do you talk to your harp?

[deb-l]

along the same lines as, do you kiss, hug, lean on, decorate or name your harp, the inevitable question, do you talk to your harp?

due to some foolishness in wire string replacement winding on my part, I had to wait for new bass wires I ordered in the mail a couple of times for the Dusty.

[Ken H.]

Hi Deb,

Well I think this is a sweet post.

[jessica-wolff]

Nope. I may talk to mySELF, as in cussing myself out, under appropriate circumstances.

But yes, I do hug my harp. That’s inherent in the nature of both harp and guitar and is probably part of the reason I play them.

[tony-morosco]

No, I don’t talk to them. Nor do I kiss them. I hug and lean on them in a practical way, you really can’t help it when practicing and playing, but not in an affectionate way. And as I have mentioned before, I don’t name inanimate objects. If other people do that’s great, but I really don’t get it.

That doesn’t mean I don’t have an attachment to them. I know their feel, am familiar with their quirks and strengths. I have an intimate understanding of how they respond, and if I had to switch one of them with a new harp I would have to go through an awkward period of introduction to the instrument.

That said, if I had to replace one I wouldn’t be emotionally upset by it. To me they are, ultimately, tools. Beautiful, unique tools that require a great deal of familiarity to get the most out of, but still just tools.

[deb-l]

hmm maybe the question is does your harp speak to you?

[deb-l]

sorry for the rant, one too many ‘Lady Laiton’s Almain’ think I played it 30 times today..

Tony, totally agree it takes a while to adjust to playing a different instrument.

[david-holton]

No, but sometimes I scream at it. Sadly most of my verbal discourse while practicing is stemmed by frustration.

Nor did I name my harp. That said, I do often take solace in resting my head against the sound box, or the curve at the top, and in just handling my harp

[Angela Biggs]

Yes. Mostly to encourage her to cooperate with me. Of course I don’t think she’s really going to “help” – but I figure it can’t hurt. 🙂 She lives in the office at the back of my house (alternately called “the harp room”), so I usually don’t have to worry about anyone hearing me. But I do talk to her as I take her out of the case when we’re out in public, and I invite her to sing with me when we’re about to start performing; it’s part of my ritual, so it calms me down and helps me get in the right mindset. I’m sure a person or two has seen me doing that, but I truly don’t care. I’m holding a harp, and given where I live, I’m fairly certain none of those people have never even seen one in person before they see me talking to it! lol

[kay-lister]

You know, in ten years I have NEVER talked to my harps.

[diana-lincoln]

Yep! I always greet my harp with a big hello and a hug just because its fun!

Deb, you are so much fun to follow in the forums! Always up to something new! Did you ever start your ballet class? Did it help with your music?

I think you should have three harps! The two you have plus a little one, like a Dusty FH26, that you can haul around really easily. That’s is what I’m settling on for right now. It really works out great! Prelude holds court at home while Ogden goes out for harp circle and classes, FH26 is my “picnic harp” and is great for hard to get to places. They all get spoken to and

[andee-craig]

I’ve got a Dusty 26 string like Diana and it is indeed very good as a travel harp! I used to bring it along to Irish sessions before I took up the fiddle.

But, no I don’t really talk to my harp except for the occasional apology for not practicing / playing it enough and the occasional grateful few words when it’s gone on a long journey and come out just fine on the other end. I guess I *do* talk to it then–ha ha!

I do feel very emotionally attached to my bigger harp (not so much attached to the 26 string one)as it’s been through so much with me, from my early struggles at learning to my first few gigs and now it’s come across the Atlantic with me to my new home in England. It’s been there when I got divorced and was so depressed I didn’t play for months. It’s been there when I played at my best friend’s wedding and when I competed at the Comhaltas Fleadh a few times. It’s been there and still going strong, sounding better and better over the years!

[deb-l]

hi Diana!.

[bella-bella]

Lol it wasn’t a harp, but when I was a child and played the violin, I would have to walk from the prep school to the senior school’s music department. Sometimes if I started walking too early, on the way, I would put the case down and talk to my violin haha.

(I used to believe that my toys and violins were secretly conscious like on Toy Story :D)

[deb-l]

Kay you must really miss being able to play the harp.

[daniele-di]

yes, but she usually does not reply 😀

Joking apart, I do pat her when I`m able to play some piece so

smoothly and beautifully that it feels like the harp is playing by

herself…this is how I want to play, without worrying about looking

at my hands, at the strings or at the sheet…

And quite often I`ll just rest my head on the curve at the top of the sound box, like David said!

But that`s happening only with my FH36, that`s because I`ve been through a lot to obtain it.

[Author]

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