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Where are you, Vivian? Most people who come here and say there aren’t any local teachers just haven’t known how to find the right people.
Well, you know, Carl, if your skepticism is based solely on decor, don’t forget that Marie Antoinette tried like mad to reign in all that baroque extravagance–it was one of the things that made her so unpopular (she just couldn’t win–first everyone howled about her extravagance, then when she started to simplify they complained she was plotting to ruin the French economy by driving all the silkmakers and jewelers into bankruptcy).
I’d wonder, too, but I seem to remember something from several years back about a note being found in that harp that tied it to the Carnation plot?
My favorite recording ever of the string version is the one done by Taka Kling with the Louisville Symphony. I don’t know if it’s ever been remastered to CD.
> long ago told me that being a harpist gives you an advantage because you can get lots of scholarships
Even in those long ago distant days (ah, the golden era), it was only from a few schools that were desperate for a harpist for their orchestra (not conservatory type schools, but liberal arts colleges back when things like symphonies were considered important). It was never “go anywhere, get a scholarship just for being a harpist”, unfortunately.
I never said they were UNimportant. But pianists, flutists and such practice scales for more than facility and agility–they also need them to be able to feel at home playing in the various keys, which fortunately, as you say, is not a concern for any but the players of multi-course harps.
On a Pleyel, they would have to take up far more of your practice time than on a pedal or lever harp, wouldn’t they?
Incidentally, I always liked Miss Malone’s preferred way of doing scales: one octave quarter notes, two octaves 8th notes, 3 octaves triplets, four octaves 16th notes, and you don’t bump up the metronome till you can reliably do at least five to ten times up and down with the 16ths with no faults or hesitations.
All music learning involves the assimilation of patterns. Scale and arpeggio patterns appear in all western music: why do you think it would be valueless to learn common patterns?
I’d be very curious to know why you think a pattern that is even named after the instrument is less likely to be performed on a harp than on another instrument.
I would say that the overwhelming majority of the teachers I’ve studied under and know think they are important, regardless of method.
HOWEVER, there’s one big difference between harp and other instruments in this respect, which is that all scales and chordal arpeggios are fingered the same, regardless of key, so in a sense, they are less important than on other instruments. It’s not that you don’t need the same facility–of course you do.
But you can practice the C Major scale and you’re learning all the other scales at the same time, which means it doesn’t require as much practice time as where you’re having to learn to center yourself in each key with different fingerings.
But I never met a serious teacher of any harp method who didn’t see the importance of scales and arpeggios.
If the harp is a pedal harp, it really needs a harp technician, since the pedal mechanism is a very complex piece of equipment that needs someone who understands it thoroughly.
April, where are you located? Do you have any idea of what kind of harp it is?
>I tell my students right off, if they do not have time to practice during the week, to please just call and tell me this so we can reschedule.
Well, see, now that’s something I handle totally differently. I want them to come in especially if they haven’t practiced, because they need the reminders if they’ve been busy doing other things. Me, I’d never tell an avocational student not to come just because they haven’t practiced. We just laugh about it (darn, can’t put anything over on you, can I?) and go back over what needs reinforcing. As long as they enjoy it, that’s all that matters.
>I tell my students right off, if they do not have time to practice during the week, to please just call and tell me this so we can reschedule.
Well, see, now that’s something I handle totally differently. I want them to come in especially if they haven’t practiced, because they need the reminders if they’ve been busy doing other things. Me, I’d never tell an avocational student not to come just because they haven’t practiced. We just laugh about it (darn, can’t put anything over on you, can I?) and go back over what needs reinforcing. As long as they enjoy it, that’s all that matters.
To successfully combat this you’re going to have to learn to overcome that little problem called “life” that most adult students have to deal with. If you find a way, please let the rest of us know. 🙂
Seriously, it’s completely normal for adult students to have other commitments that take priority over things they do for a hobby. And there are always going to be people who try something and decide it’s not worth it. I find it’s important to try to understand what adult students really want from lessons–in some cases it’s actually just a chance to talk to another grownup, especially women with children who are from cultures that emphasize home life.
In any case, you need to be sure to be non-judgmental about it all. If they want to play the same lesson for three years, just help them not to get frustrated about not having enough time to practice to progress much. It helps to have a great many teaching pieces at the same level so that you can give them alternatives when they go stale during times when lessons are very sporadic. Sometimes just switching to a new piece helps to keep interest up.
Some teachers require payment by the month up front, with limited options for makeup lessons. I don’t do this because I so often have to reschedule when a gig comes up. It can also be helpful if you can get your students grouped on one or two days a week, which makes it worthwhile to turn down a gig to teach, if you have enough people on one day.
To successfully combat this you’re going to have to learn to overcome that little problem called “life” that most adult students have to deal with. If you find a way, please let the rest of us know. 🙂
Seriously, it’s completely normal for adult students to have other commitments that take priority over things they do for a hobby. And there are always going to be people who try something and decide it’s not worth it. I find it’s important to try to understand what adult students really want from lessons–in some cases it’s actually just a chance to talk to another grownup, especially women with children who are from cultures that emphasize home life.
In any case, you need to be sure to be non-judgmental about it all. If they want to play the same lesson for three years, just help them not to get frustrated about not having enough time to practice to progress much. It helps to have a great many teaching pieces at the same level so that you can give them alternatives when they go stale during times when lessons are very sporadic. Sometimes just switching to a new piece helps to keep interest up.
Some teachers require payment by the month up front, with limited options for makeup lessons. I don’t do this because I so often have to reschedule when a gig comes up. It can also be helpful if you can get your students grouped on one or two days a week, which makes it worthwhile to turn down a gig to teach, if you have enough people on one day.
