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Monday Melodies with Melody's
The Dragon Series
April 8, 2024
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Our Monday Melodies with Melody's today features Sharon Thormahlen. She has written a lovely narration for us. See the description of "The Valley of the Dragon" (below) for her video where she plays the title piece. Enjoy her stories and her publications!
This month's coupon code: ValleyOfTheDragon
Use coupon code valleyofthedragon for a 15% discount on the music of Sharon Thormahlen, including her duet books with Anna Thormahlen Jenkins.
Click on the link above, which is additionally located at the bottom of this newsletter.
Information on the next webinar is at the very end of this newsletter.
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~My name is Sharon Thormahlen and I have been publishing with Afghan Press for about 25 years. I have over 20 publications of original music, traditional tunes, holiday favorites, Latin music, and duet books. My music is known for its playability and ease under which the fingers fall on the harp. I have sold over 10,000 books over the years. My husband Dave is a harp maker and has been making harps since the early 80s.
In this email, I want to tell you about 2 new publications being published with Afghan Press, one that came out about a year ago and one just released.
The first book, Valley of the Dragon, came from a short story that my 31-year-old daughter, Rosiee Thor, wrote about a hero with a harp. She asked me if I would like to write some music for it. With the pandemic in full bloom, I had lots of time at home to dip into my creative spirit. I wrote 13 tunes that tell the story she wrote. The tunes are named from the words she put on the page. It is truly a magical story telling what happens when a dragon wakes up from 100 years of slumber. And, you don’t have to slay the dragon when a hero with a harp can save the day!
The second and most recent book, The Bard in the Parlor, is a collection of traditional tunes written by composers of the 17th and 18th centuries including Turlough O’Carolan, Jeremiah Clarke, John Hill, Johann Pachelbel, Thomas O’Conellan and Robert Joseph Lowe. Three tunes have harp 2 harmony parts.
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Valley of the Dragon - A truly magical book of 13 new tunes that tell the story of what happens when a dragon wakes up from 100 years of slumber. You don’t have to slay the dragon when a hero with a harp can save the day!
This book is for intermediate beginners to advanced players. The tunes are in Cm, Dm, C, Am, G, Em and D. There is one lever change. Three pieces have accidental levers set before playing the piece. Some fingerings are given.
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The Bard in the Parlor, is a collection of traditional tunes written by composers of the 17th and 18th centuries including Turlough O’Carolan, Jeremiah Clarke, John Hill, Johann Pachelbel, Thomas O’Conellan, Robert Joseph Lowe and many other traditional tunes. Three tunes have harp 2 harmony parts.
Tunes include: The Minstrel Boy, Carolan’s Welcome, Planxty Davis (Killiecrankie), Miss MacDermott, Mairi Bhan Og, An Ayre, Miss Loudon, Citi na gCumman, Carolan’s Receipt, The Rights of Man, Sarabande, Lady St. John, Garryowen, Carolan’s Quarrel, The Queen’s Dream, King William’s March, Pachelbel’s Canon in D and The Bard in the Parlor. This book is $20 and is suitable for beginners to advanced intermediate.
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For the slightly more advanced player, I have Fiddlin’ Around on the Harp. This book has 9 tunes with Harp 2 harmony parts. The tunes are: Lea Rig Hector the Hero, Indian Point, Sailor's Hornpipe, Merrily Kiss the Quaker, Planxty George Brabazon, Happy Boys, Star of the County Down, Foggy Dew, Fiddlin' Around on the Harp, The Rakes of Mallow, Kesh Jig, Drowsy Maggie, Si Bheag Si Mhor, Fisher's Hornpipe, Wind that Shakes the Barley, Coleman's March, and Carolan's Concerto. | | |
Another book you might like to carry in your store is Dance Thru the Music. It contains English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, and American tunes that are perfect for the beginner. In my experience, beginners love to buy music that is easy enough to learn but interesting enough to play. This book fits the bill. | | |
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Beautiful Dreams for Twin Harps
This book was designed to be a ready-made program for duet partners or an ensemble. A handy information page for each song gives key changes, performance suggestions, and historical information to share with the audience. Lyrics are included for those tunes that have them. A few accidentals occur in some selections but are well thought-out and clearly marked. Both parts are equally balanced as far as level and activity, so neither player will be bored.
Contains: Home on the Range, Birds of Blue Ridge, Beautiful Dreamer, The Lone Wild Bird, Carolan’s Dream, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, The Song of the Harp
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Cabin Fever for Two
These eight tunes for beginning intermediate to advanced intermediate players were developed over a six-year period as Sharon and Anna traveled to harp conferences, retreats and family gatherings. Both old and contemporary tunes are included as well as traditional folk music gems. Tunes are: Musique dans la Cabane, The Water is Wide, Inis Oírr, The Ash Grove, My Cape Breton Home, Tourner à Trois, Hewlett and Waltzing Matilda. There is a full score of both parts along with each individual part.
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Here are some questions Laura will be addressing:
- what is a phrase?
- how do I know when a phrase begins and ends?
- what's the difference between a phrase and a motif?
- what does it mean to shape a phrase?
- how can I crescendo and decrescendo within a short phrase?
- why is phrasing important?
- should my tone remain the same throughout an entire piece?
- what is the best fingering for [example passage]
- if there are no fingerings, what should I do?
- what can I do to make a passage sound musical
- some people may say: I have always thought of Bach as mechanical. Why would I want to play technical music like Bach on the harp?
Register HERE
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