by Chiara Pedrazetti

Some time ago I had the chance to attend a harp masterclass in France with a famous harp teacher who is a pillar in the harp world. During the week, not only did he give us precious advice about musicality, technique, fingerings, and pedals, but he also showed us how to regulate the harp and fix little intonation problems. I was so interested, and I eagerly took in everything he said.

After a week of harp-related work I returned home, and soon after I had a concert with an orchestra playing Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty Suite. I decided to take my Camac, as the clear and precise sound was optimal for the acoustic situation in which we were playing.

About 20 minutes before the concert started I went on stage to tune one last time, and I noticed a small intonation problem in the D-sharp of the first octave. With “trained” hands, I took the screwdriver and gently pushed the pin of the sharp a few millimeters, as I was taught in France. I was shocked to see the pedal disc break and fall on the floor! Waves of panic, cold sweat, and a lot of Italian and French curse words came to me. Apparently the tricks I learned in France didn’t work with every type of harp, and with the Camac system I should have loosened a screw before moving the pedal disc, I found out later.

With just minutes until the downbeat, I took my score and frantically tore through the whole piece, circling all the first-octave D-sharps and writing E-flat pedals with a colored marker.

I managed to play everything well, and luckily the performance went smoothly. But next time I definitely won’t touch the mechanisms of the harp right before a concert—especially not after only seven days of rushed “technical training.” •