Rasa Harp at Black Mountain
video | 3 min — music for quiet reflection
Yes, It’s That Easy
Yes, it is as easy as it looks. These amazing instruments are something anyone can play with and make beautiful music. Truly. Even hesitant people get the hang of it in about 10 minutes, tops. Even young kids can play it pleasantly with just a little bit of guidance. Don’t believe me?Check out the demo in the first two minutes of my Highlights from the Lighter Side video.
One of my greatest joys is to watch someone play it for the first time — with self-amazement at their capacity to create such lovely sounds.
What Is the Instrument?
The instrument is a type of harp or zither. Specifically, this is a converted and open-tuned autoharp, which can most closely be compared to an Indian instrument called a surmandal or swarmandal.
The basic concept of tuning this harp was created by Laraaji, and passed on to me by Dr. Jill Mellick during my graduate studies at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (now Sofia University). That was back in the early 90s.
Since then I have created a number of unique tunings. Each one carries a different meditative "vibe." Which is why I call them Rasa Harps. Rasa is a Sanskrit word that most simply means "flavor". More specifically, rasa is the essence of a feeling/sense that is transmitted through a creative work.
The tuning I use in this video is called Mystic. Another tuning I call Bhakti is used in my Healing Mantra and Lightwaves instrumental. (scroll down to listen to those)
“I want to play!”
I have an online program in the works. Let me know if you are interested to learn how to get and play one of these beautiful instruments.
Update: I recently discovered Barbie Edwards’ Therapy Harps. If you want a top-of-the-line custom built harp of this nature, that’s the place to go. She and I have clearly tapped into the same angelic creative stream of harp tuning.
If you are on a lower budget, fear not! I have many converted harps for sale at a much lower price and with different tunings to pick from. Contact me if you want to know more.
❤ 2020 | Maja Apolonia Rodé
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