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Ro, you are so correct. My teacher has an Arianna and that thing is in just perfect shape, and she’s had it for years and years. It’s beautiful, and has a beautiful warm sound…..but her Atlantide Prestige carries better than any harp I have ever heard and is also very well balanced in every other regard. So I’m a Camac fan from the beginning…….even though I started with an L&H Troubie. Also when I have a lesson on the Arianna I know I’ve had a harp on my shoulder for an hour. When I have my lesson on the Atlantide, I can’t tell I’ve had anything at all there…..the balance point and weight seem just perfect on that harp.
My Athena ex really carries though….and yet I can hear all the counterpoint lines in a baroque sonata. The guy putting in a new sump line in my yard told me last summer, “Hey I was way out in the back of your yard (we have 1/4 acre) and I heard you playing something really nice on your harp!” This while the traffic on the nearby 5 lane road was whizzing by on an afternoon.
The Vendome is an interesting looking harp……nice without a lot of foofoo on it. I like clean lines. But I have to admit, I also really crave the Orianne in gold….ooh lala!
Briggsie
The reasoning is odd, Saul. The idea, as far as I can tell — at least from my vegan nephew, is that the sheep shouldn’t be slaughtered in the first place. Using something from the animal because it would just go to waste isn’t quite the idea. If you utilize things from slaughtered animals, you are participating in the slaughter, even if it is after the fact. I believe it is a matter of principle, at least as I understand it.
Hiya Curls,
Try this link…..only they are really pricey, and the wheels don’t look that large to me.
Iggs
I bought my dolly from the VA Harp Center too…..and I love it. It works just perfectly for me. Give yourself a break on the blistery finger and let it rest some. If it goes to a blister it’s going to hurt badly when you play, but remember “New Skin” — that liquid bandage stuff. It works really well.
Briggsie
Congratulations Christopher. I know your ecstasy. I remember it well….February of ’06 my beautiful Camac Athena came on the big semi truck from the Richmond store. I almost lost my mind with excitement. Two years later, I’m still thrilled with my harp. Enjoy your new acquisition…..you are going to love it.
Briggsie
Maybe there’s a university somewhere within driving distance that has a harp program? I drove 3.5 hours each way to get my harp regulated for the first free one, but the next time will be at a local university where the same guy (Tom Bell) makes a regulation visit
Okay Katie, I read your posts, and you said you are on Cape Cod, and then I remembered one of my former students who is now working on a doctorate in psychology (she was one of my voice students) got married on Cape Cod last summer and had a harpist. I asked her who the harpist was, and she gave me a link to the harpist’s website, and now I just checked it again, and lo and behold…..it was you. You played for Hillary and Nick last summer, correct? She said you were awesome. Hillary was a great kid. She was in my choirs in middle school and high school and was very intelligent and musical. She emailed me her wedding pics, and you are in
Hi Mel…..well, I don’t teach the same things you teach, so I won’t be using them in my teaching, but I found them novel and clever.
Briggs
I just had my last lesson on my teacher’s Arianna. It has a beautiful bass, but I don’t care for it much. It doesn’t really project too well but….it looks FABULOUS though.
I was an organist/flutist when I married my organist husband. We were married in a church we liked but which had a wheezing wonder for an organ. We had just re-regulated an organ together. He taught me how to do that stuff….it was fun…..our romance was kind of built around that a lot. Instead of going on hot dates, I would hang upside down from mitred pipes and tap on tuning sleeves or pull pipes and tap around their lead openings with an awl….
We had a professional recording engineer come into the church where we were doing the work. It was for the most part, done. My husband played the prelude and postlude (“The Emperor’s Fanfare” by Soler and Nun Danket by Bach) and I played some nice flute/organ pieces with him. A very dear friend who is also an organist ran the sound system for us as we walked down the aisle, and we had about 1/2 hour of music beforehand, which we warned everyone of in the invitations. We had a small wedding. I hand wrote the invitations.
Briggs
Mel, I’m a school music teacher (K-12) who has taught mostly secondary and this year went to elementary/secondary. I LOVE your techniques. The more fun we can make it — and relate to the kids on their level — the faster they learn. Brava!!
Briggsie
23 too old????? I hardly think so. I guess if you wanted to make a really serious concert career it might be — and not even sure about that, but geez, you are only 23 years old!!! Lots and lots of people start when they are in their 40’s and 50’s and probably beyond. Some play an instrument already and some don’t. If you don’t, and you really want to learn the harp well, you will learn about music and music theory as you learn the harp. I STRONGLY suggest you find a good teacher. There are playing techniques that are very important to learn correctly in order to play well. Learn them properly right from the get-go and you won’t have to work to correct things you have been doing wrong which have become habit.
As far as what type of harp to buy, that is your choice. Do you want to play orchestral pieces? More geared to classical repertoire? If so, you probably should check out pedal harps….but be prepared for the price. They are about the same as buying a car pricewise. If you are more interested in folk/renaissance/celtic type music, you should look at lever harps. There are ALL sorts of both types. If you can get to a harp store like the Virginia Harp Center, the Harp Connection, Vanderbilt Music, Sylvia Woods or some other harp store and play several different types, or “fiddle around” with them, that would help you figure out what you like. There are also lots of conferences and workshops around the US if you are from here. Most of them have exhibitors who bring harps you can try. Check out http://www.harpmall.com
