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Those battery lights are nice and sometimes necessary, but I’ve yet to find one that throws as much light on both the music AND the strings–very important–as a regular stand light with the usual 40 watt bulb. I always have in the car an extra bulb and extra extension cords.
In addition to those items others have mentioned, I keep in the car extra tuning key, set of wire strings, towels, bandaids, extra watch, a wire stand in case another stand is needed, second stand light for a partner, extra set of pedal springs, extra discs, extra batteries, extra tuner in case the primary fails, second pair of playing shoes. These are all things I have needed in the past. May sound like overkill but you just never know. And that’s not listing everything I always have with me!
I don’t remember now where I read this, but I believe his widow Susan donated two of his harps to a conservatory in Israel. Of course he probably had many other instruments over the course of his career.
You may find this idea shocking, but I don’t think it’s your responsibility to motivate your student, especially if he’s an adult. Playing the harp should be self-motivating. You will do whatever is necessary to learn if you want it enough.
Teachers struggle to motivate students to learn basic skills like reading and math because those are necessary to survival, but learning to play a musical instrument is a desire, not a need. If one wishes to play the harp at a certain level of proficiency, one must apply one’s self to the task. Wishing will not make it so. Teaching this student sounds like dragging a bag of rocks up a hill, and I certainly would not have tolerated his rude remarks. Your posts imply he’s been manipulating you for some time into feeding his fantasy of playing the harp. You’ve gone above and beyond what most people would do to help a serious student, and he still hasn’t responded.
Unless you’re afraid of his poor public performance reflecting badly on you, I’d say you’ve spent more than enough time trying to help him. He needs to help himself now. If his desire is strong enough, he’ll apply himself. If not, he’s wasting your time and his. Some people spend their entire lives saving bits and pieces for the airplane they’re going to build and fly–someday. Is that your student?
It was “Once More, With Feeling!” It was Kay Kendall’s last movie; she died shortly thereafter, of leukemia, I think. It’s a funny movie and worth seeing, although her harp playing is silly as she mugs for her audience. Yul Brenner also destroys a harp, so easily that it’s obviously made of balsa wood or something similar. And he gives her a harp as a gift which is one of the most gaudy excuses for a musical instrument you’ll ever see. I have no idea if it was real or a prop or a harp that had been tarted up just for looks. You can see this movie sometimes on Turner Classic Movies.
I believe that in a recent Harp Column (or was it the American Harp Journal?) interview with Robert Maxwell, he said he did record the Hungarian Rhapsody for Harpo in “A Night in Casablanca” because Harpo wanted to play it but it was too complex for the time he had to learn it. Otherwise I believe Harpo played most of what you hear in his movies. I had always wondered why that particular movie solo sounded almost identical to Maxwell’s version on one of his early records. That interview answered the question.
Regarding an earlier post where Spring Byington plays a pedal harp, that’s a movie called “My Love Came Back,” starring Olivia de Haviland, where Spring is the wife in a musical family. It’s easy to confuse with the Judy Garland movie (“In the Good Old Summertime”) because Spring Byington is in both movies, as is S.Z. Sakall. In the latter film, Garland plays a folk harp, although not convincingly. The song is (Meet Me Tonight in) Dreamland. Incidentally, Robert Maxwell made a nice recording of that, too. Sure wish more of his recordings were available on CD.
You can also thread a long strip of felt between the strings to muffle the sound, although practicing that way is not as much fun. When I lived in an apartment and a dorm in college, I never had any complaints as long as I practiced between 9am and 9pm.
If you’re on your own, suit yourself. If you’re taking family, they’re going to make demands on your time and you may find you don’t have time to practice. If you’re not preparing for an imminent recital or such, and if you’re going to be gone only a week, I wouldn’t bother. Most hotel rooms are pretty cramped when you get a concert grand in there, plus bench and music stand. Take your music, maybe, and study it away from the instrument. I did that once and found it helpful.
It would be helpful to know why your teacher advised against student models, which are smaller. Perhaps because they generally lack some strings that you will later need for more advanced literature.
You are tall enough to play a concert grand or semi-grand. The key is knowing where to sit, relative to the instrument.
If price is an issue, consider a used harp, but have it carefully checked out by a trained professional first. If weight is a problem, consider Camac harps, which often weigh less than some other makes of comparable size.
Contact the major harp companies–Lyon & Healy, Salvi, Venus, Camac, Aoyama–and ask for brochures with the specs on their various models so you can compare price, weight, number of strings, etc. Then you can make a more educated decision.
According to a site from the Library of Congress, his dates are listed as 1864/5-1933. I found several listings on Google you might want to see.
Carl, I think you’re right about those wires, because when I changed mine last time I had only a set of tarnish-resistant to put on, and I immediately heard a difference. Much prefer the silver ones, although I do like the colored Cs and Fs.
