New Harpist!

[duckspeaks]

Hello Sarah,

Welcome! I also play by ear. Chances are that u arrange the music yourself and u can build the time needed into the music by changing the left hand pattern judiciously to “free up” the left hand. It may not be the original rythmic pattern but it may still makr musical sense.

Cheers

[patricia-jaeger]

Sarah Sylvia,
If you find flipping all those levers is not your favorite cup of tea, but are put off by pedal harp because of the great expense, and also by the large size and weight, there is a compromise: On youtube.com, watch Arsalaan Fay play his patented Douglas Harp, 33 strings, single-action, 7-lever harp (each lever modifies every string of the same name on this harp). Either left or right hand can access the levers which are on top of the harmonic curve, since the action that makes this happen is inside that harmonic curve. Legs on this harp are detachable, so it is quite portable to gatherings of other musicians, or for performing here and there. Mr. Fay works from the area of Sarasota, Florida and the harps are much less costly than pedal harps. He has a waiting list. Glissandos are possible if you use a muffling technique Jan Jennings taught in workshops and included in a book- find it in a search engine. Stay with the harp and find time for steady practice in your life to achieve much success and pleasure.

[Janis Cortese]

Patricia, I’ve been curious about the Douglas/Dilling for some time, although I didn’t realize until I went back and searched for Arsalaan Fay’s name on the forums that you actually had one. I’m loathe to think seriously about buying anything unless I’ve heard real first-hand information about the technology in question, so I was very pleased to learn that you had one and thought positively of it.

How much maintenance does a harp like that need in terms of regulating or maintaining the action? Can a typical harp technician handle it, or will they not know how to cope with it or refuse to touch it? What strings do you use with it — gut or nylon? If nylon, what set do you buy? Have you really found that the single-action lever mechanism has made a big difference in ease/possibility of playing certain types of pieces that wouldn’t be possible with a garden-variety lever harp?

For all I know, I’ve asked all this already — I have the short-to-long-term memory switching ability of a turnip. Apologies if I’ve peppered you with these questions already. 🙁

[Author]

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