mneme | Caliope

I actually took my (29 string, nylon, heavy) harp out and played it today, for the first time in over a year. And I even sounded pretty good, though I can't do anything more than simple melodies, chords, and combinations of same by ear. I didn't try self-accompanyment...but then, I'm really bad at that to begin with.

I've put her back in her case (though due to my putting her on her bottom, the only place where the case is open, she actually wasn't dusty this time), and instead of putting her back where I'd beenk keeping her, cleared the junk off my desk and sat her there -- maybe if she's there, I won't forget she exists for so long.

I -think- part of why I stopped playing with any regularity was that I was told (correctly) that the way I'd learned to play and been practicing was wrong (specifically, I"d been playing with the pads of my fingers when you're supposed to play with the sides, which gives you a lot more mobility). Which did take something out of me, since retraining is worse than learning.

But then, a lot of it is just that she's heavy and bulky and a pain to bring, well, anywhere, in comparison to a drum, or even to a fiddle (even if she is easier to use than a fiddle).