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Well, I finally looked in the Method books which I learned from, and here goes: David Watkins, in his Complete Method For the Harp, used “damped”. Henriette Renie, in her Complete Method for Harp, used “damped” or at least her translator, Geraldine Ruegg did! Carlos Salzedo, in his Modern Study of the Harp, used “muffled” or his translator did (Schirmer edition). I am glad that most of us know the meaning of both words, so it is not confusing.
Marco, on the subject of the damping system for the harp, I for one, would not use it for my style of playing, even for jazz harp. I have hand-damped for so long, the addition of a lever or pedal for the purpose of damping would prove to be confusing. However, I see no objection to your trying to market your idea, since it might prove effective to other harpists. Go for it!
Hi, Mae and all!
I was remembering that my dad used to use a nice set of jeweler’s files to remove burrs such as you have in the holes of those zither pins. One file was round, slender and tapered and would work quite nicely, I imagine.
Oh, and that Bubinga Dusty FH 36 is a DREAM HARP! I have played them at the Atlanta Harp Center and drooled!
This tuning mystery is very interesting! All three of my harps react very differently to changing temperatures and humidity. Usually it is just easier to tune the bass wires to where the rest of the harp has settled, since there are fewer bass strings. I do this before I play each harp, and it only takes a few minutes. At least once a week, though, I use a Korg tuner to set the middle octave of each harp back to standard pitch, then tune the remaining strings of the harp by ear to this pitch. (I am a professional piano tuner, also, so “stretching the octaves” is something I automatically do with a good ear.) Believe me, harps are simple to tune compared to pianos!
For anyone who has not read my “Alternate Tuning for Lever Harps” forum, I have one lever harp tuned in the Key of C flat so that with two lever harps I can play in all keys. This is proving to be very handy, as I can make the decision which harp to take to a gig based on what keys I need to play in with other musicians.
Eric, when changing the pitch a semi-tone on my harps, I did exactly what you said about tuning all the strings of one name throughout the compass of the harp. That was a gentler way to get the harps used to the pitch change!
I sure hope the strings are settling in, Mae. Your idea about more nylon/nylon wrapped strings sounds good. They sound great on my Ravenna 34, and I have played Ravenna 26’s that also have a very full, singing tone. What Dusty has achieved on these small harps is amazing!
Thanks for responding, Mae. I did want to add that I had tried BOTH of my lever harps in C flat, to see which one to leave in that key, and my Ravenna (Dusty Strings) did not sound as good to me in the lower tuning. She is much shorter than my Large Gothic (Musicmakers) and the bass strings obviously needed to be at the C tuning tension to sound bright and feel firm to me.
On the other hand, the C flat tuning actually improved the sound of the Gothic! She still has very firm tension and a totally full, gorgeous tone in C flat. She is my best sounding harp, anyway, which has been proven time after time when I “take her out,” according to all the comments I hear after a gig. I string her with metal on the lowest five bass strings, beginning with Low C, then go to lever gut for the next eight strings, finishing with nylon for the rest of the 36 strings. Jerry Brown has been wonderful to deal with over the years that I have owned this beautiful harp!
Fascinating, fascinating! Thanks for the updates. I certainly do not know all of your expert mathematical calculations, just what SOUNDS GOOD on a harp. I do know that taller harps with long strings sound better to me than short ones, just as longer grand pianos sound better than short ones. I had never thought too much about the math thing! (I have also found that some people cannot tell the difference in tone between one harp or piano and another!)
I agree that strings sound better after they have been on the harp for a while, and that the wood of the harp needs to get used to the vibrations. So, this harp may improve in the next few weeks on its own, let us hope.
Thanks, Mae, for keeping us informed. I am going to reply on my other forum, too.
Hi, again, Andelin! I have not tried that Arabesque on lever harp, just pedal harp (and of course, piano!). I imagine that the lever changes are indeed a challenge, and it might be possible and acceptable to slow down a little as you play it very expressively.
I was not aware that Lyon & Healy used Loveland levers! I thought that they always used Performance levers. However, I consider that the Lovelands are the easiest to change quickly, with their shorter throw than most of the other levers. It was good that you loosened the tighter ones, as I do that myself. Hope this helps! Best of luck on “perfecting” the Arabesque!
Andelin, thanks for sharing this! I just watched a video of one of my Christmas concerts this year, and it did indeed make me feel better about my performance. All of my “imagined” mistakes seemed not so bad as I actually saw and listened to myself. My sweet wife had assured me that it was very good, and she said “now do you believe me?” I have enjoyed reading this blog. My best to you, Balfour
I am eagerly watching this space, Mae! Hope your teacher brought the anchors and that you now have all the strings on your harp! I was just thinking today that String Trimmers (aka “weed eaters” here in the USA) have thick nylon in them for weed whacking, so some short pieces of that nylon, or heavy fishing line, might make good anchors in the future if you did not have enough. And, like you said, anchors can be used over and over, so you won’t have that problem when you go to restring this harp in a few years.
Biagio, your thoughts and writings are worth a great deal, I think! Mae, thanks for the stringing update. I agree with Biagio about taking the strings on up to pitch right away. I have replaced strings and completely restrung many harps myself over the years, and have also completely rebuilt and restrung several pianos. With the piano, you are dealing with considerable more tension than with a harp, so there is a “formula” when pulling the new strings up to pitch, so that the metal plate, wooden bridges, soundboard, etc. won’t be damaged. It sounds like you are “playing it safe” by gradually putting tension on the little harp, which was good. I like to tune up all the C’s to pitch, then all the G’s, followed by the E’s, etc. Just space them out.
When you eventually need to replace these strings on the harp, you may take one off at a time and replace with a new one. I think that is the safest way to restring, and you constantly have to tune up the new strings behind you as you progress across the entire harp. That way, the “crown” of the soundboard stays intact, and the total tension on the harp is virtually not affected.
Thanks for letting all of us know how your project is progressing. I look forward to seeing the photos! Best of luck on getting the beautiful sound you expect from this special little harp!
Great point, Lyle! I have one of those carts, and they are super! I would have forgotten that possibility for this forum, so thanks for coming up with it. (Balfour)
Mae, I had a little problem with the eyelets on my Musicmakers’ large Gothic harp, 36 strings. The tension and pressure of the metal bass strings on the eyelets makes them split eventually, and the walnut wood is so open-grained that it gives way to the pressure of the eyelet, making the hole oval-shaped. Jerry Brown, a dear friend of ours at Musicmakers’, and the builder of this harp, suggested putting a little epoxy around the edges of the holes and then inserting the eyelets. This has worked to stabilize the walnut, and when I just put all new strings on the harp last Fall, everything was doing great. That might be what Biagio was talking about. I am sure he will let you know! Good luck stringing–the best instructions I have found are from Dusty Strings, particularly how they secure the top end of the string under the first loop around the tuning pin. I copied Lyon & Healy when I learned to string this way, so I was glad to find that Dusty does the same! I love my 34-string Ravenna from them. Incidentally, both my lever harps have Loveland levers, and I particularly like the short “throw” of them. Other levers may have a slightly better tone, but the throw is too great the way I play with rapid lever changes throughout the piece. I have even gotten my fingers “tangled up” in Camac and Truitt levers, since I am so used to the feel and throw of the Lovelands!
To Mae and all those who have contributed so graciously to this blog–congratulations! I have come into this saga rather late, I’m afraid, but I went back and enjoyed reading the entire blog. It is wonderful that so many of you out there helped Mae through this adventure, particularly Biagio. I look forward to reading about the outcome, after the harp is strung–I know Mae can’t wait to play and enjoy this harp!
Sylvia, a similar thing happened to me recently. I began an all-memorized Christmas concert with H. Renie’s Conte de Noel (Tale of Christmas) which I have played countless times and performed many times without making a mistake. Suddenly, about eight measures from the end of the piece, I had a memory slip–I could not find the chord in the right hand! I was able to improvise, thankfully, and I created what must have been a believable ending to this beautiful piece. Of course, I was mortified and tried not to show it, smiled at the audience, and performed the rest of the concert. Afterward, a nice lady came up to me and said that the Renie was her FAVORITE part of the entire program! This definitely proved to me that “Music does not have to be perfect to be enjoyed!”
