Extinction Rebellion This month we’ve been cheering on the Extinction Rebellion (XR) protesters. While the coverage of it has been mixed, it feels like there is a large and increasing proportion of people who support the group and what they’re…
March This has been another busy month for us here at Hands on Harps. With our building works well and truly finished we have been focused on building harps to meet the orders that have come in over the past…
Wait...wait... give me a minute to explain! Now that I've been a harp teacher for 6 months and I've had lots of lessons that go really well and some that were "boring" or "too hard" or "too easy," I'm starting…
February Packaging This month we’ve been looking at how to reduce packaging. Applying the “three Rs” in order of importance, we can’t really reduce the amount of packaging we send our harps out in, but we can make that packaging…
January This month has seen the building work on our workshop nearing completion. Exciting times for Hands on Harps as we get nearer to being a proper business. With the space to really set things up the way we want…
We've been doing some thinking at HoH HQ. Looking around at things that are going on in the world, it seems like climate change is getting real, and the news of this looks like it's in danger of being drowned…
In September the Mayor of Hungerford asked me if I would like to play at the Mayor's Christmas Carol Service in December. I replied quickly with "yeah, sure I can do that" and then remembered that when performing on my…
On the 20th Nov, I attended the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) at the Museum of English Rural Life in Reading. I was excitedly nervous to go to my first EFDSS meeting and was intrigued by the meeting's…
As you may well know, kids are great fun but sometimes a challenge to teach. Their minds wander within seconds from "oooh one of the strings is red" to "fire engines are red" to "my favourite colour is yellow" and…
Matt has written this blog post entirely from his general knowledge to teach you about other types of harp. An auto harp is a small harp on its side with buttons that when pressed mute the unwanted strings. This means…