Lessons in Harp, Piano and Voice - Online & Denver

Lessons in Harp, Piano and Voice - Online & Denver

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Meet Ryan Villamor – Jazz Harpist

October 19, 2019 By AlohaCymber

Ryan Villamor is an accomplished piano improviser, living in Manila, Philippines. He sees himself as pianist, a harper, a teacher and a learner. He is currently working on his own original renditions of popular/alternative songs and resonant improvisation.

Ryan believes that music improvisation is a spiritual opener. To submit your higher self to the unknown is the moment you let go of the notes you played. And that gives you the capacity to create new ones. Letting go is an act of humility and a mist of faith towards grace.

I asked him about his love of jazz and where it came from: 

 

Q: Hey Ryan, jazz is such at cool art form. Where did it come from? 

A: As far as I know, Afro-American claimed that it started from them around late 1800s to early 1900s. They called it hot music in New Orleans. New Orleans was the capital of trading black slaves by that time when Americans were trafficking black people from Africa. 

One significant element that makes it jazz music is primarily based on rhythm and syncopation which is common in Africa. African slaves makes music by chanting/singing in improvisation to express themselves, to express their grief, frustrations, joy and celebration of life. For them, jazz music is part of their daily lives as a social gathering where they feel free to express themselves through music. It’s their outlet, it’s their music therapy, it’s their prayers.

I think it came first from Africa, then it evolved in New Orleans where they started singing blues scales which is actually based in pentatonic minor modes.

 

Q: What instruments are in a jazz band?

A: There’s also a history of jazz band and its evolution. From an old marching band to big band and Small jazz ensemble to jazz trio. In a jazz band, you can have any of these instruments; saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, vibraphone, piano, guitar, double bass and drums.

But today, jazz has already evolved. It has something more than the music. It’s a philosophy of evolution, an organic way of using different musical disciplines not only jazz music, but classical music, asian music other forms of music. 

Jazz is a World Music. Did you know that blues pentatonic scale is based on asian pentatonic scale?

 

Q: If someone wanted to learn to improvise or improve their improvisation, what do you suggest? 

  1. Listen to jazz music. Jazz standards. Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, John Coltrane, etc.
  2. Learn simple American jazz blues tunes. Melody and chords.
  3. Learn blues pentatonic scale and how to improvise with.
  4. Learn how to play jazz turnarounds, chords and jazz theory.
  5. Most important is train your ear to play by ear. Music notes are only instructions but you have to learn how to play music without them, so you can gain confidence learn to improvise along the way.

 

Q: What should someone wear to a jazz concert or club?  

A: I usually were Black Coat and Tie.

 

Q: What’s the best ways to listen to jazz?  

Through SPOTIFY. Type “jazz standards” or “Bill Evans,” “Brad Mehldau” “Miles Davis,” John Coltrane” and others. 

 

One more question… can you talk a little bit about how you use your harp when you’re playing jazz?

– I don’t really play jazz on harp. But because of my knowledge on jazz piano especially the chords and jazz music theory I can apply some of it on harp. When I improvise on harp, my musical mind (chord progressions and harmony) is still attached to the piano. My ears recognize the unique quality of the harp’s tones so I let my ears follow the sound while my music theory helps me to execute what my ears hears. 

In jazz, it’s very important to learn harmony because it’s your vocabulary and how to expand your music. I’m more of harmony/chord progression based improviser though I also think of modes sometimes. Musicians/improvisers have their own way of making music. Some musicians are leaning to modal scales, some are just playing whatever they hear, some are super gifted and they can play and compose beautiful music without knowing music theory, some are very leaning to chord progression and song form, some musicians are also rhythmic based improviser.

I think harp is an underrated instrument when playing jazz. Jazz chords, piano chords and harmonies sound very beautiful on harp.

 

Find and Follow Ryan Villamor

Email: villamor.ryan012@yahoo.com

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/ryanvillamormusic/

Instagram: @ryanvillamormusic

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY3Vs4yyHqz3PYlfiN_WLRg?fbclid=IwAR2xLEUJNBrwB56agjFDZ5IkGC-LydGCHzhwdy__n7isjsVw51fOuOucppU

Check out Ryan’s YouTube videos: 

Hallelujah…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8b1DCPZqcs

What makes harps such expensive instruments?

October 16, 2019 By AlohaCymber

A common question I get is “what makes harps such expensive instruments?”

what makes harps such expensive instruments?

Harps are expensive because it requires a lot of highly skilled, manual labour, and are often made to order. You truly get what you pay for when it comes to harps, and good ones run from $1000 to $25,000 and up for fancy pedal harps.

On both Celtic and pedal harps, the pillars/posts are often hand-carved. The in pedal harps linkages in pedal harps must be hand-laid, and all 90+ sharping disks must be installed and adjusted by a human being. Check out the video below to see this delicate manufacturing work…

Hand fitted inlay makes the high-end harps glow with beauty. Hand-burnished gold leaf shines, and the careful tuning of these string tension all require a human touch.

Skilled hands have a great advantage over computerized machinery for crafting harps that are beautiful, durable, and sound amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q57owlLmwQ

Rhiannon in Denver

October 12, 2019 By AlohaCymber

Going to sing with the great jazz singer Rhiannon today! 

OMG, I’m so excited. Jazz singer and improv teacher, Rhiannon, is teaching a two-day workshop, called Vocal River, in Denver, and I’m going! I can’t wait to learn more about improv, meet some great singers in Denver, and have some fun! 

 

The Harps are Connected to Rhiannon!

 

When I first started taking lessons, I was living in Hawaii, and had to learn online via Skype. The nearest teacher to me was 100 miles away on a very bad road where I lived on the Big Island of Hawaii. (Today, that road is now the Daniel K. Inouye Memorial Highway, 4-lanes of beautiful eye candy). 

 

My teacher, Susan Zevenbergen, suggested that I sing my melody lines while I learned the left hand accompaniments. Toward that end, she suggested that I work with a CD of vocal exercises called FLIGHT by some famous jazz singer that I had never heard of, Rhiannon. I bought the CD and it proceeded to sit on my desk, collecting dust for a few months while I had work done on my house. 

 

My neighborhood carpenter stopped by one day to say that he had heard that a voice teacher had moved into the area. Rhiannon! I could not believe it, but it was true. 

 

I introduced myself to her, and was fortunate enough to take some private lessons with her, and sang many improvisational circles with her and other students. We were neighbors for more than five years, and I got to hang out at her farm as well. 

 

And now that I live in Colorado, yay! She’s coming to teach, and I will get to give her a big Hawaiian hug! 

 

https://rhiannonmusic.com/about-vocal-river

What Type of Harp Do I Play?

October 9, 2019 By AlohaCymber

There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to harps, so I have many harps for the various kinds of gigs and recording I do. In order of size, smallest to largest, I have:

what types of harp do you play

 

Harpsicle Lever Fullsicles: These are great little harps that fit in an overhead bin on an airplane, so I travel with them a lot. My first one is black, which I thought would be very cool and jazzy. But it turned out that it was hard to see the F strings (they are dark blue), so I had to make some paint modifications to be able to see the strings. My second and third Fullsicles are made with cherry wood and sound amazing. These harps can be strapped on like a guitar, giving me the freedom to walk and dance around. With 26 strings, you get all the notes you need. I add an Octaver pedal between me and the amplifier to create the illusion of having more bass strings than I really have. 

 

Harpsicle Lever Grand: I love my Grand. The current one is ruby red, and I did an Unboxing Video recently when it arrived at my house. It’s just a little over 10 pounds, which makes it a wonderful performance harp. With 33 strings, there’s plenty of bass power. 

 

Paraguayan Harp: I built this harp myself from a kit made by John Kovac. I love the sound, and the lightweight design. It doesn’t have levers, so it’s limited to what keys it can play in. But the rich sound of the 36 strings more than makes up for it. 

 

Salvi Electroacoustic Lever Harp: This is my recording harp. It has a pick-up on every one of strings, and creates crystal clear recording sound. The 38 strings have an extraordinarily powerful sound, which more than makes up for the weight and difficulty carrying the harp around. 

 

Lyon & Healy 85E Pedal Harp: This is the high end of my harps, equivalent in price to a small to midsize car. Rather than adjusting the pitch with levers, as most of my other harps do, this harp changes pitch with pedals on the feet. 

 

Got questions about your harp, or wondering which one is right for you? Give me a call or shoot me an email, and I do my best to help! 

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