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John, thanks so much for posting your video today! My wife and I were wondering how you were doing on your big project. We watched the video, and WOW, now you are done! My wife says to tell you she loves what your harp looks like in your antique room in front of that pretty window–it is perfect! We know why your wife wanted you to fix this harp and place it in that nice room.
Be sure to keep even tension on it with those temporary strings, from the top to the bottom. You don’t want the soundboard to ripple or anything!
We hope you will post your working on the Clark harp this summer. We would love to see your progress. You have certainly learned a lot about repairing a harp, so the Clark should be much easier!
Happy New Year, 2023!
Harp Hugs,
Balfour and Carol LynnGlad that new tuning key works well, William! I am one harpist who does not like a pouch key holder attached to my harp. I feel that they stick out too much, like you said. When I go out to gigs with a harp, I just put the key in my accessories bag and keep it close to the harp as I play. I even have an extra one in the car, just in case I forget to take it, ha, ha!
Harp Hugs and Happy New Year!
BalfourYou qualify for the Trianon or the gold Oriane! However, my particular Atlantide Prestige beats them all, in my humble opinion. Enjoy trying out many harps in order to find the harp of your dreams, Cblack!
Wishing you all the best,
BalfourHi Molly!
We are so pleased that you are happy with your performance. People who “beat themselves up” after a performance are always very unhappy. It is DONE, so they need to get on with it. There can be a lot of hope for the next performance, and a chance to apply what we learned from the previous one. After performing professionally for some 60 years (I began when I was only 8) I seem to have learned how to do it, ha, ha!
I apologize in advance for the poor recordings that exist of my playing on Youtube and Facebook! There are “skips” and other imperfections because of technical problems, and the fact that those were not professionally recorded. But folks have told me that at least it gave them a chance to hear and see a little glimpse of me playing the harp, ha, ha! I always have a good time when I play.
You and your harp look so elegant and beautiful in that photo you posted above. Keep up the good work!
Best wishes for a Merry Christmas,
and harp hugs,
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)Good morning Molly!
What wonderful news. We were sending good thoughts to you yesterday! We LOVE the nice photo of you and your harp, in a beautiful setting. Christmas is coming fast this year! Now you can breathe again. Sorry to hear about your cold fingers. I know what that feels like. It is bad enough on piano and organ keys that are cold, too, but it is especially difficult on the harp. But you made it through this first recital, very well, from what you wrote.
Thanks so much for posting this message with the photo. That helps us to visualize what you look like. You can search “Balfour Knight harpist” and maybe find a few little clips of me playing Cherie! I don’t post them myself, but other folks have a way of doing that, ha, ha!
Merry Christmas and we are so proud of you! Keep playing and enjoying your harp.
Harp Hugs,
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)Keep that confidence, Molly, and we know you will do well this Saturday! We will be thinking of you, and please let us know how it turns out.
Harp Hugs,
Balfour and Carol LynnJohn, I should have said “when the strings eventually break once in a while, they break where the discs contact the strings.” Sylvia Woods has always said “harp strings break when they feel like it!” So, some breakage, especially from old age, is to be expected.
Thanks, Molly. We were thinking that maybe the church where you are performing has a website with photos of the interior. You could check out what it looks like beforehand, to make you feel a little better. Yes, it is wonderful to be able to rehearse in the place where you will be performing. We have not always had that option, either, and it makes a real difference.
Wishing you the best,
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)That’s right, John, a black finish covers up a multitude of imperfections, ha, ha! My gorgeous grand piano is satin black, and it is so easy to repair a little scratch on it.
By the way, those nylon dots you made look so good in that photo you posted. They will be easier on the strings than eyelets would be. One of my former pedal harps had metal eyelets on it, and that place is where each string would break. My current pedal harp, with the nylon dots and nylon eyelets, does not have that problem. The strings break in the normal place, where the discs contact the strings.
Good luck on your soundboard installation and side moldings!
So good to hear from you, Molly. My concert went beautifully! I was a bit nervous two days before it, but I went to the church and practiced for the concert on Saturday, and had a wonderful time playing with Mike, the church organist. We spent almost the whole day together, and he and I played some harp/organ and piano/organ duets which we created the arrangements of. Saturday was so much fun that I ended up very relaxed and full of the Christmas spirit on Sunday for the 11:00 concert! In addition to the duets, I played solo harp, piano and organ, each for about 20 minutes, so it was a full concert. The church was almost full to capacity, and everyone said that we played all of their favorites and MADE their Christmas. It truly is “the most wonderful time of the year!”
Wishing you the best for your recital, too!
Harp Hugs,
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)Ha, ha, John! My friend Gregg on these forums would say the green, of course! My wife says, unless your wife says “green,” go with the natural or black. You can see what it looks like and then decide, after you install the moldings. If you put some natural varnish on, just to see what it would look like, and decided you all didn’t like it, then you could cover that up with black–just our thoughts. Thanks so much for posting these updates. Merry Christmas to you folks, too!
Nylon Gauges:
2nd Octave:
E .74
D .76
C .79
B .82
A .84
G .88
F .943rd Octave:
E .99
D 1.05
C 1.10
B 1.14
A 1.18
G 1.25
F 1.324th and 5th Octave Nylons are not recommended!
Hope all this helps.
BalfourJohn, that made a mess out of my gauges for the First and Second Octaves, ha, ha!
Here they are again:
First Octave in Nylon
E .56
D .58
C .61
B .64
A .66
G .69
F .71Second Octave in Gut
E .66
D .70
C .74
B .78
A .82
G .86
F .90John, I enjoyed your latest video! I found some string gauges in millimetres for you, so you can check the sizes of your string holes. Everything is looking good! As long as the holes are large enough for the strings to go through, it will be great. Good going!
Top E .56 mm (First octave in nylon) 2nd Octave–Gut (these would be slightly different in
Nylon)
D .58 E .66
C .61 D .70
B .64 C .74
A .66 B .78
G .69 A .82
F .71 G .86
F .903rd Octave–Gut
E .93
D .96
C 1.00
B 1.05
A 1.10
G 1.15
F 1.204th Octave–Gut
E 1.24
D 1.30
C 1.40
B 1.46
A 1.59
G 1.68
F 1.775th Octave–Gut
E 1.87
D 1.97
C 2.07
B 2.18
A 2.29
Change to Wire
G 1.60
F 1.736th Octave–Wire
E 1.82
D 1.92
C 2.00
B 2.10
A 2.20 Your Lowest Note
