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Sam- I knew I had posted that story once before but had no idea how to find it again. It would be nice to have remembrances from former students about Grandjany the man, his method of working, and the exercises that he wrote out for students. The two people who should be at the core of this, as far as providing information, would be Susan Joles and Anne-Marguerite Michaud. They both studied for years with Grandjany and went to an advanced level with him. I’m sure there are others as well.
If Grandjany chose not to write a method book, then I don’t think anyone else, even his most accomplished students, should write one. Many of them have exercises that he made for them. But that’s the mark of a great teacher: To be able to customize the lesson for each student. The only person who could write an accurate and definitive method book on what Grandjany taught would have been Grandjany himself. Let me cite an example of why this is true.
A friend of mine, a professional harpist for more than 45 years, told me that as a child she was a military brat, and as a result her family moved every couple of years. Because her first teacher was a Salzedo harpist, when they moved, the teacher told her parents to be sure to get another Salzedo teacher, which they did. This went on throughout her childhood.”The problem I had” she told me,”was that none of my teachers could agree on what Salzedo method was. So each new teacher told me that I was doing everything wrong and I would have to start over again. I spent my whole childhood starting over. The first teacher who was willing and able to work with what I was doing was Grandjany.”
Grandjany would be the first person to tell anyone that what he taught was classic French method, and that system of playing is alive and well and the dominant method in the world. There are many great teachers of that method, particularly in France. The current generation of French method harpists include some of the greatest virtuosos alive today, such as Emmanuel Ceysson, Xavier deMaistre, Isabells Moretti, Jana Buscova, Catherine Michel and many more. So there is no danger of French Method disappearing.
How one teaches a private music lesson varies from student to student. The teacher has to have at his/her disposal an arsenal of approaches to choose from when dealing with an individual student. Some people have an innate ability to teach and get better and better at it as the years pass, and others have no ability to teach no matter how long they do it. In addition, very often even good teachers are good at teaching one level and not so good at teaching another. So this is something that is impossible to codify.
Saul- Once you learn the technique of sequential placing, it works at any speed and it is automatic. You don’t have to think about it or decide to do it here and not there. But you have to learn the technique well for that to happen. I usually find when I’m learning a new piece that I place in blocks at first but then, as I get to know the piece better, automatically change over to sequential placing.
What’s your problem with beta blockers? They work great and are well tested for effectiveness and safety.
William- As you move into more advanced repertoire, you have to touch the strings less, not more. A technique that might work well here, and which you absolutely have to learn to go into harder pieces, is what I call placing in sequence. With this technique, you place just one note at a time ahead of the one you are playing, and you place it at the exact moment that the playing finger releases the string. So you never have more than two fingers on the strings at any one time. By placing the next finger at the exact moment that the previous finger releases the string, you camouflage any buzzing that may occur. With this technique, you also allow vibrating strings to vibrate as long as possible and to hide the muffle when you place back on that string. It’s important when you place to do it quickly and not slowly approach the string, which will make more noise. A piece like Faure’s Une Chatelaine en sa Tour… has to be played entirely like this.
I should think the Conservatory(official name is the Conservatoire National Superior de Musique)would have that information. I know that when Tournier retired the class was split between Pierre Jamet and Lily Laskine. I can give you the details and reasons for that if you need it. Laskine left around 1957 and her class was taken over either by Jacqueline Borot or Gerard Devos. Then when Jamet retired in 1963, one of the two above mentioned names took his class. I think Borot replaced Laskine and Devos replaced Jamet, but I’m not sure. Marie-Claire Jamet took over when one of the two, Borot or Devos, retired, and when the other teacher retired, the class went back to one teacher. When Marie-Claire retired, Isabella Moretti took over and is currently there.
What you need to ask yourself is, what will you do if you don’t get an orchestra position? The majority of harpists who go through music school and earn degrees did it because they wanted orchestra positions, and fewer than 1% actually achieve that goal. So if you are going to pursue a musical education, you need to have several goals or plans in mind BEFORE you commit years of your life and untold thousands of dollars to this project.
Rosalind- Something else just occurred to me. You could also start the whole process by tying a knot in the string and then threading it down through the hole. The knot will prevent it from going all the way through. When You have tied the knot on the other end of the string, you could then pull the string up and untie the first knot.
Rosalind- Great tip. Just make sure it doesn’t pull off and go clattering down the soundboard.
Jessica- if you’re replacing a string in the top 2 or 3 holes, it usually isn’t possible to insert it from the back.
You’re doing fine Sid. That humidity range should prevent wood from cracking and joints from opening up.
A visible vapor-either steam or electronically produced micro-droplets- is not good for several reasons. One is that it can leave a layer of white calcium on everything by the end of the season. The other is that the droplets will not all completely evaporate into the air and can produce condensation on objects. In the case of a harp or piano, it might produce rust on steel parts. The air nearest the humidifier will have the highest humidity, and will quickly dissipate as you move away from the machine. So I don’t know how well your humidifier will humidify the harp if it is across the room. If the humidifier blows out completely invisible air, you can put it right next to the harp and have it blowing on the harp and it will not cause any damage.
I received the following:
Per the Philadelphia Orchestra official list in Ardoin “The Philadelphia
Orchestra A Century of Music” orchestra members appendix:
Edna Phillips, Principal Harp 1930 – 1941 and 1942 – 1946.
Lynne Wainwright, Principal Harp 1941 – 1942.
Marilyn Costello, Harp 1945; Principal Harp 1946 – 1992.
Marcella DeCray, Harp 1952 – 1962Rod- I’m curious about the humidifier you got. Is the air coming out of it invisible? Or does it look like steam?
Here are several links to articles about humidification and harps.
http://www.harpcolumn.com/forum/message-view?message_id=15954896
