Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Mel-I just pulled out that DVD and looked at it again. I know the Zabel but studied it many(MANY) years ago, and I don’t seem to have a copy of it now. Mildred plays a truncated version of La Source. But twice during the piece she does a one handed 4321 trill. The first time is the transition into the B(melodic)section, then again at the very end before the final measures. Maybe that was something she added because she had to chop up the piece. I don’t know. All I know is she does that trill beautifully.
I don’t think any of these trills are easy to learn. They take lots of practice to develop the very specialized muscle memory that they require. And some work better for some people and not for others. I think you have to practice any of them like a difficult piece of music, practicing a million different ways to get it even and fast. It doesn’t just happen, unfortunately. My best shot at a one handed trill is the 21312131 version, and when I practice it it sounds pretty good. I use it mainly at the beginning of the Serenade of Parish-Alvars, right after the harmonics on the first page.
I’m lucky enough to have a copy of the 10 minute film(transferred to DVD) of Mildred Dilling playing the Fountain by Zabel. That also has a one handed trill using the 4321 fingering. She does it incredibly well. The film by the way was made in 1941.
Elizabeth- Just curious. Did you learn to do Xaviers strumming trill yourself? If so, how long did it take to get it?
If you go to this or any other summer harp camp you should have a list of pieces that you can play for the instructor that are pretty much finished. You know the notes and rhythm cold, and may in fact have the pieces memorized, so the teacher at the camp can focus entirely on polishing the pieces and getting them to performance level, and so you can perform them while you are at the camp. You don’t want to start a piece cold, from the beginning at a summer harp camp and spend the whole time just getting the basics down. That’s a waste of time and money.
The short answer is: It depends on the teacher. But you should clarify this with the teacher before signing up for this course. Tell the teacher what you are willing or unwilling to do. For a short summer course, I can’t imagine any teacher of any method trying to change the student’s technique, and I think it’s unconscionable for any teacher to presume that it is in the best interest of the student.
These summer harp camps are primarily a place to polish pieces, work on interpretation, play some ensemble stuff, perform, etc. They are NOT a place to make fundamental changes to a student’s technique.
I’ve never heard Yo Yo Ma’s name associated with Suzuki method, and I went to several web sites to read about him and there is no mention at any of them of Suzuki training. He was born in Paris to parents who were both musicians, and moved to New York at the age of 4 where he began studying music with teachers there. I sincerely doubt that his parents would have sent a prodigy like that to Suzuki classes.
Who is that idiot in the video??? She calls a harmonic an open palm technique?? And then talks about an open palm glissando as being related to a harmonic??? I’ve never seen such an idiotic confusing explanation for harp technique in my life!
What you are referring to, the little + sign over a left hand note, is a type of left hand muffling. But you need a teacher (in the room) to explain this technique and teach you to do it. Videos on the internet and written explanations here are not a way to learn to play the harp, or any other instrument for that matter.
Leonard- I’ve heard very good harpists begin with the slow movement and others begin with the usual fast movement. I’m not sure which is authentic. When I learned this sonata years ago I learned the Grandjany realization, but made quite a few changes to it, particularly the ornaments.
After reading all of these very thoughtful and interesting posts, I’ve come more or less to the following conclusion: that any “method” is simply a format for teaching music. None of them guarantee success. None of them make virtuosos out of everybody. And like any teaching method, the success often depends on the skill of the teacher. And some teachers are excellent and some are not. I think we have to accept and acknowledge these variations within any “method.”
The skilled teacher sizes up not only the ability of the student, but the aptitude and desire as well, and contours the teaching format to each student. The unskilled teacher takes a one-size-fits-all approach and will likely hold back the most ambitious and talented students and discourage the ones who don’t work well with that particular format because he/she(the teacher) cannot adapt to each student’s needs.
My problem with the Suzuki approach is that it seems so rigid in its format that it cannot adapt to the varying needs and abilities of the students. The approach seems to be of the take-it-or-leave-it variety.
The thing is David, I don’t know yet what the scam is. Is it a phony Facebook link in order to get important information(Bank numbers, SS number etc.) out of you? Or is it a way to create an email list that they can then sell to god knows who?
I’ve been lucky so far in that I am not deluged with spam and scams. One possible reason is that I buy almost nothing on line. Another is that I have a hotmail address that I use when I’m worried about where my contact information is going. I do my on line searches from that address.
I don’t have a facebook account and I don’t “get” the whole facebook think anyway. If I need to contact someone, all I need is their email address. What the heck do I need facebook for?
This is only slightly related to this. But every day now for the past several days I’ve gotten an email saying that_______(fill in the blank, someone I either don’t know or do know)has added me to their facebook friends, and that I have to click on the link provided to accept. What’s that all about? I’ve deleted all of them without clicking on the link. But I’m thinking it’s is again some sort of internet fraud. Anyone know what’s going on?
Very good questions Saul. And I wonder(and I don’t have any notion what the answer is to this) if the training given children in the Kodaly or Orff methods actually translates into better musical skills later on. Or is it like “new math” where the theory of it looks great, but it creates math illiterates.
