Humid to Arid?

[jessica-caseman–2]

I took the leap and bought my first harp and it should be here this upcoming Thursday (this is going to be the longest week ever). The weather right now is the most temperate it is all year here in Las Vegas, and I’m still doing my homework on how I should care for my harp when the heat really hits here. My concern just this moment is that I’ve ordered the harp from a store in Portland, Oregon, and it is a great deal more humid there than here. Do I need to acclimate the harp at all? Is there any damage it could face that I might prevent if I think ahead?

[katie-buckley]

CONGRATS!! Its a good idea to get a humidifier in a dry climate 🙂 I wouldn’t worry about acclimating it, however. Just think of all the harpists travelling all over with their harps. They are pretty strong creatures! But adding some extra humidity to the area its kept it is a good idea! (I moved my harps from extremely humid Atlanta to very dry Iceland, and they are doing just fine!)

[jessica-caseman–2]

Ah, that’s a great point, hadn’t considered that people travelling with a harp don’t need to acclimate them =p Thanks so much! I’ll shop around for a humidifier soon then, but I’m glad it’ll be ok in the mean time. I feel a bit like a nervous mum, is everything just right for when it arrives?! I should probably just relax now haha.

[katie-buckley]

Relax and have fun 🙂 Its so exciting to buy a harp, especially your first!

[lyn-boundy]

The only advice I was given when I bought my first harp was to leave it in its packing crate for a while IF it arrives on a cold day when your house is considerably warmer that the delivery truck that brought it to you. I can find no similar advice about going from cold to hot or humid to dry so it looks as if you get to open the crate and tune and play your harp straight away – you lucky thing!

My tutor has travelled all over Europe playing her harp and tells me it acclimatised itself just fine wherever she went and she never had any problem with temperature changes (though I can imagine that going from somewhere like Alaska to Vegas in a very short time might be a rather different matter).

It sounds as if you and I will both have new harps arriving on practically the same day (I have to pick mine up and have a lot of hospital visiting to do next week so can’t guarantee which day it will be). It’s nice to hear someone else out there will also be ‘all of a dither’ and unable to sleep the night before. I’ll be looking forward to hearing all about your new ‘baby’. Do you play already or is this the start of a new hobby?

[jessica-caseman–2]

Lyn, that’s great! What type of harp did you get? Unfortunately for me the day the harp is scheduled to arrive is also a class day, so I’ve been going back and forth in my head about the relative merits of going to class after work, or staying home and playing with my new friend. I get the feeling that on the actual day, the harp is going to win.

About two years ago I took roughly 6 months of lessons and loved it but was forced to stop when finances became a bit too tight. I’m finally back in a stable place and was inspired all over again when I went to a Chieftains show about a month ago. I’ve been playing my Meghan harp, using a book to refresh what I learned before and looking into skype lessons since. It’ll be nice to have the extra strings and lack of buzzing I get with my little Pakistani harp, but she’s been good enough to me. How about yourself? How long have you been playing, or is it a new realm for you also?

[lyn-boundy]

Very much a beginner Jessica! I bought my Sharpsicle around 6 years ago and tried to teach myself to play (I don’t play any other instruments except a VERY amateurish bit of guitar in my teens). Shortly afterwards my mother became ill and during the weeks leading up to and after her death I abandoned my playing completely. Around 18 months ago I finally discovered a fantastic tutor and have been playing like mad ever since (when I say ‘playing like mad’ – yes, I sound like a crazy person playing!)

The new harp is a 34 string Ossian Clarsach made to my own design by local luthier Tim Hampson (http://www.harpmaker.eu/index.ph) and the last time I saw her she was looking gorgeous (the big advantage of having the harp made locally is that I have been able to visit a few times during the building process to drool). Things have been held up just a bit the last week or so waiting for Savarez strings to arrive from France but I am expecting the ‘birth’ sometime this week for sure. I promise to post photos as soon as I figure out how to do so and I hope you will be doing the same!

[Allison Stevick]

How exciting! What kind of harp are you getting, Jessica? Both times I got a harp I was so excited the night before that I didn’t sleep very well… So much fun! And Lyn, I can’t wait to see pics when you receive yours!

[lyn-boundy]

Oh Jessica, that’s beautiful! I see yours is in a pale wood (mine is too) and I do think that is so attractive. Mine is going to look rather different from the ones on Tim’s website and I’m not going to say too much about that but all will become clear in the photos. I received the call last night to say she is ready to pick up and I’m hoping to go and get her today but I’m nursing a fresh-out-of-hospital invalid at the moment so it will depend on whether she is feeling well enough to be left. I can wait another day or two if not.

You are so right about all the gorgeous styles and designs out there. I could just look at pictures forever!

[jessica-caseman–2]

Lyn, have you got your harp yet? I’m excited to see what it looks like, you’ve got me curious since you mentioned it’ll look different from the others on Tim’s site.

[randal]

Both Lyn’s and your harps are gorgeous Jessica. I was wondering whether you’d received your harp last week (I got mine on Monday–also going from humid to arid)

[lyn-boundy]

Jessica and Randal, please come over to this thread and tell us more about your new toys – http://www.harpcolumn.com/forums/coffee-break/posts/62693. I’m afraid I may have started it in the wrong place where no-one can find it so my harp is monopolising everything there and I’d love to hear more about everyone else’s new acquisitions.

Because of choosing a local luthier, I have also neatly avoided the problem of moving the new harp to a different climate (though, don’t forget, this is England, where the climate changes every day – if you count it as a change going from cold rain to warm rain and back again). It would also be interesting to compare how the harps settle in and progress and mature, having all been made/bought at the same time. Hope you’re all as excited with yours as I am with mine!

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