My introduction to music was the Spice Girls, whose feel-good song Wannabe blared through my mum’s car stereo just before my seventh birthday and instantly lifted my mood. I was soon playing the band’s songs on repeat, begging my mum to let me try my hand at a musical instrument, so I could work toward my fantasy of one day sharing a stage with Victoria Beckham. Piano teachers were scarce in our area, so I had no choice but to learn from an unsmiling one who instructed me to play cliched beginner’s pieces, scolded me when I struck the wrong key and punished me with extra practice on her basement piano.
Somewhere in my subconscious, my passion for music still flickered and, in my early 20s, it was brought back to life. I was navigating a period of profound anxiety, feeling isolated, agitated and - so I thought - without hope. Reaching for a lifeline, I typed ‘meditation music’ into my laptop search bar and stumbled upon a YouTube video of a harpist playing Ludovico Einaudi’s Fly. As if by magic, I felt my worries escape me. It was unlike any relief I’d experienced, and I watched as the harpist plucked the strings to create one of the most beautiful, moving and healing melodies I’d heard.
Feeling exhilarated, I clicked through videos of everything from Russian harpists playing expert arrangements with ease and Celtic musicians strumming electric harps to amateurs covering their favourite pop songs. After falling down a rabbit hole of harp videos, I thought: I must learn to play. Days later, I was knocking on the door of one of Sydney’s most talented harpists for my first lesson. She greeted me with a warm smile, led me to a room filled with gilded harps and played a piece she had been practising for her forthcoming performance at the Sydney Opera House. She explained that music became her emotional escape from an early age; for her, it is the ultimate mindfulness tool. It brings her into the present moment, gives her a goal to work towards and shows her a beauty that nothing else can. She hoped the same would be true for me, and she handed me a book of Irish harp tunes that she felt would best kickstart my journey.