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I have two harps, a Camac Athena concert grand pedal harp and a Thormahlen Serenade lever harp. I don’t do much gigging, but I like having harps with two such different voices. Plus, when I do arranging or composition, I can check both lever and pedal changes by having one of each type of harp.
Lyon & Healy West just today sent out it’s latest email flyer, and it’s almost two pages of trio music. I’m not sure how to post the flyer here, since it’s on my email, but you could contact them directly and I’m sure they’d send it to you. Hope this helps,
Andy
Hi, Elizabeth:
When I need to change the size of the pedal marking in Sibelius 5, I click on the pedal marking to hightlight it, go to Window on the Toolbar, click on Properties, and go down to Text in the
The Bach Prelude in C is easy as far as the fingers go, has changes on all pedals, and has the benefit of being recognized and useful as a perfomance piece.
I was asked at one of the harp showrooms many years ago to take off my wristwatch prior to trying out the harps, just to avoid accidentally dinging one. And a friend of mine had a roommate
Hi, Alice:
I recently adjusted the cable lengths on my Athena for the first time (I’ve had it a year) and found it to be very easy. This was all I needed to do to correct some minor intonation issues that were starting.
When you purchased your Camac, you should have been given a kit containing both an instruction manual, and all the tools necessary. If you didn’t, trying contacting whomever you purchased the harp from and seeing if you can get it. You can also go to the Camac Harps website and download and printout the regulation and care manual yourself. It has a complete listing of all the tools you need, and is printed in French and English.
Hope this helps,
Andy
Hi, Deb:
Actually, it’s very common to go through several harps, either renting or buying, before settling on one. There are so many brands, sizes, and voices in harps that it is difficult to choose – and many harpists
Hi, John: I hope your experience with the Ogden won’t sour you on harps! The Ogdens seem to be pretty sturdy, nice little harps once they get past that string breakage stage. I had one for a year myself, with the same issue for the first several months. It is very frustrating to have to deal with! I’ve had two Preludes that broke a few strings, but not to the extent of the Ogden.
Another harp I highly recommend is the Thormahlen Serenade. I purchased a used one last Novemeber, and have been very pleased. I’ve replaced a couple of the older strings, but not had any breakage so far.
I also find that plucking the very highest strings with a nail makes the tuner read the note easier.
andy
While not on the scale of the Nutcracker, I had one pedal out of place once when I started a piece – if it had just been a solo, it would have been easier to fix, the problem was I was accompaning a cantor who was convinced she was the one off-pitch, so she was sort of searching for the proper notes at the same time I was, making it doubly confusing.
Hi, Sherry: Another thing to check is to make sure none of the string ends inside the harp are buzzing. Especially check any that seem to have a long end past the knot.
Andy
Beautiful harp, Sherry! Congratulations! I’m sure you will have a lot of pleasure from being able to play again, and on such a nice harp!
Maybe I’m confused, but isn’t Gilligan a rental harp? If so, you should talk to Budget Harp Rentals before sending him off for a new base and other work.
Hi, Cassie: Those are sharping blades. They’re more common on wire-strung harps now, as they’re easier on wire than newer lever designs, from what I understand. The downfall to them is that it’s hard to judge exactly how far to turn them to get the correct pitch, so they’re not as accurate as modern levers. The Hidden Valley website is http://www.hiddenvalleyharps.com/
