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These are all good posts. Thanks everyone! You are correct, we need all these different types of harps, because one size/type does not fit all. That is another huge difference between harp and piano–most pianos/keyboards have 88 keys and are much more “standard” than harps of all different sizes, number of strings, string tension, string spacing, etc. Around here, in western North Carolina, people are just giving away very good pianos–all one has to do is move them! This is certainly not true of harps. If any can be found, they are still very expensive, even used ones.
Have a great day, all of you,
BalfourWell, I am a little surprised that some of the pedal harpists out there have not commented about pedal glissandos. This is one of the MAIN things that double-action pedal harps can do that no other harp can do. It allows us to make seven tones into only four, five, or six by using enharmonic tones, or synonyms. Orchestral music is full of these “chordal” glissandos, only possible on the pedal harp.
For lever or cross-strung harpists who do not understand this principle, a small explanation may suffice here. Say you want a fully diminished seventh chord for a glissando. C–E flat–G flat–A are the four tones. The pedals are in the order D-C-B-E-F-G-A, so they would be set like this: D#-C-B#-E flat-F#-G flat-A. Only the four tones sound as a glissando is performed, when the pedals are set like this.
Sorry, Biagio, but the chromatic cross-strung harp will not work for these glissandos. It is arranged like the piano keyboard, and you can only gliss on the white keys, C Major or A natural minor scale, and on the black keys, an F# Pentatonic scale. The double-action pedal harp can do this and more in ALL KEYS.
I hope this helps a little to clarify some of the differences in the types of harps available out there. I wish that pedal harps could be made less expensive, too, and made available to more harpists. I also wish that, as an option, they could be built more like lever harps, lighter construction with less tension, like the Musicmakers’ Large Gothic that I own. If I could have pedals on that harp, I would be in heaven! The early pedal harps were lighter and smaller than modern ones, so a nicely-restored antique harp might be an option, or a reproduction of one.
Best wishes to all of you,
BalfourThanks, everyone, for your explanations and stories about this. Now I know what it is!
Best regards,
BalfourI want all you lovely female harpists out there to know that you are not the only ones that get offered help with moving/loading a harp! I am small, 5′ 6″, and just about every time I move a harp, some nice man offers to help. I just say, “thank you sir, but I am used to doing it myself.” Usually my sweet wife is there with me to move the bench and other accessories, but some of the helpful guys usually watch to see if we can indeed load the pedal harp into our car!
Have a great day,
BalfourHi, Cindy and Gretchen,
I was just re-reading what Carl Swanson said about being too dry in the winter in his book A GUIDE FOR HARPISTS. I do not think that the SUMMER could be too dry unless your air-condition is making it so. Humidity is measured from zero percent dry up to 100 percent humid. Ideal humidity is about 50 percent; that is why it can be a little dryer to 40 percent, or a little damper to 60 percent and still be okay for the harps and other wooden instruments.
One other important thing: all hygrometers are not accurate. I once had a customer who thought that her house was too humid at 70 percent, but when I actually measured it with an accurate piano-technician’s hygrometer, I found her humidity to be only 50 percent, normal! So all she had to do was subtract 20 to get an accurate reading.
Hope all this helps!
Best thoughts,
BalfourI agree, Gretchen. As I said earlier, between 40 and 60 percent humidity is fine for any wooden instrument. This was supported by Lyon & Healy, MusicMakers, Dusty Strings, etc. And I advise this to my piano-tuning customers all the time. Hope this helps.
Best wishes,
BalfourWhen I do a Celtic harp concert, anything by O’Carolan, Sally Gardens, She Moved Through the Fair, My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose, Ye Banks and Braes, Amazing Grace, I’ll Meet Thee on the Meadow Ridge (The Lea Rig) and Kelvin Grove seem to be the most often requested. Also, Greensleeves seems to be the number one favorite on any harp!
Best thoughts,
BalfourThanks, Gretchen. Hello to CCPRAWAK. Here in western North Carolina, we have extremes of humidity–high in the summer and low in the winter. I am obsessive about keeping the humidity in our small house between 40 and 60 percent. I have to add moisture in winter, then take it out in summer, a constant endeavor! But my harps, grand piano, dulcimers, pipe organ, and clavichord seem to love it. (My sweet wife does, too!) The instruments stay basically in tune, except when I take one of the harp princesses out–then she is unhappy!
Best regards,
BalfourI had forgotten about this thread–thanks for reviving it, CCPRAWAK. Chloe, how are your fingers doing? Hope they have improved. I could not do without my Aloe Vera gel. I have had a busy summer of harp playing, with practicing at least an hour every day and some three-hour gigs, plus weddings most weekends. All this takes a toll on the fingers!
My best to all of you,
BalfourThanks so much for that video, Biagio! It is really great.
It is very interesting that an Autoharp has “harp” in its name, even though it is a kind of zither, more like a lyre but “automatic” with the chord changing “buttons.” I guess Autozither would not sound quite as nice, ha, ha!
Good day to all of you,
BalfourGood point, Biagio! My very earliest experience with a harp was with an autoharp. When well-tuned, they can be very enjoyable little instruments. Our mountain dulcimer is not as loud as an autoharp, so I would prefer the autoharp for outdoor accompaniment to singing.
Best wishes for a great day,
BalfourOkay, Sylvia, now you have me intrigued! What exactly is a quince ceremony? So far, I have not read about one in your very entertaining wedding books!
Best wishes,
BalfourThanks, Gretchen, for starting this topic! I agree with all that has been mentioned so far, and I get many requests for movie themes. That is primarily the reason that Angi Bemiss (Simply the Harp) and I came up with the series of books we called UNFORGETTABLE THEATRE TREASURES. My sweet little grandmother Knight wanted “Somewhere My Love” played so often that I can play it in my sleep, ha, ha!
Best thoughts,
BalfourI agree–know what your clientele would like for you to play. That is exactly what Yolanda Kondonassis did this evening at her concert in Rabun Gap, GA. It was super, and we are so fortunate to live only 50 miles from the concert venue! It was great to see Kim and Dani, too!
Best wishes everyone,
Balfour
