Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hi, and welcome to the world of harping! I hope you have lots of fun!
I looked at the links you posted, and I would advise against the eBay harp. It’s one of the cheap harps that go by several names: rosewood, Pakistani, MidEast Manufacturing–and it probably isn’t worth taking a risk to buy it. You can search the forums here for any of those names and get a wealth of opinions about them.
That being said, I started on a MidEast lap harp and it was actually pretty good, though I think I just got lucky. After hearing many other people’s experiences, I wouldn’t want to risk buying one and having it turn out to be really bad.I don’t know anything about the second harp you posted, but I think it’s pretty! I hope someone else can be of actual help there. 🙂
I am living in the UK right now, but I’m from the States and I pretty much only know US-based harp makers, so I don’t know if I am of much help in that area, either.
Good luck, and I hope you find what you’re looking for!I agree with Angela–Truitts are lovely!
I have only had experience with Truitts and Lovelands, though. The Lovelands, while satisfactory for the lap harp I borrowed, and on which they are installed, tended to deaden the tone a little when engaged. It wasn’t really a big deal if it was just one or two levers up (G or D), but became pretty noticeable with any more than that.My first harp book was *Celtic Music for Folk Harp* by Laurie Riley and Leslie McMichael. I really enjoyed it, and still love many of those tunes. There is good introductory information about playing celtic music as well. I can also recommend Laurie Riley’s instructional DVDs, as I’ve really enjoyed learning from them. I have several of Sylvia Woods’ multi-level books and really like them as well.
Congratulations on your new harp, and happy playing!Christina,
It’s true that I do really love my harp! 🙂 Some people say the sound of carbon fiber to wood is similar to a solid-body electric guitar (plugged in) compared to an acoustic. I would say that’s fairly accurate, in that the carbon fiber has a little less in the area of overtones. I love the sound though. It’s what I would call bright and sweet. It’s lovely in the upper range, and even clear in the lower range–not muddy at all. Because the whole instrument is hollow it resonates well, which gives lots of volume with minimal effort. Anyway, I hope that helps! Do go to the website and hear the harp-tasting, as Natalie suggested. It’s pretty cool. 🙂I also have the black delight. I love everything about it! I got mine before lights were an option, so I don’t have any experience with that.
When I lived in the States (and hopefully again when I go back) I played in the local cancer treatment center for patients on chemo days. It was really great to have the light harp to be able to move it around easily.
I hope you have lots of fun on the beach! I like to take mine out by the creek, and also play at campfires. 🙂If you get a double-strung Brittany, then your number of strings won’t be limiting, *and* you can have the harp shape you want!
I haven’t played a Brittany myself, but I spent last summer playing a (borrowed) regular Eve. It was a nice little harp! It didn’t have enough stings for much of what I like to play, but I was used to my full-sized harp. The next small harp I buy will be double-strung. 🙂Hi Lars, welcome to the world of harp! I will try to answer some of your questions, though I know there are many others here who will also have input–and better than mine! 🙂
Different harps have different numbers of strings for several reasons: size, sound, cost, style of music played, etc. Some people want a small, portable harp to take anywhere they go. Others want a large floor harp for folk music. Still others want a large pedal harp for complex classical music. All of these have different strengths, uses, and costs.
Alison Vardy has some good info on her site about the history of medieval harps.
http://www.alisonvardy.com/harp-info/medieval-harp-history.htmThere are, of course, many other resources out there, and a search of these forums would probably help you as well. I hope you enjoy find what you’re looking for, and enjoy the harping adventure!
Hi, I’m sure you will love playing the harp! Welcome!
E NB has good advice, so I won’t repeat it, but here are a couple additional things:
I also played piano before beginning harp, and I think that musical knowledge helps a lot in the learning.
The second YouTube video you posted has a Stoney End harp. I personally like their harps, and think they are a good sound and good value. http://www.stoneyend.com ! That being said, there are MANY great harps out there, all over the world, in every price range. I play a Heartland Harps Delight, but I started on a Mid East Heather harp (that’s not widely recommended, but it worked for me) and have played Stoney end and a Lyon and Healy Ogden for short seasons as well. I have enjoyed all of them, but the Delight is the one I will never give up. 🙂
So, shop around, try to find a place to try as many harps as you can so you know what you like, and have fun!Some sites I like to look at for harp dreaming:
http://www.blevinsharps.com
http://www.stoneyend.com
http://www.heartlandharps.com
http://www.celticharps.comCecile Corbel plays lever harp with no colored strings. Maybe having all your strings clear/white could help?
I don’t own one, but I’ve long admired Blevins harps. Their smaller floor-size models are mostly within your price range.
http://www.blevinsharps.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=284_95And, I think a lot of their mid-size and lap harps look pretty great, too!
I seem to do some of both (reading *and* playing by ear/memorizing). I usually learn the tunes from written music, and then once I’ve learned the melody I just play it by ear so I only have to watch my left hand while I play. Maybe everybody does that? I don’t know because I don’t have other harpers to ask in person. 🙂 Anyway, I also find that I visualize the music differently if I’m trying to memorize from sheet music or from working something out by ear. Some of the ones I’ve memorized are now harder to play from music (even though I learned them that way) now, because I just play them by feel, and don’t think about the notes anymore. That being said, I do remember some of the main notes throughout each tune, and can use them as sort of anchor notes if I do get lost while playing. I don’t know if that is helpful at all, but it’s how it works out for me. Looks like lots of good advice from others above!
