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Diane- I’ve been holding off posting to this thread to see what some of the responses would be. There are many things I agree with in the previous posts, but also feel that maybe some things are still to be mentioned. What follows is put down in haste(I have to deliver an instrument and I’m already late!) and not at all organized, but I didn’t want to forget what I was thinking about now.
There’s a difference between critical thinking and personal criticism. The latter is at best a cheap shot, demeaning, snide, needlessly negative, and unproductive. The former is an assessment of an idea, a product(like a work of art), a performance, an effort, etc. It may be very critical of any of the above, but the criticism is based on reason, fact, and perhaps comparison to similar things being discussed. It is not a personal attack and is not based on emotion. So a scientific theory presented at a conference for example may be torn to shreds, but the blithering criticism is based on sound judgement and facts that accurately portray an opposing theory.
In the context of the Harp Column forum, I think the forum has been at it’s most interesting when topics are fervently discussed with strong opinions expressed, PROVIDED there are no personal attacks, no nasty or demeaning opinions that are either not true or needlessly hurtful, and no sweeping generalizations that cannot be substantiated. That’s why I cringe when someone starts a thread titled WHICH IS BETTER? L & H, VENUS, OR SALVI? Or WHICH IS BETTER? SALZEDO METHOD OR GRANDJANY? UGH!!!
A comparison of methods for example is enlightening and informative, especially to those new to the harp. If the discussion and posts are dispassionate and objective, then the reader can draw his/her own conclusions. A comparison of makes of instruments for example should clearly state that the writer is expressing his/her experience with one instrument from a particular company.
Patricia’s advice is good. At a first lesson with someone who has never played an instrument and can’t read music you’re not going to be ‘teaching’ as much as ‘introducing’ the harp. Ask her why she wants to play the harp and what she wants to accomplish. Those goals will certainly change if she decides to study, but it’s a good place to start.
Examine her hands and fingers to see if they are double-jointed. That’s a HUGE problem if they are. Have her play a few little melodies with one finger by ear. Joy to the World(C major descending scale) is a good one.
If she decides to continue, you have two big tasks. 1) How to play the harp.
2) How to read music. You have to have a plan for each one. Start with some beginner books that are very VERY simple and spend the first few weeks learning to read lines and spaces without too much emphasis on advancing technique. Once she is reading fairly well, you can focus more on using all fingers, using both hands together, etc. Good luck Vince.
Tacye and Bonnie- I agree with both of you on everything you say. And I didn’t mean to imply in my post that playing the notes fast was my only concern. I was trying to imply that if you can’t do the things I mentioned(scales at a minimum speed for example) then Au Matin is completely out of your league.
Sam- Your new teacher, Ina Zdorovitch, has the most awsome technique I have ever seen. Her hands move like two ballet dancers over the strings. I’ve rarely seen a more comfortable and fluid technique in anyone. What you should be doing in preparation for the first lesson with her is to brush up on some of your old pieces rather than trying to impress her with a brand new one. All she is going to want to see at that first lesson is how your hands move and what you do with a piece of music you know very well. Let her decide what you should be working on. Good luck.
There’s a joke in France about the woman who went into a music store and told the clerk that her daughter needed the score to “Vache Qui Rie”(the cheese) instead of Walkure.
There’s another joke I heard in France about the Ladies Club in some provincal city that decided to “bring some culture” to their city, so they asked an opera director from Paris to come and talk to them about mounting an opera in the local theater. The director came to town, looked over the theater and how it was equipped, and then told them that he could do a very presentable production of Pelias and Melisand there. How much would that cost? the ladies wanted to know. He told them the price and was met with blank expressions. Finally one of the ladies said “Well, that’s a bit more than we were planing to spend. Maybe we could do Pelias this year, and Melisand next.”
Sam- Your post leaves WAY too many questions for a simple answer. I have no idea what your general level of playing is. A couple of questions come to mind though. 1) Is this the fastest piece you’ve ever played? 2) can you play scales, 4 notes to a beat, at 88 to the beat, minimum? 3) Can you play grand arpeggios(hand over hand, up and down the instrument 4 octaves) at the same speed, minimum? These are the technical underpinnings you need to start to play faster repertoire. Are there easier pieces you’ve already played that are as fast as Au Matin?
If it’s a Lyon & Healy harp, regardless of the age, any qualified technician should be able to regulate it without problem. The Lyon & Healy has not changed in its basic concept since 1889, so modern parts will fit it.
My two humidifiers are about 30 years old now and work fine. Every year I clean them out, oil the motor, and fill them up. I have one problem though. The belt that rotates through the water is old and worn out and I don’t know where to get another one. Both humidifiers were bought at Sears. Any ideas???
I may not have all of the details right, but something along those lines did apparently happen to Beecham. I’m told he had a wonderful sense of humor. I think he was the one who described the harpsichord as “sounding like two skeletons making love on a tin roof.”
There was a big birthday party for his 80th birthday and many greetings and well wishes were read out during the dinner from people like the Queen, Benjamin Britten, etc. At the end of it Beecham said in mock horror, “What?? Nothing from Mozart??”
The original question(Natural Talent vs Passion & Determination) is very complicated and there is no easy answer. But here are a few observations from someone who has been around for a while.
No one is going to go very far(emphasis on VERY FAR) without talent, and lots of it. But there are lots of people who had lots and lots of talent who ultimately didn’t go anywhere with it for a variety of reasons. One of the most common I have observed is this: When a child shows an enormous gift for music(and I mean an ENORMOUS gift) it frequently ruins that child’s childhood. That child doesn’t have a childhood and becomes consumed, mostly from parental pressure, with the instrument and their ‘gift.’ By the time they reach early adulthood they are burned out and don’t have any desire to continue the instrument. I have observed this numerous times myself, and it’s a real tragedy.
There are other people who have natural talent(the ability to learn and understand music quickly, a natural dexterity, the ability to memorize at lightening speed, etc.) but don’t have any particular desire to pursue music. And so they won’t go very far.
Then there are people with little or no talent but enormous drive. Drive to succeed. Drive to be in the spotlight. Drive to play well. Whatever. They can succeed beyond anyone’s expectations, but still won’t be very good at what they do.
So in the end, the whole question is a complicated equation, with any number of components coming into play. And this makes it difficult if not impossible to predict who is ultimately going to succeed.
I just took a look at both the Erard and the Lyon & Healy harps on EBAY. I wouldn’t bid on either one without examining them in person first. Pictures just don’t convey the technical information I need to make a judgement.
I should elaborate on my original post. If you are a novice who knows nothing about harp restoration, then you need to depend on the good advice of a trusted repairman. You can’t make the diagnosis of what the harp needs and then decide to have the repairman do just what you decided it needs, because you think you’re going to do the rest. Let me try to give you an example.
Let’s say you have an old beat up Erard in unplayable condition with a broken soundboard. If you call me and tell me what you’ve got and that you want me to put a new board on it, I’m left with many questions and am going to insist on examining the instrument first hand(not just photographs) to decide if it can be restored and how much work it needs. I’m going to look for worm damage, wood rot, and anything else that will mean that the harp can’t be played. I’m going to want to know if the baseframe and baseboard are in good shape, if the neck is too warped to use, or has any structural cracks in it. I’m going to want to know if the action has broken or missing parts which will be very expensive to replace. So you see, as a novice, you can’t possibly know all of the things that need to be addressed. In addition, the work has to be done in sequence, with the cosmetic repairs done last. Otherwise they will likely get damaged when the rest of the instrument is being worked on.
If you want an antique instrument to play, you need to pay a good technician to look at the instrument BEFORE you buy it, and then plan on having him or someone else who knows what they’re doing do all of the work.
Trust me Darcy, you don’t want to get involved in restoring an old harp. Leave that to the people who know what they are doing. Over my 30 years of restoring harps of every make, I have seen many well meaning but awful repairs done to old instruments. Even with the best of intentions you will make a huge mess of it. Save your money and have it done right by someone who knows what he is doing.
Evangeline- I think you may be referring to the touring production of Sweeney Todd that is out now. In it, there is no orchestra, but the whole cast is on stage the whole time and they all play instruments. When they’re not acting a scene they are accompanying whatever is going on musically. it’s a fantastic show and I highly recommend you see it if you get the chance. The ‘orchestration’ is very stripped down and at times almost non-existent, but it works very well and actually makes it easier to hear and understand the singers. The most incredible thing is that for the entire show, which is almost 3 hours long, the whole cast plays their parts from memory!
Emily- It’s hard to know exactly what you mean by ‘tight hands’ without seeing you play, but maybe you are a very tense player, either on piano or harp, and you never learned to play from a relaxed state. The whole point of technique on either piano or harp is to use only the muscles needed at any moment to play a note and leave all of the other muscles in a completely relaxed state. It sounds like you are operating from a tense state all the time.
You might try sitting at the harp, placing your fingers on the strings, and, before playing anything, just sit and focus on eliminating any tension before you play the first note. Play only a couple of beats and then stop. Work on making it through several beats or a measure without getting tense, and then build on that.
