playing barefoot?

[unknown-user]

I play barefoot/socks all the time at home but at my lessons my teacher insists on shoes. I
only have a pair of thin ballet shoes with a small heel so it’s all good But if I have a
concert or competition coming up, then I do wear my shoes and dress (I’m always in pants;
I’m not the skirt type) so I get used to it beforehand. I guess it’s the same for the guys:
you’re used to playing in a sweater/t-shirt/whatever and then at a concert you have to
wear a suit.

[unknown-user]

This discussion sound like different worlds colliding. The moral to be learned
is “Don’t play with your slippers tied too tight !! “

[unknown-user]

Time to lay down the law. You must practice in shoes 90% of the time, because that’s how you have to perform and rehearse with others. Otherwise, you’ll create mistakes for yourself. I can recommend highly ballroom dance shoes with a cuban heel which gives you great leverage, and the suede soles give you as much pedal sensitivity as bare feet, but with a better grip! And rubber soles and heels give a better and quieter grip and touch than leather. If you want a low heel, get organists shoes which have suede soles. I have the ballroom shoes and the Capezio, which are not good quality leather or a good fit.

[unknown-user]

Saul,

That’s illogical. The best musicians I’ve ever know are ones who break or
bend the “rules”. We must live on different planets…I assume your focus is on
the Classical world and notated music. My focus is being the best I can and to
be unique. I’ve been in the music / entertainment business for over three
decades and can tell you that pop culture does not reward those who don’t
dare to bend the rules. Have you been to a Josh Groban concert and seen the
barefoot violinist? …very Bohemian.

(Dictionary: Bohemian –

[tony-morosco]

I think Saul’s “law” actually applied to the majority of people.

If you are never going to be in a situation where you will have to wear shoes then of course you can break this “law” if you want.

But I think Saul’s point is that the vast majority are going to have to play with shoes on at some point, and if you haven’t practiced a significant percentage of the time with shoes you will not be able to suddenly put on shoes and be able to play well with them on.

Every rule has its exception, but for most of us they are worth paying some attention to, and this is one I have to agree with.

Sure, if you are in a position where you can be Bohemian and want to then go for it.

The majority of pedal harpists are not going to be in such a position every time they perform. Do you think a bride really wants to see the harpist she paid a fair amount of money to at her wedding playing in their gowns or tuxes, with no shoes on?

Most of us don’t have the kind of control over our working environments to be able to dictate that we will simply never wear shoes when we play, and the majority of us would be physical unable to play without slipping in shoes if we did not practice with them on.

It is that simple and why this is a very valid and reasonable rule that the vast majority of pedal harpists should really pay attention to.

[unknown-user]

Thanx

[unknown-user]

I managed to stay out of the Princess Bride barrage and seriously doubt that Britney Spears even reads music but I have to add my voice to the barefoot business!

My teacher, a wonderful woman named Alice Chalifoux, who knows a thing or two about the harp caught me playing barefoot one day and put an end to that.

[unknown-user]

Who’s Britney Spears?

[brook-boddie]

Ha!

[unknown-user]

Am I the only one contributing to this thread that didn’t vote for George W.
Bush?

PS…I absolutely adore Britney Spears. She’s HOT HOT HOT!

[tony-morosco]

OK, I must have missed the joke. What does Bush have to do with a thread about playing the pedal harp barefoot?

[unknown-user]

Ok

[unknown-user]

OK. I was going to quit.

This is for Kathleen Wilson.

1) How am I going to injure my 13EEEE feet with tinsey-winsey harp pedals?

2) What does Alice Chalifour have to do with Emenin and Usher?

3) What’s wrong with nightclubs and honky-tonk bands? I’ve made a lucrative
living since 1974 playing those kind of gigs (started playing honky-tonk piano
at Shakey’s Pizza Parlour in Southern California).

4) What does strapless heals have to do with a middle age man with 13EEEE
feet playing tunes by Britney Spears,Carlos Santana, Fastball, and Savage
Garden?

5) Since when would my heal EVER have to leave the floor when my feet are
bigger than the base of the harp?

Footnote: Britney Spears does read music and is a brilliant composer, and
she laughs all the way to the bank (Estimated net worth $22 million).

[unknown-user]

OUCH!!!!

[unknown-user]

Good idea. It’s time to move on. A good lesson is that one pair of socks or
shoes does not fit all people. It would be sad if we all played the same, wore
the same clothes, wore the same shoes or sock, had the same teacher, etc.
Life and music is about individual expression. I know one thing. The harp
world will die if harpists get stuck in the way things “were”, “should be”, or
“used to be”. I can’t even imagine Deborah Henson-Conant playing harp in a
chiffon dress and silver slippers. She’s successful because she bent the
rules….her way! Harp Marx was successful because he bent the rules…his
way!

[Author]

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