Hey there harpists 👋,
Simcha here.
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I just saw this inspiring post about Harpo Max and wanted to share with you all.
Often times we see others as appearing more gifted than us, thinking that they were born with a gift we could never have.
Really the story behind their success is hard word and dedication to doing something they loved.
I found this story of Harpo (and the following story of my first harp teacher Adina Haroz who actually learned to play the harp on harpos harp) as a great example of this.

And now Harpos story:
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Harpo (Marx) learned how to hold the harp by emulating a harp-playing angel in a picture he saw in a five-and-dime. No one in town knew how to play the harp, so Harpo tuned it the best he could, starting with one basic note and tuning it from there. He began learning to play the instrument without lessons. Three years later, he found out he had tuned it incorrectly, but that his method placed much less tension on the strings. Dispute Harpo's musical talent, he never learned to read nor write music.

Although he paid top musicians handsome fees to teach him "proper" harp-playing technique, he maintained his unique style his entire life (his "teachers," fascinated by his technique, spent their sessions watching and listening as Marx performed).
The major exception was Mildred Dilling, the professional harpist who finally taught Harpo proper harp technique and collaborated with him regularly when he had difficulty composing.
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Upon his death, one of Harpo's harps was donated to the State of Israel, and eventually found a home in an Israeli orchestra."
(Excerpt from Wikipedia)

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Upon interviewing my first harp teacher Adina Haroz for my upcoming Strings of Hope podcast (where I'll be interviewing inspiring harpists and builders from around the world, hearing about their personal life struggles and stories in achieving their dreams), she told me this beautiful story about how she learned the harp (on Harpos harp!).
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Adina grew up in Israel at a time when, in her words 'you could count the number of harpists in Israel including teachers and pupils on the fingers of your two hands'. Adina came from an orphaned family after her father was killed in war. Her father had been a passionate musician, and her mother made music an important part of the family as a way of remembering her husband. Adina chose to learn the harp, but there was the problem of where to find a harp teacher and a harp to play?
Just at that time, Harpo marx's wife decided to donate one of Harpos harps to a museum in Israel, which was located at walking distance (quite far, but still walkable) from Adinas home. At that time there was only one local harp teacher, a famous Hungarian harpist Clara Saravash Weisgerber who at that time had just retired from the orchestra and moved to Jerusalem. But to Adinas dismay, Clara refused to teach her due to her age of 18, which was in her eyes too old to learn the harp. However Adina was already an accomplished pianist at this time, and her mother was also Hungarian, and in classic Hungarian style the two woman found a way to make things work. Adina was accepted under the wings of her teacher and began to bloom.
She would walk every day for three years to the local museum to play on Harpos harp until she was able to buy a harp of her own in many payments. Within a short time her teacher began passing on her harp gigs to Adina to take her over, and she became one of Israels celebrated harpists.
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Upon hearing this story I was so impressed by her dedication and passion, that she didn't let the fact of not having a harp deter her from her dream. That she walked for three years every day (except on the Sabbath since she came from a traditional family) to practice the harp.
Making dreams come true isn’t always a magical snap of the finger type of thing (actually i dont think it ever is).
It takes a lot of firm belief in what our heart is being drawn to, and the courage to get up and believe in ourselves.
If we're drawn to something so deeply, that's a good reason to believe that it is something we are intrinsically connected to.
So here’s to believing in our dreams and making them a reality. 🥂🌈🌅🌱🌹
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Have a wonderful week (and Passover for those of you who celebrate),
Simcha.
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P.S. Great news! I'll be teaching some strings of hope workshops this year at the Somerset Folk Harp Festival in NJ.
If you plan on being there, lemme know by replying to this email, I'm so excited about finally getting to meet up in person.
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