I am Karen Peterson, harp coach, workshop presenter, Certified Music Practitioner, and author of Enjoy the Modes and Enjoy the Dorian Mode. I teach harp online via videoconference.

I'm often asked why I chose harp. I was a high school sophomore, and I hated to practice. I knew I didn’t have what it takes to be impressive on violin and piano, which I also played. How could I wow listeners with less effort?

It takes only a few seconds to learn how to set up the strings to make that fabulous, classic glissando harp sound that everyone recognizes. Once you can do that, everyone thinks you're amazing, and it doesn't matter what else you can or can't play.

People don't realize how easy the harp is, and that doubt holds them back from ever trying it out. The teenage me was looking for shortcuts, and I found one: the harp is easier than it looks. I've been playing harp now for over 25 years, but it doesn't take 25 years to be good.

Pedal, lever, and double-strung harps

I began playing harp in 1993. I was trained on pedal harp by Faye Seeman➚ and then Julie Buzzelli➚. After college, I figured that a pedal harp was unattainable—too pricey, too unwieldy for a starter apartment—and I went harp-less for almost as long as I had been playing. 

Four years later, I missed it so much that I finally went online to explore options. I had heard about lever harps, and I found out I could get a 38-string for half the price of a student-model pedal. I went to the Somerset Folk Harp Festival➚ and played on all of the exhibitor’s harps until I found the most awesome one. A few months later, my Triplett Eclipse➚ arrived (the first one they made with Truitt levers), and I began delving into lever harp music.

Again at Somerset➚, in 2007, I wandered into a double-strung workshop. I’d seen the beautiful, narrow harps of Don Peddle➚ and figured they couldn’t possibly sound as good as they looked. I had no interest in double-strung, but I was looking for something smaller to play in a therapeutic setting. I was surprised to discover the volume and richness of the double-strung harp, and I was excited by the new opportunities afforded by two rows of strings.

With the big Eclipse and the compact double-strung, I didn't miss pedal harp at all. After a few years on the double-strung, I made that my only harp.

My favorite music to play and listen to includes early music, old-time country, campfire songs, and melodic classics from the Forties through the Eighties with an occasional contemporary tune thrown in. I love complex rhythms and interesting harmonies.

Therapeutic music

In 2008, I began courses with the Music for Healing and Transition Program➚ (MHTP), graduating in 2012 as a Certified Music Practitioner (CMP) so that I can safely and effectively play harp in healthcare. I work part-time at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, NJ, playing at the bedside of patients and for staff throughout the hospital, including ICU, Neonatal ICU (NICU), Neuro ICU, Burn ICU, Cardio/Thoracic ICU, cardiac telemetry, cardiac step-down, renal/transplant, oncology, pulmonary, orthopedic, surgical, and all areas of the Emergency Department. I served on the Board of Directors of MHTP for nine years. See more on my site SoothingHarp.com➚.

Motivation to teach

One of the things I noticed at the harp conferences I attended was that the adult students were disappointed by their progress with the harp. I admired all of these students who had picked up a brand new instrument later in life. I wanted them to be proud that they had gotten up off the couch and actually taken the steps to do something about their desire to make music.

I’m saddened to see people unhappy or frustrated with something they love. It is my hope that I can encourage adult students in the path they’ve chosen, either by being their teacher, or providing useful information on this website.

Writing, arranging, composing

I’ve been arranging music since 2008 when I got my double-strung harp, since there is a dearth of double-strung harp sheet music. Playing therapeutically requires arranging on the fly as you adjust your music to fit the needs of the patient. And, to continue my journey of looking for shortcuts, I’ve found that it’s easier for me to make something up than to read a score. In 2020, I started publishing my double-strung arrangements.

One of the things I love about the harp in comparison to other instruments, especially piano, is that a major chord has the same hand shape as a minor chord, and that statement is true for all keys. This means, for example, that you can take a piece of sheet music in A minor, set your pedals or levers to A major, and play the exact same strings and hand positions to get a totally new piece. (It’s still all about shortcuts!) I suspected that harpers could take advantage of this for the other common scale modes (Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, and Mixolydian). I spent a few years researching, and I published Enjoy the Modes, a 161-page instruction book for understanding the modes on the harp. Enjoy the Dorian Mode contains 26 Dorian song arrangements, each with a corresponding Aeolian and Mixolydian lead sheet to compare how these three modes are alike and different.

When I’m not doing music...

For 20 years, I worked as a technical writer➚, user interface designer, project manager, and web quality assurance coordinator for Nikon, American Express, TIAA-CREF, Dun & Bradstreet, Samsung, IBM, Sarah Lawrence College, the U.S. Government, and other companies.

I am a big proponent of enjoying the outdoors and spending the weekend at interesting spots nearby. If you’re looking for something interesting to do in New Jersey, especially hiking➚, I can give you some ideas. I photographed➚ all the images at the top of these pages near my home in Jersey City.

I am a former Certified Personal Trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine, and I am a bodybuilding figure competitor. That means that I try to build as much muscle as I can without having my veins pop out, and then I choose to be judged against other similar women on a stage. It is probably the weirdest thing that I've ever chosen to be involved in, and strangely more feminist than I would have imagined. I am probably the only figure competitor who plays double-strung harp.

Ready to contact me? You can read testimonials and find out more about my teaching style.