Suddenly going to college… What now?!

[natalie-wagner–2]

First I’d like to thank all the kind people who have answered and asked questions on this forum, because it has helped me find a lot throughout the years!

My name’s Natalie and I’m 19 years old. For a quick background, I’ve been playing harp since I was 11 but never dedicated myself to it (under an hour of practice a day until this year). I wasn’t sure what to do about college when I graduated this spring, so I decided to wait. I woke up one morning about a month ago feeling God call me to go back to college (I had been a dual enrollment student and taken college level classes). This was absolutely terrifying to think about, because I had in no way, shape, or form prepared myself for this. I have poor technique, next to no classical repetoire, and have never performed in an ensemble.

Now for the people who are not religious, I hope you will still read and understand that I trust the God of the bible. It’s weird to describe being “called” by God, since a thunderbolt doesn’t boom out that you must do something. It’s a subtle whisper that leads me to some things, the harp being one of them. I had always thought I was doing it for fun and could freelance on the side a little bit. I have no idea what His plan is, but for now it’s to get a higher education!

And for those who are concerned that I’m in a cult and doing this against my free will, while I was at first scared out of my wits, as I started researching it I became more and more excited! I’m sure lots of you have had wonderful college experiences and I would love to hear about them! 🙂

One last thing to mention, my parents blessed me with the Florida pre-paid college plan. I have 60 credit hours at a community/state college level, and 60 credit hours at university level. This will total to the 120 credits needeed for a bachelor’s degree. I live at home (I’m a cool cat!), and want to stay at home as long as possible to #1 be with my beloved family, and #2 save money that would be wasted on dorms or rent, feeding expenses, more insurance than I already pay for, etc, etc, etc… There is a state college that is 30-45 minutes away that I’m going to commute to. I am meeting with their director of instrumental studies on Friday to discuss what opportunities I would have. We have corresponded through email, and because I have brought this up a year early, while they don’t have an applied harp instructor on staff, they can hire one by the fall. On Friday I hope to get definite answers on this and the many other questions I have to ask.

The big question for me is, what can I do to prepare myself in under a year? I would start in the fall semester of 2014. I have a private instructor now, she is a piano/organ major who plays harp on the side, and she has urged me to find a teacher who could prep me for college. I was going to wait until Friday, and ask who they would be hiring, or that as soon as they know themselves to tell me so I could arrange private lessons with the instructor to prep. Aside from that I’m trying to learn all the classical pieces I own, examples being Medieval to Modern repetoire for the Troubadour by Samuel Milligan (Volumes I and II). This is beginners classical music! I’m desperate to work as hard as I can for this, I don’t want to seem foolish and pretend that this will be easy. I may not pass the auditions, even if I do for the community college, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be accepted to a university or into a harp program. But I have to try! So please, I suppose my questions are,

Do you know of any intermediate classical harp repetoire? My current teacher could work me through it until I have my next instructor (my teacher knows how to play harp properly, she has a pedal harp and proper technique from my understanding, she simply didn’t major in it). It seems like classical music goes from these lever harp arrangements to Salzedo’s Song in the Night!

Are there any etudes/exercises/anything for moving to a more advanced level?

What about basic keyboard classes, and aural theory? Does anybody who isn’t/wasn’t a voice or piano major as scared as I am of this? 😛

Do you have any fun college stories, that you remember with lots of smiles? I’m completely understanding the extremely-difficult-harder-than-anything-you’ve-ever-done-oh-look-you-have-to-tune-your-harp-again challenge that this will be, I’d love some encouragment that college is rewarding and fun while it makes you grow.

Is there anyone who decided “last minute” like I have to do something like this?

This is so very long, I’m sorry about that! Any and all advice, stories, repetoire, website links, etc, would be appreciated. I hope that about-to-be-students might see this too, maybe this could encourage others to major in harp. Thank you again, this forum is amazing!

God bless you!

— Natalie

[kay-lister]

Hi Natalie,

First of all, don’t EVER feel you have to explain your faith in God. Hold your head high my friend and shout it from the rooftop! Throw out some seeds and hope that others ask questions. You have a relationship that not everyone will understand and that’s ok. You will be directed by God in your path and He will use you as needed, even in circumstances where others don’t get it.

Now, I would suggest that you just lay it out for the director and see what is suggested. I know some colleges will not consider harp students if you are not a music or performance major, AND others will. So take a deep breath and take it one step at a time.

I hear your excitment in your writing and I am very excited for you! Good luck and keep us posted.

AND, GOD BLESS YOU right back atcha!!

Kay 😉

[erin-wood]

Hi Natalie,
There is a lot of good intermediate repertoire out there. McDonald/Wood Graded recital pieces are nice to provide some material that gets gradually more difficult and teaches you new techniques. Two Guitars in Vol 4 I think is always a favorite. Andres has a lot of music at an intermediate level. Do you have a lever or pedal harp? Andres has a lot that is playable on lever. You could also look on a graded type list (like the one below) to get an idea of the level you are playing and where to go gradually from there. I think it happens to often that people skip the intermediate stuff and get frustrated with playing things that are too difficult. http://midamericamusic.org/tests/Harp.pdf

[Tacye]

How is your sightreading? It is an invaluable skill when faced with orchestral parts or vast quantities of music in a short time. There are many, many books of exercises and studies – probably any of them would be good for you if you play them with care and attention to technique.

Have a look here http://gb.abrsm.org/fileadmin/user_upload/syllabuses/harpComplete11.pdf and here http://www.trinitycollege.co.uk/site/?id=1054 for two more repertoire lists. Obviously the standard required also goes up with the grade!

[natalie-wagner–2]

Kay,
Thank you so very much! That encouragment means so much to me. I’m not embarassed by my faith because my God is awesome. 🙂 I hope that as I go through life, people see something different in me and want to know why.

I did take a deep breath, and Friday went amazingly! The director of instrumental studies was very sweet, organized, and direct. She explained to me the requirements to the music theory placement test, and other non-harp related things I had been worried about. My current teacher had gone to Northwestern and she kept telling me how hard music theory classes would be! I feel much more at ease knowing that I should be able to pass and keep up with my others classes while focusing on the harp!

[natalie-wagner–2]

Erin,
This is exactly what I was looking for, thank you! I couldn’t find any graded lists like this, so I kept jumping from very basic beginning lever harp music to professional level pedal harp solos. I’ll look through this list with my teacher and start ordering!

I do have a pedal harp, Lyon and Healy style 85 Petite, so only 40 strings! My lever harp is a heartland Delight that I bought this summer. I decided to get one before I knew I was going to college. But it’s worth it, because living in Florida brings a lot of outdoor jobs. I tried bringing my pedal harp a couple times but it was the stuff of harpist-nightmares. A virtually indestructible lever harp has already given me a couple jobs!

[natalie-wagner–2]

Tayce,
My sight reading has been something my teacher often enough applauds me for. But without other students to compare myself to, I’m not sure exactly what level I would be at. I can sight read Sylvia Woods arrangements from her Christmas, Hymns, and 60’s music books. If it simple, especially in the left hand, I can usually ‘stumble’ through it. I have the most difficulty sight reading rhythms, so thank you for reminding me to practice!

And thank you for taking the time to do my researching for me, another two repertoire lists is wonderful, thank you!

[natalie-wagner–2]

*Quick and very happy update!*

My meeting on Friday went better than I ever could have expected! The director of instrumental studies, Professor Bell, was absolutely perfect. I love when people are organized, tell you directly what is or is not possible, and show you as well as tell you. She explained what needs to be done in order to acquire a harp instructor and what I could do to prepare for the other music classes. The music building was so perfect! The hallway is a big circle with all the rooms sprouting off of it, so even I could not get lost! She showed me several different secure rooms (with stable air conditioning) that could be possibilities to store my harp. The piano lab has internet access, Sibelius (I think that’s how you spell it) software, and a printer. So you can compose your own music and notate it as well. The rooms all have cushy desk chairs for the students because it is a small campus. Everything about this place made me feel comfortable, I’m pretty timid, so seeing a place where I could grow was too perfect!

There a few difficulties to overcome, and I simply pray that they are.

First, finding a harp teacher. The teacher must have a master’s degree or higher in order to teach at the college. They pay $36 a lesson, which seems impossible for a harpist. And they are also supposed to come to the campus to teach. Now, Professor Bell is looking into me possibly paying the difference (If the lessons are more expensive). Also there are special circumstances that would allow me to have lessons at the teachers house. So my biggest concern is finding a teacher with a master’s degree in this corner of Florida!

Next, this campus is 45 minutes (more with traffic) away from my house. I currently share with my parent’s and my Granny’s cars. Two cars split between FOUR adults. FOUR. Oh my, we have managed thus far, but now I need one of my own. My parent’s car fits my pedal harp. My plan is to buy a compact car. I can switch cars with my parents every Monday and Friday (or any other ‘moving day’), and otherwise drive my small one. It would save on gas! I’m also considering leaving my harp on campus unless I have a job requiring it be brought home on the weekend.

My parents blessed me with the Florida Pre-Paid plan, which entirely pays for tuition! That is- I don’t know how to thank them. I work as a nanny one day a week now, but won’t be able to once I start school. The way the schedule is with Music Theory (Tues/Thurs) and Aural Theory (Mon/Wed/Fri) will keep me there five days a week. That is a lot of driving! My car expenses will be far higher than they are now, and I will have pay insurance and all those other lovely grown-up bills I never looked forward to. I don’t know how I could find a job that could pay all of that, although I hope to. I need to start searching scholarships and grants that could be applied to travel!

That’s about all I can think of, thank you for bearing through my babble. I am so excited!

[kay-lister]

Natalie,

I just LOVE reading your posts! As I said before, I can just hear your excitement in them and can’t wait to hear all your updates. Enjoy your journey!

Kay

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