Category: Teaching

Who Was Medieval Mystic, Hildegard von Bingen?

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We still hear Hildegard von Bingen’s music being played a millennium after her living on Earth. Most often, you can find her songs as the vocal motets she originally wrote them, meaning vocally. I wanted to play more of her songs, but I was surprised that sheet music for Hildegard’s music was not easy to find. I couldn’t even find a collection of Hildegard’s music as piano sheet music! This really astounded me because she was famous in her day! If she were alive today, she’d have an empire of healing herbs for sale, a retreat center, art, books, concerts, a YouTube channel, and more.

Transcribing Hildegard’s Music

I did some digging by visiting both Seattle Public Library and King County Public Library archives. I found a publishing house called simply: Hildegard Publishing. They put out transcriptions of Hildegard’s music in the 1980’s and 1990’s and helped make her songs more readable from the Medieval-written diamond-shaped neumes, to become lead sheet notation. They appeared as high vocal music: in treble clef with lyrics (in Latin). However, they still lacked meter, chord progressions, and harmonies. I decided to take a hand at what I thought was missing.

As I begin the project, several concepts in mind. First and foremost, I wanted to honor the work, inspiration, and format of the original compositions by Hildegard von Bingen. At her time, music was largely written as an antiphon, or single note voicing. Harmonies were either non-existent, or commonly heard as intervals of 4thsor 5ths. Therefore, the beginnings of all of these songs have this in mind.

Another element of these songs recognizes their inherent therapeutic nature. In keeping in line with that, I know that these songs work best in their simplest forms. Often therapeutic harpists who play at the bedside for someone unwell will have a small harp, or a folk harp. I wanted to make this music accessible for as many people as possible, so that if the goal was to play for people with physical, mental, or sleep ailments, the therapeutic harpist could do that with the harp size available to them. Lastly, I added what I thought were pleasing chord progressions.

Once I did a few of these pieces, I realized there was something there. I felt rather called to make these songs available to other musicians. In doing so, I found out that many of my students liked playing this music too, and audiences liked listening as well. I transcribed a few more songs (with the help of listening to recordings, finding other people’s arrangements, and experimenting with what I thought where pretty harmonies and melodies). Next, I reached out to Mel Bay Publications. My samples were approved and I had one year to complete the book, Songs of Hildegard von Bingen for Harp.

Disclaimer: I am not a Medieval scholar! I have never thought about going this route to writing historic music transcriptions before this project. It’s funny to me, because I just sort of learned as I was going along and the project kept going in a positive direction. So, I kept doing it!

Songs of Hildegard von Bingen for Harp

After a year of working for a year transcribing these songs, the book, Songs of Hildegard von Bingen for Harp, was published in December of 2024.

Seattle Harpist

Moving on with Hildegard von Bingen

I am happy to say that once I had the book in hand, I had several concerts, lectures, and workshops with Songs of Hildegard von Bingen. This spring, I was invited to join a conversation/panel at the National Nordic Museum called “Medieval Joy” moderated by a Seattle University history professor. Next, I led a workshop and played a concert at NW Folklife. In June, I performed at Folio, a library and cultural space in Pike Place Market. I pepper in her music at weddings and private events, and look forward to future concerts featuring Hildegard von Bingen’s songs.

Harp Escape vol. 10 (Fly Me to the Moon)

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For Harp Escape volume 10, I played Fly Me to the Moon, the well-known jazz standard by Bart Howard. Originally, Harp Escape vol. 10 was recorded during quarantine times for a feel-good relaxing offering of harp music. I did a mix of contemporary cover songs, traditional Irish, classical, and this jazz tune.

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Songs of Hildegard von Bingen for Harp Book Now Available

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I am happy to announce that Songs of Hildegard von Bingen for Harp is now available as a book from Mel Bay Publications! After two years of work arranging twenty of Hildegard’s Gregorian Chants for Harp, the book of sheet music, “Songs of Hildegard von Bingen for Harp” is available now!

I was first introduced to Hildegard’s music as a teenager, and then later in college. When I studied to become a Certified Clinical Musician, I found Hildegard’s music inherently therapeutic. Their simple nature was beautiful to me, but I had trouble finding harp arrangements of her songs. So, I set out to arrange some of the tunes myself. What started as arranging just one song, turned into an entire book of sheet music!

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On Singing (to Children) at Home

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My grandmother (my father’s mother) loved singing while she cooked. Folk songs, church songs, musical theater numbers, whatever popular songs were on the radio at the time – that’s what she sang throughout the day as she did her daily housework. Because it was the 1980’s, I’d hear Linda Ronstadt and Barbara Streisand, Dolly & Kenny mixed in with church hymns. My favorite time of year was Christmas. My aunt played at the piano (and later me), while Gramma, my other aunts, my dad, uncle, and cousins sang in four-part harmony. It felt casual in her house, yet magical to think that our own voices together could make such wonderous music together.

Simple pleasures: campfire songs. There was Jim Croce, Bob Dylan, my dad and his cousins bellowing out “Mr. Bojangles” after a couple of beers. Gramma liked the folk tunes: Red River Valley, Shenendoah, Edelweiss.  She’d sing silly songs too, songs I’d only heard in Betty Boop cartoons, old-fashioned, from a time two generations before me. She’d sing “shoe fly pie and apple pan dowdie makes your eyes light up and your tummy say howdee.” These lyrics were famously amusing to my siblings and me. This one she’d sing while mixing up dough and peeling apple skins. Later, while we at it, ice cream dripping down our chins.

After my grandmother died, I asked my dad what songs she had sung to him as a little boy. He remembered “Nature Boy,” the old Nat King Cole song.

Today, I listened to a podcast from Jeralyn Glass about the healing effects of humming. Even without knowing words or melody to a song, the sound of a simple hum tells the body to create more oxygen and less cortisol (the stress hormone). After a headache, I hum various pitches to make the place in my forehead that hurts, vibrate some. This is, I know from my studies as a Certified Clinical Musician, a type of entrainment. One of the most fascinating stories of entrainment is that of Dutch scientist Christiian Huygens in 1665. His is a famous of example of how two clock pendulums swinging in different began to match in rhythm. In the case of this century’s old science experiment, two inanimate objects have proven that they can synch up in rhythmic time. In my case, I apply my humming voice like salve to sooth the physical pain.

I hum after the most painful part of my headache has subsided. I move my hum up and down in  pitch and volume until it finds a match on the left side of my head. In that place, the hum replaces the witless state of my mind with a gentle touch.

Lately, I have gotten into the habit of playing the radio a lot in the kitchen while I cook and my son plays other side of the room. We keep one another company with the radio songs of my choice (new harp tracks, jazz, classical, the local independent station that plays roots, rock & soul) or his requests – soundtracks to Studio Ghibli or Star Wars movies. I haven’t been singing as much.

After my headache and humming episode, I feel inspired to sing. When my son gets home from school I hum “Nature Boy.” Then, I lazily find the words. Maybe I can remember them? Knowing the words doesn’t really seem to matter while humming. Nature Boy is a short song with a melancholy feel.

My son asks, “What song is that?”  

I tell him it’s a song whose notes sound sad, but the words are about a magical boy. The lyrics have a beautiful message about life. The word for that is bittersweet. Bitter for the way the song sounds, but sweet because of the message in the words: “the greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return.”

How Do You Understand and Apply the Circle of 5ths

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How Do You Understand and Apply the Circle of 5ths? The Circle of 5ths is an often misunderstood concept in music theory. So, I created a class on how to better understand and apply the circle of 5ths to playing music. This online class is available to you anytime on Udemy!

In the class, Circle of 5ths 2.0, you will learn what the Circle of 5ths is and how to apply it to playing the harp. By the end of the course, you will be able to see how it applies to chord progressions and melodic structure. You will review basic hand shapes and technique at the harp as well as: look at a PDF of the Circle of 5th; play exercises for better understanding the order of the Circle of 5ths; practice chordal arpeggios; learn the song “Corinthian Bells” with the melody of the Circle of 5ths; and finally understand how “Fly Me to the Moon” uses the Circle of 5ths.

An arrangement of “Fly Me to the Moon” is available to you with purchase of this online class. The song is divided into an easy and advanced section – perfect for your skill level!

This course is for you if you are new to the harp, are returning to the harp, are interested in learning theory, want to learn a jazz standards, or want to learn specifically about the Circle of 5ths.

How Do You Understand and Apply the Circle of 5ths