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Nancy, I know this won’t feel nice, and I know you shouldn’t have to do it, but I’m going to tell you what I told my student who is waiting for her Sweetharp. Don’t wait for emails, but call him. When nobody picks up and you have to leave a message, include the information that you’ll call back the next day — and then do it. If someone picks up and says they’ll get back to you with the information you want, tell them you’ll call the next day if you don’t hear by then, and then do it. Repeat for a few days. If you don’t get the response you need, then start saying you’ll call back the next half-day (afternoon or morning, depending). If that doesn’t get a response, start calling every two hours, then every hour. The key to this is the follow-through. It’s unfortunate, but the squeaky wheel does get the grease!
I know it will feel horrible, and I don’t think anyone likes using this approach, but it *definitely* gets results, and usually *very* quickly. I once used it when Verizon lost a phone they were supposed to be repairing, gave me a replacement, and then charged me for it; I got the $154 refund within three hourly phone calls.
lol, Elizabeth, in addition to playing the harp, I sing with classical technique in a light, clear, voice. And my name is Angela. And I sing primarily as a cantor in Catholic churches. And I mostly sing from the choir loft. It’s all I can do not to roll my eyes at that one; but I try really hard not to, because people really mean it, and without exception every person thinks he’s the first one to come up with it!
People really do mean that particular compliment though; it’s almost never an off-the-cuff one. You deserve to feel proud about it! 🙂
Elizabeth, what’s yours?
I sang and played in a concert for organ, soprano, and harp a couple of months ago. I brought my harp to one of the rehearsals to get a feel for the space and pinpoint potential problems (the patterned carpet. . .). As I finished playing through, the professional organist — as in, degree in organ, playing for a living for forty years or so — said, “. . .And you said you taught yourself?” The tinge of disbelief was gratifying. 🙂
Since you’re looking at what’s on the lot, have you considered taking your harps to the dealer and putting them in the cars you’re considering? I did that when I had to go harpmobile shopping last fall; dealers were very accommodating, and tended to be pretty tickled by the idea. Since all harp models are different and all car models are different, that’s the only way to know if a car is a good fit size-wise.
Good luck with your search!
It might sound like I’m being flip, but I’m not — have you considered a sand bag? It seems like you could put a nice pillow cover over it if you were worried about appearances. (I would probably do that, if I played outside very often. 🙂 )
Great advice, Tony! I had that experience when I was looking for my harp — I had been listening to recordings of the model for so many months that I was shocked when I sat behind it; it sounded *nothing* like what I expected. I played for 30 minutes and couldn’t figure out if it was the right harp. Then the owner sat down and played something really simple for me (that clock-chime sequence), and tears started pouring down my face. Great advice.
Bella, I suspect that once you learn enough to begin to understand the harp idiom, you’ll find “piano sheet music” just isn’t good enough anymore. The day you pick up a piece of popular music transcribed for keyboard and feel the need to arrange it for harp, you’ll know you’ve really arrived. 😀
Good luck, and I hope your harp finds you soon!
My student finally got the call that her Sweetharp is ready to be stained (ordered it last August). It *should* be here in about a month, and when it arrives she’s going to call so I can go over and inspect it, show her how to tune in the key of Bb, etc. I’ve been checking in with this thread, and I’ll post when I have something more to tell. 🙂
I’d like to experience fewer drums slamming their rhythms violently into my body everywhere I go. I have nothing against percussion. “Drum sets” and their recordings need to be destroyed.
I’d like to see music valued among the public as the living, enriching art it is, instead of simply a vehicle for personal glory, untold wealth, and emotional vomiting.
I’d like to see the statement, “I own my own business. I sing for a living,” met an acknowledgement that I have a right to earn my daily bread using the body God gave me, just like every laborer does — instead of with contempt.
I’d like to see less nepotism in church music: I’d like to see more interest in making music to the glory of God, as opposed to the glory of parishioners.
I’d like to see churches stop paying for licensing rights to ridiculously terrible music, start making use of the free music composed before copyright laws existed, and put their money instead toward paying trained musicians to bring it to life. Music in church should not simply present to the people what they already know; it should give them a glimpse into the mystery of what they don’t.
I’d like to see older churches, designed for sound projection before the advent of microphones, utilized in the way they were intended. Throw the microphones off the choir loft and let the congregation trample them as they walk in.
I’d like to see public school music teachers be required to have experience in the instrument they are teaching. This would ensure a better education for the students, and create more jobs for teachers. (In NH, this isn’t a requirement. Our local high school chorus teacher is a clarinetist who teaches information that is 100% incorrect and horribly dangerous to vocal health.)
I’d like to see this article posted in every public school music room, and printed in every public school concert program. The next time music is going to be cut from a budget, I want to see someone stand up and draw the line between music and math scores. http://www.brams.umontreal.ca/plab/research/dossiers_vulgarisation/newsweek_musicmind/newsweek_musicmind.html?Story_ID=329414
(Why don’t we ever cut football? The concussions literally make kids dumber, and there are plenty of other sports that don’t have that problem!)
Happy to help! 🙂
He’s a mutt – the shelter told us his mom was a black lab, but he manifests in appearance and temperament as 100% black-and-tan coonhound. I specifically didn’t want a hound, so the joke was on me! lol
Thanks John! My husband is a big fan of Zelda, and it’s one of the few video games I can stand; I’ve been wanting to surprise him with a Zelda piece on harp, but I don’t play “by ear” very well. These are some great starting points for harp arrangements. 🙂
Natalie, I guarantee you that the greatest musicians are stress-heads about proper technique. The purpose of technique is to get the best sound from the instrument with the least fatigue and injury to the player. The greatest musicians treat “practicing” their instruments like a full-time job: if they tried to do that without great technique, they would end up unable to play at all. The trick is that they know their technique so well that they can “let go” in performance and forget about the technique without losing it.
If you mean that the greatest musicians make it *look* easy, then that I can agree with. This is one of the beauties of witnessing live performance, but it is dangerous for those who don’t understand. My primary instrument is voice, and I know LOTS of people who think that because their idols make performance look easy, that means it is easy. These people refuse to practice, they refuse to learn technique, they refuse to learn to count or read music, and They. Sound. Terrible. They also lose their voices a lot. And do a lot of complaining and fishing for compliments.
Please don’t mistake the illusion of ease for lack of study – you will do yourself and your list of “greats” a major disservice!
Rebecca,
For more money, I’m partial to the VW Sportwagen. However, like you, my budget was much smaller than that. Hubby and I purchased a 2006 Pontiac Vibe last fall. It fits my 52″ lever harp in the back seat, with plenty of room for an 70 pound dog in the way-back.
The back seat folds down flat, so you may be able to fit a pedal harp in that car. We paid $7000 for a Vibe with 106k miles; I suspect we could have gotten one in similar condition for less if we didn’t just want to get the car shopping thing over with ASAP.
GM shut down its Pontiac division, but the Vibe is well-known to be a Toyota Matrix with a different name slapped on it. Parts and repairs are still easy and affordable to obtain from your local repair man or from Toyota (if you let dealers near your cars. We don’t 🙂 ).
Good luck with your search!
Trying to *finally* finish memorizing the last section of Frank Voltz’s “Peace Be With You”. The jazz chords are not in my musical vernacular, so it’s a satisfying stretch. I’m also working the Canon in D so that I can get to the point where I can play it in my sleep. Other than that, I’m trying to get my memorized repertoire up to a solid hour (not including Christmas music), so that I can offer my services to a local inn (for a fee, of course), and possibly to nearby hospitals (for free). I have about 25-30 minutes right now. It’s getting there! 🙂
