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On one hand, knowing the theory is quite useful, on the other hand, ‘just doing it’, getting practise, also helps a lot. Someone already mentioned trying to play songs you already know (pop songs etc), it forces you to replicate on the harp what you are ‘hearing in your head’.
I learned to play by ear from a folk perspective, so my advice would be: attend workshops where they focus on learning by ear or take lessons with a teacher who can play by ear… In such workshops/lessons, they teach you new music by playing one phrase, having everyone repeat it several times, then playing the next phrase, connecting them, etc… The first time I was completely confused after just a few notes, now I can pick up most tunes with ease. These skills also transfer to non-folk music, you learn to make an immediate connection between what you hear and how to produce it at the harp. Knowing about intervals, modes and keys can make it easier, but it’s not necessarily required to be able to play by ear. Perhaps a ‘mix’ is best, allow yourself to get plenty of practical experience (trying to play along with CDs is also a good way to practice this) and read up on some theory as well.
Wendy Stewart has a very nice arrangement (with nice ornamentation), so perhaps that’s the one you are referring to? It’s in her book About Time Too – available from multiple sources, but I’ll include a link so you can see all the details. Hope this helps!
http://www.creightonscollection.co.uk/index.html?Pages/scores/SM/SM159.htm~mainFrame
I completely agree!
Also, usually crowfunding campaigns are designed to market a product and give the backer something in return. Half of the forum is saving up for their own pedal harp, why should they donate just to get a picture of someone they don’t know? I think that a campaign that really offers something – for instance, an innovative affordable carbon harp model – would be very viable, but this?
I don’t know what P.N. means, but A T0 means that you return to the first tempo. Usually, there’s first an ‘en retenant’ or another tempo change and then you switch back to the tempo as it was played at the beginning of the piece. (is tempo an English word by the way? I hope so 🙂 )
Going into medicine requires about the same commitment as a career in music… You don’t have to be ‘talented’ but it surely takes a lot of determination to even get into medicine school – especially in the US. I’m a medical student from the Netherlands so I can’t speak of my own experiences in that regard – but before you can get into medicine school in the US, you need to have extremely good undergrad grades, do a lot of extracurricular work, do interviews etc. etc. A lot of really good people get rejected… And then there’s medical school – a challenge in itself – but after medical school, there’s residency (it’s not easy to get into the residency of your choice) – etc. (in the Netherlands, the major cutoff is the residency application process instead of the med school application). I know there are a lot of stereotypes against doctors, but generally, if one would like to make money, going into medicine isn’t a smart option. (don’t forget the hours & the liability insurance…).
Eventually, I think that most careers carry some ‘risk’. If you start med school, there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to pay all the loans etc (unless you get a really good scholarships). I don’t think it’s a ‘safer’ option than becoming a musician. However, if you feel medical school – or becoming a harpist, or becoming a dentist, etc. etc. is something you’d be willing to give up everything for – do it! If you’re sure you really want it, even though there might be some drawbacks, there’s no reason to not to do it, is there?
There might be a risk involved, but if you are really determined, go for it, don’t allow yourself to be held back, what’s life when there are no risks involved? :). Being really determined is the only way to get anywhere – music, medicine – or finance :).By the way, you don’t have to choose right now, do you? I’ve read about med students who had a liberal arts major (plus the requisites for medicine school). So it might be possible to major in harp/music while still being able to become a doctor? 🙂
I love the new site! This site is also fine, but for people who are used to ‘web 2.0’ and beyond, the new site feels like home! It takes some time getting used to all the features but I don’t mind, I like exploring! 🙂
I was at a festival in Belgium and people were asking whether I was carrying a grand piano (I’ve got a bardic 27)… To clarify, a grand piano is a ‘vleugel’ (wing) in Dutch. And the harp in its travel case looks a little bit like a wing…
I think you’d better ask your doctor about this… However, ‘ultrasound’ means that your humidifier uses high frequency sound waves to create vapor- there is no ‘energy’ or radiation involved.
@ Jerusha Thanks! 🙂 I’m far from mastering the Handel, I can now get through the first parts of the first movement! 😀 (measure 28). The difficulty is mainly in finding out good fingerings so you can make everything sound nice and polished, technically it’s not as hard as I expected it to be. There are only 11 lever changes in the first movement. It is a piece you need to build up slowly, however. That’s quite hard because I’ve got all those nice youtube video’s in mind and not being able to play it nice and fast is really annoying. However, that’s the only way to learn it without adding bad habits etc…
There are several lever harp arrangements for the Handel concerto, in fact. I’m learning the one by Odette le Dentu, but Ank van Campen also did one (there’s also an orchestral score for that one), as well as Ann Griffths and there are probably much more arrangements that I’m not aware of.
@ Jessica – good luck with learning blues! I think you can do anything on a lever harp – did you know that Deborah Henson-Conant is going to tour with Steve Vai? She’s bringing all those guitar techniques to her electric harp. I think that’s a pretty big argument in favor of the fact that anything can be done on a lever harp, as long as you are willing to think outside the box… 🙂
I sent you an e-mail. I hope it is useful to you. Lots of good luck with solving this difficult situation!
I’m working on:
Danses d’ automne #4 (finally finished #3 a while ago!!!!)
The Minstrel’s Adieu (I can almost play all the notes – it still needs a lot of polishing)
Handel harp concerto for lever harp (it’s really awesome to finally play it!)
Things are going quite well, but not on the lessons front… I think I need to start looking for another teacher because our schedules don’t really match. And affordable AND good teachers are quite rare – and then there’s the issue of telling my current teacher I’m going to stop lessons with them… but my next lesson isn’t even planned yet so I’ll have a few months to think about it.
Don’t give up! It sounds as though you need to (re)learn how to practice! It took me quite a long time to realize that effective practicing isn’t just about playing through your piece a couple of times-
The Bardic 27 by Camac is also a very interesting option. I own a Bardic and while it is rather hideous (it looks like a solid wooden harp, but when you look closer, the comparison to IKEA productes starts becoming reasonable) it produces a much better, fuller, louder sound than my ‘big’ 34-string harp. You wouldn’t expect such an instrument to produce such a nice and projecting sound. I often use it in church, as part of the worship band; it also holds up very well in sessions.
Of course, my findings are only N=1, but if you’ve got the opportunity to try the bardic, I’d certainly take it.
