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This probably isn’t the kind of thing you’re talking about, but I’m being serious. Come to western NH. Look into Lebanon, West Lebanon, or Hanover. There are NO harpists here. I’m a lever harper, and a string quartet contacted me just a couple of months ago asking me to play pedal harp with them. Frankly, they were rude, and I’m just as glad I can’t oblige, but it was another symptom of the problem. I have a friend who’s playing flute with North Country Opera in a few weeks, and she said they had to leave out the harp part. They do this as a matter of course, because there’s no other option.
I’ve spent the past year building up an expectation for harps in the area just south of the cities I mentioned. I can give you a couple of email lists to advertise in (very effective around here, because the communities are so small), put you in touch with people who know the regional orchestras, and you might approach the [Upper Valley Music Center](http://www.uvmusic.org/programs_chamber.html) in Lebanon regarding a teaching gig.
I’m involved with the [West Claremont Center for Music and the Arts](http://www.wcc-ma.org/) in Claremont, NH, 30 minutes south of the area I referred you to above. If you’d like to visit sometime and have a look around, give me some notice and I’ll see what kind of introductions I can manage!
The quality of life here is very high, and in Claremont especially the cost of living is quite low. When my husband and I moved here (Claremont), we felt like we were on vacation for a full three years; traffic is heavy when there are three cars in front of you at a stop light…. I hope you and your friends will give it some serious thought.
Hi Jennifer,
I found a piano version [here](http://www.everyonepiano.com/Music-2313-Colourful-Clouds-Chasing-the-Moon.html). It’s the same music under a different name; I’m just not sure if this is still under copyright (if so, this wouldn’t be a legal download!)
I know this is an old thread, but I found a Lindeman on Craigslist today: http://boston.craigslist.org/sob/atd/4394478339.html
I’d love to get it for myself, but I live almost three hours away; I couldn’t just pop in to try it out and learn whether it needs some new strings, or a complete overhaul. So – I hope someone else finds this helpful! 🙂
I’ve never played a cross-strung either, though I do find them intriguing.
I wouldn’t worry about what kind of instrument you’re “supposed to” start on. Get the one that captivates you the most, and you’ll spend more time playing it. It sounds like that’s the cross-strung, so go for it!
I don’t think buzzing on a cross-strung should be an especially big issue. Like a single-course harp, the strings will certainly be placed far enough apart that they won’t hit each other when plucked, even where they cross; and you don’t typically reach through the centerline to play the chromatic, so managing buzzing from your fingers shouldn’t be any different from a “regular” harp. I believe this is one of the advantages of a cross-strung harp over a multi-course inline chromatic harp (such as a triple-strung with the chromatic course in the center) — you don’t have to reach through.
Cross-strung harps are more balanced from an engineering perspective, since they have strings pulling on both sides of the neck, so they should hold their tune as well or better than a traditional lever harp. Though of course that can depend on the harp.
As for the cross-strung lacking a proliferation of “how-to” books, that shouldn’t matter. You only need one to give you the gist of the thing, and you probably won’t even finish that one — you’ll want to move into playing performable music ASAP!
For beginner-level music on a cross-strung, I’d skip to the back of any music book that’s labeled “beginner harp,” where there will probably be some pieces in keys other than C. You won’t have to stick to the beginner books for lever harp; since you don’t have to worry about lever changes, which are generally considered more advanced in lever-harp world, you could even start out with beginner music for pedal harp.
I’m really interested to see how this goes for you — which harp you pick, and how you progress if you choose the cross-strung. Please come back and let us know!
Hi Kevin,
That’s probably not a good idea. To retune it from C to the G above and so forth on up the harp would tremendously increase the overall tension on the harp, probably far beyond that harp’s tolerance.You *might* be able to retune it from C to the G below, but if you use the current strings they will end up slack enough that they’ll sound more like rubber bands. If you change the strings, you’ll have to use thicker ones, which will change the tone — probably not for the better.
If you decide to experiment, let us know how it goes!
Angela
It seems like you have a cordial or at least neutral relationship with the quartet — if you run into them again, you might suggest they pick up an old copy of a missalette, or at least do some online research into the order of the Mass. It’s a good thing for musicians to know anyway, for professional reasons. The music *should* flow seamlessly into the Mass and thus enhance it, but it sounds like it was pretty disruptive at this wedding. Yes, growing pains… but there’s a minimum amount of due diligence musicians really should be doing before walking into a new performance situation.
I agree they should have known what they were playing before they arrived at the venue. Maybe this was a last-minute situation?
Re: the cellist: I sing with two organists who practice the organ during the homily (sermon) with the blower turned off. Drives me nuts. Those keys make noise even without the air running through the pipes! I’m with you. I pay attention to what’s going on.
(As for the nun and the singer: vocalists can drink water during Mass. I do it all the time, even at the church where I’m seated up on the altar. It’s an *hour* of singing, after all! We can also smile at people. I go even further; at weddings or funerals, I’ve been known to get up from my chair to give the bride or a mourner a tissue. If the girl was being disruptive about it, or flirting, then fine, she should have been more discrete, but — what was that nun doing paying attention to some random, silent vocalist DURING HOLY MASS. Hm??? 😉 )
I use a Cosco 12-301 ABL 3-in-1 Hand Truck. I looked around a little, and maybe this exact model is no longer sold, but you should be able to get a more recent version. The prices I’m seeing right now are outrageous, I definitely did not pay what Amazon is asking at the moment.
You can use it with just two wheels, or (easily) convert it to a more-stable 4-wheel configuration, or (easily) convert it to a flat bed. It’s sturdy enough to navigate the broken, hilly *and* slanted sidewalks we have around here. I also use some double-sided Velcro — no sewing! — to attach my stand and collapsible stool to the cart.
The only down-side is that the platform at the bottom and the hand-holds at the top don’t fold in, so it can be tricky to fit into a car with a harp. In my 2006 Pontiac Vibe, I have to fold down the middle seat, then use bungees to tie down the harp and cart.
The first cart I bought was a Magna Cart. It’s cheap, but definitely not sturdy or stable enough for a precious harp, so beware. If you can’t get the Cosco for a decent price online, your best bet is probably to walk into your local Home Depot or similar store with your harp and try out some carts in person. That’s how I found the Cosco.
Well, you can find a little bit of jazz in the public domain (1922 is the magic year). There’s some Cole Porter and Jerome Kern, for example. But if you want to play it on harp, you’ll have to arrange it yourself.
If you’re willing to pay for some more modern jazzy music, try Frank Voltz. His pieces seem to run the gamut of the “intermediate” level. The more jazzy they are, the more difficult they are. You can hear samples on his website http://frankvoltz.com/listen.htm
Western NH, and we’ve only had one big snow this year. 🙁 We’re dealing with all the freezing cold, but no fun & pretty snow, just ice two inches deep covering the sidewalks!
Those are pretty! Here’s a [link](http://www.jcpenney.com/for-the-home/holiday-decor-gifts/shop-by-theme/silent-night/marthaholiday%25e2%2584%25a2-silent-night-set-of-4-glass-harp-christmas-ornaments/prod.jump?ppId=pp5003050743&searchTerm=harp+ornament&catId=SearchResults&colorizedImg=DP0812201317020292M.tif) if anyone’s interested.
Double. My eyes don’t work well, but good lighting helps, so I aim one light at each page. For what it’s worth, I saw a picture of me playing a cocktail hour recently, and the light from the double was clearly lighting the strings, even though it was aimed at the page. I didn’t realize it at the time, but apparently the stand light served a dual purpose!
If the soundboard isn’t already cracked, adding the missing strings won’t hurt it. It was made to support the tension of a full set of strings, after all. If the harp has been missing these strings for two years, it clearly wasn’t maintained and you probably want to restring the whole thing — make sure to work that into your offering price.
If I’m going to go for decoration on a harp, I prefer it to be the wood itself (my harp is figured cherry with birds-eye maple). In that sense, this harp is gorgeous! However, it looks a little dated to me, maybe a bit too 70s….
