Improv at the Hospital

Last week I was into about my third hour of the rounds as a music minister and as I began to play a tune, I found that I had not only forgotten some of the notes, but I was totally not making any musical sense of the tune--and was starting to jumble at least two together.
I gritted my teeth and tried to recover, but soon realized that it was hopeless and I didn't want to inflict any further musical pain on the staff and patients.
I took a deep breath, stopped and was rewarded by several listeners thanking me for "such beautiful music".
I was rather flabbergasted, but there and then decided to relax and let some music flow and I was so delighted to find music that was music flowing from the harp.
It's been very important for me to be sure and bring music that I hope and pray will offer healing and comfort on my rounds, and until now was not willing to step outside the musical harp box. So glad I did...and I will be doing so some more!

Blessings of music and peace to you all.

Frogs and Bees.

I was out watering this afternoon and in the rose garden I saw a wee tree frog inside one of the yellow roses. I ran back into the house to get my camera, but by the time I had returned to the garden, the frog was on a leaf. So enchanting.

Then onto the herb garden where the bees were, by the dozens, swarming around the flowering herbs. The music and the hum was truly hypnotic. Tried to get a picture of several bees, but was only able to get one bee at a time. I so love September with all of it's wonderful scents, smells and promise of harvest.

May your harvest be fruitful and blessings be yours.

Fionnuala Gill - Deus Meus (Adiuva Me)

I have just discovered this wonderful ancient hymn from Dennis Doyle and I am learning it to play at the hospital. This is a wonderful rendition.

What happened at Peace Hour...

I was about 45 minutes into my Peace Hour when our cat Daphne decided she had enough of the music...climbed in my lap and then started washing my beard. I continued to play one-handed. I played, among other pieces, the Irish Lament entitled "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye" about what war does to those who undergo conflict. The last verse, not often sung, is the most moving:
"They are rolling out the guns again, haroo, haroo,
They are rolling out the guns again, haroo, haroo,
But they never shall take our sons agin,
Ach, Johnny, I'm swearin' to ye!

With prayers that all men and women can come home from the wars and peace may come to us.

Peace Hour

Today is the Peace Hour organized by Harpists for Peace and I will join hundreds of other harpers around the world who are playing with the prayer and intention of letting music help heal our wounded world.
This had become an annual event with all harpers invited to play at a time of their own choosing. To know that harp music is flowing from harps around the world lifts my heart and I hope it will brintg comfort to you as well.

Blessings of Peace and Music to you.

New additions

1. I am adding links to two sites by Peggy Coats that I just discovered.  The first one is at http://dorveille.com/ and although I have just begun to explore it, I find it a rich treasure trove for harpers. Go and look!
The second one can be found at Liminal Harp. I think the Dorveille is her more current site, but I love the list of links on Liminal...not to mention the well written of her journey to the harp.
2. I have added a few more tunes to the playlist...I like how the tunes are from Youtube so you can watch as well as listen, but the only drawback to using MixPod is that every time I add a new tune or two, the code has to be rewritten and reposted. Small price to pay I guess for such lovely music.

May the Harp bring you Peace,

Duncan

The Harp that sings in the hospital.

When I was making my music minister rounds in the hospital yesterday, I noticed that when I walk down certain hallways and corriders, my small lap harp begins to "sing" in my hand along with vibrations. Although I am sure this is due only to machinery and or heating and cooling systems creating a sympathetic resonance in the harp, I love the feel of the harp singing on it's own. And brings to mind the concept of the "Music of the Spheres" with the reality that we are all connected on a deep level. (Quantum physics has proved that!).

Blessings,

Duncan