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Saul- Teaching a musical instrument is a very complicated process, because, as we know all too well, every student presents his/her own abilities and problems. Some teachers are able to individualize their teaching to each student and some are not. In addition, some teachers are very good at a particular level of teaching, but not good at another. I can think of several teachers in this country who are the best at teaching advanced students, but who would not be very good for a student still in need of technique. There are many teachers who are really good at starting beginners, but then they don’t know what to do with them after that, and usually end up giving the student repertoire that they are not yet ready for. So the subject of good and bad teachers is a complicated one.
Tony- Very well stated. My remark about Salzedo and personality is derived from that fact that there was a looooooong history of notating harmonics where they are played. Salzedo’s changing that for his own music, and then telling everybody else to follow him has only added mass confusion to an issue where there was none before.
I also agree with Elizabeth, that I want to see(easily) where to put my hands. I can much more easily figure out what the sound is supposed to be than I can figure out(quickly) where my hands and fingers are supposed to go.
Let me tell you a little story. When I was doing the final editing of Une Chatelaine en sa Tour… I decided to ask Emily Mitchel to look it over. She had just recorded the piece, and I had never seen anyone else’s edition. I wanted to be sure that I was not doing something in my edition that someone else was going to have trouble with. So I called Emily and asked her to send me a copy of her working edition, and that I would send her a copy of mine. Several days after exchanging our versions, we had a telephone conference. We went through the piece line by line, and Emily mentioned several times that in those areas where it’s very unclear which hand plays which notes, she tended to pick up more notes with her left hand, whereas I tended to pick them up with the right. “But you have to remember,” she said,”that I’m left handed.”
We got to the Listesso Tempo section in the middle of the piece, which has the most difficult pedals in the whole piece. I had rewritten most of it enharmonically, which made the pedaling simpler, but more importantly eliminates many buzzes and pedal slides. “Your Listesso Tempo is pure genious,” she said. “I’m going to relearn that page using your edition.” “You’re kidding,” I said. “You just recorded it.” “I’m not kidding,” she said. “Yours is so much easier.” The point is, the printed music should tell you, in the simplest possible terms, how to play the piece. The performer can figure out the harmonic theory
The short answer is that a harpist with the ability to teach makes the best teacher. That teacher must be an advanced harpist him/herself. But holding an orchestra position is no guarantee that that person can teach. Unfortunately, most conservatories and schools will want teachers on their faculty who have a resume that looks good in the catalogue, and frankly, they don’t really care if that person can teach, or turns out quality students over the years. This may sound harsh but it’s true.
Being an orchestra player(on any instrument) is very different from being a soloist on the same instrument. Soloists are frequently poor orchestra players, and orchestra players are frequently poor soloists for this reason. And being a first rate orchestra player or first rate soloist does not gaurantee a great teacher.
A teacher may be great for one student and not for another. I think in the end each student has to seek out the teacher who can provide what that student needs.
Tony- I never realized that Guitar music was written an octave lower than it is played. I suppose that’s to keep the notes within the staff, without having to use say C cleff, or G cleff on a different line.
My own theory is that Salzedo spent 50 years in this country attaching his name to every aspect of the harp. This was one of those ideas( and he had many) that had to do more with his personality than musical clarity.
My understanding is that it was Salzedo who initiated the practice of writing harmonics where they sound. I don’t think anyone else did it before him. Honestly, it’s a stupid idea.
So where and when is the Masterclass??? Mme. Binoche has been a strong proponent of Tournier’s music which is wonderful, but I’m sure there are other harpists who studied with Tournier who are still living. Marie-Claire Jamet is one of them.
Those too are fingered. And while we’re on the subject, so are the arpeggios on the last page of the Danses. Fingered arpeggios have a completely different sound from glisses, and Debussy knew very well what he wanted.
One important thing to remember too is that there are many ways to roll a chord and the variety adds interest to the piece. The opening chords of the Danses for example are almost(but not quite) flat. Chords in Pierne and Faure are much fuller and longer. Sometimes the top note(as in Renie’s Contemplation)has to be brought out slightly stronger, or the bottom note(as in the Danses). Sometimes a crescendo over the chord is needed (the final chord of Parish-Alvars Serenade comes to mind). There should never be just one way of rolling a chord.
HH- If I may, let me ask the question: In the sequence of beginning, intermediate, and advanced, what are the SKILLS that you teach, and expect your students to learn before they move on to the next level? AND, how do you teach those skills?
I missed this thread when it got started because I was in France. Well, I know I’m prejudiced, but I like the Swanson Empire, particularly the fully gilded in Antique Maple. I also love, and I mean really love the Art Nouveau instrument we built a few years ago. You can see all of these on the company web site, http://www.swansonharp.com. By the way, we’ve begun work on another Art Nouveau instrument.
Juliet- That’s a version of the “Wendy” story I had not heard. But isn’t it amazing for an author to have invented a name that is very popular now.
Unfortunately Esmeralda, that has not been my experience in the USA. If a student starts with a bad teacher and stays with him/her, then the student really has no basis for comparison and doesn’t know any better.
If the teacher is a bad teacher, it usually means also that that teacher is not interested in hearing better harpists, or having his/her students hear better harpists. So many teachers operate in their own enclosed little world and neither they, nor their students, know what is going on in the larger harp world. At the University level it’s just as bad. I could name many teachers at that level who do nothing more than assign one piece after another to the student, and when the student has learned the notes, the piece is considered finished and the teacher moves on. Such teachers are unmusical themselves. Also, it is rare to find a teacher who can explain technical issues, and teach them to a developing student. So the landscape is pretty bleak.
+Personally i phrase right and left hands in seperate manners as i feel that they are actually two different bodies intercrossing each other.+
Esmeralda- That is exactly what I am talking about when I say that both hands have to be able to play multiple dynamic levels at the same time.
On the first page of the Danses, half way down, the right hand plays the melody and every other melody note is a chord, so that you play chord, octave, chord, octave, chord, octave, etc. To make the melody consistant and smooth, the chords have to be played so that the outer notes(octaves) match the octaves that follow, while the inner notes of the chord have to be somewhat lower dynamically. Otherwise you get this lumpy presentation of the melody. Unfortunately, most teachers don’t teach these techniques to their students I think because they can’t do it themselves, and so that is not a part of their interpretative vocabulary.
