Song Styles

And now for something a little different ...

As mentioned in my bio and occasional passing in these posts, I also play the traditional lever harp - sometimes misnomered as the Celtic harp.  While most of my repertoire is in that realm (Scottish, Welsh, Irish, etc), I do also play some popular tunes, spanning everything from Andrew Lloyd Webber to a smattering of Disney tunes (courtesy of a princess event last year) to the Theme from Jurassic Park.

I've been thinking about adding another vocal to my repertoire in an of-the-moment vein.  Obviously, the possibilities are endless, but I'm trying to find something that might be recognizable to listeners, so more left-field ideas like Love Is A Camera have been shelved.  (Though an Angie Baby / Camera medley would be excellent, simply because I think of the two songs as describing the same woman ...)

I would love your opinions!  Personal favorites here?

So in no particular:

1.  Chasing The Sun - Sara Bareilles
Brave may be more famous, but for me, this is the stand-out track of The Blessed Unrest (though I Choose You comes a close second).  It's gorgeous lyrically and musically - that note at the end of the line, "sun," is unexpected and perfect. 

2.  Try - Colbie Caillat 
Admittedly, this is probably the most recognizable song on this part of the list.  I adore the message, and the vocals are very suited to my singing style.

3.  Close Your Eyes - Meghan Trainor
The grammatical quirks of this one make me wince a bit, but the lyrics overall are lovely and the melody is right in my vocal wheelhouse.  For whatever reason, I had the very clear idea to start a capella with the bridge ("Show the world the you inside, raise your voice and close your eyes ...").

4.  She Used To Be Mine - Sara Bareilles
Yes, I know, Sara again.  This particular tune is from the Waitress musical, it is almost perfect for harp, and if I can get through the darn thing without tearing up ... it gets me right in the gut.

5.  Grigio Girls - Lady Gaga
I'm quite fond of this one, and the main appeal is that I hope to be performing at wineries at some point, so ... of course!  There's a small issue of either editing or omitting the bridge because of profanity.

6.  The Writer - Ellie Goulding
Do I even have to explain part of the appeal here?  Heartbreakingly gorgeous.  Another one I'd be a little nervous about getting through without choking up.

Picking up the pace a bit with two ideas that are a bit more on the bratty, "how much can I get away with?" side ...

7.  No - Meghan Trainor
... seriously.  It's primarily composed of vocal cadence and beat, which is very easy to achieve on the harp.  I just want to make people sputter in surprise.  Is that so wrong?

8.  Black Horse and The Cherry Tree - K.T. Tunstall
You probably know this song, even if you think you don't.  The real key to this one is to keep it fast; the lyrics practically turn tongue-twister at tempo.  Again, though, the backdrop is mostly rhythmic, which would be (comparatively) easy to knock out with chord patterns.

That's all, folks.  The real problem, of course, is I keep thinking of new options - there are eight here, and that doesn't even include older pop tunes I love - so I can't seem to commit to one enough to dig in ...