best advice you were given?

[balfour-knight]

Well, hello again! Here in western North Carolina we have been dealing with no electric power (fallout from Hurricane Irma!) so no Internet, either! We were so much better off than Florida, I can’t complain. Our best thoughts are with all of you who have been through this dilemma.

Jerusha, yes, I did have to learn solfege, and I agree with Saul, it stays with you and really helps out, especially when playing in different keys or transposing something into a new key. If you ever get a chance to study it, do so by all means. My maternal great-grandfather even taught solfege and shaped-note singing here in our mountains back in the early 1900s. His ancestors were some of the first settlers here, coming from England, Scotland and Ireland.

Well, keep the posts coming! Things are looking sunnier for next week!

Harp Hugs,
Balfour

[Jerusha Amado]

Hi Saul and Balfour,

I didn’t realize that new replies came in for this thread!

Saul– I was hoping that you’d respond to this topic. That’s wonderful that solfege has been so helpful to you. I can see how having the bass line grounded in one’s mind would enhance performances. Makes me wish that I had listened to my teacher’s advice and learned it!

Balfour–Good to hear that you are o.k. Electricity has probably been restored since you last wrote. Also, what is shaped-note singing? It sounds intriguing!

[Sylvia]

I just saw the new replies, too. Balfour, I sure hope you have power by now. That’s brutal…hope it wasn’t too hot at the time. How long were you out?
This is the only part of the Gulf Coast that didn’t take a hit…deep S. TX. We were spared…no rain, no nothing…at least this time.

[balfour-knight]

Hello, Jerusha and all!

Yes, our electricity has been restored! We were only about 22 hours without it, so things were pretty good compared to Florida. We had a lot of tree limbs down with high winds, but no major damage, thank goodness.

Shaped-note singing was (and still is) pretty common here in our mountains. Along with the syllables, Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Si or Ti-Do, shapes are assigned to the notes. Good shaped-note singers can sing a melody just by recognizing the different shapes, even if they are not on a musical staff! One “school” of shaped-note singing used all seven syllables and another used only four syllables, the later being referred to as the “Fa So La” singing. (the fourth syllable was Mi) Collections were called The Sacred Harp and The Southern Harmony, among others. I bet you all could research this further on the Internet; I have not yet tried.

Sylvia, it was great to hear your good news! We hope the Floridians recover soon, thinking of Gretchen and others down there.

Hope you all are having a wonderful day!
Best wishes,
Balfour

[Gretchen Cover]

Balfour, thank you for your kind thoughts. We did ok with the hurricane. Water came up higher than any previous storm and we were without power for just a day. Friends in the keys had no damage and one hotel we know, Eden House in Key West, had no damage.

Re: Shape singing. Do-re-me from Sound of music gives you an idea of what shape singing is about. When I took piano, I had to sight sing as part of music theory but we used the English sound of the note. Mostly, I would sing intervals (chords).

[balfour-knight]

Glad to hear from you, Gretchen! Great news about coping with the hurricane. That was a good point to look at the Sound of Music for the Do-re-mi singing. That has always been one of our favorite movies/musicals.

Another good piece of advice I was often given is “listen and learn!”

Hope all of you are doing well.

Harp hugs,
Balfour

[Janis Cortese]

If it hurts, find another way to do it.

[balfour-knight]

Best advice you were given–attend harp festivals! This Camac Festival in Washington, D. C. is just the GREATEST!

[Jerusha Amado]

Hi Balfour,

I definitely agree that attending harp festivals is good advice! I attended several of the Lyon and Healy International Jazz and Pop Fests over the years, and they helped me to progress with playing jazz on a lever harp.

[healthyharp]

From a harp store: don’t buy a harp from us. Rent one and learn to play first and *then* come back to buy a harp from us.

From a harp teacher: If you are having problems with a section, it’s probably because your thumb is too low and your fingers are too high.

From a flute teacher: Don’t “cheat” by simplifying when you practice. The point of practice is improvement and perfection. But when you get to the performance, if you find you need to simplify, go for it. The point of performance is to make beautiful music and make your audience happy.

[balfour-knight]

Another item to think about–when someone asks you to play a “freebie” which has very little interest or meaning to you, ask them to “sponsor” you, since it is so important to them!

You all have a great day!
Balfour

[Jerusha Amado]

Hi Balfour and Healthy!

Great advice. I avoid playing for free simply to accommodate someone’s pre-conceived notion that, unlike other vendors, musicians do not need to be paid.

And Healthy, your words remind me of my teacher, who always advised that simple music played beautifully is vastly superior to complex music played poorly.

• This reply was modified 7 years ago by Jerusha Amado.

[balfour-knight]

Thanks, Jerusha! I will add that Angi Bemiss is the “queen” of keeping it simple and beautiful, and her entire collection of arrangements can be found at Simply the Harp in Atlanta, GA, as you well know. I am so glad that everything does not have to be “busy and difficult.” Happy Easter to you all!

Harp Hugs,
Balfour

[Denise Hemphill]

This is such an amazing thread, thank you all so much!!! It makes me smile with so much encouragement and good advice!

[balfour-knight]

I agree, this has been an amazing thread! Now for what to do during this Covid-19 pandemic, when life throws you lemons, make lemonade!

Love to all of you,
Balfour

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