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October 4, 2009 at 12:16 pm #75581Laura WilsonParticipant
Hello everyone! Yesterday, we purchased my first harp! She is a L&H Troubadour III, natural wood color. I’ve been practicing on my teacher’s Venus Classic, but I’m so excited to have my own harp that is more transportable.
I have a couple of questions. First of all, the last 4 harp strings are wire and the rest are nylon. I’d like to restring her with gut. However, I need to know if it’s ok to do 4 new wire strings and the rest gut. What do you string your Troub’s with? I’m looking at Burgundy guts. Where is the best place to buy them?
Also, what are your favorite lever harp books? I’d like to learn hymns and Christmas music especially, though classical is good too. I love the McDonald/Wood hymn arrangements for pedal harp. Any suggestions for lever?
Thanks so much!
Laura
October 4, 2009 at 12:29 pm #75582jennifer-buehlerMemberCongrats!
October 4, 2009 at 1:25 pm #75583catherine-rogersParticipantYou can buy Burgundy gut strings and wire strings from Vanderbilt, and they send them very quickly. On a Troubadour III, the bottom 5 strings (not 4) should be wires (5th octave G & F, 6th octave E, D, and C). If you have never changed wires before, get help from an experienced harpist to be sure you have enough slack before winding them on the tuning pins. You should buy Carl Swanson’s book “A Guide for Harpists,” from them, too. It’s the best investment you’ll ever make. Read it before changing your strings.
October 4, 2009 at 10:58 pm #75584Briggsie B. PeawiggleParticipantCongratulations Laura. My first harp was a Troubadour too. I have it strung with wires and gut. The sound is amazingly better with the gut on it. You can get your strings at L&H, Vanderbilt, Virginia Harp Center or Harp Connection — each of them on line. Enjoy your new harp!
Briggsie
October 6, 2009 at 12:36 am #75585vince-pierceParticipantCongrats, Laura! I just bought my first harp this summer. It’s a really nice feeling. I love the Troubadour,
October 6, 2009 at 2:21 am #75593cynthy-johnsonParticipantThe first thing you
October 6, 2009 at 3:30 pm #75594Michaela BravemanParticipantUnlike Cynthy, I am not a harp therapist nor I am an experienced harpist. However, when I started to look into buying a small harp, I came across Christina Tourin’s website (http://www.harprealm.com/Therapyharps.htm) which has a wealth of information about therapy harps and other small harps. At the time I was looking for a small, quality instrument that could also be used as a therapy harp, in the event I ever decide to pursue certification. Christina was tremendously helpful in explaining the pros and cons of each harp…, she really knows all of them first hand and will give you great advice!
My advice is to get advice from true professionals like Christina and Cynthy. Personally, I decided on the “Nightingale” by Lewis Creek Instruments (http://lewiscreek.net/lc_nightingale.htm). It is a beautifully crafted, lightweight 27 string harp with a lovely and warm tone. I have since added a full size harp to my collection, but I still enjoy playing my Nightingale and love the portability of it.
Michaela
October 6, 2009 at 5:07 pm #75586kay-listerMemberLaura, CONGRATULATIONS!
October 6, 2009 at 6:00 pm #75587brook-boddieParticipantDaniel Burton has some very nice hymn and carol arrangements for both lever and pedal harp.
October 6, 2009 at 6:07 pm #75595cynthy-johnsonParticipantThank you, Michaela.
October 6, 2009 at 6:49 pm #75588Laura WilsonParticipantThanks for all your responses and congrats. My dad contacted Lyon and Healy about gut strings, and they told him that gut strings will cause serious damage to the Troub because of gut’s high tension. So, we’re going with nylon and wire instead.
October 6, 2009 at 7:44 pm #75589dawn-penlandParticipantThe Troub I rented had nylon strings and sounded fine.
October 6, 2009 at 8:18 pm #75590anita-burroughs-priceParticipantHi Laura,
I just spoke with Natalie Bilik who’s worked over 20 years
October 6, 2009 at 8:25 pm #75596jennifer-buehlerMemberJust reiterating Cynthy’s comment that the list posted on Ms Tourin’s website pertains to her program and may not be applicable to others.
October 7, 2009 at 1:32 am #75591Briggsie B. PeawiggleParticipantKay, I got mine in 2006, and I’m still on cloud 9 with mine, too. 🙂 I hope it never goes away.
Briggs
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