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In my student days I played in a group like that. It *was* fun. I played the bass parts to all the Beethoven symphonies, just so I wouldn’t be sitting there doing nothng.
I think there used to be far, far more groups like this (as I recall there were a couple others even in culturally benighted Miami back then), before the idea that you have to monetize every breath you take became so prevalent.
Roslyn Rensch’s second book, “The Harp, Its History, Technique, and Repertoire”, contains a fairly comprehensive list of recordings (at least in the US) up to the time of its publication.
I ask the valets if the bride is covering the parking for the wedding and if so, see if I can get my ticket stamped (some venues will do this for musicians anyway, if you ask nicely).
If not, I pay it, get a receipt, deduct it, and remember. If it’s a lot, like $25 or more, I tell future brides that there’s an extra charge for their chosen venue because of my extra expense to do the job.
Broken strings are a normal part of playing the harp. You need to learn to change them, and if you can afford it it’s nice to keep a set of extra strings on hand so you can always just switch out a broken one and go on.
No one is to blame when strings break and there’s nothing at all to be concerned about unless you keep breaking the same string over and over in a short period of time.
Wanna wait for shipping?
http://www.harplore.com.au/classica.htm
(It’s on the CD ‘The Fountain’ by Louise Johnson)
>I’ll try it out more often!
If you’re sitting properly at a pedal harp, the harp should be pretty nearly at the balance point, where a single finger would suffice to hold it in position, and it should rest on the inside of your right knee, pretty much. You need your shoulders to be free to allow full movt of your arm, regardless of what method you play. If the harp is really leaning any significant weight on your shoulder, you’re asking for all kinds of physical trouble down the road if you practice much. Usually you’re sitting to far away or too low if the harp is leaning its weight on you. It also makes the harp rock around in a very distracting way when you play.
There are a few harps out there that have no balance point, but not very many, fortunately.
>She may be an innocent party caught in a scam that used her or any number of variations on any number of scenarios
This is very true, but from the standpoint of the effect on the rest of us, it doesn’t really matter. The damage is done, even if she’s later acquitted (that will be a page 27 story, not a page 2 story).
>I wonder if my harp and I will be strip searched at my next gig to make sure I am not walking out the door with the family jewels and silver spoons stuffed in my harp base?
Yes, that was my first thought. All the times I’ve had to deal with security goons in the past, I could just point to the harp and point out that if I wanted to case the joint there were easier ways to gain access. Not anymore. 🙁
>with some introduction to harp earlier in life
That’s the difference, Dawn. And you’re a professional musician on other instruments, too, so you don’t have the note reading challenge to conquer. Most real beginners with no music background would swoon with dismay at all the notes in the Poenitz, you know. 🙂
At your level, I would suggest the Betty Paret pieces “Moonlight”, “I Hear a Harp” and “Berceuse de Noel” but you should have a lesson when you start any of them to be sure you understand how the fingering should be and what some of the symbols mean.
>had to back off from those financially, plus my practicing
If you want to progress, you *have* to practice. Sorry, but that’s just the way it is. And if you’re at Fun from the First level, you DO need a good teacher if you want to develop classical technique. I realize it’s very hard, and I have a lot of adult students whose lives get in the way of the things they like doing, such as playing the harp, but in those situations you just have to cut yourself some slack and accept that it’s going to take longer, a lot longer, than if you could practice regularly every day and had someone to help you along when you start new music.
