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I just looked at it. I can see why you’re confused. It looks like in the left hand line the dots over the note indicate to play those notes very short with the thumb and the hand muffling the sound after each note. But when the right hand octaves come in I think you are supposed to just play the octaves without muffling. Dots over notes usually indicate to not connect. But that’s the only way you could play those octaves anyway. I would try it in a variety of ways and just do the one that sounds best.
Tim- If you want to improve you technique in an organized and fun way, get the 40 easy etudes of Bochsa. Each one focuses on one aspect of technique and works it thoroughly. Most of the first 20 etudes are one page long, and none are longer than 2 pages. If you learn each one of them well, your technique will advance methodically and quickly. To me the Salzedo Conditioning exercises are more warm up exercises than technique building etudes.
It might be a good idea to stick a definition in here. Exercises are patterns of notes that make no attempt at being a piece of music. Think Hanon for the piano. There are lots of books of exercises and they have their place. LaRiviere is mostly exercises. Salezdo Conditioning exercises are all, well, exercises. You repeat a pattern of notes over and over mostly in order to learn how to hold and articulate your fingers. The problem with exercises is that they get really boring really fast. But also, since they are just patterns, there is a disconnect between learning exercises and then applying that technique to a piece of music.
Etudes on the other hand are pieces of music that focus completely on one aspect of technique. One etude might be playing 4 note scales, both ascending and descending, and will probably do that in different parts of the instrument so you learn what that pattern feels like higher or lower on the instrument. Another etude might involve 3 note chords, and another 3 or 4 note arpeggiated chords, etc. But because it is an etude, you learn not only the pattern being studied, but you also learn to use both hands independently, since one hand is playing the pattern and the other is playing some sort of simple accompaniment. For someone who has just started to learn the harp, that’s a big deal.
A word of caution. And etude is just a format for learning technique. Same with exercises. This means that, without proper guidance, you can learn incorrect technique with the etude as well as correct technique. So make sure you’ve got a teacher, and your teacher can explain what you are trying to accomplish with each etude, and then makes sure you accomplish that. Typically when I use the Bochsa 40 easy etudes to teach, the student stays on each etude 2 to 3 weeks. If the student is a hard worker, he or she can start a new etude each week or every other week so that he or she has two etudes in different stages of perfection at a time.
I’m not sure which etude you are referring to. Are you talking about his “20 easy etudes, vol. 1 and 2 Op. 318?(vingt etudes facile)?” If so, etude no. 7 is all 8 note chords. There is no other collection of Bochsa etudes which contain 20 etudes. Can you provide more information? Op. number?
Wood used to build musical instruments for the American market is dried to 5% to 8% moisture content, which makes it as stable as possible. Traditionally, and for centuries, musical instrument wood in Europe was dried to 15% moisture content. That works in a very temperate climate with small changes in relative humidity over the course of the year. But when those instruments are brought to the United States, they usually develop cracks and warp terribly. Now musical instrument wood is dried to the 5% to 8% standard worldwide.
Temperature is not nearly as big an issue as humidity. If the relative humidity is between 40% and 60% then it almost doesn’t matter what the temperature is. High humidity isn’t a problem unless it’s so high that mold is growing on it. Very low humidity is a huge problem.
It looks like someone may have done a cosmetic restoration on it. I suspect it’s a long way from being playable. Still, its in much better condition generally then any other B & B harp I have seen.
Your post describes exactly what I have found over the years, and that is that harps that are left to schools will, at most, be used for a few years and then are stuck in a closet someplace and forgotten. I’ve bought a number of these instruments, so I’ve seen this situation several times.
A large part of the problem is that a school is not equipped to maintain a harp, or to have major repairs done when they are needed. So as soon as some major work is needed, that’s the end of the instruments usefulness.
In the end, I think the best solution is to sell the instrument to someone who wants it. That’s the best way to guarantee that it is wanted and will be taken care of. In some cases, giving it to a serious student, or selling it for what a serious student can pay, is also a good option.
Gillian-I tried to email you privately but there is no email address listed. If you go to my web site, http://www.swansonharp.com, and click on the USED HARPS FOR SALE page, there are two instruments you might be interested in: a style 12 and a style 18. Both are in excellent condition and sound gorgeous. In fact I have a great jazz harpist who wanted to buy the 12, but I insisted that it is just too small for her. But she loved its sound. She also really liked the style 18, partly because it had once belonged to another great jazz harpist, Daphne Helman. You should take a serious look at both these instruments, because they are small, in brand new condition, sound great, and look terrific.
Where are you located? I have a style 12 up on my web site at the moment. It was built in the 1920’s, is in excellent condition and sounds gorgeous. http://www.swansonharp.com
An Erard Grecian is close to 200 years old and hardly qualifies as a gig harp. There are lots of modern models made by a variety of companies to choose from. You should be able to find something that meets your needs.
I don’t know why you’re afraid of buying used. If you find a used instrument you like, then have a technician you trust look it over. I have a semi-grand Wurlitzer that I just finished rebuilding that is going up on my web site in another week and which I will be showing at the New York Conference in early July. It’s in superb condition and has carved and gilded decoration that is just stunning.
Catherine- I’m sure I’ll like them. I’ve used them before on other harps. I just completed rebuilding a style 14 and a style 18(same size as the 14) which I strung in lever gauge gut also(3rd, 4th, 5th octaves). Also my Erard Gothique, which will be featured in a program at the AHS conference, is strung in lever gauge gut AND wires. The more I use the lever gauge guts the more I like them.
Diana- I suspect that folk gut is thinner. You should be able to contact your suppliers of both folk gut and lever gut and get a print out of the specifications. It will tell you, probably in thousands of an inch, what the diameter of each string is.
I started experimenting a few years ago with thinner gauge strings on the harps that I rebuild andfr I really love them. I just strung a Wurlitzer semi-grand that I am bringing to the New York conference and initially I used standard gauge strings on that. The top, which I strung in nylon, sounded good, but I wasn’t happy with the middle register. So I switched the 4th and 5th octaves to Bow Brand Lever gauge gut and the sound just blossomed. I’ve had that happen before, and I’ve pretty much decided to use lever gauge gut all the time. I think the lower tension allows the string a greater swing when it vibrates and that gives a much fuller attack. They feel slightly spongier, but I don’t have a problem with that. I’m waiting for Vanderbilt to mail me 3rd octave lever gauge guts. As soon as they arrive I’ll put them on too. I think standard gauge nylon in the 1st and 2nd octaves works well because nylon is lower tension than gut anyway.
The Bow Brand lever gauge gut tends to be .008 to .009(8 to 9 thousands of an inch) thinner than standard gauge. I had some old Classic lever gauge guts, and they were .014 thinner, which is a lot. I know that English harpists and perhaps harpists on the Continent also have regular access to thinner gauge strings and regularly make a choice as to which thickness string to use on their harps. Maybe it’s time or American harpists to do the same thing.
