Working From the Road as a Therapeutic Musician

When people find out we're traveling full-time, the most common question we get asked is, "Do you work from the road? What do you do?" My answer is definitely unexpected, and probably also not an answer that helps people envision themselves working remotely too. Nevertheless, it's my life's work, and I wouldn't change it for anything, no matter where I'm living.

I work as a Certified Therapeutic Musician, specializing in harp therapy with secondary instruments of piano and voice. I became certified in 2018 and since then have pivoted my music business into the health and wellness sphere. For the first couple of years, I played therapeutic music for individuals and groups in various healthcare facilities in the metro Boston area. I also brought therapeutic concerts to assisted living centers. When COVID hit, I quickly became "non-essential," and I found myself contemplating my options now that I was unable to get into facilities. A parallel path that had developed after certification was accompanying yoga classes. Again, this was something that was put on hiatus during the pandemic, but it gave me an avenue to pursue as I worked from home. My business, Harp & Wellness, emphasizes the benefit of wellness integrations. This is my term to describe the practice of combining harp music with wellness modalities to achieve greater depths in healing. Think yoga and harp, nature and harp, pet therapy and harp, Reiki and harp. One integration got pushed to the forefront during the pandemic: Meditation and harp. I decided to pursue my certification as a Meditation and Mindfulness Teacher, and to supplement my practice I re-launched my YouTube channel to highlight music, meditation, and mindfulness. I also brought in my background in psychology to advocate for mental health - something that's important always, but even more so given the stress of the pandemic.

I followed the momentum and eventually began offering online resources for stress relief. During lockdown I provided online therapeutic music sessions over Zoom. I also started creating Harpscapes, short harp and nature videos for relaxation. Those have been very well-received, and I continue offering them today. I was also given opportunities to create virtual events for my facilities, including bereavement workshops, virtual memorials, and virtual concerts.

Income took a hit, but I was fortunate to supplement my music work with administrative roles. I signed on as a mentor with my TM certification program and have also built a platform creating courses for healing musicians. I also provide coaching sessions for other TMs who want to develop their skills. As long as I have reliable internet (which we worked very hard to ensure!), I navigate these jobs really no differently from when I was in a sticks-and-bricks.

The process was gradual, but over time I had positioned myself to be able to work from anywhere. In fact, traveling the US gives me opportunities for outreach that I didn't have when staying local. I can network in-person with other musicians. I can offer workshops and playing opportunities for therapeutic musicians. I can reach out to facilities in different regions and offer to play music. These are mostly in the planning stages for now, but as I settle into life on the road, I am looking forward to seeing how I can use the RV life to enhance my work. Already I have been able to meet colleagues in-person as I travel from state to state and it's incredible to sit down with the people I've only previously met through the Zoom screen.

One big advantage to life on the road is that I am able to resume my passion project, The Hiking Harpist. In 2019 I began taking my therapy harps to trails and parks, integrating harp and nature to provide greater depths of peace in the outdoors. Not only do I love combining two of my greatest loves, music and nature, but I am able to demonstrate the benefits of the therapy harp in new ways. Life in New England hasn't made this project easy, between the unpredictable weather and the strict COVID restrictions. My favorite hikes have been while traveling with my harp. It's inspiring to be able to explore new places through the scope of music. After a ten-month hiatus, I have relaunched The Hiking Harpist, bringing my instruments to beautiful landscapes as we travel the eastern side of the country. Better yet, the hikes can serve as little glimpses into our adventures, like small video journals to supplement these blog posts.

As for the logistics of being a harpist on the road, like with so many of my belongings, I did end up downsizing my harp collection. I sold my large pedal harp (and we actually used the money as our deposit on the rig!) and only took 3 of my remaining 4 harps. My Triplett Christina has stayed at my parents' house, and I have taken my 34-string Ravenna harp and two therapy harps that are also conducive to hiking. These harps have their little space in our trailer and fit perfectly!

I do a lot of audio and video editing in my job, so I brought my desktop computer and have made a little office space for me on my side of the workstation. It's just enough space for what I need and having the desktop is a major plus. The large screen also serves us well when we want to stream some TV but don't want to break out the projector!

I'm excited to see how my adventures influence my creative flow. I see nothing but inspiration as I keep moving on down the road.