Britt Chapel at the Church of the Beatitudes was filled with the sounds of harp music. Walking in to the building, we find instructor Jacqi Musselman warming up on her 36-string harp.

Books, registration sheets, manuscripts, and posters surround the makeshift classroom which would host approximately one dozen future therapeutic harp students. Jacqi greets the students and hands out the first week’s worth of study material.

Students come in with different sized and shaped harps. Some are rolled in on “harp carts” while some carry their small harps with one hand into the room. Professional harpists and instructors, Adrienne Bridgewater and Alla Yashneva enter the room with harps, notes and materials for the students.

“Why is therapeutic harp music different from performing harp music?” asks Jacqi. ”Therapeutic harp music focuses on the patient…not the performer.” This is a good point. Although many harpists perform for entertainment purposes, therapy harp is meant to be an integrative instrument of healing…an ally in the overall wellness of the listeners.

Alla shows how to quickly memorize music. This streamlines the therapy harp experience because bringing a bag full of books and a music stand can be cumbersome.

Adrienne shows the harpists how to improve on their own repertoire. Learning new music is important, but it is possible to take what we know and transform it into healing music with just a few music theory techniques.

The harpists learn how familiar tunes can gain a child’s attention. They learn how improvisational music, played in arrhythmic patterns, can help someone escape from pain and suffering. They learn the ethics, policies, and procedures of working with medical or hospice staff, patients, and their families. They learn not to take it personally if someone doesn’t want to hear music at the moment…because the harpist knows the well-being of the patient comes before their own performing skills.

At the end of the course, a certificate of completion is awarded. Graduates will now shadow experienced therapeutic harpists until the newcomer is ready to provide their services on their own. We also gain new friends and increased support for the foundation’s goal of transforming and touching lives.

Interested in being a therapeutic harpist? Harp students are invited to attend training classes that focus on the use of therapeutic harp music in medical environments and care facilities. Classes scheduled to begin in January at the Church of Beatitudes in Phoenix, Arizona. Contact our office for further information and fees.