Scales and arpeggios

[Maria Myers]

If anyone else has ideas for books on etudes, they would be welcome!

[sherry-lenox]

There are a number of people here who really like Grossi. After you’ve been through it the first time, it’s great to start through a second time at faster tempos.

If you haven’t seen it Maria, it might be what you want.

[Maria Myers]

Is it called Metodo per Arpa?

[Maria Myers]

Does anyone out there have this method book, and if so, what can you tell me about it?

Maria

[steven-todd-miller]

I have the Grossi, and I really don’t like it very much. I usually try to do between 30 – 40 minutes of scales and arpeggios at the start of each practice (when time allows). I use the Salzedo Conditioning Exercises, LaRiviere, Russian method, Deborah Friou’s strength and agility book, and Köhler’s 12 easy etudes (Op. 157 for piano). Of all of them, the Köhler is my new favorite. They are easy to convert to four-fingers and do a great job training the switch from 1st finger to 4th finger.

[Maria Myers]

Thanks, Steven.

[carl-swanson]

Steven- Have you tried any of the Bochsa etudes? I think those are great. Start with the 40 easy etudes and see how they go. Like most 19th century etudes they are very right hand oriented. But with the majority of them you can play the right hand part with the left hand an octave lower and either let the right hand sit it out or play the left hand part an octave up.

[steven-todd-miller]

Maria -I found the Grossi to be very unnatural, forced, and lacking a sequential development pattern. It’s funny- every so often I’ll pull it out and try it again but within ten minutes back it goes. There just doesn’t seem to be any logic behind it. (But what do I know? My day job stops at seven-year-olds…) The others I mentioned (especially the Köhler http://www.virtualsheetmusic.com/score/StudiesKohler.html and the Russian methods) draw me to continue and strive for perfection.

Carl – I’ll give the Bochsa etudes a try! Perfect timing, too. I’ll tell the kids that’s what I want for Christmas!

[Maria Myers]

Thanks, Steven!

Anybody else want to chime in about easy etude books?

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

I don’t think etudes and exercises by a non-harpist to be a good idea, generally speaking. Pozzolli, on the other hand, are harmless etudes. Almost no etudes develop both hands equally, and are thus basically useless. There is no point in training to become a 19th-century harpist with all their limitations. Use orchestra parts as etudes.

[Fearghal McCartan]

Yes, That’s the Grossi. I use both that and the Pozzoli and strangely enough (so it seems here), I enjoy them. I have found that they do help with playing ability and finger dexterity – especially if, after you have them learned correctly, you up the tempo.

[Fearghal McCartan]

Good points there. On the last one – drat, you got there before me! That was going to be my glorious opener!

As to the patterns appearing in

[Briggsie B. Peawiggle]

Absolutely agree with you Fearghal on the Pozzoli. Good for learning consistent closing, balance, placing….all the good basics that so many never get. Plus I like doing them.

Briggsie

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

Let me add to that, Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet, Ravel’s Bolero, Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto, anything by Berlioz, Wagner (yecch), and so on.

[steven-todd-miller]

Saul, I’m intrigued by your comment to use orchestra parts as etudes. Is this something that you have exclusively practiced and/or use in your daily routine?

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