| Irish music is beautiful. There is a captivating quality in Irish harp music that can inspire, stimulate, soothe and heal. The songs the Irish brought to America so long ago to play and sing blended with other native and immigrant music traditions and shaped American folk music into many styles, including Appalachian, Bluegrass, Southern Gospel, Folk, Country and Rock & Roll. But in Ireland, Traditional Irish music stayed a true art form to this day.
Harp
There are many types of harps around the world: Large ornate classical pedal harps are found in orchestras. In Paraguay harps are lightweight, made of reeds bound together and played upside down on top of the player’s shoulder. American folk harps are hybrids, made in many sizes and styles, some with classical harp spacing and string tension, with or without levers. The Irish harp was the instrument of the ancient Irish Bards and has long been the national symbol of Ireland. Irish harp music almost died away as more modern European instruments were developed in the 18th and 19th centuries, but over the past twenty five years has been reestablished in Ireland and Europe as one of the true voices of Irish traditional music.
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To play Traditional Irish music, the smaller Irish lever harp with Irish string spacing and lighter string tension creates the sound that best brings out the lilt and soul of Irish music.
Center
As a Northwest Folk Harper, AnnaLee Foster wanted to learn the real roots of her Irish/Scots musical heritage by playing and studying in Ireland to learn the original style of the music she loves. She's now returned after studying, performing and recording with the Irish Harp Orchestra to found the Heritage Harp Center in Hillsboro, Oregon with a goal to provide harp music in the authentic Irish traditional style for individuals and audiences in many settings, and to teach harp students how to play, compose, accompany others and ornament their harp music using the style and methods originally developed by Irish bards of centuries past.
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