Jana,

You can buy good harp strings and levers over the Internet. It helps if you have a credit card, but you can send an international cheque or make other arrangements.

I buy my strings from

Markwood strings and cases

They can do an analysis of your harp if you send them a full size diagram of the shape with measurements of some of the strings. Their strings are the best that I know of because they have been especially designed to suit each harp perfectly. You would be amazed at the difference in sound if you had good harp strings. It's worth the investment and the Markwood people are very friendly and helpful. Very nice people.

My first harp was built by a friend of mine who makes guitars and other string instruments, from a plan from Markwood for one of their Cambria harps. It is a lovely harp with a beautiful full sound.

You can also get Markwood levers here.

When I started going to sessions I used to watch the guitar player's chords and try to play along. When I first started I could just manage to get one finger on the C string for a C chord, etc, before they had changed to the next chord. Gradually with practice I could pluck each full chord in time with the music, and then I managed to start playing chord runs. I progressed so much with my music during that time without even realising it, because I was having so much fun.

It might be worth asking the guitar player to show you the main chords for each key used in the session. I was lucky because the guitarist I watched is known as a "three chord wonder" meaning that he can play almost any song with only 3 different chords most of the time and he makes each song interesting. I also started learning guitar when I was young so I knew the basic chords.

I am still not confident about playing solo. I don't practise enough. So I am also not fast enough to keep up with the melodies on almost all the songs. It didn't help having that accordion player hijacking my harp tunes when I would start off and then he would play them really fast and with a thumping rhythm. So I would start off a simple, quiet, beautiful tune on the harp and some of the quiet instruments would come in as well, but then the accordion player would grab hold of it and just thump it out boom-boom-boom like a marching band, very loudly and very fast. Aaarrrghh!

But, on the whole, I loved going to sessions and went there every week for ten years until I got too busy with work and other things.

Helen