Building technique

[rosalind-beck]

We are so much the product of our teacher(s)’ influence.

[carl-swanson]

I couldn’t disagree more with Edna Philips’ attitude about etudes.

[unknown-user]

Julie Smith won 2nd place at the 2004 USA International Harp Competition in Bloomington.

[carl-swanson]

Several years ago(at St. Paul Minnesota), I was one of the judges for the Ann

Adams awards.

[rosalind-beck]

Carl, I may be misunderstanding you, but are you implying that when Salzedo harpists win auditions, it is because those auditions are not “fair and open”? You speak of Salzedo’s bias, but it appears you also may be a bit biased. . .

[unknown-user]

Salzedo harpists are the larger harp world now. I think it is reasonable to say that there are more harpists with over 50% Salzedo training than not. For example, the Philadelphia Harp Conference had the largest attendance in years, and it was Salzedo harpists primariy, and within that, Chalifoux students primarily. She produced an incredible number of students. Did you know that certain people actually had the nerve to write to the Philadelphia chapter and threaten that if it was an All-Salzedo conference they would not attend-we would never do that. We do not impose our views, we only present them and hope that they are of positive value-that is how we were raised.

It would be a different story, if the etudes composed by harpists were worthy of the concert stage, and well-planned. Too many are not worth the time it takes to learn them, go on for too long, and fail to develop both hands evenly. I wish Salzedo had composed more etudes.

The ones he did compose show, within his idiom, the creative possiblities presented by harp etudes. I was please to find that Bochsa did write at least one set of substantial etudes. They are better-sounding than Schuecker or Posse. There is a big difference, too, between playing for other harpists, and playing for the public.

If a student is putting in four to five hours a day practicing, they have time to spend half an hour on an etude. If they have started late, they are better off using repertoire they will have to know. Salzedo worked primarily with late-starting students that he had to train fully in five or so years, so forgive him his methods.

Exercises build control, strength and coordination. Etudes are supposed to link those to a musical context. If only we had some by Chopin, but then Miss Lawrence used to say that Salzedo was the Chopin of the harp. Not literally. But his piano teacher was a pupil of Chopin, and the Variations and Ballade certainly reflect that.

I use many exercises of my own devising that I hope to publish, and I also use Salzedo’s Conditioning Exercises, and exercises from the Method book. I expand them to more than one octave and tempo. I like to play them once very slowly, then twice as fast, twice as fast, twice as fast. That way I am warmed up in every tempo, just like a good ballet barre. I also vary the note and finger patterns, ala La Riviere, but with the chords of the Conditioning Exercises. I’ve looked at Grandjany’s warmup and don’t think it provides enough repetition; it’s too condensed to be effective, except as a quick warm-up before a rehearsal. I don’t like any of the etude books I’ve seen, or the other method books, except the Universal Method which has some good pages.

[unknown-user]

As a student and teacher I have worked with Grossi, Pozzoli, Friou’s Exercise book, and Kondonassis’ book, and others. I have also developed teaching materials for adult beginners. There is an age old struggle of trying to get students to apply the technique they learn in exercises, to their repertoire. For each new concept the student needs a simple exercise, and etude that places the technic in an expressive, but somewhat repetative context, and repertoire that reinforces the concept. I also encourage students of all levels to create additional exercises from their repertoire. This way that middle ground between technique and repertoire is filled in. The advanced student needs etudes as well, but at that level the need for concert quality etudes becomes greater. In your opinion (anyone’s opinon), what are the most musical etudes available for the advanced student?

[Author]

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