Learn to play the harp by ear and to read music
No prior musical experience necessary

- Experienced and Patient teacher - Individual lessons at your own pace - Lessons to suit your schedule - Music lessons are fun! - Harps for hire Lessons at Point Chevalier, Auckland or online using Skype or zoom Lesson days Monday - Friday  Music soothes the soul and harps are wonderful instruments to play. Spending a little time each day playing is all you need to make progress.  The more you play the easier it all becomes. You will learn: To read music and play by ear. To arrange music for the harp so you can play your favourite songs as well as how to write your own. To work out the best fingering to use and options for left hand parts, including which chords to play and different ways to play them.

Harp lessons for children
Is your child wanting to play the harp? Have a look at this info specifically for children's lessons.

Harp lessons for adults
Are you an adult wanting to play the harp? Have a look at this info for grownups.

Learning as an adult
Life is busy and the lessons can be flexible to fit round your schedule, you can have a lesson each week, each fortnight or once a month, whatever will work best for you. You may have learnt a musical instrument as a child and be wanting to reconnect with music in later life for the fun of it or you may be wanting to try something completely different. You are never too old to enjoy playing music and your family can also share in your journey as they listen to you playing at home.

Learning as a child
Music is a wonderful thing for your child to learn, it helps with many different skills and is an enjoyable way for them to spend some alone time. Not to mention that this is an off screen activity. Discipline, problem solving, organisation skills and focussed attention are worked on and it is lovely to see the children responding to the one on one time spent with them where their learning is specifically tailored to their own pace.

Harps sound lovely!
It is easy to get a lovely sound out of the harp even while you are first learning and it won’t take you very long at all before you are playing beautiful sounding music at home. It is a wonderfully relaxing instrument to play and will give you, and those around you, lots of enjoyment.

By the end of your lessons with Robyn you will be able to play at an amateur performance level.

If you want to play at functions Robyn can coach you on the business side of being a professional player in the wedding and corporate market in New Zealand. With 40 years professional and semi professional playing experience Robyn has a wealth of knowledge to share.

No prior musical knowledge required
No prior musical knowledge is necessary for learning the harp, if you have never played any musical instrument in your life this is a great one to start with.

Singing and playing the harp
If you sing already you will find the harp to be a beautiful accompaniment to your voice. There is a lot of music available for harp and most songs can be adapted for this instrument.

Playing music from memory
Many people remember their music and you will look at different strategies for getting the best out of your memory. This is particularly good for older adult students as a brain exercise. Learning how to play a musical instrument involves many different parts of your brain and is useful for maintaining good brain health. A lot of students tell me they are taking up the harp to keep their minds active.     

New Zealand Harp Teachers Directory
If you need to find a harp teacher in New Zealand have a look at this resource.

email or phone for more details or with any questions you may have.

email: robyn@robynsutherland.com or Ph 021 25 27 632

Robyn's musical beginnings

When I was a young girl my father would play the piano and encouraged my 2 sisters and I to sing. He was a fantastic musician who could read a little bit of music but who could also play well by ear. When he went away with the troops in World War 2 he took his piano accordian and would play for their entertainment.

He taught me about melody, harmony and rhythm and I also learnt how to give an amateur performance to my Aunts and Uncles when they came to visit!

They were great times and these memories sit among the fondest of my childhood.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a musician in the family and some people live in a home with no music played at all.

I enjoy sharing my love of music and ability to play and sing with others, just as my father enjoyed sharing his love of music with his friends and his family.

Comments from some students who have taken lessons:    

Cathie - Auckland and Hawkes Bay - In person and online lessons

Robyn is such a calm, reliable and patient teacher. She has been so encouraging while our daughter has been learning the harp. She is always happy to modify the lessons to suit whatever interests our daughter had... even going as far as teaching her Pink Fluffy Unicorns Dancing in Rainbows on the harp when it becaome the "it" song at school. We really appreciated that individualised approch. We have also been lucky enough to experience lessons in person and online (when we moved out of Auckland) and found both to be excellent. I could not recommend Robyn's talents enough!

Rebekah - Auckland - In person and online lessons

Thank you so much Robyn for teaching me the harp last year. I loved how you took both a focus on the basics, while enabling me to come up with notes myself to songs that I liked. Our lessons taught me so much and I really appreciated how you tailored them to what I wanted to do too. You were very encouraging and helpful, with the perfect amount of push to inspire me to work on the music myself and feel confident doing so! Can't believe how much I've learnt in that time! You are an amazing teacher!

Alina - Auckland

I have never played the harp before, and Robyn has been patiently guiding me and allowing me to learn at my pace from the start.
Initially I rented a small harp from her and she kindly recommended a smaller one that fitted my small hands better, so it made it much easier for me to play.
I have truly enjoyed learning the harp from Robyn, it has been a delightful experience. She is very talented and wonderful to deal with and makes the process easy and fun. I strongly recommend Robyn's harp lessons to anyone looking to learn this magical instrument.
Thank you Robyn for everything, it has been a pleasure learning from you.

Craig - Auckland

I can warmly recommend Robyn as someone to learn the harp from. She has a gentle, patient manner of teaching that is also warm and encouraging, allowing one to learn at one's own pace, with opportunities to challenge oneself further beyond the simple tunes.

Campbell - Auckland

Thank you for your patience teaching them and for being such an understanding teacher. Your lovely soft nature was a real hit with the girls and so fitting with teaching such a beautiful instrument. It was such a pleasure listening to the girls play, it is so mysterious and soothing.

Liuyan Wang - Auckland

I signed my 7 year old daughter up for lessons with Robyn and she said Robyn is the best teacher she has had! Robyn is a very friendly, calm, professional and patient teacher that is definitely talented in playing the harp. Look forward to our future lessons with her!

Yu Liu - Auckland

The harp classes with Robyn were wonderful experiences. Robyn taught me the basics of harp playing with easy-to-follow tips, and she corrected my gestures so I can play the harp smoothly. In the Christmas holiday, Robyn also gave me extra sheet music, of my level, and I can play Christmas songs with the harp to my friends. On my boyfriend's birthday, I also played him a birthday song, and he was amazed. Have to say thank you Robyn for giving me helpful instructions and lending me a harp, I enjoy harp learning with you so much, thank you!

Laura - Grey Lynn, Auckland

I love learning the harp and Robyn is such a patient teacher. Renting a harp was great as well as I was able to go home and practice. She is very encouraging and even as a total beginner with the instrument and misuc as well, she makes me feel enthusiastic about the learning experience. The whole experience has been lovely. I can't wait to play as beautifully as she does :)

Claire Callister - Auckland

From the first phone call, enquiring about harp lessons, I felt comfortable with Robyn and was aware of her calm and positive way of teaching. ( I am an adult who has always wanted to learn the harp.) As a piano and class music teacher, I can recommend her as a great teacher, who communicates well, and provides a great atmosphere to learn this fascinating instrument. Thank you Robyn

Max Maxwell - Auckland

I invited Robyn to accompany my choir in a concert of spiritual music. Her parts were not scored and she created beautiful harmonies in whichever key I asked her to. She was totally professional regarding attending rehearsals, timeliness and knowledge of how best to amplify the harp for performances. I was so inspired that earlier this year I started taking lessons from Robyn. As a teacher myself I appreciated her professionalism in that regard also.

Chrissy - Auckland

Very patient, nice and relaxed harp teacher, having a lessons with her is very delighted, so comfortable to have her teach me and play alongside with me, Highly recommend very good harp teacher.

Mira - Henderson, Auckland

My name is Mira and I'm a mother of 3. In my philosophy there is no time limit for me to start learning something that I like or interested in.
I always believe that in my life, I will always learn something that makes my life so productive and meaningful.
Since in my very young age, I really wanted to learn harp instrumnet. But because in my original country where I came from, harp is not a common instrument. Meaning: it is a very rare instrument and hardly to find a teacher.
I started my harp lesson with Robyn on 13th Feb 2014. I like it so much and more in love with the harp instrument.
Robyn is a very brilliant teacher that I experienced during my lessons. She is so patient and a lovely teacher who I feel so comfortable to learn from.
I can see my progress every time I went to the lessons. She gave me feedbacks and shows how things need to do, in example: in order to have a better right position of your body, position of instrument, position of the fingers, etc.
I like her attention to details and techniques that she shows in the lessons in order to make me progress faster.
I know that I no longer has a harp lesson right now due to my children's activities, but I still open myself that I will come back to learn harp instrument in the future.
That is all from me. I hope it can encourage everyone who reads this testimony and want to learn the harp.
Thank you Robyn for the opportunity for me to learn harp ad share my testimony.
Best regards
Mira

Natasha Lewis - Henderson Heights, Auckland

My daughter has had harp lessons with Robyn and the experience has been wonderful.
Robyn is a natural teacher, she is patient, warm, friendly and encouraging.
In a short spate of time, has not only learned to play the harp and read music, but was motivated enough to consider playing in her school talent showcase : )
Robyn's enthusiasm is infectious, her ability to encourage her students and create a genuine love of learning is impressive.
I would highly recommend Robyn as a music teacher.

Helen - Auckland

Playing the harp and taking lessons from Robyn was definitely enjoyable and fun! The harp was at a reasonable size which made it very easy for transportation and taking it around to different places.
Normally I practise the harp at home with the book provided by Robyn and will take a few lessons now and then with her to fine tune my skills. I find this way of learning very suitable for a person like me who has full on work schedules. I get to decide when I want to play, how fast to progress with my learning, and basically just going at a pace which I am comfortable with!
Robyn is very friendly and helpful throughout the whole time. It is very easy to understand the techniques and skills she tries to teach, and she's very good at fine tuning my skills! Every time after a lesson with her I felt like my skills have improved a lot. She is also very flexible timing wise which I really appreciated when I try to fit a lesson into my busy schedule.

Thanks Robyn, I really enjoyed playing the harp!

Sasha - Waiuku, Auckland - In person and online lessons

Robyn was a wonderful teacher to my daughter. Being able to hire a harp enabled my daughter to try a new instrument and see if it was the one she wanted to pursue long term before having to make a significant investment in a new instrument. Robyn was a wonderful teacher, patient and had a real raport with my daughter. I particularly appreciated Robyn making Skype lessons available as we were located a fair distance from Robyn and it enabled us to have lessons on the weeks we couldn't make commutes. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Robyn to anyone considering pursuing the harp.

Nicola Wilson - Northland - Online lessons

While living in rural Northland I was able to fulfull a long held ambition of playing a harp by hiring one that Robyn couriered to us in a harp travel case. I had lessons fortnightly via skype using the internet. This was a learning curve with the technology in addition to the instrument but Robyn was very helpful and supportive. My five year old daughter was enchanted with my harp playing and decided to join me in learning. We would visit Robyn a couple of times a term for an in person lesson which we found invaluable. Our harp learning was a memorable and treasured experience. Robyn is an exceptional person. Her gorgeous character flows over into every aspect of teaching, playing and personal interactions. How grateful we are for the opportunity to have studied under her tutelage!

Linda and Alex - Auckland

Robyn Sutherland has been teaching music to our two children for the last three years. Our daughter has learnt to play the harp beautifully. Robyn has managed to feed her natural enthusiasm and confidence to a stage where she genuinely enjoys performing for a public audience. She is now using the skills Robyn has taught her to teach herself how to play the piano and the Irish Penny flute. She is also learning to play the violin. All that Robyn has taught her is making the violin an easy instrument to learn.

Robyn has taught our son to play the acoustic guitar. He has now moved on to the electric guitar. His new teacher is extremely impressed with our sons musical knowledge and his playing ability considering the short period of time he has been having lessons. One of the best things about her teaching is that Robyn has not locked him into one style, therefore he is very receptive to new ideas and can adapt his playing accordingly. Our son is a shy child and Robyn has built his confidence up to a stage where he willingly enjoys performing in public, something we thought we would never see.

Robyn has taught them how to arrange their music so that they can play together. They now give "mini concerts" to elderly people. They have also played at The Corban's Estate Arts Festival.

At 13 yrs of age our daughter wrote a musical stage show for the Scouts Jubilee. Robyn helped her arrange and record the backing music onto CD and also supported her with advice on how to direct the show. For the same Jubilee Robyn took nine of the instrument playing scouts, ranging from 7 - 13 yrs of age (seven of whom she had never met before) and turned them into a mini orchestra. She did this in a little less than three months, one lesson per week. There were two violins, a harp, a guitar, a saxophone, two pianos and two recorders. They all achieved their music badges and had a great time doing it. The whole show was a great success and a good part of the credit goes to Robyn.

We are both very grateful to Robyn, always wish her well and highly recommend her to any parent as a music teacher.

Robyn is calm, patient, reliable, honest and multitalented, she has a lovely sense of humour and a natural rapport with children."

Are you interested in learning the harp
but have no instrument to play?

Hire a harp!

Book your first harp lesson today
New Zealand Harp Teachers Directory
email: robyn@robynsutherland.com or phone: 021 252 7632

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page last updated 21st August 2024