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I’ve heard of books of arrangements by Laura Erb several times in the past. Are they out of print? Who sold them–Lyon & Healy?
You mean this one?
I bought a book full of music to get this one piece several years ago because brides were asking for it. I played it for one and she said, “No, that’s not it!” What she really wanted was the orchestral background score. At that point I gave up.
Try to find out what others are earning for steady “location” jobs and don’t undercut them. Lowering the bar hurts everyone else and, again, won’t endear you to your peers. You may think of yourself as “just a student,” but if you’re out there playing for pay, you’re a professional by definition. If you’re ready to do the job, you deserve the same money. Win the job with your charm, talent and youthful enthusiasm. If you say you’ll work cheaply, you’ll be treated cheaply. (Not trying to preach; sorry if it sounds that way.)
Steady jobs are few and far between these days. Why not contact local event planners, catering directors, and food & beverage managers to let them know you’re available? Be prepared to quote prices for different types of events (receptions, dinners and parties if you don’t want ceremonies) and number of hours.
Also highly recommended: contact the local harp chapter and let them know your qualifications and that you’re looking for work. It may not directly lead to any, but it’s a mark of respect to the already established players and goes a surprisingly long way toward the necessary good will you’ll need for referrals, which is where most work comes from. Harpists who come into an area looking for work and who don’t make an effort to connect with the local harpists may (unfortunately) be considered interlopers and will find themselves last on the list when names are given out to clients.
Good luck, dear!
As far as I know, there’s no way to relocate an established thread from one forum to another.
As Barbara wrote, it’s always a big no-no to contact a place where a harpist is already working. That’s a quick way to make enemies for life and ensure no referrals, ever, in that town. I have known of situations where management decided to hire a different harpist without the new harpist making any contact–no fault at all–and it still created hard feelings that lasted a long time. People don’t forget losing a job to someone else.The lower tension on older harps is easier on the hand because the player doesn’t need to pull as hard on the strings to get volume. These harps often have straight soundboards (as opposed to extended) but do not necessarily lack volume. Many have projection far beyond what you might expect. This also depends on the quality of the restoration. Many harpists say these instruments are very responsive and a delight to play.
And of course, having your harp disassembled to have this (unnecessary) work done will be very expensive, you will not have the harp during the weeks to have it done, and it will need another regulation after being put back together. This is “major” surgery.
Next time you have your harp regulated, you could ask the technician if he or she can swap out those shiny gold discs for an older brass one so they’ll all match. Just a thought, if you prefer the action to look consistent. The important thing is not how it looks but how it sounds.
Or you could get some brown model paint from a craft store, remove the strings from the gold discs, and daub on some paint with a tiny brush or Q-tip so the gold is less obvious (don’t get any on the pins).
Harps are like people: as we age, a lot of our “bits” don’t match anymore!
If you’re playing lever harp, a carpet may be fine, but avoid any busy patterns because they’ll drive you crazy when looking at the strings. If you’re playing pedal harp, you need something more rigid because carpet over grass is lumpy and your heels will get caught. You need a reliable surface for pedaling.
I keep a piece of 3/4 inch plywood covered with green astroturf in the back of my van. It’s just long enough for the harp and bench and just wide enough to accommodate the music stand, too. It blends in with the lawn and can be brushed off or even hosed off afterward if needed. It really saved me last year when I had an outdoor wedding where the thick, new sod was soaking, squishy wet after heavy rains. A carpet would have absorbed the water and become as wet as the turf was.
You’re right, it’s a lovely piece and sounds like a natural for the harp, but it can be the siren song luring you to the rocks. However, if you want to work on making a playable arrangement for yourself, it can be an interesting lesson.
I don’t know if there are any significant differences from the original, which is for two pianos, but I’ve been trying (when time permits) to make a playable arrangement from a solo piano version. The first 16 bars are playable (with some minor alteration) but then you get to eight bars of the most chromatic music you’d (n)ever want to try to play. I’ve been trying to distill it into something usable but it’s been tough going. In this section, every measure has three or four pedal changes even if you play only the treble. With the bass added, it’s worse because of the tempo and the fact that often the pedals are on the same foot. Changing the key does not help.
There’s also a descending chromatic scale for four measures near the end, kind of like adding insult to injury. Plus it’s marked 72 to a half note, so…
Someone like Yolanda Kondonassis or Emmanuel Ceysson might play it as written, but pas moi. I’m not giving up but it’s been rather frustrating.
You may be able to recycle them; I used to give my used wires to an art teacher who used them in sculptures. But I wouldn’t use them for string anchors because they might buzz. Also, the cut ends can injure you if you reach inside the harp. It’s just too risky a material for several reasons. A little piece of 5th octave gut is the best anchor.
I think the harp in the Eliza Ridgely painting may be a 1700s Renault and Matelain made in Paris. There was one here some years ago at a local auction house. (I saved a picture of it from the auction catalog.) It was not in playable condition but was lovely and fascinating to see. Many years ago I saw the painting (which is huge) in D.C. and brought home a small print from the gift shop. It would have been great to have this little harp under the painting (just for looks, of course), but I couldn’t afford it.
Many years ago, the 3rd octave D on my first (lever) harp kept breaking. I ordered another one but in the meantime took a string that looked nearest the same diameter off the family ukulele (I kid you not!) and used it until the new one came so I could practice. As soon as the new string came, I put the ukulele string back where it belonged and installed the new nylon string. The harp, the ukulele and I all survived without damage.
By the way, as soon as I ordered a complete set of strings, it never broke again. Maybe the harp was trying to tell me something–be prepared?
