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Wendy, thanks for finding that. I remembered seeing just the last bit, so it was fun seeing the entire clip.
Andy, there’s a diagram on pages 40 and 41 of Lawrence and Salzedo’s “Method for the Harp.” You can only do it with gut strings (the knots won’t hold with nylons) and only above the adjustable nut. I did it in college when I couldn’t afford to replace strings that broke at the top or bottom of the string. Otherwise they weren’t long enough to do it.
Your blog is fascinating; I’ve read it twice and can’t wait for the next installment! It was helpful to know you feel the iPad gives enough light for the strings as that’s something I really need.
I saw the little blue bag you now use; do you keep a set up strings in there? That’s something that takes up a certain amount of space in my music bag but I couldn’t be comfortable going to work without them. (I leave the wires in the car but the guts and nylons are with me.) What else do you carry with you that the iPad can’t substitute for? I’m wondering just how much I could pare down; I have nail clippers and bandaids and screwdriver, etc.
You mention the evaluation and audition. If you’re referring to the AHS Music Education Auditions, remember they are most emphatically not a competition. She should still get a certificate for participating even if she hasn’t made all the progress she should have made since the first session and will doubtless receive helpful advice from the adjudicator. She is in “competition” only with herself.
If the second session is open to observers, let her decide if she wants to do it. I would be shocked if anyone criticized her for making mistakes–no one is perfect. Perhaps this experience will motivate her to focus and work harder.
Just my two cents. Our local sessions begin this weekend.
This is not a difficult part but you must count. Highly recommend buying a good recording and following along with the part as you listen. There are seven movements; harp is tacet on No. 2 only. It’s a small orchestra so harp is exposed. On the first page of mvt. 1 the harp is doubled by cello.
For me the trickiest is No. 4, the “Sanctus,” because this movement is fast (depending on the conductor). You have a 5 eighth-note descending pattern in the left hand and will need to decide how best to finger it for you personally. At the same time in the right hand you have six oscillating figures of coupled 16th notes that also descend. It’s in 3/4 so the last beat notes move up instead of down. (You see why a recording is helpful.) These patterns repeat so it’s best to memorize them. The right hand is doubled here by the glockenspiel, which helps.
I have had buzzes in the harp room that turned out to be from (on different occasions) a hinge on a cabinet door, the drawer of a metal filing cabinet–didn’t buzz when open but you can’t leave the drawer open all the time–and the metal cover on the floor heat/air vent.
For more than you ever wanted to know, go to http://www.KorlaPandit.com According to this, he was born in Missouri, but he ended up all over the place.
It’s a long and busy part but pretty straight-forward. It will take a while to mark if you get a virgin part. It’s a beautiful show to play–enjoy!
I’m so hooked I signed up for automatic notifications from every forum. If notifications for the classifieds were available, I’d get those, too! Love this site!
Saul, you are, and will always be, unique among harpists!
Ladies and gentlemen, can we say that, although one specific, individual instrument may be better or worse than another (based on personal preferences), one “brand” is not better or worse than another, and leave it at that? We don’t all drive the same kind of car or eat the same kind of bread!
