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Some Advice Please

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Home Forums Forum Archives Amateur Harpists Some Advice Please

Viewing 15 posts - 46 through 60 (of 67 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #161558
    Liam M
    Participant

    Audrey,

    For whatever reason, I was told for years that I was tone deaf. Then one day, my sister in law, who is quite an accomplished musician holding national honors and a national choir member told me, “You are not tone deaf, you are untrained” Since that day my interest in music has grown daily and my desire to sing and play has increased exponentially. Oh I know I will never be as polished as many who have grown up with music…. but I am very happy to now sing and … well let’s say, “Try to play”.

    Thank you, my sister in law and every other musician who takes the time to encourage the rest of us. It means a lot.

    #161559
    Audrey Nickel
    Participant

    I think a lot of people don’t understand what tone deafness is, and that’s a big part of the problem.

    #161560
    unknown-user
    Participant

    That’s really quite interesting Liam and Audrey.

    #161561
    Liam M
    Participant

    Good luck to you Fiona and welcome to the world of Dancing Fingers.

    #161562
    renate-kvalsvik
    Participant

    Good luck with the harp. I really hope for your sake it’s a good one. The Paki I bought (my first harp) had a real problem with levers that didn’t work and a cracking soundboard, so I had to stop playing it after only half a year because I was afraid it would break down completely. It had a nice voice, though.
    I strongly recommend the Pamela Bruner books and DVD. She is very thorough in explaining everything, and you can always pause the DVD and practise a piece she just showed you. Also, she repeats time and time again what is the right hand position, which is really, really important to learn from the very beginning, or you may have to start all over again. I played for a year with a bad hand position, and when I finally got a teacher she told me I had to start again. So I bought Pamela Bruner’s Play the Harp Beautifully, and I am improving fast, with the correct hand position. So I absolutely think you should buy it, if you have to teach yourself.

    #161563
    unknown-user
    Participant

    Well, I collected the harp this afternoon – and a lovely harp it is too!

    I’m just going to tune it (having a digital piano helps).

    #161564
    Audrey Nickel
    Participant

    Congratulations!

    If it hasn’t been tuned for a while, it may be a week or more before it consistently holds tune.

    #161565
    unknown-user
    Participant

    Hi Audrey.

    #161566
    Audrey Nickel
    Participant

    With a small harp like that, the best thing to do is not try to hold it in your lap, but rather find a stool, bench or hassock of the right height to set it on.

    #161567
    Donna O
    Participant

    Fiona,
    I too started with a smaller harp and my husband made a stool for me.

    #161568
    Audrey Nickel
    Participant

    This may give you some idea as to the kind of height you want:

    #161569
    unknown-user
    Participant

    Thanks for that.

    #161570
    Audrey Nickel
    Participant

    He is a pretty boy, isn’t he?

    #161571
    Tacye
    Participant

    You might also want to try sitting in a chair with your ankles crossed and the harp held by your calves.

    #161572
    unknown-user
    Participant

    I did that last night for a while.

Viewing 15 posts - 46 through 60 (of 67 total)
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