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The solfege system taught in France produces awesome results. When I was living there, I lived with a French family for a while, and their 12 year old daughter was studying harp and taking solfege classes at the Paris Conservatory prep division every Saturday morning. She came to me one day and asked me to help her with her solfege assignment. It consisted of a two or three page piece with a vocal line and piano accompaniment, and the girl wanted me to play the piano part while she sang the vocal line.
The piece was written specifically for solfege study, and the vocal line used 15 clefs; the G clef on all 5 lines, the C clef on all 5 lines, and the F clef on all 5 lines. A different clef was used on each measure of the piece(the piano accompaniment was written entirely the usual way). This 12 year old girl, who I can tell you was no prodigy, read this piece with no trouble. I was dumbfounded at her ability. Those are the results that you can get when you study theory separately from the instrument.
What you’re talking about is learning music theory. I.e., learning not only to read notes, but rhythm as well. For students who need that, it can take up an awful lot of lesson time, as you are finding out. In France anyone studying an instrument also, and separately, takes solfege lessons, which is a whole system for learning music theory. The best solution, which may or may not be an option, is to deal with music theory separately from the lesson.
What you might consider, particularly if you have several students who need this, is to offer a separate theory class where you can have them all come just to learn theory, without the harp being involved. They could all come together and so pay a much smaller fee individually to participate. if this is an option you could also make this available to anyone who wants to learn how to read music. You might have piano students, clarinet students, etc. that would be interested in doing it.
If that’s not possible, you might give a new piece to a student and tell them that the first week they are not to practice this at all, but to sit at the kitchen table and learn to say the notes in rhythm, and that you are going to go over the piece this way the following week. When the student can say the notes in rhythm to your satisfaction, (or spell out chords, etc.) then they can start learning it on the harp. If it’s a piece they really like, this will give them an incentive to learn the notes well first without playing them.
What you’re talking about is learning music theory. I.e., learning not only to read notes, but rhythm as well. For students who need that, it can take up an awful lot of lesson time, as you are finding out. In France anyone studying an instrument also, and separately, takes solfege lessons, which is a whole system for learning music theory. The best solution, which may or may not be an option, is to deal with music theory separately from the lesson.
What you might consider, particularly if you have several students who need this, is to offer a separate theory class where you can have them all come just to learn theory, without the harp being involved. They could all come together and so pay a much smaller fee individually to participate. if this is an option you could also make this available to anyone who wants to learn how to read music. You might have piano students, clarinet students, etc. that would be interested in doing it.
If that’s not possible, you might give a new piece to a student and tell them that the first week they are not to practice this at all, but to sit at the kitchen table and learn to say the notes in rhythm, and that you are going to go over the piece this way the following week. When the student can say the notes in rhythm to your satisfaction, (or spell out chords, etc.) then they can start learning it on the harp. If it’s a piece they really like, this will give them an incentive to learn the notes well first without playing them.
What a long and interesting thread!! I’ve just read most of it and there are some very good ideas here. I agree with some and not so much with others. Teaching is a slippery slope and it’s obvious in this thread that it is difficult to quantify the qualities and prerequisites of a good teacher. Here are some thoughts that have come to me on this subject.
There is a simple and obvious reason why a harpist who is very advanced in ability and who has a lot of experience has an advantage over someone who is not as advanced and has a shorter history on the harp. The more advanced and experienced harp teacher has a greater base of information to draw upon when teaching. A newer harpist with little or no experience can, at best, teach what he or she was taught and in the same way he or she was taught. No range, and no base of information to draw on. It’s a little like watching a workman do a job in your house(like a plumber or carpenter). If he has a lot of experience, what he does looks so easy and obvious that you say to yourself ” I could have done that.” But he was able to size up the situation fast and pick the right solution(out of 100 solutions) for that particular job. it’s the same with teaching. Every student(even at the same level) is different, and the experienced teacher will contour his or her teaching to match the needs of each student.
Beyond that, some people are better teachers than others, and some teachers get better with time and others do not. In addition, many good teachers are really good for one level of student(like beginners, or very advanced students) and not good for any other level. The wise teacher knows what he or she does well and sticks to that, then passes the student along to the next teacher who can then do what the student needs next.
Both the teacher and the student need to monitor and evaluate the teacher/student dynamic constantly to make sure that the student is really learning and progressing. The teacher needs to ask him/herself, “Is this student playing better now than 6 months or a year ago?” “What is better about his/her playing?” The student needs to ask the same questions. “What can I play now that I couldn’t 6 months or a year ago? How has my ability improved over the last year? If it hasn’t, then it’s time to change teachers.
The problems of poor teaching can happen at every level, from beginner to University or Conservatory. The fact that the teacher is in a major orchestra, or has taught at the university level for years means nothing as far as his/her teaching ability is concerned.
What a long and interesting thread!! I’ve just read most of it and there are some very good ideas here. I agree with some and not so much with others. Teaching is a slippery slope and it’s obvious in this thread that it is difficult to quantify the qualities and prerequisites of a good teacher. Here are some thoughts that have come to me on this subject.
There is a simple and obvious reason why a harpist who is very advanced in ability and who has a lot of experience has an advantage over someone who is not as advanced and has a shorter history on the harp. The more advanced and experienced harp teacher has a greater base of information to draw upon when teaching. A newer harpist with little or no experience can, at best, teach what he or she was taught and in the same way he or she was taught. No range, and no base of information to draw on. It’s a little like watching a workman do a job in your house(like a plumber or carpenter). If he has a lot of experience, what he does looks so easy and obvious that you say to yourself ” I could have done that.” But he was able to size up the situation fast and pick the right solution(out of 100 solutions) for that particular job. it’s the same with teaching. Every student(even at the same level) is different, and the experienced teacher will contour his or her teaching to match the needs of each student.
Beyond that, some people are better teachers than others, and some teachers get better with time and others do not. In addition, many good teachers are really good for one level of student(like beginners, or very advanced students) and not good for any other level. The wise teacher knows what he or she does well and sticks to that, then passes the student along to the next teacher who can then do what the student needs next.
Both the teacher and the student need to monitor and evaluate the teacher/student dynamic constantly to make sure that the student is really learning and progressing. The teacher needs to ask him/herself, “Is this student playing better now than 6 months or a year ago?” “What is better about his/her playing?” The student needs to ask the same questions. “What can I play now that I couldn’t 6 months or a year ago? How has my ability improved over the last year? If it hasn’t, then it’s time to change teachers.
The problems of poor teaching can happen at every level, from beginner to University or Conservatory. The fact that the teacher is in a major orchestra, or has taught at the university level for years means nothing as far as his/her teaching ability is concerned.
Kay- Your solution is the right one for Loveland levers. Just loosen the nut that holds the handle onto the base to adjust the tightness. Be very careful not to over tighten that nut. Do not put oil on any part of a Loveland lever. Not only is the handle(the part you push up and pull down to change pitch) made of plastic. But there are plastic or nylon washers in the assembly as well.
Elizabeth- Sorry for the break. I think there are two problems that occur any time a limb is in a cast for several weeks. One is that the muscles waste away at an alarming rate and have to be used to get back to normal muscle tone. The other is that the tendons shorten and have to be stretched out again.
I broke my wrist about 15 years ago and was in a cast for 5 weeks. When the cast came off my lower arm looked like it had come off a cadaver. I also had very limited range of motion in the wrist and had to do several weeks of physical therapy to get that range of motion back. You’re just going to have to wait and see how things are when the cast comes off. If you’ve got engagements coming up, or the start of the new symphony season shortly after the cast comes off, I think you should have a replacement ready until you are completely comfortable using that foot again.
They break a lot. More in the summer months when it is hot and humid. I just don’t think it is worth putting them up there. They break too quickly and I just think nylon sounds better that high up.
Years ago I did some research on the making of gut strings. I read several articles from industrial encyclopedias that were printed in the 1890’s, and which described in great detail how gut strings were made. All of these articles referred to the thinest strings as ‘chanterelles’, and said that the best chanterelles came from Naples Italy. The reason they were such good strings was that they came from sheep that were emaciated and disease ridden and therefore had the toughest gut.
Sherry- thankyouthankyouthankyou!!! You’re exactly right. The Bochsa etudes(any of the sets) are wonderful for developing muscle memory patterns. If only more students and teachers would realize that and use them. They would progress so much faster.
There are many very good suggestions here, but I would like to add one that I haven’t heard yet. A great deal of your ability to move around the instrument quickly and accurately has to do with being able to “feel” the position of different patterns like triads in all positions, 4 note chords, including major chords and V7 chords in all positions, and being able to play scales with a variety of fingerings. If you can do these things easily, then it becomes much easier to find notes on the harp as you play.
To achieve this, a variety of exercises might help you a lot. Play octave scales in each hand alone, and don’t look at the strings as you do them. Play any major 4 note chord in all positions(root, 1st inversion, 2nd inversion, etc.) up and down several octaves, again, not looking at the strings. Do the same thing with a V7 chord, playing all of it’s positions up and down the harp with each hand separately and also hands together. Play scales up and down the instrument over several octaves without looking at the strings or your fingers. You don’t have to do all of these every day. Pick one of these to work on for a week or two, and then, once that starts to work easily, add another exercise to work on. You will eventually get to the point where you will be very good at ‘feeling’ your way around the instrument. The muscle memory you develop for each of these patterns will help you to find the notes in the pieces you are working on.
Once these patterns have become fairly easy to do, make the exercises harder by making variations. Play the scales, hands together, with the left hand above the right, or start the scale with the right hand and then, on the third note the right hand plays, start the left hand scale. Go up and down 4 octaves like this. Play scales in opposite directions. Play scales using a fingering 123123123 etc. only, and then 12341234 etc. Play 4 note chords, hands together, up and down the instrument going through all the inversions. Like this, each hand is playing a different position. Play 3 or 4 notes chords, hands together, starting in the middle of the instrument with each hand going in a different direction: the right hand up the harp, the left hand down. Do all of these exercises without looking at the strings or your hands. If you do these exercises and get good at them, you’ll be amazed at how easily you can find your way around the harp.
I have not read all of the posts here, but have skimmed through them. Here are some thoughts in no particular order.
There is no difference between a regulation at 440 and 442. The harp is either regulated or it isn’t . Raising the pitch by 2 cents does not alter string length, which is the main factor in question when regulating a harp.
Strings tend to return to the pitch they were tuned at. If your harp is always tuned to 440 and you decide to lower it to 435, it will creep up towards 440 for at least several days until the strings adjust to the lower pitch.
Changing your stringing from gut to nylon may possibly cause some problems with the regulation. It won’t change the pitch regulation, but since a nylon string reaches its designated pitch at a lower tension than gut, the looser nylon may thwack against a disc prong, particularly down in the 4th and 5th octaves. If you’re going to change the stringing of your harp from mostly gut to mostly nylon, you should change the strings at least a month in advance of the technician working on it. He cannot regulate the instrument unless and until each string is firmly holding pitch, and not dropping every time the string is played.
Are you using nylon or gut for that string? If it’s always breaking at the same place then maybe there is a rough spot on the prong that touches the string.
Their behavior is reprehensible. But there is one reason and on reason only that this sort of behavior continues to flourish, and that is that everyone is afraid to say NO to them. Diva behavior is nothing more than narcissistic behavior. And I learned way too late in my life that if you tell them no, they will back down.
What I resent about narcissistic people is that they force ME into the position of putting limits on THEIR behavior. They don’t seem to have any internal sense of limits. So they push and insist and walk all over people until they are told to stop. I have a short list of people in the harp world that I will never, NEVER deal with again exactly because of this kind of behavior. David, your conductor should have put a stop to this right at the beginning.
Saul- A great deal of that period-1914 to 1918- was overshadowed by WWI. Tournier fought in the first world war, so that’s the principal reason he wasn’t composing then. But the rest of France at that time was going through real hardship, and I’m sure music publishing was not high on anybody’s list.
