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A forum would be a nice idea–I can suggest it at our next committee meeting. I googled after I replied to you and realized your branch centered in Bristol, but perhaps there are other members closer to you? I’m no longer a beginner, that’s true, but I don’t forget what it feels like to be a beginner so feel free to ask me anything, chat, etc.
Hi Lyn,
I’m originally from the US but I live in Leeds now. A bit far from you, but if you’re ever in the area, let me know! I’m in my 40s and have been playing lever harp for 15 years. There are quite a few of us up north and we hold monthly play-togethers. I’m secretary of the Transpennine branch of the Clarsach Society. Google the Clarsach Society and see if there is a branch near you and you are sure to meet some other harpers a bit closer to you.Have you been in touch with any teachers in your area yet? Don’t they have a small harp to rent to you until your daughter has had lessons for a while? Teachers often have at least an extra harp to rent. Your daughter may not stick with the harp and several months of lessons would give her an idea if it’s something she’d really enjoy or not before making the commitment to buy one.
I’m really grateful for the teacher I had and for the way she taught me. I learned theory little by little as we went along. But with Irish dance tunes there aren’t *that* many things you can do chord-wise. Once you know what key it’s in (modal tunes throw a small monkey wrench into the works) you can use any other tune that you already know in that key as a guide, sort of.
I’ve learned most of my music by ear but my teacher and I both love Grainne Hambly’s arrangements. I suspect my teacher is influenced by her. Simple left hand with a bit of off-beat or playing into the downbeat. I no longer take lessons but for new tunes I make up my own left hand keeping it simple and mostly on the beat. I wish I was better at syncopation.
Yay folk music! It’s all I play really and mostly Irish as well. At the risk of sounding pedantic, in Irish and Scottish music, it’s only a song if it has words, the rest are airs and tunes (jigs, hornpipes, reels, polkas, slides, slipjigs, srathespeys, etc. etc.) and if it’s O’Carolan it’s usually referred to as a piece or an air, for the most part.
At the moment a few of my favorites are the slow air Amhran na Leabhar (Song of the Books) and two hornpipes I play as a set; Cooley’s and The Tailor’s Twist, the song Black is the Colour (I hear the Christy Moore version in my head when I play it), two jigs I play as a set The Mist Covered Mountain and The Cliffs of Moher.That is a good price for an excellent harp! Very transportable, great sound quality. I have one myself of about the same age. I see no problems at all if it is in very good to excellent condition. I think it would be easy to resell to a student, especially a young one to whom a full size lever harp would be too big. Also a lever harpist who would be interested in a second smaller harp to take to jam sessions, etc. (which is exactly what I use mine for–as well as a spare harp to give lessons on.)
I have to agree with Deb. the new forum seems very geared to pedal harpists much more than the old one. I guess it’s up to us lever harp players to start more threads and conversations and perhaps that may draw some of the lever harpers back into the forefront.
I don’t have any experience with either of those harps, but all things being equal (quality and sound-wise) I’d definitely go with the Evensong harp as it has 26 strings, 2 more than the County Kerry. I doesn’t sound like a lot, but believe me 2 strings more in the bass will make a huge difference in what you’ll be able to do with your left hand. I’ve got a Dusty Strings 26 (as well as a Dusty Strings 32). I can play just about all of my pieces on the 26 (with a revised left hand, of course), but anything less than that and it just wouldn’t work for most of my music.
I play violin (well, Irish fiddle really). I play mostly Irish music on harp and a good portion of my repertoire on harp overlaps with my fiddle, but not all of it.
One thing Santa is already taking care of for me is repairing an old violin I have acquired. It’s 170 years old and lovely (though obviously ‘pre-loved’). The other thing I’d like but won’t be getting (not this year anyway!) is a harp with just one or two more strings in the bass. Camac’s are nice but I really need to try a load more before making any kind of decision.
I imagine a small mat or carpet under the harp is protect the base from getting scratched, especially if playing outdoors on rocky ground or cement.
I understand now. You are all talking about pedal harps, I play a lever harp. There is much more that can go wrong with age in a pedal harp!
The old one, of course. Am I missing something? I don’t understand why anyone would choose the new one unless the old one had lots of scratches and dents etc, even then it seems the better option.
I don’t know if that is something that can be answered in a single reply. I took Irish harp lessons weekly for 10 years and still have much to learn about getting the dance music right!
I’d say listen to as much Irish music as possible, not just on the harp (Grainne Hambly is my favorite) but other instruments as well to get a feel for the dance rhythms of jigs, reels, hornpipes, etc.
One thing I do know for sure is to keep the left hand simple–the melody is the most important thing. Also as a general rule 5th and octaves are more authentic sounding so leave out 3rds.
Then of course there is the ornamentation–triplets, cuts, etc. Again, listening will help with those, but is there a teacher in your area? Or maybe you can find a tutorial on youtube?
