As I believe I have said before, Carl’s challenges, though perhaps not his intention, inspire me to some of my best writing, force me to coagulate my thoughts which will be of great use later on, and have prompted some very supportive responses. There’s nothing wrong with debating ideas. One of the problems of amalgamated playing is the lack of coherent ideas. The harp is not like other instruments. It is so challenging that a mere handful of harpists have ever had the vision to create something approaching a school of playing, and been able to encompass all the harp and its literature requires. We are all building on the knowledge of others. The more time you spend with a teacher, the more you learn. The more teachers you have the less you learn because you spend so much less time with each one. I know a harpist who studied with Lucile Lawrence and previously one of her protegees. She was polished, strong and brilliant, and went on to study a little with many other people. She didn’t noticably improve from any of them, and today still plays pretty much like she did when she finished her studies with Miss Lawrence.
Frankly, I think I would like to pose some tough questions to other harpists about the way they play and why they do it, but it is unfortunate if in this society that only gets one in trouble. We are supposed to have free speech and open debate about the core issues, not just pretend to be everyone’s friend and make nice. We should all talk more about our ethics, how we treat colleagues and fellow students, how we intend to get ahead and so on. We’ll all be better for it, I hope. But I think you are right, that it should be done without meanness.
