Shelley basically fits a full week of Start Harp into 2 hours—so it’s a lot to take in live! But you can go back and work with the videos at your own pace.”

🎶 “I couldn’t join live, but the recordings were fantastic. It was great to be able to go over everything slowly.”

🎶 “Being able to access the materials afterwards was invaluable—I signed up knowing I could revisit everything when I was ready.”

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📩 Ready to develop speed, fluidity, and confidence at the harp?

Sign up now and take your playing to the next level!

✨ See you there! ✨