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Not to be argumentative…well, OK, maybe a little…but I’d like to point out that that some pretty well regarded harpists started out with larger instruments and then moved on to smaller ones. For instance: Martha Gallagher, Harper Tasche. Sure, it’s nice to have more bass, but it is in no way a “requirement”.
I emphatically do not agree that smaller harps can only do “minimal” arrangements – but you do need to expand beyond the techniques typically taught these days. Those stem from the pedal instrument, which is fine of course, but by no means the sum total of harp technique.
Take a look for instance at the “small harp” scores published by Tasche: I know some very accomplished players who find them very challenging!
Biaigo
We lever harpers generally suggest a floor sized harp as the first not so much for the modern scores (although that is a consideration) but because one must learn good technique. That is more difficult if one must balance a lap harp at the same time; however there are a number of good solutions: stools, boxes, something like the so-called “Le Stik” by Dwight Blevins, even a purpose-built stand of various designs. I think if the Camac is in good condition, it will be fine for you.
A word on those modern “Celtic” scores: if you want to play in the traditional style, the arpeggions, glissandos, thirds, etc are distinctly nontraditional. People have adapted the original tunes from the wire harp to the pedal harp tradition, with it’s greater range and much shorter sustain. Lovely, but in the “Celtic” tradition instead of the above arpeggios and etc. they used rather simple chords such as fifths but a great deal of ornaments. Listen, for example to recordings on Youtube by Cynthia Cathcart, Charles Guard, Patrick Ball, and Chris Caswell.
The 17th-18th century Spanish harp style is alive and well in South America; in fact, the harp is the national instrument in Venezuela. Very different construction from either modern lever or pedal of course, but many do play that way on lever harp designs. Dr. Alfredo Ortiz has many recording on Youtube.
Happy harping,
BiagioBrooke, I emphatically agree that a customized Voyageur can be an outstanding harp. Indeed, all the Musicmakers’ harps are good just as stock design and can be excellent if one wishes to invest $200-$500 to upgrade the basic kit. They really put a lot of thought into the design.
As a for instance, you can lower the Voyageur range by two steps (with fiber/silver in the last few), or keep the C-A range but substitute BFN in the bass, fluorocabon or gut in the mid for an entirely different tone. Or go all out with the above and a spruce sound board. Spend a little more again for Camac or Truitt levers instead of Lovelands and – wow!
Biagio
Hi Kristen,
I think I’d favor a new Ravenna over a used Voyageur – although I really like the VG as a kit to customize. “Brightness” depends a lot on your technique, so hard to say. I guess the VG is somewhat louder and fuller, mainly because the tension is somewhat higher.
Both are popular harps that teachers often have for student rentals; both are also sometimes seen in informal concert settings. Around where I live the Ravenna is very popular, but I guess that’s because Dusty Strings is right here ha ha.
Biagio
Hi Kristen,
Musicmakers upgraded the Voyageur strings last year so if this older one still has the older ones you can simply order the new set when the strings need to be changed – probably fairly soon.
Universal levers are OK if you are not doing fast changes – if you ever want to get a different kind at some later date, no problem there. A harp maker might charge about $20 per lever but it is not hard to learn how to do that yourself.
The Ravenna 34 is also a good harp and weighs a bit less than the VG. I think you can’t go wrong with either.
Happy harping,
BiagioTry asking a pedal harp restorer for parts, such as Carl (on this list) or Howard Bryan:
http://www.oldharpsmadeyoung.com/
Biagio
A shipping company, obviously (I usually use UPS, others are FedEx and LTL) but a more common and important question is how to pack it. Some shippers will do that for you but unless they are experienced with harps it may be better to do that yourself. Rather than go into a long description, here is a link to how Dusty Strings packs theirs (PDF) which you may modify according to your specific resources:
https://manufacturing.dustystrings.com/harps/maintenance-troubleshooting
Biagio
Ha ha, Balfour my friend, my largest harp now is just a 26 and I play the 19 wire strung most often. So, “no comment” on a 49!
OTOH for a while my favorite was a double 23 – 46 strings – so, still no comment.
Seriously, and this is a thing I bet many new harpists go through, it will take several years before they really know where they will go with the instrument. Some of us (me) are still finding out (grin).
For Isabelle, then, I’d suggest: add another lower octave if you feel limited (I did around the second year), but don’t splurge on a really BIG harp just yet. Get to know more about the technical as well as the musical aspects of this very diverse instrument.
After all, Salzedo played Spanish music on a pedal harp and Frank Voltz plays jazz on it; meanwhile Deborah Henson-Conant was a pedalist before she went way in on the electric!
Best to all,
BiagioCarl, I don’t often comment on this kind of topic, being very much a “folk music guy.” But boy oh boy – even I can see that score is Yuk. Great advice to charge for cleaning it up first!
Biagio
The modern double strung harp allows interesting effects that are not possible on any other kind of harp. It is helpful to see these demonstrated but a little reflection tells us what they are:
-avoiding the hands bumping into each other
-doubling notes
-more flexibility with modulation
-double the number of strings available
-avoiding staccato in fast tunes
and etc.If however, the question is about technique, there is no difference between a single and a double, although it may take a few days for eye-hand coordination to adjust.
If you are entirely dependent on a written score that might be an issue, of course, since you would probably have to shift some left hand parts up and octave.
Biagio
None of the harps mentioned except the Zephyr and Backyard harp would fit in an overhead compartment so there’s that to consider. The Limerick, while a nice kit harp, is pretty heavy for it’s size. Sometimes an airline will let you store one in the coat or crew spaces but you have to make arrangements in advance. All things considered then it might be best to buy something like the a Ravenna and a hard shell case.
Biagio
The Woods book is great in my opinion; so is the much more condensed book by Kim Robertson, “Arranging for Folk Harp.” Sylvia covers the concepts in detail, Kim presents more elaboration – they are great to study together.
Can’t help with the Riley DVD but really it is pretty much concerned with style (as the title suggests): no large arpeggios, absolutely no glissandos “allowed”, use of open chords (typically 1-5-8, 1-5-8-5-8 etc.), where the beat falls (not always what you might expect from classical style), differences within the style – Manx vs. Northumbrian for example – use of ornaments rather than complicated patterns, etc.
This all makes logical sense when you consider that it was (mostly) played on the wire harp: thirds and glisses sound just horrible because the sustain is so great. Better, then, to “fancy up” a simple melody that one might whistle or play on the pipes with ornaments, rather than a fancy melody with complicated structure. Not true in all cases: O’Carolan liked Italian baroque and you see more complex structure in the melody (we don’t know how he harmonized his tunes).
Through it all she makes the point that the “Celtic style” originates from the aural tradition so the best way to study it is to listen to others. Lots of musicians have recordings on Youtube that use the style(s), and not necessarily harp. You might start with listening to Kim, Chris Caswell, Derek Bell, Maire Ni Chathathasaigh, Parick Ball, Cynthia Cathcart, Charles Guard, and so on.
Best wishes,
BiagioI guess “the more strings the more possibilities” and it is really nice to have those two more in the bass (A and B), especially. But honestly, I doubt that you can find a lower tension lever harp of that size unless it is modeled after the Grecian – the only one I know of is a Starfish design and he no longer makes them.
One can play the entire Celtic canon on that Bardic – after all, these were originally played on wire strung harps. Personally I like the Triplett Eclipse or the Salvi McFall – but I live in the US.
Biagio
Sorry to be coming in late: Charles gave a complete description, so I willl just say what I do: small ((about 1cm) squares are cut from a heavy leather belt (which I got at a thrift store) with a mat knife. Happened to have a leather punch (about $10 new) for the holes but a large nail, hammer and wooden board will do the trick.
It is a pity that so-called “Paki harps” have gained a poor reputation, my fiend, and I wish you success. It’s a steep hill to climb, this reputation: guitars had the same problem with those made in Mexico and japan a few decades ago, though a few were excellent.
It comes down to consistent quality control. And patience.
Biagio
