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No need for apologies Tayce! I am sometimes quick to contradict non-folkies when it comes to my beloved Irish music, so we are even (and friends!).
Hi Mae! Yes, there is a bit of ‘best’ in both worlds (classical and folk).
Ornamentation is not really all that difficult, but to describe in words is much harder than just showing someone. Anytime you want to come up to Leeds I’ll show you what I do in like 10 minutes and you’ll pick it up quite quickly, I’m sure!
If you can afford it there are a few Irish harp intensives in Ireland this summer. That would fast-track you for sure!
I’m sorry Tayce, didn’t mean to be hurtful. I misread and misunderstood. I think good technique for folk harp has to be taught just as it does for classical to avoid bad habits. I see that is what you are saying as well. So we agree! In absence of a folk harp teacher a few lessons with a classical harpist would be a good idea. But I would stop once the lessons progressed to learning tunes if the teacher was not able to teach them by ear as it really is a different thing altogether than learning them from written music.
I do think think that with practice and a handful of lessons Mae could be playing some tunes up to speed in a session a lot sooner than 10 years from now, though.
I have to disagree, having a classical background in harp is *not* necessary to play the tunes quickly! I could name loads who have come out of the folk tradition and do it quite well–Grainne Hambly, Michael Rooney, Michelle Mulcahy to name just a few. After a few years of weekly lessons I was playing the tunes in sessions and up to speed.
My advice is to keep the left hand simple. Is there a chapter of the Clarsach Society near you? I’m from Leeds and we recently had a fantastic workshop with Fiana NiChoinaill (a former student of Janet Harbison) and she taught everyone how to do cuts, rolls, and other ornamentation in one day.
Almost 4 months later and I realized I never responded to everyone and don’t even think I saw most of your posts!!
Thank you all for your input, it’s all helpful and I am still considering the Janet but haven’t had time to go back and try it again (still planning on bringing my Dusty along for comparison).
I don’t think I will ever sell my Dusty, but I do have an FH26 Dusty that I would consider selling if I bought the Janet.
I learn by ear. I can read music and sometimes use it to help me figure out a tough passage if needed.
After 10 years of lessons and many workshops with people like Janet H, Grainne Hambly and Michael Rooney (and recently Fiana NiChoinaill) the fingering comes naturally to me for the most part.
I believe Janet’s books (as well as some others) have the fingering notated. There isn’t always just one way to do it, if it flows then it’s probably correct.
There is an exercise called Chimes which Janet teaches and one of her former students has taught at a workshop as well.
What kind of music are you playing? I play mostly Irish but I’m no expert on the process nor am I very good at explaining.
However, if you are playing Irish or folk music and you know what key apiece is in and you know what the chord changes are you can improvise with your bass hand around that.
For a lot of my tunes I just write what each chord is while I’m learning it and to start I just do octaves or fifths of the chord.
For the melody (right hand) I find that if I can hum the tune to myself I should be able to play it without the music. (Once I’ve worked out any tricky bits.)
I agree with Alison and you can bet when I did my busking 15 years ago my arrangements were very basic as I had only been learning for a few months! But you can also use your busking time to try out new things and experiment. My busking sign at the time said, ‘Help send me to Ireland’ as it was my dream to go and I did go not long after. I attended Janet Harbison’s week long harp intensive workshop.
Hester, not sure if they have a Robin, will check for you. Here is the link to Clive Morley Harps page on Dusty Strings FH32:
The only preparation you really need is to find out if you need a license to busk or not. And if it’s OK to sell CDs if you have any. Other than that, *just do it!*
I did it about 15 years ago when I was only playing for a few months. I had several pieces (mostly Irish) and a lot of courage at the time. I busked on South Street in Philadelphia for a couple of summers. It’s a well touristed street and I made lots of money, but I did stay out there for hours. I drew crowds and even got gigs out of it. It was fantastic!
I now live in Leeds, England and you don’t need a license at all to busk, but for the past couple of summers I’ve been too scared to do it. I was brave before, why not now? And I have loads more tunes now than I did 15 years ago, of course!
And if you have a good resonant harp (like my Dusty Strings FH32, you shouldn’t need any amplification at all. Best to keep it simple!
Good luck!!
Hi Hester, where in the UK are you? I can recommend a Dusty Strings 34 string and I personally have a few friends with Teifi harps who love them and have no regrets.
I am jealous of all the snow back home! I’m now in the north of England and it’s been the wettest year since they’ve been keeping records–that’s wet with rain, not snow!
