Why Music? Why Harp? Why Not?

Imagine a video with no sound at all. Even old silent movies are usually accompanied by some kind of music score to set the mood. Originally they had wonderful, exciting, live music from an orchestra, organ, or piano.

Imagine a wedding ceremony with no music! I once attended a ceremony without any music. It was eerie. The complete silence as the bride walked down the aisle was kind of sad. Some guests thought something had gone wrong with the music, but there just wasn’t any.

A wedding ceremony is one of the most important events in most peoples’ lives, and they usually want it to be special and memorable. What’s going to make your wedding different from all your friends’ weddings and all the weddings you’ve attended or will attend this year?

For even the simplest ceremony, music is vital on an emotional level. It adds to the beauty and meaning of your service. Live music does this best. It is more immediate and intimate than recorded music. This is especially true during the processional, which is the music played when the officiant, groom, bridal party, and bride enter. If you use recorded music for a processional, someone will need to turn it off when the participants reach the altar. Unfortunately you can’t know exactly how many minutes and seconds of music you’ll need, so the recording ends up being abruptly cut off, which is clumsy and not pretty.

A live musician can watch what’s happening and edit the music as it’s played so that it begins and ends smoothly and at the right moment. I remember one ceremony where the groom missed his cue and didn’t enter when he was supposed to. Because I was playing the processional, I was able to improvise and repeat as needed until he got where he was supposed to be, and the guests never knew there was a problem. The bride knew what happened and thanked me later for covering for him.

Live music is also nice during the service if you’re having communion, lighting a unity candle, or having a sand ceremony, so that the music lasts just the right amount of time. It’s rather awkward to stand around waiting for the recorded music to finish so that you can resume the service, and most officiants don’t like to be kept waiting.

At the end of the service, live music for the recessional (your exit music) can be ended smoothly with a nice conclusion after the last of the bridal party have reached the door, so the officiant can make any necessary announcements to the guests about where they should go for the reception. Then your musician can play a little postlude piece to help your guests leave the ceremony area. The music sounds complete and just the way it was intended.

Live harp music is especially lovely and appropriate for wedding ceremonies (and cocktail hours, dinner receptions, even rehearsal dinners). Of course the harp is beautiful to see and has a romantic connotation, but beyond that, the sound is unique and will set your event apart from the rest. If you think harpists play only classical music, think again! We play classical, popular, Celtic, country, jazz, New Age, etc.; there are as many interpretations as there are harpists.

Check out the sound samples and the song list on my website. I’m always adding new pieces so if you don’t see what you’re looking for, ask me. I may want an excuse to add your favorite to my repertoire.

Please call or send an email if you have any questions. I’d love to hear from you!